Ford media ownership essay

What impact does media ownership have upon the range of products available to audiences in the media area you have studied?

Media Ownership plays a massive role and  has a huge impact on the range of products available at the cinema and online in services like Netflix.  87.5% of the film market is owned by these major companies so there is no avoiding their range of products. There are six major companies which dominate the film industry; Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney, Columbia Pictures, Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox. These companies are multibillion dollar public figures. And have handsome investors who splash the cash.

Furthermore , the resources that these firms have is incredible , these companies have set a side millions just so they can have the latest technology to create the best films possible. And with the sheer number of films being created at once the major six firms are versatile to more market spread than smaller less budgeted companies. The multiple film production is easy to the big firms and they are quicker at producing higher quality films than much smaller firms.

Other small British companies  like DNA films and WARP will not have updated and high quality of studios. Compared to that the big six which have dominant next level studios and sets . 14 out of 17 paramount’s films have been action related in 2013 , they all have over 80 million budgets and use the highest quality green screens CGI and higher set service than any smaller based film companies . this proves how large ownership of firms and big money can effect the range and one hundred percent the quality of the range of films made .Also with the higher level of technology and quality in the production , these films are now available in imax and 3D cinemas , where smaller owned companies don’t have the investment to rise the range of quality in the film they produce.

Diversity , the major firms which are highly invested in have huge budgets for screen writers and directors , the screen writers of the best kind do not create repetitive action films and create something new broad and exciting every time . meaning the major firms can access a wider audience more easily . unlike smaller film companies which cannot afford these expensive screen writers and cannot have a new fresh look on the fill market.

Smaller firms and other solo film makers  will also turn to major firm for a partner in synergy. One example is the film Paranormal Activity, this film would have been very small and hardly known if Paramount Pictures were not involved.  Orin Peli made the movie for just $15,000, covering all production costs by himself he knew he couldn’t make the film any bigger without paramount. This decision made him over $190 million. This shows how solo film makers can have great projects but cannot fundamentally succeed without the marketing and distribution from the global companies which dominate the worlds audiences .

Big six , these will also be able to specialise in more than one genre of film, giving them a big  advantage. This means that there will never be a repetitive outburst of one type of film, consequently expanding the range of films available. They will also be able to produce these films to a very higher standard than their competitors.

Next, the big six are also very reputable. People know who they are and some will even go to see a film as they have high respect and critical acclaim and the public just love their films . This means that films could have more screenings, again making the range of products significantly more. It also means that other films will not have a chance if these companies are involved, hence why 9/10 of the films which are seen in cinemas have involved these.

In Conclusion media ownership has a massive impact over the range of products that are available to audiences due to the sheer budget allocation and overall power and outstanding influence in everything they do . with even small film makers realising that they cannot compete and selling the rights to bigger companies , it proves how the madness of the size of the companies is overruling the market .

Roland Barthes

Roland barthes. from Livvy Free

30 QUESTIONS

•        What % of global box office was the British film industry responsible for?

·         The British Industry was responsible for 15% of global box office, roughly 600 British films were made in between 2003 and 2010

•        What was this % in 2009?

·         In 2009 there was 6.8% global box office profit from British Films.

•        What might this change indicate about British film?

·         This could indicate that the British film industry is starting to rise in popularity. This would also mean that they are starting to produce even more films as they are starting to actually succeed unlike before.

•        What % of the British film industry makes a profit?

·         Lower budget films (under £2 million) like Kill List are supposed to only have a 4% chance of making a profit whereas British films with a budget of over £10 million have a 17% chance of making a profit

•        What might we infer from this difference?

·         We could infer that if films look more realistic e.g. have better special effects then people will be more inclined to buy/watch them.

•        What % of Hollywood films make a profit?

·         The percentage of Hollywood films that make a profit is 17%.

•        Which age group makes up the largest % of UK cinema goers?

·         18-24 year olds are the most likely to go to the cinema and make up the largest percentage.

•        Why do you think this might be?

·         I think this may be because these people have more free time and more disposable income, they also fit into the majority of the 4 quadrants.

•        Which 'type' of film has seen an 18% drop in attendance?

·         3D films have seen an 18% drop in attendance

•        Within that 'type' which genre has seen the biggest fall?

·         The films type that has seen the biggest fall is family films, films that don’t involve a lot of action/horror

•        What did Charles Grant put this decline down to?

·         Charles Grant basically said that 3D films are just a little bit too expensive, with them not deserving the extra money over ordinary films.

•        Who is Paul Greengrass?

·         Paul Greengrass is a British film director, he is known to be involved in 2 of the Bourne films and Bloody Sunday

•        How did he describe the British film industry?

·         He called it a ‘success’ story showing how it has transformed

·         What did a BFI spokesperson say was the point of less profitable low budget British films?

·         "tiny budget films that, while commercial success is always hoped for, are successful and beneficial to the industry for other reasons like skills and training development and for artistic and cultural importance"

·         What was the budget for Filth and how much money did it take?

·         Its budget was just under £2 million it took  £4million

·         What advantage did James McEvoy feel £100m films have over low budget films?

·         james McEvoy said that $100m movies that "sometimes aren't very good" had an advantage over smaller films because they had a massive budget to sell the film.

·         What is VOD?

·         Video on Demand

·         What % increase did VOD see last year?

·         They increased by 50%

·         What impact might VOD have on distributers and Studios?

·         With recent rises of demand with Netflix love film and sky , there is a chance that the demand companies will out sell Hollywood studios

·         What impact has it had on Blockbuster rental stores?

·         They have had to clos several stores in the UK and globally and move online . they are becoming extinct.

·         What was unique about Ben Wheatleys 'A Field In England'?

·         ‘A Field in England' was special as it was released in several formats simultaneously, dvd cinemas demand.

·         What does director of The Machine Caradog James think is the toughest part of film making?

·         "The toughest thing is you make a good film but can you get it to reach an audience? It's events like this and individuals who champion independent cinema that give us a profile and any chance of a mass audience."

·         Why have rules been relaxed on what makes a film 'British'?

·         To encourage wider audiences so the profit percentage can rise

·         How has the use of visual effects in films been encouraged?

·         Visual effects are used in films to make it more interesting for the audience, to aid boosting of ratings as a more attractive picture is a better seller.

·         Name five of these rules and link them to The Kings Speech, Kill List, The World's End

·         Keeping a British Theme through culture -Kings Speech

·         'LAD' culture - Worlds End

·         British director - The King's Speech

·         British leading Cast - Kill List, Worlds End

·         Location in Britain - Kill List, Worlds End, King's Speech

·         What rules has chancellor George Osbourne announced for tax on British films?

·         George Osborne has announced tax relief would be increased from 20% to 25% on the first £20m of qualifying production expenditure. Productions will also only have to spend 10% of their budgets on UK expenditure to qualify - down from 25% - to help more independent production companies and make the UK a more attractive co-production partner. previously only films under £20m were eligible for the higher rate.

·         What is the highest grossing film in UK box office history?

·         James Bond - Skyfall

·         How much has it taken and how many screens was it available on?

·         $1,108,561,013 was taken and it was on 527 screens in he UK

"Successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution to a specific audience as they do upon good production practices". To what extent would you agree with this statement, within the media area you have studied?

Media products like films can only make money if they sell at the box office , and for the film to make lots of money (above the budget) then the film must be adequately marketed and distributed in a way that is stand out or a marketing term ‘blanket marketing’. Even if the production is really good if the film isn't displayed in distribution and marketing to its audience, then the film cannot be sold well as it is unknown to the target audience.

Films must be marketed into their genre well and major institutions usually have dominance over the film industry because they all generally like to make the most common type of film genre , e.g action/adventure, and as over 50% of people prefer this genre this is an instant way of marketing as its already in the public interest. Will films like ‘world war z’  my average opinion of the film and a terrible opinion in the critics left the film pieces but the marketing managed to cover this up so the film made huge profit , and furthermore with a key actor like Brad Pitt , that has already marketed well already . This proves that even if the production practices are poor the film can succeed with marketing and distribution.so therefore i would agree with the question and say especially with the hard pushing of the film the Marketing was a very key part of the films success.

furthermore i agree with the statement as i feel the way audiences can engage with the marketing definitely helps with the balance between and the importance of distribution. like with the star trek, the head marketing body for the film released an 'app' where the public could watch trailers and get get in depth analysis without the best parts of the film being ruined , therefore the way that the marketing has being used with the production shows equal importance.And also there are separate firms that will push distribution and marketing on films a great example of this is the weinstein company , the two brothers who run the company are known for really pushing medium budget films . one of their largest success points was with the British film 'Kings speech' this film after a slow start was really pushed by the company and the film then went to win Oscars and receive great critical receptions around the world. along with making 414 million in the box office. 

Another point why i agree with the statement is the fact that the marketing can be adapted world wide and help reach different dialects, the way technology has helped adapt films and trailers means the distribution has raised seriously. for example with the kings speech certain phrases and terms would be completely lost with an American audiences where they would be fine with  a UK audience , so this use of technology has by far helped the marketing of films globally .

But in a point against , some lower budget films do not need the big budget marketing as they are a smaller market in films and want to show the quality in the production . a great example are films like 'kill list' this film was not set out to receive a massive profit , but it was used to show the quality of new talent like directors and actors .the films had a budget of 500,000 and took 171,000 , this film is still considered to be a moderate success because of its critical reception. these are the exceptions to the statement because the film is made for quality and not to be a massive seller 

Overall i agree with the statement and would say in the modern film industry the marketing and distribution is key as the film has to be endorsed with the public for it to be a success and with flourishing technology its a fact that marketing is by far as important as the production. jut by looking at films where the production was poor like world war z but the marketing made it huge money .