The document provides guidance on answering a question about how media products are produced and distributed to audiences. It discusses key concepts to address such as production budgets, distribution methods, and the impact of digital technologies. The document also provides an example essay structure and identifies two case studies - an independent British film company and a large Hollywood studio - to compare and contrast in a response.

1. Answer the question below, making detailed reference to examples
from your case study material to support points made in your answer.
Q. Discuss the ways in which media
products are produced and
distributed to audiences, within a
media area, which you have
studied.
Jan 2009

2. Understanding the question
Key words / phrases
• ‘media products’
• ‘produced’
• ‘distributed’
• ‘audiences’
Meaning
• Films (the film industry)
• Made (from script to screen)
• Delivered (cinema, DVD, TV, streaming)
• Viewers (home and abroad)

3. Mark Scheme
To get a top mark (level 4 out of 50) you need to do the following:
1. Explanation/analysis/argument (16-20 marks)
Shows excellent understanding of the task
Excellent knowledge and understanding of institutional/audience practices – factual knowledge is relevant and
accurate
A clear and developed argument, substantiated by detailed reference to case study material
Clearly relevant to set question
2. Use of examples (16-20 marks)
Offers frequent evidence from case study material – award marks to reflect the range and appropriateness of examples
Offers a full range of examples from case study and own experience
Offers examples which are clearly relevant to the set question
3. Use of terminology (8-10 marks)
Use of terminology is relevant and accurate
4. Expression and coherence of argument
Complex issues have been expressed clearly and fluently using a style of writing appropriate to the complex subject
matter. Sentences and paragraphs, consistently relevant, have been well structured, using appropriate technical
terminology. There may be few, if any, errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
This candidate got a HIGH LEVEL 3 which just scrambles into an A grade for this question.

4. Some Key Concepts for Film Industry Questions
1. Convergence - ‘The key agent of change’ … ‘technologies
coming together’
2. Impact of Digital Technologies – ‘digital technology is
transforming the audio-visual experience of film’
3. Piracy
4. Synergy – ‘media industries are diversifying so they
produce and distribute across several media’
5. Audience fragmentation – ‘convergence, user-generated
content and social networking have transformed the
audience’ – cinema vs DVD
6. UK vs Hollywood - Case Studies – large vs small, indie vs
studio, low budget vs big budget, social realism/heritage
drama vs romcom/action-adventure

5. Basic Essay Structure
1. Introduce your answer including the case
studies you intend on using…
‘A clear and developed argument’
‘Clearly relevant to set question ’

6. Basic Essay Structure
2. Compare and Contrast your Case Studies
showing
• ‘detailed reference to case study material’
• ‘frequent evidence from case study material’
• ‘a full range of examples from case study and
own experience’
• ‘Excellent knowledge and understanding of
institutional/audience practices’.
• Making sure your ‘factual knowledge is relevant
and accurate’.

7. Basic Essay Structure
3. Conclude your essay summarising your
argument proving
• ‘Sentences and paragraphs, consistently
relevant, have been well structured, using
appropriate technical terminology’
• ‘Complex issues have been expressed clearly
and fluently ’.

8. Production: funding and making films.
Distribution & Marketing films and getting them into cinemas
and out on DVD as well as any spin offs/related media products.
Exhibition: people paying at the cinema, renting or buying
DVDs and downloading and purchasing related products.
Audiences: in the cinema, on TV, DVD/Blu-ray, on the Internet,
NetFlix/LoveFilm.
This questions expects you to write about production and
distribution & marketing and the audience.
What does the Film Industry include?

9. What are the case studies in this
essay and how are they used?
Case Study 1
• Warp Films
• Small independent British
production company
• Films co-funded with
National Lottery,
Film4/BBC Films
• Small budgets ‘This Is
England’ (2006) £1.5
million
• Typical genre – social
realism
• Target largely UK
audiences and arthouse
Case Study 2
• Working Title Films
• Large internationally
owned conglomerate
• Funded by Universal big
Hollywood studio
• Mid to large budgets ‘The
Duchess’ (2008) £13
million
• Typical genre
Romcom/Heritage Drama
• Target US and UK
audiences - multiplex

10. Key Concepts in Film Production
• Budgets – ‘In 2011, 62% of all UK films had budgets of less than
£500,000’ vs Hollywood
• What makes a film British?
• Closing the UKFC – changing to BFI…
• The Special Relationship with Hollywood –
importance of the US market - High Concept
Cinema – Indiewood (Lost in Translation (2003))
• Growth in the DVD market - improvement in the
hardware for watching films in the home - Digital
cinema - growth of IMAX and 3D films
• Case Study - Lionsgate Entertainment

11. Film Budgets
• Micro budget – National Lottery/BFI/ Film
London (Shifty £100k) and Vertigo Films
(Monsters £500k)
• Small Budget – Warp Films, BBC Films, Film4
• Mid Budget – Indiewood (Focus Features, Fox
Searchlight etc), Working Title.
• Big Budget – Hollywood Studios.

12. Key Concept - Synergy in Production
• Synergy can be defined as a 'strategy of
actively forging connections between directly
related areas of entertainment'.
• What example is given in the essay?
• What examples of Synergy can you think of?

13. Key Concepts in Distribution
• How is the Internet changing things? Web 2.0 – YouTube vs
MySpace – Marketing Cloverfield?
• Audience Fragmentation – ‘With broadband speeds increasing,
smartphone and tablet ownership on the rise and internet-enabled
television sets becoming more commonplace the period of digital
transition is by no means complete. The ways in which we choose and
watch films has undergone an enormous change in the last decade and
the next one is likely to be no different.’
• Classification
• DVD vs VoD – ‘DVD/Blu-ray remains the most important
element of the film value chain’ (but not for long?)
• UK Market Only 5 Major Distributors in the Uk – owned by
Hollywood – ‘the top 10 distributors had a 94% share of the
market’ – is this a problem?
• Case Study - United International Pictures (UIP)

14. Key Concept - Impact of Digital
Technologies on Production
• ‘Smaller, lighter, quicker, easier, cheaper, more
effective’
• HD-DV – much cheaper than 35mm film – do you
remember the problem with Prints?
• HD-DV still excellent quality.
• Lighter cameras mean easier for women to
access film production.
• Allows easier addition of CGI.
• Increasing use of electronic, 'moving image'
storyboards

15. Piracy and Audiences
• Think of the issues surrounding film piracy at
the moment including your own experience.

16. Impact of Digital Technologies on
Distribution & Marketing
• ‘Smaller, lighter, quicker, easier, cheaper, more
effective’
• Digital distribution - developing use of direct-
to-theatre satellite and/or the Internet to
distribute.
• What other examples can you think of?