This document discusses Paramount Pictures, a major film studio owned by Viacom. It also mentions Vertigo Films, a smaller British film company. The document covers several topics related to these companies and the film industry, including issues of media ownership, the importance of budgets for marketing/distribution, and the impact of technology on production and audiences. Proliferation of technology has led to more options for how audiences consume media content.

1. The 7 key areas for
Institutions and Audiences
Paramount Pictures
World War Z
Vertigo
Films
All Stars

2. The most recent Paramount
logo.
One of the first
Paramount logo’s.
Paramount Pictures Corporation (commonly known as
Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount) is a film
and television production/distribution studio,
consistently ranked as one of the largest (topgrossing) film studios. It owned by U.S. media
conglomerate Viacom, and is a member of the Motion
Picture Association of America (MPAA).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H49ZleJj3iE

3. Vertigo Films is a British film production
and film distribution company based in
London, England. Vertigo Films has been
responsible for the production and
distribution of Bronson, StreetDance 3D
and Monsters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ3PscmNS2Q

4. The issues raised by media ownership in
contemporary media practice.
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With the increase in online movie
websites such as Putlocker and
Sockshare, it is difficult for
producers or studios to keep full
ownership of a media product. They
hold the ‘rights’ to distribute or
publish a product.
Piracy is the illegal distribution of a
media piece, and is a growing problem
among studios or distributors. Online
free websites mean anybody could
download or stream a film that
another user has uploaded,
sometimes without a membership to
the website and therefore without
cost. The internet allows many
pirated copies to be shared quickly
and easily around the world.
Here is a screen print taken from
www.primewire.ag where World War
Z has been uploaded to. Below the
description of the film are external
links to websites that allow the user

5. • Many big companies such as Warner Bros, WGM
and Paramount are multi million pound
companies, and therefore have the finances
available to create more films. This means they
can dominate the film industry and thus have
the power to control what we watch at the
cinema, as large budget films dominate the
cinemas and do not leave room for smaller
budget films created by independent companies.
As Paramount is one of these larger companies,
the problems with this side of media ownership
do not affect them in a negative way.

6. • Vertigo Films are a small independent UK based
company. The company’s mission is to create and
distribute commercially driven independent cinema.
The Films they produce span a range of genres and
audience taste. However, with Hollywood and
larger companies such as Paramount Pictures and
Warner Bros dominating cinemas and the market,
Vertigo are left with little choice of what genre to
use. For instance, Warner Bros own the rights
produce to DC comic films, and with a growing
market for this genre, Vertigo lose out on a large
market segment because they cannot use well
known superheroes or comic book characters that
are well known and would invite many consumers
to watch their media product, and are left to
create their own characters who are less known,
and with being a smaller company, cannot afford to
market to the necessary standards and therefore
lose out on audiences, although this is a trait of
independent films and means they can expand in
their own area,

7. The importance of cross media
convergence and synergy in production,
distribution and marketing.
Paramount is currently owned by Viacom, which is a global
mass media company. Viacom also owns Nickelodeon movies
and MTV films, and if needed, can stretch budgets across all
three areas to cover the costs of a new product created by
one of these companies. This means that large budget films
can be made by taking money from other companies, in
order to create or market a media piece by Paramount. This
cannot be done with smaller companies, who may not be
owned by a large multi-national corporation , and
therefore will not have as effective marketing campaigns
and their low budget movies will not reach the public as
well as a largely financed media product would.

8. The technologies that have been
introduced in recent years at the levels of
production, distribution, marketing and
exchange.
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Technology has allowed us to develop and improve the quality
of films, making them more dynamic and exciting for the
audience. The development of CGI and other effects have meant
for a far more exciting and diverse viewing experience for
audiences and allowed directors to take their creations to a
whole new level of film. For instance, for World War Z, visual
effects artists at Moving Picture Company used massive crowd
simulations and hand animation to create the devastating
swarming of Jerusalem by a zombie horde. Without using these
digital effects, creating a large scale ‘apocalypse’ movie would
not have been possible.
•
Paramount can afford to create extras to market their film.
For instance, they had set aside $24 million to create a fake
zombie spot video, which is shot with a handcam and shows two
people in Russia ‘finding’ examples of zombie attacks. This video
spread across the internet, creating a buzz around zombie and
the idea of a zombie apocalypse, which after the trailer for the
film was released, helped create a buzz around the movie.
Smaller companies cannot afford to spend so much money
promoting their film, and thus lose out on a broad audience
range.

9. • Also, a website was created to create awareness of
this ‘incident’. A banner moves across the page
advising the public of what ‘precautions’ to take.
There is also a ‘safe zone’ which the public can enter
and buy tickets to enter
the safe zone, however
once this link is clicked on
it takes you through to a
page to buy tickets to
World War Z in your local
cinema.
Right is a screen print of
the website.

10. Companies that produced World War Z
Paramount Pictures (presents)
Skydance Productions (presents)
Hemisphere Media Capital (in association with)
GK Films (in association with)
Plan B Entertainment
2DUX² (as 2Dux²)
Apparatus Productions
Latina Pictures

11. Distributors for World War Z
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B&H Film Distribution (2013) (Ukraine) (theatrical)
Central Partnership (2013) (Russia) (theatrical)
Interfilm Distribution (2013) (Kazakhstan) (theatrical)
Paramount Pictures Entertainment (2013) (Canada) (theatrical)
Paramount Pictures (2013) (Germany) (theatrical)
Paramount Pictures (2013) (France) (theatrical)
Paramount Pictures (2013) (UK) (theatrical)
Paramount Pictures (2013) (USA) (theatrical)
Solar Entertainment (2013) (Philippines) (theatrical) (as UIP-Solar Entertainment)
Toho-Towa (2013) (Japan) (theatrical)
United International Pictures (UIP) (2013) (Argentina) (theatrical)
United International Pictures (UIP) (2013) (Greece) (theatrical)
United International Pictures (UIP) (2013) (Hungary) (theatrical)
United International Pictures (UIP) (2013) (Philippines) (theatrical) (as UIP-Solar Entertainment)
United International Pictures (UIP) (2013) (Poland) (theatrical)
United International Pictures (UIP) (2013) (Sweden) (theatrical)
United International Pictures (UIP) (2013) (Singapore) (theatrical)
Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2013) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
Argentina Video Home (2013) (Argentina) (DVD)
Argentina Video Home (2013) (Argentina) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
Lotte Entertainment (2013) (South Korea) (all media)
Paramount Home Entertainment (2013) (Germany) (DVD)
Paramount Home Entertainment (2013) (Germany) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
Paramount Home Entertainment (2013) (UK) (DVD)
Paramount Home Entertainment (2013) (UK) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
Paramount Home Entertainment (2013) (Netherlands) (Blu-ray) (DVD) (through Universal Pictures Benelux)
Paramount Home Entertainment (2013) (Netherlands) (DVD) (through Universal Pictures Benelux)
Paramount Home Entertainment (2013) (Sweden) (DVD)
Paramount Home Entertainment (2013) (Sweden) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment (2013) (USA) (DVD)
Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment (2013) (USA) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
Universal Pictures Benelux (2013) (Netherlands) (Blu-ray) (DVD) (through)
Universal Pictures Benelux (2013) (Netherlands) (DVD) (through)
Zon Audiovisuais (2013) (Portugal) (all media)

12. The significance of proliferation in hardware and
content for institutions and audiences.
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The term Proliferation principally features in biology and refers to a rapid growth or
reproduction of cells however, within the context of the Film Industry and in this case, with
reference to; Hardware and Content, the term Proliferation refers to the rapid increase and
growth of Hardware and Content for the Film Industry's Institutions and Audiences.
In terms of institutions, it could refer to the technologies used and how they perform similar
tasks, such as using several forms of computer or software when editing or creating a film
sequence, and also cameras such as resolution HD. When referring to distribution, it could
mean the methods for creating or copying a form of the film, such as 35mm or 70mm prints,
which allow cinema screenings, and also creating DVD’s or online sources.
When referring to marketing, it could mean how an audience views a media piece. For
instance, there is an increase in audiences using digital methods to watch films, such as
Netflix or downloading from iTunes. Paramount can afford to spend the extra finances in
order to make their media product available through all sources, whereas a smaller company
could not afford this, and may not be able to afford extra sources to distribute their film.

13. The importance of technological convergence for institutions
and audiences.
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Marketing is definitely one of the most affected areas of film from technological
convergence, and the leap in technology has actually been very beneficial to
institutions attracting their target audience. Paramount created an online
marketing campaign for World War Z, which without technological convergence,
would not have been possible, and would not have attracted a wider audience
who are from the ‘digital age’.
Paramount have their own Twitter page, which is promoted, so even if someone is
not following their feed, a tweet advertising a new movie will come up across all
feeds. Following their twitter means the audience can see news about upcoming
films, and music and actors involved. This is important for attracting younger
audiences who pay more attention to news on social media sites than trailer or
reviews on tv. This means they can reach a younger audience through social media
sites, giving them the opportunity to share with friends or interact with other fans.

14. The issues raised in the targeting of national and
local audiences (specifically British) by
international or global institutions.
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When targeting an international audience, such
as USA, studios or distributors could focus on
using certain locations that are most wellknown and if events occurred here it could
have a larger impact. For instance, when
showing a film set in England, the setting is
typically London, a city that is well known
around the world. When targeting a British
audience, Studios focus on using more realistic
characters as a British audience largely focus
on the character and it’s likeability rather
than a character that has a ‘far-fetched’
story. According to the British Film Industry’s
reports, UK audiences want to see more true
to life stories, films that deal with real or
possible events. Below are three pictures
taken from the BFI’s Cultural Impact study.

15. • Vertigo Films generally use quite wild stories,
but some such as Street dance and All Stars
deal with issues like identities and facing where
you come from and your situation.
• Paramount Pictures produces a variety of
films, many big action sequences such as Jack
Ryan, World War Z, Star Trek and G.I Joe. These
still attract a British audience, but not on the
same level as independent companies can.
Another screen shot taken from the
BFI Cultural Audience Study.

16. The ways in which the candidates own
experiences of media consumption
illustrate wider patterns and trends of
audience behaviour.
• Mostly I watch movies on DVD or
rent from Virgin movies, but if it is
a social event I go to the cinema to
watch a new movie, and most
recently I have been using Netflix to
watch movies. This reflects trends
that have been emerging for the
past 2-3 years, and there are
growing numbers of people using
online methods to watch new media