Description

1. Title: Exam
Date:
• Learning Objective:
• To be able understand the different areas you
may have to write about in your exam.

2. Q2 – The exam focus
• The questions are very broad and can focus on one of the
following areas:
1. Media Ownership
2. Synergy & Cross Media Convergence
3. New Media Technologies
4. The spread of technology
5. Technological Convergence (media gadgets)
6. Big industries targeting British audiences
7. Your media consumption – audience behaviour

3. Media Ownership- conglomerates
• Massive multinational
media companies who
own:
• Film Studios
• TV Stations
• Record Labels
• Magazines
• Newspapers
• Books
• Internet platforms
A media company has a lot of money
to put into film production. They can
also market their film through all of
their subsidiary companies.
This practice is known as SYNERGY.

4. What does Rupert Murdoch own?
• How the use of synergy allow R to reach a global
audience?
• Rupert owns:
• Sky TV, The Times Newspaper, The Fox Network –
Avatar – 200 million went into that so they used
their media outlet to market the film.
• Global distribution and marketing

5. Independents
• Some producers work outside of the major
studies. Often British productions are made by
smaller outfits like Warp Films, working with Film
4 or the BBC to try to secure extra funding and
help with distribution.
• Often films made this way struggle to get more
than £1/ £2 million budgets and consider a
success to break even, with DVD after-sales
included.
• US independent film maker Orin Peli made
‘Paranormal Activity’ for just $15,000. But he
needed Paramount, a US major studio to
distribute his film. In doing so he made over $190
million. This shows there are exceptions to the
rule that big budget films always do best.

6. Synergy & Cross Media Convergence
• An example of this:
• Vivendi Universal make a film in Universal
Studios.
• It releases the film’s soundtrack on Polygram,
one of its record labels.
• The tracks can be bought online at MP3.com,
one of its internet companies.
• The film can be downloaded on Vivendi Telecom
phones.
• The film is then shown in its Odeon cinema
chain.
• Owning all of these assets makes it cheaper for
the producer to make, distribute, market and
exhibit the film, thus maximising profit, enabling
the studio to keep making big budget films.
• A win-win scenario for Hollywood Studios...

7. Digital T.V
Satellite ( Sky)
Digital
Terrestrial
(Freeview)
Cable (NTL)
Film & New Media Technology
Advances in new media
technology have made it
possible for anyone to make
films and showcase them on the
internet on sites like YouTube.
We can now also watch films on
phones, games consoles, digital
TV on demand.
HOME CINEMA?
FILMS ON THE MOVE?
OR IMAX 3D?

8. Media Convergence - Film

9. Technological Convergence
Gadgets to watch films on:
• Smart-phones (iPhone etc)
• MP4 players
• Portable Games Consoles (PSP
etc)
• Laptops (Airbooks etc)
Multimedia devices, films at
home:
• Games Consoles (Xbox 360, PS3
etc)
• PC (via DVD, BluRay, il/legal
downloads)
• Home Cinema (Plasma TV /
Projector + digital TV)

10. Q2 – Overview: The Production Cycle
You are expected to know what happens
in each of these 4 stages of a film’s life:
1. Film Production
2. Film Distribution
3. Film Exhibition
4. Film Marketing
Choose genre, director, stars,
SFX, & film it!
£1000 Film reels produced &
sent to as many cinemas as
possible
Get film into multiplexes & TV
deals
Advertise the film as widely as
possible (Synergy?)

11. Industry Overview
Hollywood
Studios
(US)
Working
Title
(UK/US)
Indie
(UK)
Budgets
average $30m
Budgets average £1m
Budgets
average
$100m+
British Films, have low to
modest budgets, make modest
returns. British films - stuck in a
rut…
US films out of Hollywood have
massive budgets, which generate
massive profits - a cycle of self-
sustaining profit.
The main British success
story, Working Title now has
US cash to finance its films.

12. Industry Overview - Examples
• Small Independent Low Budget British Film:
Genre: Social Realist Drama - ‘This is England’
Budget £1.5m, takings £1.5m.
Institutions: Warp Films + Film 4 + various small UK media companies.
• Successful UK Studio: Working Title
Genre: string of blockbuster Rom-Coms:
‘Four Weddings & a Funeral’ budget $6m, takings $244m
Post-Universal take-over ‘Love Actually’ budget $30m, takings $244m.
Produced 100 films, but several non Rom-Com flops.
• Successful US Blockbuster Film(s): ‘Star Trek’
Genre: Science Fiction / Action
Studio: Paramount: massive marketing campaign – budget $140m, takings
$280m+.
• Successful US Blockbuster Film(s): ‘Avatar’
Genre: Science Fiction / Action / Romance
Studio: 20th Century Fox: massive hype, digital, 3D,
massive budget $300m, massive takings $2.7bn.
• + add your own case study films & studios.
• NB: ‘Paranormal Activity’ as Indie case study...

13. Essay Approaches.
• The exam board want to know what you understand about:
• Media Institutions: Hollywood Studios (20th Century Fox etc.),
British Studios (Working Title).
• Media Audiences: UK film viewers (either in cinemas, or via
PC / TV / Phone etc)
• Media Technology: Digital filmmaking (CGI, 3D, Imax, DV-
Cams), Online Films (LoveFilm, iTunes, YouTube, piracy),
Convergence (gadgets to watch films on)
• Marketing Campaigns: How Studios advertise their films
(Synergy, TV + Internet trailers, Print ads – newspapers,
magazines, posters, Premieres, word of mouth, USP,
merchandising etc).
ALL OF THE ABOVE NEED SPECIFIC EXAMPLES.

14. Marking Grid for Qu2.
Band / Grade Argument Examples Terminology
Level 1:
U
Minimal understanding
& reference to study
(0-7)
Limited range and
use of examples
(0-7)
Minimal use of
terms. Inaccuracies
(0-3)
Low Level 2:
E > D
Basic understanding.
Some relevant points.
(8-11)
Some relevant
examples
(8-11)
Some terms used.
Some inaccuracies
(4-5)
Upper Level 3:
C > B
Proficient argument,
well supported.
(12-15)
Good range of
examples
(12-15)
Mostly accurate
terms
(6-7)
Level 4 :
A
Excellent, relevant,
sustained argument
(16-20)
Frequent use of
relevant examples
(16-20)
Relevant and
accurate terms
(8-10)

16. Plan a response to this question
• What would your argument be?
• What examples would you include?
• Consider your terminology.

17. Read through the essay is it similar to
your plan?
• Write a bullet point list of the main points,
examples, case studies, terminology, argument
that they have included.
• What mark do you think it received, break it
down to the three sections.
• Arguments – out of 20
• Examples – out of 20
• Terminology – out of 10

18. • Explanation, analysis, argument: 15/20
• Examples: 11/20
• Terminology: 8/10
• (Total 39/50)

19. Question 2 (39 marks)
Film is the media area addressed. The candidate begins with
evaluation of 3D as a digital initiative, but there is an absence of the
use of specific examples.
The response shows a systematic and methodical attempt to
address and assess the impact of digital initiatives on the film
industry.
The response further considers technological convergence and
advantages for the audience, but this needs developing with more
detailed exemplification and case study material in relation to ‘Fox’
and ‘Warner’ film studios, as mentioned in the opening paragraph.

20. • The candidate progresses to a discussion of ‘Warp
Studios’ as a case study and how cross media
expansion is a benefit for the institution and there is an
attempt to evaluate the advantages of digital initiatives
for this company.
• This is a high level 3 response in terms of explanation,
analysis and argument and a low level four response in
terms of use of examples, an area where higher marks
could have been gained with a little more thought.
• Terminology used is mostly relevant and accurate.
Question 2 (39 marks)