How is Digital Technology Changing the Film Industry?

The film industry has been around for over a hundred years, and over that time, there have been two major advances in technology; silent movies began to show with sound, and monochrome film has eventually brightened up with colour. Although technology hasn’t improved for a number of years, eventually the digital revolution came, and suddenly footage was shot by digital cameras rather than cameras with film. Editing techniques and the use of CGI (Computer Generated Images) began to take place instead of sets, backdrops and in some cases, the actors. These have allowed us to create footage that real life cannot do, for example Avatar. Almost everything was shot using green screens and CGI to produce sci-fi imagery because Pandora (the place in which Avatar is set) is a fake place, and with the digital technology we put up with today allowed the editors to create Pandora. With these techniques, it has evolved the film industry magnificently by making the movies much more exciting for the viewers, especially teenagers since CGI is most often used to achieve breathtaking action that will let the audience go head over heels. This has increased the popularity of cinema due to the ability to produce varieties of different genre film, which has made the film industries very successful indeed. Furthermore, digital technology also involves speakers that surround the cinema as well as its impressively big screens that stretch across the large walls. To increase the high definition of the footage shown on the screens, they have invented cameras that are able to shoot footage suitable for IMAX for the best experience. Over the years, the cinematic experience has improved significantly, and by pulling in the audiences to watch the distributed movies, it has magnificently made the film industries very successful across the globe.

In relation to digital technology, during Skyfall's production, multimedia technologies were involved to produce the film, thanks to the big budget. For example, special cameras that shoot suitable footage to show on IMAX were used during the filming. This enabled to increase the excitement amongst their targeted audiences, like the Bond fans, because it allowed them to enjoy the 23rd Bond movie they have all been longing for in extreme high definition. Furthermore, to achieve the action that only James Bond can do would require the use of CGI, which fortunately SONY can do due to its capabilities of its power, so the sense of realism amongst the impossible in combination with high definition footage has allowed the movie to meet the audiences' expectations. After having watched the movie, people are most likely to pass on by word of mouth about the great experience they had when viewing the movie in IMAX, which will potentially pull in more audience that will undergo same strategy as the first audiences. With this advantage, the producers gross twice as much in comparison to the ordinary ticket expenses, which allowed Skyfall to become its media conglomerate the top most grossed movie, having earned $1,108,000,000 from box office worldwide.

As well as footage, sound has also experienced change over time. It has transitioned from analog to digital, also improving the experience of sound. It has given the film industry the abilities to produce composed score and use it for their movies, which can also be stated as separate media converging together to produce the final result. Again, looking at Skyfall, due to digital technology, it was easy for the producers to record the theme song 'Skyfall', performed by Adele, in high quality for later use in the film. Additionally, this allows both, the movie and the song, to promote each other, so that when the audiences hear the song, they are encouraged to watch the movie in order to get closer to the storyline that is hidden behind the lyrics, or if consumers watch the movie and hear the song used in the first scenes of the film, they will potentially want to buy the song because of the fame the singer herself has as well as the support from the many fans worldwide.

Unfortunately, not only has cinemas been affected by the change in technology. Amongst the multimedia technologies there is TV, which has also experienced many digital changes. Quality is also one of the greatest features we can now have today, like the wide screens that can show in high definition with the support of high quality speakers. This leaves us with the decision to make whether we attend the cinema or watch at home because most TVs nowadays are able to achieve same experiences for the audiences as you would be sitting amongst the crowds in cinemas. Although, the exceptions of the most recent movie being shown in cinemas first will pull in audiences, the word of mouth spreads, which can make others who are less likely to attend cinemas wait for DVD  or Blu-Ray release to watch the movie at home with the similar features as those of a cinema.

Smart phones have become ever so powerful to the society we live in today, however it is often feared that the movie industry is participating in a major shift in the production, distribution, marketing and consumption of a film. Additionally, sites that allow users to share their short videos, such as YouTube, are grateful to the shift in technology for showcasing their talent and becoming increasingly popular amongst the countless millions of people. As well as that, social networking sites also have provided their customers with apps available for download for their smartphone. In doing so, users could gain access to the latest updates anywhere they can get hold of Internet. This means any latest posts on promotions on films such as Skyfall and The Woman in Black meant that the customers got informed, and what makes it effective is the fact that smartphones are now owned by millions of people worldwide, and promoting films on social networking sites used by numerous people means quick promotion. Advantages, such as being able to share or like posts, allow users connected with each other to also receive the news on the films, so the advertisement is passed on from user to user amongst the humongous online community, allowing the information to spread. Thus, if impressed by the audience, increases the visits to cinema to watch the movie due to the promises of excitement the marketing have sacrificed. 

The Woman in Black

The Woman in Black was produced by Talisman Films in association with Hammer Films. The synopsis was originally based on the novel The Woman in Black written by Susan Hill in 1982. Susan Hill has never expected for her work to take other mediums; she writes the book and lets people take it from there. The Woman in Black has taken into several mediums, such as the movie, a radio series, a play, and now a feature film. The movie first breathed life into the production from a meeting with the producer and president and CEO of Hammer, Simon Oakes, who was, at that time, ready to produce a historic Hammer brand. They yearned to explore something different, and they managed to recognise a great opportunity in The Woman in Black to overlap Susan Hill's gothic ghost story with a sense of modernism. Jane Goldman, a screenwriter for Kick-Ass, had been a timeless fan of the novel and completed the screenplay for the director, James Watkins, who read it and loved it. It was said that the most difficult struggle was to introduce The Woman in Black to a cinema going audience.

According to statistics featured on IMDb, it cost the producers a total of $17,000,000 budget to get the film made. Over the opening weekend, the film managed to gross an estimate $21,000,000 in USA (3 February 2012), along with around $54,000,000 during usual showings. Although most filming took place in the UK, the Woman in Black was released in USA before UK. One suggestion that could support this fact is the great fan-base of Harry Potter.

Although Hammer Films is an independent production company with a small budget for the movie, and they couldn't do much merchandising due to the movie being set in 1916-1917, their secret weapon was the star Daniel Radcliffe. The movie teaser trailer was shown to the many Harry Potter fans that were sitting at the cinema, about to watch the last film of the Harry Potter series, which gave Hammer Films an advantage of attracting many fans of Daniel Radcliffe to welcome them to the upcoming movie that was later on released during school holidays (10 February 2012). Unfortunately, many amongst the targeted audience are relatively young, which forced the editors to cut a scene of 6 seconds in length to make the movie a 12A as well as appropriate for their viewers.

How Did the PRODUCTION and MARKETING / DISTRIBUTION of "Skyfall" and "The Woman in Black" Influence its Success at the Box Office?

During this essay, I will be discussing the methods in which British film is produced and distributed to targeted audiences. I will be using my case studies, which are Hammer Films and EON Productions. I have picked these due to the fact that Hammer Films isn't part of a media conglomerate, making them an independent company with a limited budget, whereas EON Productions belongs to SONY, which has many advantages that allow them to produce expensive films, and so is known as one of the largest media conglomerates.

EON Productions has produced their 23rd entry Skyfall belonging to the longest-running franchise in history; the Bond series. Due to the fact that EON Productions belong to SONY Corporation gave them a great advantage from the media conglomerate. One of the advantages was the large budget. The film's budget totalled up to an estimate of $200,000,000. With all the money in EON's hands, they were able to make Skyfall take second place in production budget amongst the Bond films. One ways which Skyfall is significant compared to the rest of Bond films was the staff using cameras that were specially made to produce footage that is capable of being shown in IMAX venues. With this feature, audiences were able to witness the film in excellent high definition. Of course, IMAX tickets expense is much higher than those of regular tickets, which meant a high increase in the US box office gross. This has allowed Skyfall to reach a massive estimate of $88,000,000 just from the opening weekend, summing up to $304,000,000 overall. According to worldwide figures, Skyfall reached over $1,108,000,000, making it top most earned film of the Bond series, furthermore highest-grossing film worldwide for its media conglomerate, SONY Corporation  This meant that the media conglomerate gained masses of power over the society in which it starves for multimedia technologies. With this in mind, SONY Pictures began marketing and distributing the film Skyfall well before the release date.

One way in which SONY Corporation managed to attract huge numbers of audiences to Skyfall was promoting the movie during the opening ceremony for the Olympics in London. His appearance alongside the Queen formed a hype amongst the billions of global viewers. This continued on via word of mouth, the most powerful tool of all. As the excitement was passed on person to person, VisitBritain partnered with British Airways, Radisson Blu hotels and Twentieth Century Fox on the Bond campaign. They launched their first international movie ad to encourage visitors from abroad to get the real experience of living like Bond. This pulled audiences from all over the world closer when encouraged by the fact that they can get the feel of the luxuries Bond gets, furthermore get closer to the movie's setting as it sets the mood in which Skyfall was focused in when at its best luxurious moments. However, the campaign was only set to reach 6 locations; Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil; Los Angeles; Berlin; and Sydney and Melbourne in Australia. But the limited locations are backed up by the synergy of multimedia such as print, outdoor, and digital ads that reach mass audiences.

SONY paired up with Clear Channel, who is the world's leading advertiser to outdoor advertisement. Because of SONY's power, they were able to afford the use of famous billboards that extend across Cromwell road in London, which are owned by Clear Channel. These billboards, are known to affect the box office greatly with the features of a film. SONY took this opportunity to promote Skyfall and increase the hype amongst the many audiences that pass through Cromwell road, which made Skyfall SONY's most grossed film of all time.

Skyfall

Production

Skyfall is the 23^rd entry belonging to the longest-running franchise in history; the Bond films. It has been brought up by EON Productions in 2012. SONY is behind the media conglomerate, which EON Productions participates in. According to IMDb, the budget’s expense was an estimate of $200,000,000, coming second in the ranks of production budget amongst the Bond films. Additionally, Skyfall has become the biggest UK opening of 2012, and the third biggest UK opening of all time. However, they haven’t managed to surpass Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, which is still holding onto its smashing record. During their opening weekend, Skyfall grossed an estimate of $88,000,000, and around $304,000,000 overall. Both figures are recorded according to US box office. Looking at worldwide box office, the film has grossed over $1,108,000,000, making it top most earned film of the Bond series, furthermore highest-grossing film worldwide for its media conglomerate, SONY Pictures.

Although, many amongst the staff believed that it was a momentary setback when they continued with the pre-production of the film, but what EON had in mind was to ensure that the 23^rd film of the series would be released to the silver screen on Bond’s 50^th anniversary.

Distribution and Marketing 

Skyfall was premiered in London at the Royal Albert Hall on 23^rd of October 2012. Charles, Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, attended the event. Three days later, the film was released in UK, and 9^th of November in US.

Skyfall was the first film of the series to be filmed via specifically adapted cameras to screen the movie in IMAX venues. It has been stated to be second best to IMAX debut behind The Dark Knight Rises. The film’s release overlapped with the 50^th anniversary of the series, which began with Dr. No back in 1962. 

The DVD and Blu-Ray release was set on 18^th of February 2013 in UK, and 12^th of March in 2013 for North America by 20^th Century For Home Entertainment.

The theme song for Skyfall, performed by Adele, has earned an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 85^th Academy Awards, dating back to February 24, 2013. It has been noticed as the first Bond theme song to ever achieve that accomplishment.

Selling product placement spots such as a deal with Virgin Atlantic, or products like Coke, SONY, Heineken, BMW, Omega watches and many others raised £29,000,000, almost a third of the film’s budget. Additionally, Skyfall notably features a return of the Aston Martin DB5.

Because of synergy, Skyfall was marketed throughout multimedia. Various billboards were advertising Skyfall in tube stations and buses around the centre of London.  The key point was to place many posters in places with most population so that audiences of various ages could see, which would hopefully attract potentially as much attention for the new Bond film.

Clear Channel is a world’s leading advertiser to outdoor advertisement. SONY paired with Clear Company due to the fact that they own famous billboards that extend across Cromwell road in London. These billboards are known to affect the box office dramatically with the features of a film. SONY saw the opportunity and took it, making Skyfall their most grossed film of all time.

Skyfall also advertised via viral campaign. This was one of the best ways to advertise and please the Teen Internet, where the use by teenagers is extremely high. 63% of teens use Internet everyday to go online, making the 27% of teens using their phone to gain access to the Internet. By releasing a campaign online would be attracting a huge target audience of the younger generation. Things like setting up fan pages on Facebook and creating a twitter account for the new film allowed teens to catch up on the updated news with picture and video content. This was formed before the release of the film, so that users who followed by choice created hype about the film as its countdown to release date was updated by the official Skyfall accounts.

Posters weren’t just spread across the nation, but also on the web. Banners were placed on popular social networking sites such as Facebook, which, when clicked, located the user to the film’s official website that is powered by SONY. The official Skyfall website would offer information like what cinemas will be showing the film, what times and ways to book the tickets, information about the premiere, news and screen caps of the film along with the official trailer.

Children are also part of Bond’s audiences, but neither advertisements as mentioned previously appeal to them as much as merchandising via toys. Many will buy posters to decorate their bedroom walls at home as it is a common method amongst this type of audience to express their dedication as a James Bond fan. For those who crave video games, there has been created a game based on Skyfall that expands on different platforms for younger boys to play. It lets them get to know the film series better and get a greater connection with the story lines, but above all, they get to become Bond themselves in a fantasy world inside the game.

How Has Social Media Changed the Way We Experience Live Events?

The 65th Emmy awards took place in Los Angeles. The 3 hour show aired on TV as well as the additional 1 hour dedicated to the red carpet coverage before the show. For the millions of audience, it wasn't enough, so for any additional sneak peaks and backstage secrets could be accessed via Twitter, Instagram and many other social medias.

Carrie Underwood's performance gained 17,090 tweets per minute alone. Furthermore, Instagram set up a booth for Emmy winners to give their thanks to anyone they forgot to mention in their speeches. 65 years ago, none of this could have been done due to lack of connection between the viewers and the actors and actresses. Where audiences enjoyed the experience via the TV screen has now expanded to a fully interactive space where individuals can share the experience with family, friends and those they have contact with over the Internet (including actors and actresses) regarding their physical distance. Nowadays, people can peer into the makeup regimens of stars before the show, moreover, send them a shout congratulating them via their favourite online social channel.

Social media has managed to destroy the barrier between us and those holding fame, and has changed the ways we watch live television today, making it a more immersive experience. But for how much longer will we continue to enjoy the live events with a TV remote and a smartphone in our hands? 

EON Productions and Hammer Films

EON (Everything Or Nothing) Productions is a film production company founded in 1961, locating in London. The productions are famously known for their series of Bond films, which first made it to the screens in 1962 going by the title of Dr. No. The responsibility of the copyright and trademarks to the Bond elements, such as characters, is held by a subsidiary Danjaq LLC(stated as a holding company).

Hammer Films was founded in 1934, when they made a launch of their first production called The Public Life of Henry The Ninth. Like EON, Hammer Films is also located in UK, but their genre differ completely. Hammer Films are globally known for their successful gothic films produced in the mid 1950s until the 1970s. They later on began to vary their production to science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies, and in later years they reached the extent of television series. Afterwards, Hammer Films dominated horror films, distributing worldwide and undergoing financial success. Part of this was due to distribution partnerships with the US major studios, like the Warner Bros.

Representation of Gender in Doctor Who

Self-Assessment

I found the task relatively challenging because I haven't written an essay for quite a while now and forgot the key things you need to cover in order to write something successful. I would say that my essay's quality is basic because I managed to pick out points about the character and expand on some areas. Nevertheless, I feel like I lacked the use of key terms, as well as detailed explanation. I also felt like I was drawing away from the fact that I had to focus on editing, miss-en-scene, sound and the use of camera.

I think to improve my essay, I would have to expand on my explanations with more usage of key words, focus on miss-en-scene, editing, camera usage and sound, and perhaps talk about a pair of these somehow linking?? idk

Representation of Gender

Our next focus area will be the representation of gender. This is an interesting and demanding area and, to fully engage with representations of gender, you need to be aware of gender stereotypes.

Gender stereotypes are simplistic generalizations about the gender attributes, differences, and roles of individuals and/or groups.

Stereotypes can be positive or negative, but they rarely communicate accurate information about others. When people automatically apply gender assumptions to others regardless of evidence to the contrary, they are perpetuating gender stereotyping. Many people recognize the dangers of gender stereotyping, yet continue to make these types of generalisations. We see gender stereotypes regularly being reinforced in television drama.

Traditionally, the female stereotypic role is to marry and have children. She is also to put her family's welfare before her own; be loving, compassionate, caring, nurturing, and sympathetic; and find time to be sexy and feel beautiful.

The male stereotypic role is to be the financial provider. He is also to be assertive, competitive, independent, courageous, and career‐focused; hold his emotions in check; and always initiate sex.

These sorts of stereotypes can prove harmful; they can stifle individual expression and creativity, as well as hinder personal and professional growth.

The weight of scientific evidence demonstrates that children learn gender stereotypes from adults. As with gender roles, socializing agents—parents, teachers, peers, religious leaders, and the media—pass along gender stereotypes from one generation to the next.

The Exam

May 15th (isn)
2 hours --> (100 marks)
2 sections (A + B)
Section A == TV Drama
1 Compulsory question (50 marks)

A = 80
B = 70
C = 60
D = 50
E = 40
etc.

(Unknown extract) Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of x using the following: 

• camera shots 
• editing
• sound
• mise-en-scène 

(50 marks)

x= 

• gender
• age
• sexuality
• ethnicity
• class (lower class, middle class and upper class) + status (low-social and high-sosial)
• physical ability/disability
• regional identity

Genre in Television Programming

• the word genre comes from French as 'kind' or 'class'
• helps categorise, classify and identify things
• linked with codes and conventions 
• stereotyping 
• can be stereotyped even if the person hasn't experienced it 
• genre allows people to have certain expectations so that things can become shocking if it's unexpected 
• sub-genre e.g. lifestyle and leisure --> food, property, auctions, cars etc.
• hybrid e.g. children's program --> comedy, factual etc. 

Our focus: Drama

• fantasy
• period/historical
• medical
• docu-drama
• sci-fi
• teen
• comedy
• continuing drama (soap operas / don't come off the screen) one-off (1 episode), series (episodes) and serial (continuing)
• crime

Verisimilitude: creation of reality which audience believe in