why films are made

Why Films Are Made

Now you 'know' how a film is made, you're going to look into why a film is made.

Mark Kermode believes it is impossible for a Blockbuster to lose money if they just follow some simple rules. Those rules are

1. A newsworthy budget
2. Spectacular visuals
3. NOT be a comedy
4. Include an 'A list' star

These rules can be seen to fit into the five categories of film production
Pre Production (all the stuff that happens BEFORE you begin filming)
Production (all the stuff that happens whilst filming)
Post Production (all the stuff you do after filming to put the film together)
Marketing (advertising your film)
Distribution (how the film is sent to cinemas, how long its on in cinema and how many 

four quadrant

Four Quadrant Picture

A Four Quadrant Picture is a marketing term used to describe a film targeted to all audience quadrants: men over 25, men under 25, women over 25, women under 25. 

Usage
In the movie business, and it is most definitely a business, everyone is looking to maximize the audience for their picture. A four-quadrant picture is that magical type of film that attracts parents and kids, men and women, and brings in huge amounts of revenue on opening weekend. In the term “four-quadrant,” the quadrants refer to gender (male and female) and age (under 25 and over 25). 
For most studios, the goal is to get enough details to line up so that they have broad-based, family-friendly appeal in designing a blockbuster or four-quadrant film. An important aspect of getting that appeal is the ratings system. An 18 Rating can be the kiss of death for a studio trying to market a film featuring pre-teen characters. A lowering from PG-13 to PG can mean millions more in revenue as parents feel more comfortable bringing young children to a given film like Evan Almighty.

Examples
One of the most famous four-quadrant, blockbuster films is Star Wars and all of its sequels. Jaws is another landmark blockbuster film. Other more current examples include Night at the Museum, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Shrek (1-3), Spiderman (1-3), Pirates of the Caribbean (1-3), andWall-E.

Implications
Another interesting by-product of the rise of four-quadrant films in the industry is cross marketing. Those films often are associated with toys and other products that both advertise the film and bring in revenue on their own. In addition, four-quadrant films are powerful vehicles for product placement advertisers looking to show their wares to the largest audience possible.
On the down side, many wonder how much effort is placed on credible, engaging story lines as opposed to marketing opportunities in these behemoth cinematic endeavors.

the bix six

The Big Six

Major Film Studios

A major film studio is a film producer and production company that releases a substantial number of films annually.

The Big Six film studios are:

1. Warner Bros. Pictures. Comprising a whopping 19.7 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Warner Bros. Pictures is the biggest player in the film industry. Securing the rights to major films like Harry Potter, Superman, Batman, The Matrix and Star Wars have made Warner Bros. the No. 1 name in the business.

2. Paramount Pictures. With 15.5 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Paramount Pictures continues to be one of the most successful film production companies in the world. Star Trek, War of the Worlds, the Mission Impossible series, Transformers and Tropic Thunder are just a few of the popular films produced by Paramount Pictures.

3. Walt Disney. One of the most renowned film production companies in the history of the business, Walt Disney now holds 15.3 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures). With highly successful movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure, Meet the Robinsons and Enchanted, there's no doubt that Disney will continue to play a key role in the industry for years to come.

4. Columbia Pictures. Comprising 12.9 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Columbia Pictures remains a big player in the business. Some of this company's recent successes include Casino Royale, The Da Vinci Code, the Spider-Man series and Step Brothers.

5. Universal Studios. 12.2 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures) belongs to Universal Studios, which continues to make millions for the film industry. With major hits like the Bourne series (Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum), The American Pie series, Knocked Up, American Gangster and The Incredible Hulk, it's very clear that Universal Studios knows what it takes to make money in this industry.

6. 20th Century Fox. Also known as "Twentieth Century Fox," this highly successful movie production company makes up 11.9 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures). Some of the biggest and most successful movies from this empire include the X-Men series, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Star Wars Episodes II and III, and the Fantastic Four.

The Seven Key Areas of Audience and Institutions - Translations

The Seven Key Areas of Audience and Institutions - Translations

During year 12 you will study a specific studio or production company within the film industry that targets a British audience, looking at how films are produced, distributed, exhibited and consumed by audiences. You will also have to study how films are distributed (digital cinemas, DVD, HD-DVD, downloads, etc) and their impact upon production, marketing and consumption.

In the exam you will be tested on one of the following areas (the simplified translation is in red italics. You'll notice there is quite a bit of similarity in some areas)

• the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice; (how does who owns a media company influence the type of film made and its potential success? For example do BIG companies make BIG films and therefore make all the money? Is it possible for small companies to succeed?)
• the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing; (how do companies work together to produce, distribute and publicize a film? How can Disney use their size to promote and publicise a film? How can small companies work together to promote their business' when making and promoting a film?)
• the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange; (how has the introduction of digital film, 3D, DVD, Blue Ray, internet streaming, downloadable content, home cinema influenced the types of films made, the way we watch them and the way we 'buy' them?)
• the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences; (how and why have film companies had to alter the way they work now everyone has web enabled phones, PC's, consoles etc? How have audiences changed their viewing habits now we no longer need to go to the cinema to watch a film)
• the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences; (can you think of examples of how different technologies have come together to help the film industry?) 
• the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions; (how do film companies try and attract their audience? Do they do different things in different countries?)
• the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour. (what is your opinion on the above? Do you see the developments as a good or bad thing?)

Dredd essay

Dredd Essay

Etnicity in Shows (freash prince of bel air)

Ethnicity the show

The show has an all Black family cast for the show which will smith plays in, the show doesn't abide by what a stereotype for a black person may be in the show as the family live in a large house int the Beverly hills area, the family are positivity shown for having good sturdy jobs with lots of money.

But Will Smith when he joins the family has a different background from Philadelphia , which usually has a stereotype of having crime rates and other problems. The reason for will joining was because he had problems in bel air after some sort of scrap (displayed as comedy in the show) but the way he dresses and his background could be described as more of stereotype than the rich Beverly hills family he joins.

Dredd Research Task

DREDD 2013

DIRECTOR and green light

The director of dredd was pete travis, he started his career making the bill for two episodes before later being known tv movies like henry VIII and then the film endgame. The PRODUCER of the film was Alex garland , he made himself known through the creation of the video game ‘enslaved’, which was a successful apocalyptic game, which was nominated for several awards.the green light was given the green light in 2009 and then went into production.

The DISTRIBUTORS

The distributors were Entertainment Film Distributors and Lionsgate, all of these are big time film distributors in the film market. Lionsgate distributors are one of the most renound in the world with huge profits. The other which was entertainment film distributors are a big producer but with less big blockbuster title its most taking film was piranha 3D

THE WRITER

The film was actually written not so surprisingly by the producer Alex garland who has wrote lots of plots to his work and movies in the past before Dredd

The BUDGET and BOX OFFICE

The film had a fair budget of 45 million which is good budget for a film, but the film only took back 35 million in box office, despite being described as a cult film.

THE ACTORS

After previously stating about the director earlier , the film had a very respectable cast which included Karl Urban (Judge Dredd) who has starred in some major blockbuster films including two of the lord of the rings trilogy, also he has starred in the Bourne supremacy furthermore he has also starred in huge sci-fi hit Star Trek , and RED . Another key casting role was played by Olivia Thirlby who starred as a psychic assistant (rookie), she has starred in films like Juno, she also performed in other huge films like No strings attached and the darkest hour.A final star in the cast was the gang leader (ma-ma) played by Lena Headey who had previously starred in films such as the Purge,Red Baron, and her most famous role as a queen in 300.

MARKETING

The film used a various selection of posters to display Dredd ,and In August 2012, the advertising site "Dredd Report" was launched, satirising the Drudge Report. The site featured a video condemning the use of Slo-Mo, and links to news about the film. There were also lots of displays of how the film revealed to critics and other rates

Critical Receptions

The film was rated highly by most critics and displayed at worst of a 59/100 and described as average mixed but great action this rating was from metacritic, all critical responses actually stated that the film had great action and average effects which could have been improved, rotten tomatoes gave the rating of 78% which Is a very positive response and for its type of film is a very strong rating, also Karl Urban performance in the film was displayed by critics as the best Dredd performance because of the ‘no ego’ approach he had to the film , his performances of showing full half face emotion was described as the best face emotion in any film.

REASONS FOR FAIL ?

A huge reason for its fail was the fact it’s a remake of a very bad film called Judge Dredd where Silvestre Stallone plays the lead role and displays is face which completely defeats the object of the mysterious character. So this contributed to the fact that in America it took a lot less than what was originally planed .Another reason for the films lack of success was the fact that the film came out with lots of other blockbuster films and they had huge marketing attributes which Dredd didn’t have .Also lots of famous critics did not approve of the way justice was displayed in the film and called it grey with no new reasons for a view.

TIE INS

The film had some special edition comics released with some special figures of the character but it really lacked with intention on tie ins, it did have a massive sell in home media as it hit amazons top 200 selling dvds.

TECHNOLOGY

The film was made into 3D , using computers from the company called DNA films , the company made mega city one in the film through using special computers, the film was actually shot in 2D before being transferred into 3D,the film was transferred into 3D in post-production.

AWARDS

·        Dredd won The Art of 3D award at the 2013 Empire Awards

·        Was nominated for  Best British Film

·        And Best british sci fi

PERSONAL OPINION

I felt the film had a good line of action and I enjoyed the mystery of the character Dredd and I think the way the film panned out was very amusing, im a huge fan of post-apocalyptic films so the setting of the film was good, but actually I wouldn’t say I liked the film as I thought it was partially empty and very closed in the filming. I also thought that the special effects in the film were seriously bad and the way people died in the film was poor.