DISTRIBUTION: THE HUNGER GAMES

To track how distributors publicized The Hunger Games (directed by Gary Ross 2012), read this Slideshare.

FILM INDUSTRY EXAM QUESTION

322 EXAM PRACTICE QUESTION:     What impact does media ownership have upon the range of products available to audiences in the media area you have studied?     (50 Marks) 

HERE ARE YOUR FIRST 4 PARAGRAPHS.

START I have studied the film industry. In this essay, I understand 'media ownership' to mean both the Hollywood film industry and independent British film producers and distributors. First, I am going to write about the Hollywood 'big six' using as my case study Disney as an example of the mega-franchise model. Then, I plan to examine British film, using as my case studies Working Title and a selection of independent films with small budgets and niche audiences.
You read up on the Hollywood 'big six' and megafranchises, including Dalecki's 4-S megafranchise model and the synergy it produces.
You watch my Prezi on megafranchises.

To begin with, I will define 'range of products' in relation to production values (big budgets, high production values, CGI, motion capture, exotic locations, expensive casting and so on), big distribution budgets (interactive websites, range of trailers, luxury brand tie-ins, syndicated TV channel advertising, P&A saturation and so on), diverse film products (DVD, BluRay, 3D, IMAX, downloads and so on) and entertainment super-texts (like theme parks and video games). In other words,  I intend to show that Hollywood mega-franchises dominate because of their ability to generate constant synergy: for instance, the Disney Stores promote the consumer products which promote the theme parks which promote the television show. 
You study and present Disney The Avengers as a case study.

However, I also intend to argue that Hollywood's focus on certain film genres (sequels, prequels and superhero film) actually narrows consumer choice. By playing safe as they aim for global markets, Hollywood develops films that offer archetypes, story and spectacle, whereas British film and independent film producers in general offer more diverse film genres.

Therefore I intend to define 'range of products' in terms of 'range of genre' and show how smaller film makers make a wide range of films that offer what national audiences need. I will examine how smaller film makers tackle issues relating to genre, casting, production values, distribution, building audiences and exhibiting films.

ATTRACTING AND ADDRESSING AUDIENCES

To plan for Evaluation question 5 on attracting and addressing audiences, I researched a case study to investigate how distributors attract and address audiences (source: Bauer Media Advertising):

RESEARCH: HOW BRANDS TARGET AUDIENCES

I need to plan how to reach my target audience. Therefore, I need to know who they are (factors that may be relevant include age, gender, ethnicity, social class), what their media needs are (so that I can produce a product that they will want) and how to reach them (to market my film). I will show how my research has shaped / influenced my planning. 

I started by investigating how brands target audiences in preparation for creating my own audience profile for my AS Foundation Production.  
As part of distributing my film, I will be devising marketing strategies, such as reaching out to my target audiences through a film website, Facebook page, Twitter page and P&A (a film poster). 
In addition to profiling my audience, I will work out why they enjoy the genre. Why would they want to watch my film? What makes my film different from competing films ? How will my film appeal to viewing needs of my target audience?

Who Is My Target Audience: Action Steps

1. Who is my primary target audience? For example: British, male and female 18-45+ who love thriller films, TV crime drama and psychological thrillers.

2. What makes my film stand out from the competition? For example:  Our film is about a war photographer who suffers from post-traumatic stress and kidnaps a child.

3. Why should my audience watch my film? For example:  Total Film / Empire / Cinema Scope / Slant / Sight and Sound says: Most powerful psychological thriller since Don't Look Now!

Time spent understanding my audience will help me create a profile of my ideal audience member. This information will then be useful when I create my marketing strategy.

Audiences can be segmented and defined by their GEARS
Gender
Ethnicity
Age
Region / nationality
Socio-economic group

My research demonstrated that all products (including mass media products such as print magazines) have clearly segmented and distinct audiences based on gender, age and socio-economic groups as these examples illustrate (source Bauer Media Advertising):

My target audience consumes mass media platforms such as radio, so I investigated the target audience for Kiss, which is an example of a large niche audience ('young, London, dance music'). I could make a radio trailer to promote my film and air it on Kiss:

In Maslowe's Hierarchy of Needs, audiences have different levels of needs, with higher level needs - such those driving as media consumption - motivating people only once lower level needs are met.

 

There are several models of audience behaviour, two of which construct audiences in contrasting ways (passive or active):
The Media Effects model or 'hypodermic syringe' model sees audiences as passively led, influenced and manipulated by all that they consume as gullible and impressionable.
The Uses and Gratifications model presents audience behaviour as active choices (uses) that are pursued to meet (gratify) a variety of needs. For Blumler and Katz, these four needs are for entertainment/ escapism/ distraction, seeking information (sometimes called surveillance), personal identity (to support our world view) and social relationships (bonding 'water cooler' moments with friends or family as well as on-screen relationships with favourite performers).

The two-step flow model of audience behaviour.
Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudet analysed the voters' decision-making processes during a 1940 presidential election campaign and published their results in a paper called The People's Choice. Their findings suggested that the information does not flow directly from the text into the minds of its audience unmediated but is filtered through "opinion leaders" who then communicate it to their less active associates, over whom they have influence. The audience then mediate the information received directly from the media with the ideas and thoughts expressed by the opinion leaders, thus being influenced not by a direct process, but by a two step flow. This diminished the power of the media in the eyes of researchers, and caused them to conclude that social factors were also important in the way in which audiences interpreted texts. This is sometimes referred to as the limited effects paradigm. (Source: Mediaknowall.com)
 
Socio-economic bands

I looked at iTunes Movie Trailers to find out what audiences were currently offered:

MEDIA LANGUAGE

For film language discussing textual analysis, look at the Specification here (page 18)

There are many other websites that have glossaries as well as books that have indexes, such as the OCR textbook
For example, http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/medstudhglossary_tcm4-168240.pdf
 http://www.mediacollege.com/glossary/
http://media.edusites.co.uk/ 
http://brianair.wordpress.com/film-theory/glossary-of-media-terminology/
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualifications-standards/qualifications/ncea/subjects/media-studies
/glossary/ 

LES BLEUS DE RAMVILLE

The opening shot of Les Bleus de Ramville constrains the frame, making the eye focus on the hockey player's pre-match preparations. The sense of intimacy and concentration contributes to the mounting tension that characterizes the whole of the opening sequence as the players prepare to go onto the ice and do battle. I would like to intrigue the viewer by constraining the frame in my opening shot.

The use of close ups characterizes the camerawork.  CUs track the sequence of preparations and create authenticity through the detailed scrutiny of equipment, clothes, skates, tactic sheets and so on. The viewer is drawn into the world of ice hockey. I envisage using this technique in order to design an authentic mise-en-scene and create verisimilitude.

Sound and vision editing combine to create the mounting tension. Here, as tape swings, the music is slow but with a heavy relentless beat.George Lucas famously declared
"The sound and music are 50% of the entertainment in a movie."

The camera tracks across flyers with the ice hockey team's name printed on them. I plan to use this effective way of giving information visually to the viewer, building the world of the film through props, as I saw the director of Delicatessen do.

Legible title credits that are well placed are important and I intend to plan this in at the very start: how to frame a shot so that titles will be placed where we want then to be. This is legible because it is white on black and because the main prop is off centre.

VFX here make the tactics come alive as game strategy is planned: the noughts and crosses move around the pitch. I could achieve this using iStopMotion, which I have already practised.

The tilt pan in this shot leads up to a CU of the lights, edited together with stunningly powerful sound effects as the camera is held still on the explosive beat of the music. It creates huge drama.

An over the shoulder shot contributes to the rich variety in this opening sequence, one of the qualities that makes it so richly textured. The men marching onto the ice in formation also builds the idea that they are a formidable team of warriors (we do not see their faces) who are out to conquer their rivals.The sound track supports this quality as it continues the strong, dramatic, unrelenting beat.

FILM OPENINGS

Today we watch a selection of Claremont student film openings and critique the work, looking for strengths and weaknesses. The selection included romantic comedy, political thriller and spy thriller. More can be viewed on Claremont's YouTube channel.
Strengths to look out for:

• variety of camera angles including establishing shot, POV shots,  close ups, motivated shots, high angle shots, shots into reflective surfaces (mirrors, windows, shop fronts)
• variety of camera movements such as tracking shots, arc pans, tilt pans, focus pulls
• framing shots through restricted frames, such as through windows, doors, bars, tunnels, binoculars, round street corners
• editing of sound and vision together; appropriate pace; variety of pace
• sound track to signal genre, to build suspense, to draw attention to visuals; spot sounds; dialogue
• clearly audible sound (especially dialogue) best recorded separately
• holding the camera steady by using a tripod
• even lighting (not too dark)
• pace
• credible props and costumes
• title credits that look convincing, are legible, come up sensibly
• film title large enough to signal the film name clearly
• enigma and suspense: is it clear how the film will develop?

Weaknesses occurred when such good practice was neglected. We also noticed some wooden acting, slow narrative development, lack of lip synching and unlikely plot devices.