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1. Audiences and Institutions- area 6
EXAM QUESTION: “Mediaproduction is dominatedby global institutions,whichsell their
products and servicesto national audiences.” To what extentdo you agree with thisstatement?
Jan 2010
 Hollywoodisdominant.Americancinemachainsshow Americanmovies.
 Britishindependentfilmdoesn’thave the budgettocompete withthe moneyspenton
‘talent’,SFXandmarketing
 However,since the digitalisationof camerasandprojectors,Britishcinema canoperate ina
more cost effectivewayandtargetnational audiences.
 Cinemaslike Hollywoodblockbustersbecause theywill bringinrevenue.Cinemasonlymake
moneyfromsalesof extras(popcorn drinksetc.),sotheywantto screenfilmsthatwill
guarantee anaudience.
 WorkingTitle,anindependentarthouse productioncompanywhoare subsidiaryto
oligopolyconglomerateUniversalStudios,producedanddistributedthe 2013 film“The
World’sEnd” bydirectorEdgar Wright.
 All Britishfilmsmust,to acertainextent,tryto secure some level of successoverseas.
 Nowthat Universal Pictureshave amajoritystake,thisisperhapsparticularlytrue of
WorkingTitle. Theyhave notenjoyedhuge successinthe USA,butit issignificantthatWE ,
playson a particulartype of Britishness.
 Americanaudiencesare perhapsparticularlydrawntoBritishfilmswhichseemto
corroborate theirownsense of Britishness.
 It isnotable thata filmlike WEactuallyfeaturesmanyof the TRADITIONALPERSPECTIVESOF
BRITAIN,the village life,cobbledstreets,andthe traditional pubs.
 Gettinginternationalaudiencestowatcha Britishfilmisnotalwayseasy.Perhapsthe best
wayis to make sure that the filmisseentobe insome wayquintessentiallyEnglish.
 While itmaynot have the multimediaexperience thatPrometheususedforits
advertisementcampaign,ithadaverystrong marketingcampaign.Due tothe franchise
nature of the “cornettotrilogy”,the marketing campaignwas able toplayoff of this.
 For instance, the firsttwofilms(“Shaunof the Dead”and“Hot Fuzz”) were shownonFilm
Four inanticipationof “The World’sEnd”beingreleased. Thisalsoworkswell asWorking
Title oftenworkinpartnershipwithChannel 4filmssothere wasan alreadyestablished
relationshipbetweenthe twocountries,makingthe arrangementscheaperandeasier.
 A summerrelease forafilmisveryimportantaspeople lackthe time togo see filmsduring
termtime.The summerrelease didnothelpWorkingTitle make theirmoneyon"The
WorldsEnd" howeverasthere wasa heatwave duringone of the twoweeksitwasbeing
exhibited,thusshowinghoweventhe climate canaffectthe moneyafilmmakes.
 Developmentof technologyhasmade productioncostscheaper. WEwas able touse
CGI/expensivecameraequipment,etc.tomake a filmthatwas aestheticallypleasing.
 The trilogyappealstolocal and national audiencesbecause of the trilogy –example
there were 2 differentadsmade,one foran Americanaudience and2ndfora British.
They wantedto ensure theyappealedtobothtypesof audiences,therefore gaininga
widerreachintermsof audience.

2.  FILM4 IS PARTOF TV ANDFILM theyare connectedto the trilogy. Theyshowedthe
other2 filmsonthischannel before the release of the film. Thistype of media
convergence ensuresanaudience forthe thirdfilm.
 Both indie filmsWhiplashandWorldsEndcan attemptto compete withthe majors
because of the developmentof technologyandthe changingownershippatterns.