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1. Film Industry
revision

2. History
British
• The Regent Street Cinema is
celebrated as the ‘Birthplace of
British Cinema’ as it was used by
pioneering filmmakers, the
Lumière brothers, to perform
their first ever moving picture
show in the UK on the 21
February, 1896 – 118 years ago
• Mass public consumption-
• The Lumiere brothers envisioned
movies as public showings. The
two approaches are like the
difference between listening to
an I-pod on your headphones
versus sitting in a theater and
listening to a concert
USA
• original Nickelodeon opened
in Pittsburgh in 1905
• April 12, 1914 Mark Strand
Theatre, New York, The
Spoilers (Movie Palace)
• Edison's interest in movies was
to sell his Kinetoscope
machines, designed as
individual 'peep shows" in
which a person looked into a
box and saw a moving picture.

3. Funding-impact on the industry & audience.
British
• Working Title $30m (UK+US)
• Warp £1m
• Low/modest budget, modest return –
limited screenings in cinema, typically
Art house cinemas. Sales generated
through DVD.
• Is British filming stuck in a rut?
• Encourage new talent
• Film Festivals
• UK Film Council
• BFI & National Lottery
(Production, Distribution & Exhibition )
• Tax Relief – why?
USA
• Massive budgets
which generate
massive profits in a
cycle of self-
sustaining profit.
• $100m +

4. Green Light
British
• Funding
• Risk – shared
• Rights
• Script
• Cast & Crew
• Location
• Appeal to audience
• Certificate – BBFC
• Exhibition/Exchange
Hollywood
• Director
• Script/Genre
• Star appeal
• Location
• SfX
• Rights
• Budget
• Risk
• Certificate
• Projected profit
• Appeal to mass audience

5. Industry Overview – Historic Examples
• Small Independent Low Budget British Film:
Genre: Social Realist Drama - ‘This is England’
Budget £1.5m, takings £1.5m.
Institutions: Warp Films + Film 4 + various small UK media companies.
• Successful UK Studio: Working Title
Genre: string of blockbuster Rom-Coms:
‘Four Weddings & a Funeral’ budget $6m, takings $244m
Post-Universal take-over ‘Love Actually’ budget $30m, takings $244m.
Produced 100 films, but several non Rom-Com flops.
• Successful US Blockbuster Film(s): ‘Star Trek’
Genre: Science Fiction / Action
Studio: Paramount: massive marketing campaign – budget $140m, takings
$280m+.
• Successful US Blockbuster Film(s): ‘Avatar’
Genre: Science Fiction / Action / Romance
Studio: 20th Century Fox: massive hype, digital, 3D,
massive budget $300m, massive takings $2.7bn.
• NB: ‘Paranormal Activity’ as Indie case study...

6. Film Licencing
• BBFC, 1912
• Cinematograph Act
1909, which required
cinemas to have licences
from local authorities.

7. Big 6
• http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/the-
biggest/the-10-biggest-hollywood-studios/

8. Ownership issues
• P, D, E (E)
• Concentration of media ownership in that the
global media market is increasingly dominated
by a small number of Western (mostly
American) conglomerates.
• Is this positive or negative for the film
industry?

9. Horizontal Integration
• Companies all owned at the same level
• Example: Warner Bros. Interactive, Warner
Bros. TV, Warner Bros. Animation
• Film, TV, Magazine, Video Game

10. Vertical Integration P, D, E (E)
• Warner Bros Entertainment calls itself a fully
integrated broad based entertainment
company which owns film studios and the
means to distribute the films as well as some
of the cinemas in which they are shown.
Warner Bros in itself is part of an even bigger
conglomerate called Time Warner which is a
huge media conglomerate institution which
uses horizontal Integration to consolidate its
power and profits.

11. Web 2.0
• allow users to interact and collaborate with
each other in a social media dialogue as
creators
• Social networking sites, blogs, wikis, video
sharing, forums etc etc
• Prosumer

12. Technological Convergence
Gadgets to watch films on:
• Smart-phones (iPhone etc)
• MP4 players
• Portable Games Consoles (PSP
etc)
• Laptops (Airbooks etc)
Multimedia devices, films at home:
• Games Consoles (Xbox 360, PS3
etc)
• PC (via DVD, BluRay, il/legal
downloads)
• Home Cinema (Plasma TV /
Projector + digital TV)

13. Multiplex vs Arthouse
• Experience
• Cost
• Screenings
• Location
• Digital screen – satellite
• Experience
• Limited screenings
• Cost
• Location

14. Production
• Film actually being made and has been given
the green
• 35mm
• 3D, Imax camera = costs
• Digital camera = costs

15. Distribution
• A film distributor is a company or individual
responsible for the marketing of a film.
• The distributor may set the release date of a
film and the method by which a film is to be
exhibited or made available for viewing
• Distributors can take 50% of box office sales –
this does vary though.

16. Cross media convergence
• Conglomerate working together
horizontally/vertically or both.

17. Synergy
• Media synergy is the way in which different
elements of a media conglomerate work together
to promote linked products across different
media.
• Synergy works when different elements within a
media conglomerate promote (e.g. film
studio, record label, video game division) create
linked products (e.g. film, soundtrack, video
game).
• Each distinct element promotes the others.

18. ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’
(2001)
In 2000 AOL and Time Warner merged. The
promotion of ‘Harry Potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone’ by AOL Time Warner is a
good example of synergy.
Adverts for the film were
shown on HBO and the
WB, both American TV
channels which are
subsidiaries of Time
Warner.
The soundtrack was
released on Atlantic
Records, part of
Warner Music.
Articles about the film
appeared in
newspapers and
magazines owned by
Time Warner.
AOL’s internet service
was offering
merchandise, and
ticket promotions tied
to subscriptions for
AOL’s services.

19. Marketing
• Synergy & cross media convergence
• Viral/ARG

20. Exhibition (Exchange)

21. Audience
• Cinema 2D, 3D, Imax, Premiere
Seats/Standard
• Cost
• Options to view
• Control/influence the industry?

22. Essay Approaches.
• The exam board want to know what you understand about:
• Media Institutions: Hollywood Studios (20th Century Fox
etc.), British Studios (Working Title + Warp Films etc).
• Media Audiences: UK film viewers (either in cinemas, or via
PC / TV / Phone etc)
• Media Technology: Digital filmmaking (CGI, 3D, Imax, DV-
Cams), Online Films
(LoveFilm, iTunes, YouTube, piracy), Convergence (gadgets to
watch films on)
• Marketing Campaigns: How Studios advertise their films
(Synergy, TV + Internet trailers, Print ads –
newspapers, magazines, posters, Premieres, junkets, word of
mouth, USP, merchandising etc).
ALL OF THE ABOVE NEED SPECIFIC EXAMPLES.

23. Past Questions
• Discuss the issues raised by an institution’s
need to target specific audiences within a
media industry which you have studied.
• Discuss the ways in which media products are
produced and distributed to audiences, within
a media area, that you have studied.

24. Past Questions
• How important is technological convergence
for institutions and audiences within a media
area which you have studied?
• “Media production is dominated by global
institutions, which sell their services and
products, to national audiences.” To what
extent do you agree with this statement?

25. Marking Grid for Qu2.
Band / Grade Argument Examples Terminology
Level 1:
U
Minimal understanding
& reference to study
(0-7)
Limited range and
use of examples
(0-7)
Minimal use of
terms. Inaccuracies
(0-3)
Low Level 2:
E > D
Basic understanding.
Some relevant points.
(8-11)
Some relevant
examples
(8-11)
Some terms used.
Some inaccuracies
(4-5)
Upper Level 3:
C > B
Proficient argument,
well supported.
(12-15)
Good range of
examples
(12-15)
Mostly accurate
terms
(6-7)
Level 4 :
A
Excellent, relevant,
sustained argument
(16-20)
Frequent use of
relevant examples
(16-20)
Relevant and
accurate terms
(8-10)