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THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice; (how does who owns a media company influence the type of film made and its potential success? For example do BIG companies make BIG films and therefore make all the money? Is it possible for small companies to succeed?)
The fact that big companies can make films big and make them do well is very much true as shown for the grand Budapest hotel. Fox searchlight are one of the big 6 and have helped produced this film meaning that the films recognition is already going to be massive and they will receive major profits just from this company making it. I agree with the fact that the big companies do make big films and therefore gain a lot of money, this is because they already have a very wide audience and can immediately expect people to watch it as they know people will look out for their films or they will go to see a film that has good marketing and will most probably be one of the big 6 due the amount of money the big companies can spend on the advertising and marketing side to the film produced.
Smaller films tend to struggle when it comes to making the film well known and making people aware that the film is out there. This is because the smaller films cannot afford to spend vast amounts of money on the advertising and marketing meaning people wont of heard of it and resulting I them missing out and not watching it. From this the film wont make as much money at the box office meaning profit might not always be reached, especially if the budget has been used to the maximum amount because they will struggle to make the money back. The companies wont be very well known and they wont be recognised if the audience is shown the logo for the company whereas a big 6 company logo will, as shown below.
The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing; (how do companies work together to produce, distribute and publicize a film? How can Disney use their size to promote and publicise a film? How can small companies work together to promote their business' when making and promoting a film?)
For the likes of Disney they can manage to use just their business to make a massive film that is known worldwide, it is a huge company that is very well known and they wont need to join up with any business so that they may do better as they make huge amounts of money by themselves, very similar to Fox searchlight who produced The Grand Budapest Hotel. Disney however do this by having Disneyland sites that attract many people from all over the world, making massive films that have a huge target market as many kids watch TV or want to see the latest Disney film because they will normally be attracted to it as Disney know their audience well and know what sort of film to produce that will gain lots of money.
Smaller business will have to join together so that they can make a good film, this way they can spend a lot more on the film as they can merge their budgets for the film into a big one that will benefit all companies involved. For example Dredd was produced by DNA Films, IM Global and Reliance Entertainment and was distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors and Lionsgate. Here we have a mix of companies that have joined together so that they can spend more money on the budget and should mean that they can make more profit if they spend the money on the right areas.
The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange; (how has the introduction of digital film, 3D, DVD, Blu-ray, internet streaming, downloadable content, home cinema influenced the types of films made, the way we watch them and the way we 'buy' them?)
Throughout the last decade technology has became a major thing and new technology is being created all the time. Within the film industry there are many cameras and effects that can be used if you have the money to do so, for example 3D films were introduced not so long ago but now there is 4D which features many other things to make you fell as if you are actually in the film itself. If the companies that are making the film want to make the film in 3D or 4D they will need to use the specialist cameras that are there to shoot the film in, this will require a lot of money to do so and many films cannot afford to do it.
The way that most people watch films now are on their TV or on some sort of device where you can watch the latest films, such as Sky Box Office or Netflix. This is because people find the cinema too expensive and find it cheaper to watch films at home. The companies who produce films will recognise this and will make the film available on peoples TV’s and other companies applications so that people can watch them at home but the company will still make money as people pay to watch the films whether it be paying for a monthly subscription, paying for the Box office on your TV operator or buying them online or on ITunes that are available to download at a price.
The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences; (how and why have film companies had to alter the way they work now everyone has web enabled phones, PC's, tablets etc? How have audiences changed their viewing habits now we no longer need to go to the cinema to watch a film)
People have realised that you can watch films for much cheaper at home rather than going to the cinema. They do this by using many different devices that allows you to watch films on it, these include applications like Netflix, Sky box office, ITunes and other TV methods like on BT Vision etc. On these you can buy films for much cheaper than you would paying to watch something on at the cinema, this is why many people are preferring to stay in and watch films at home that requires simply entering a few details and you're away. At the cinema however you have to organise how you are going to get there, what the cost will be for the people you are going with, what time the film is on and if you are going to have any sweets, popcorn or drinks there which also costs a lot more nowadays. Watching films at home means that people can save a lot of money and they wont have to leave the house in order to watch one.
In years to come I believe that cinemas will die out and many films will be shown on different applications such as Netflix and sky box office instead. This way the film companies will still receive money from people buying the film on this method of watching films but they wont get as much money as the tickets at a cinema cost more than the price of buying a film on your TV, tablet or phone. This way it is easily accessible for the person watching the film as they don't have to go pit of there way to watch the film. Many people, especially younger people cant drive meaning getting there is very hard for them so instead they will watch something at home on the likes of Netflix, Internet streaming or on there TV.
The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences; (can you think of examples of how different technologies have come together to help the film industry?)
The technology in the film industry has changed a lot in recent years, new technology includes 3D and 4D films that seem to be getting a lot of attention and can only grow, the only problem with making films as a 3D film or 4D is that it costs a lot to produce and many companies cant afford to do it or the film isn't the right sort of film for a 3D or 4D film. The films that are tend to be full of action and have many things that are unexpected like Avatar for an example, The Grand Budapest Hotel is certainly not the right film for using 3D or 4D features as it doesn’t feature much action it is mainly conversation and walking so it wouldn’t really suit it.
If you’ve got the money then you can use the specialist equipment to shoot your film making the quality of the film much better and also the camera shots can be much better as you can have any angle you want if you use the latest technology. Better films normally have the better equipment therefore they usually look good when they come out and the camera shots and angles are the best they can be and every shot is the right one in the film. This really helps out the film industry as companies can use the latest technology to create theses films that people really want to see and be amazed by how well it has been filmed.
The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions; (how do film companies try and attract their audience? Do they do different things in different countries?)
Firstly, many films that are released in Britain and are expected to do well often do as they can sell advertise the film to the public in many ways and people will take note of the films and want to go and see it. Way for advertising for films in Britain would be on the TV, which is one of the most popular methods, advertising on bus stops, buses, adverts on YouTube videos and in a cinema before a film is also very common but this is also the same internationally. The more advertising and marketing your film has then the more people that are likely to go and watch it, you cant expect people to watch a film if they haven't heard anything about it, they need a good trailer that looks catchy and appeals to the general target market for that film. Some people don’t like all films and will only look out for a certain genre of film so if they see a trailer advertised that appeals to them then they will go and see it. Poor advertising and marketing often leads to less profit for the film as people wont have heard or seen it advertised meaning they don’t know about it.
The Grand Budapest hotel had a very small budget so advertising and marketing wasn’t the strongest section of the film but due to the film being very different to many others they didn’t need to spend lots on special effects or amazing scenes which left a good proportion of money that they could then use for advertising. The fact that one of the big 6 films helped produce it also benefits them massively as people may look out for this company and automatically know that the film will be good and it will be worth a watch.
Advertising and marketing films abroad is all done in the same method as this way the film can help maximise the profit it gets from the distribution of the film. Companies all over the world know that if they advertise well then people should be aware that the film is out and that they will go and see it.
The ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour. (what is your opinion on the above? Do you see the developments as a good or bad thing?)
I think that the developments in film and media are changing rapidly and that film companies are realising this, with people using many other methods of watching films more and more every day they will soon be a time where people will no longer need to go to the cinema due to people using there technology to watch films. With the technology changing all the time and people using it more and more the cinemas will be less used and the technology that people have at home will be used instead meaning that film companies will have to think of new ways of distributing their film to the public, whether it be on the internet advertising or adding them to other software and programs like Netflix where the user will have to pay for the film as if they were to pay for a ticket at the cinema.
Going to the cinema is now becoming a thing of the past and because the new technology ways of watching films is cheaper and easier then people will choose this method rather than going to the cinema. Although the cinema offers a few things that watching films at home doesn’t normally include like surround sound speakers and a wide screen with a very clear image people will still stay at home due to how easy it is. People can now have hundreds of films within an instant for paying a very minimal amount of money per month for this whereas a ticket at the cinema would be more and that’s only for one film. The cinema used to be great and was like new technology but now it is dying out and people are finding new, easier ways to watch the films they want to.
