Showing posts with label Exam Work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exam Work. Show all posts

Tuesday, 11 February 2014

Exam practice essay: What significance does the development of digital technologies have for media institutions and audiences?

The development of digital technologies for media institutions and audiences plays a significant role in the marketing of films. Social networking sites such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook make a major impact in the distribution and marketing of any film. These websites, as well as other forms of technology such as iTunes, Smartphones and game consoles have all helped revolutionise the way media has been distributed. 

 Although these new technologies are only available to the companies that have a big enough budget to include them in their films. For example big six companies such as Universal are able to take advantage of the technologies such as 3D as films as they have the money to invest in them and as they are a big company, they have the ability to make a profit. An example of this is the Disney movie Frozen (2013). 

 The film industry is constantly changing and adapting in order to find new ways to distribute their product. For instance, in recent years companies have been introducing an online streaming platform, such as Netlix or LoveFilm, which gives the viewer the option to purchase the movie and stream or download that film directly to their computer at home, or even to their smartphone or device. This has saved distributors millions as instead of sourcing materials for packaging for a large fee, then going through the production stage of creating the actual media disc, they can just send out a single file from a computer and still release and sell their product to the same amount of people as they would off with a physical Digital Disc release. 

 Large companies like Disney can use websites and social networking to significantly impact the marketing of upcoming films. The internet can be used to create games and quizzes as well as making it easier to share interviews or 'extras' such as behind the scenes footage. As the company is already well known, potential audiences will look at Facebook, twitter and YouTube pages as well as the official website of Disney and see news about films that will be released in the near future, this gives Disney the ability to create an audience for an upcoming film before even a trailer has been released. Disney Pixars Monsters Inc (2001) prequel Monsters University (2013) had an immediate audience of a range of ages as soon as the making of the film was announced. Disney's online promotional methods included games, videos, character profiles and even the opportunity to apply to monsters university! Through the help of fantastic marketing and distribution, the film made $82,429,469 on it's opening weekend made a gross profit of  $268,488,329, proving that the marketing (which is heavily influenced by new technologies) has a massive impact on profit made on films as Disney made an extortionate gross profit on a film the critics described as 'flat in both the visual invention and gag departments.'

Smaller production companies such as 'Sixteen Films' do not have the privilege of using newer technologies to a full capacity as they do not have the recognition that Disney have to easily distribute their films nor the money that Disney has to spend on the production and marketing of upcoming films such as The Angels' Share (2012). Although the film made a gross profit of only $6,867,152, a minuscule amount in comparison to Monsters University; The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and Director Ken Loach won the Jury Prize. The Angels' Share has been met with critical acclaim. Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 88% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on a sample of only 28 reviews, with a rating average of 7.2 out of 10.The film was nominated for the Margritte Award for Best Foreign Film in Coproduction. The Angels Share is a prime example of a film with little marketing that managed to make a substantial profit as well as please the critics. 

 In conclusion, the development of digital technologies significantly influence media institutions and audiences to a large extent however they do not solely control the financial outcomes of films. Larger production companies can make better use of developing technologies due to their 'eternal' budgets and connections within the industry. However smaller companies who produce equally as successful films prove that the industry still depends on the quality of the film itself. 
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Friday, 31 January 2014

Case Study- Monsters University

Monsters University is the prequel to Disney Pixars Monsters Inc, released in 2001. Monsters University was released on June 5th in London and was directed by Dan Scanlon. 

 Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn't always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn't stand each other. Monsters University unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends. 



Reviews 
Essentially this amounts to an underdog tale, although what the plot may lack in innovative fizz, it makes up for with charm and quiet wisdom. One night, Mike leads his Oozma Kappa friends on a covert visit to the Monsters, Inc. factory, so he can explain to them the secret of the professional scarers’ success.
“Do you see what they all have in common?” he asks. “Nothing,” shrugs Sully. “Exactly,” Mike says with a smile. When considering Pixar’s body of work, you can’t help but conclude the same thing.
-Robbie Collin, Telegraph 
Pixar’s 2001 animated gem Monsters, Inc was so hilariously inventive and original that it’s hardly surprising that this belated prequel can’t quite recapture its predecessor’s magic, yet Monsters University is still packed with witty dialogue, sly visual gags and boisterous action.

 Monsters University is the prequel to Monsters Inc, therefore 
-Jason Best, Movie Talk 
In plot terms it's familiar campus comedy material about thwarted ambition, rejection and final success due to losers becoming winners through burying personal pride and working as a team. There are clever and witty moments and, both visually (an aristocratic bat-winged creature with her hair swept up) and vocally (a visiting professor from Queen Elizabeth's College, London), Helen Mirren makes a big impression as the imperious Dean Hardscrabble. But there's a rather tired, willed atmosphere hanging over it.
-Phillip French, The Observer
Origins
Monsters University is the prequel to Monsters Inc. Monsters Inc is a computer-animated comedy film written by Jack W. Bunting, Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett Reese, Jonathan Roberts, and Andrew Stanton. It's said that the original idea for the screenplay was based on the childhood experiences of one of the Pixar crew, who had a bunch of toy monster figurines as a child. The original screenplay was about a man who is an advertising designer and leads a very boring life. He is afraid to take risks and feels that his career is at a dead end. When his mother cleans out the attic and sends him his box of toy monsters, who were also his childhood Imaginary friends, the monsters -- Mike, Sulley and Randall -- once again become his imaginary friends and inspire him to regain the creativity and sense of adventure he had as a boy. Obviously, the original idea went through a lot of revisions before it became the movie on the screen.

 Finance 

 Monsters University earned $268,492,764 in North America, and $475,066,843 elsewhere, summing up to a worldwide total of $743,559,607. It is the fifty-fourth highest grossing film, the fourth highest-grossing 2013 film, the third highest-grossing Pixar film, and the eleventh highest-grossing animated film. The film earned $136.9 million worldwide on its opening weekend. Disney declined to provide a budget for the film; Entertainment Weekly speculated that it was higher than that of Brave ($185 million), mainly because of the high cost of John Goodman and Billy Crystal reprising their roles. Shockya and EOnline reported the budget to be $200 million—on par with previous Pixar films.

 Distribution

Production Companies

Distributors

Other Companies
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)