G322bAudiences & Institutions

OCR AS Media Studies2010

Revision Help

One Media exam

2 hours

Section A: TV Drama– 30mins viewing an extract– 45 minutes writing– Everyone answers the same question

Section B: Institutions and Audiences– 45 minutes writing– Everyone answers the same question

The 7 Key Areas

1. the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;

2. the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

3. the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange;

4. the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences;

5. the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences;

6. the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions;

7. the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour.

Definitions

SynergyCompanies working together at a mutual benefit but remaining separate.

Institutional ConvergenceWhen companies merge together.

Technological and Cross Media ConvergenceTechnological convergence can be in production, distribution and exhibition (films via the web; piracy), or marketing (using social networking sites/ websites for promotion)

Target audienceA group of people that a product is specifically aimed at.

Audience consumptionWhat the audience like/ use/ watch. If consumption means ‘to eat’, think of it as the audience eating up different texts. (It could refer to technology they use, the films they watch or like.

ProliferationThe availability and fast access to certain products. This could be the availability of cheaper, better quality hardware (like HD digital cameras, etc) or the choice and access to films that the audience has (via the internet, cinema, television.

Media ownershipWho owns what and how much control they have over it. The best example would be to consider Working Title and how much ownership they have over their productions, as they’re part of Universal.

To Get You Thinking

Cross media convergence and synergy

• What impact does the ownership of a media institution have on the products it creates and on the relationship with the audience?

• How do media institutions work together to reach audiences?

• Alliances; Horizontal/ vertical integration. Give examples.

The importance of technological convergence

• How have technologies affected the processes of production/ distribution/ marketing/ exhibition?

• What impact have digital cameras/ digital editing/ CGI/ the online age had on the film industry?

• What is the effect in the increased availability of media technologies?

• What is the effect of the increase in the amount of film available?

• What are the effects of technologies coming together in one device? (e.g. mobile phones with video)

How your own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour

• How do international film production companies target British/ specific audiences?

• How do audiences consume films?

• Why do audiences consume films?

• How are audiences targeted?

• How active/ passive are film audiences?

Case Studies (and the exam)Working Title and Universal

Working Title and WT2

Warp

Warp vs. Working Title

Cinema City and Picturehouse

Cinema City vs. Vue

(Piracy)

The Exam

Have a range of case studies and ensure they give you even coverage of the seven key areas.

Case studies that contrast two institutions are good (e.g. Warp vs. Working Title or Vue vs. Cinema City).

Specific and accurate information and an ability to shape an argument are more important than statistics.

These case studies should allow you to explore the (changing) relationship between media Institutions and Audiences.

As well as look at the institutional processes: Production, Distribution, Marketing and Exhibition.

And local/ national/ international institutions. The history of an institution/ film-maker is not important.

Past Paper Questions

1. (Exam Board Specimen Paper) Discuss the issues raised by an institution’s need to target specific audiences within a media industry which you have studied.

2. (09Jan) Discuss the ways in which media products are produced and distributed to audiences within a media area which you have studied.

3. (09Jun) Technological convergence

4. (10Jan) “Media production is dominated by global institutions, which sell their products and services to national audiences.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?

WT2

Grade Descriptors

Level 4

Explanation/analysis/argument (16-20 marks) Shows excellent understanding of the task Excellent knowledge and understanding of institutional/audience practices – factual

knowledge is relevant and accurate A clear and developed argument, substantiated by detailed reference to case study

material Clearly relevant to set question

Use of examples (16-20 marks) Offers frequent evidence from case study material – award marks to reflect the

range and appropriateness of examples Offers a full range of examples from case study and own experience Offers examples which are clearly relevant to the set question

Use of terminology (8-10 marks) Use of terminology is relevant and accurate

Complex issues have been expressed clearly and fluently using a style of writing appropriate to the complex subject matter. Sentences and paragraphs, consistently relevant, have been well structured, using appropriate technical terminology. There may be few, if any, errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Level 3

Explanation/analysis/argument (12-15 marks) Shows proficient understanding of the task Proficient knowledge and understanding of institutional/audience practices – factual

knowledge is mostly accurate Some developed argument, supported by reference to case study material Mostly relevant to set question

Use of examples (12-15 marks) Offers consistent evidence from case study material Offers a range of examples from case study and own experience Offers examples which are mostly relevant to the set question

Use of terminology (6-7 marks) Use of terminology is mostly accurate

Relatively straight forward ideas have been expressed with some clarity and fluency. Arguments are generally relevant, though may stray from the point of the question. There will be some errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar, but these are unlikely to be intrusive or obscure meaning.

Level 2

Explanation/analysis/argument (8-11 marks) Shows basic understanding of the task Basic knowledge and understanding of institutional/audience practices – factual

knowledge will have some accuracy Basic argument evident, with some reference to case study material Some relevance to set question

Use of examples (8-11 marks) Offers some evidence from case study material Offers a partial range of examples from case study and own experience Offers examples of some relevance to the set question

Use of terminology (4-5 marks) Some terminology used, although there may be some inaccuracies

Some simple ideas have been expressed in an appropriate context. There are likely to be some errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar of which some may be noticeable and intrusive.

How to Revise

• Write an essay

• Create essay plans

• Create spider diagrams for each of the 7 areas

• Carry out a new case study (e.g. Film Four)

• Revise previous case studies and apply these to the 7 areas. You could use the A3 grid to help you structure the information.

• Read your notes

• Attend Mr Seal’s revision sessions

Useful Resourceshttp://asanda2mediastudies.blogspot.com/search/label/Institutions%20and%20Audiences

Warp http://warp.net/

http://www.warpx.co.uk/

http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/12210

http://www.film4.com/features/article/warp-factor

Working Title http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/

http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/michaelwalford/entry/working_title_history/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/feb/16/working-title-films

http://www.slideshare.net/headacheau/working-title-films-1486854

Cinema City/ Picturehouse http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/

http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/Cinema_City/

http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/content/eveningnews24/norwich-whats-on-guide/films-and-cinemas/story.aspx?brand=ENOnline&category=GoingOutFilm&tBrand=ENOnline&tCategory=xWhatsOn&itemid=NOED09%20Mar%202010%2008%3A54%3A40%3A420

Vue http://www.myvue.com/

http://www.myvue.com/corporate/index.asp?SessionID=&ic=1

Funding• http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/whatwefund

http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/12210Working Title

• Had their breakthrough with Four Weddings and a Funeral in 1994.• Working Title are a unique production company as they retain creative

control. They are also successful.• It retains its autonomy in creative decisions but is owned by a

conglomerate.• Protection of Universal means Working Title is able to survive

disappointing success of films like Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Dir. John Madden, UK/France/USA, 2000. Its budget was £13m but only made £9.8m at the box office.

NBC Universal• NBC Universal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment

companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience.  Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric and 20% owned by Vivendi.

WT2• The arm of Working Title that deals with low-budget films.• WT2 Films are distributed through Universal.• Shaun of the Dead, Dir. Edgar Wright, 2004 is a WT2 production. It took 9

weeks to shoot in London with a budget of £4m.

Key Areas 1, 2 & 6

What are the benefits of Working Title being owned by Universal? What are the negatives of Working Title being owned by Universal?

(Ownership / Synergy / Convergence / Horizontal and Vertical Integration)

How much ownership does Working Title have over the films it produces? How does this ownership impact on national and global audiences?

(Ownership / Targeting Audiences)

Warp Films• Set up in 1999• Sister company of Warp Records• Allied with Warp X• Originated as a music video production company branching into feature

films.• Makes all music videos for Warp Records.• Remit is “To challenge and entertain contemporary British and international

cinema audiences.”

Warp X• Began in 2006• Set up as a low budget feature film initiative.• Funded by FilmFour, EM Media and Screen Yorkshire.• Only difference between Warp X and Warp Films is the funding.• Films could be made quickly with financing also available from Warp Films.• They made 6 films in under 3 years.• Budgets are between £450k - £1m

Warp Records• Started in 1989• Made music videos as well as acting as a record label.• Artic Monkeys, Rubber Johnny.• Launched www.Bleep.com in 2004 – an online digital music store.

Bleep• Won UK Digital Music Award for “Best Music Store” in 2006.• Includes music from other labels as popularity increased.

Synergy, Collaboration & FundingMadman EntertainmentIn April 2008, Australian indie film distributor Madman Entertainment announced a collaboration with Warp Films who plan to make “at least 2 films together over the next 3 years”.Madman is a vertically integrated distribution company in Australia & New Zealand which are committed to productions which widen the audience choice. Their top project is Anime.

FilmFourUses funding from their investment schemes and produces films similar to their remit.

Channel 4Owns the television rights to their productions

Funding• Low Budget Feature Film Scheme set up by UK Film Council’s New Cinema

Fund • Film4• EM Media (east midlands screen agency)• Screen Yorkshire• Optimum Releasing for distribution on DVD in UK• Channel 4 has UK television rights

Key Areas 1, 2 & 6

What are the benefits and negatives of Warp being an independent company?

How does synergy help Warp as a production company?

(Ownership / Synergy / Technologies)

How is the way in which Warp target their audiences different to Working Title?

Does their use of technology impact the audiences they target and films they produce?

(Targeting Audiences)

Picturehouse Cinemas & the Digital Screen Network(Taken from the Picturehouse website)Who they are

Formed in 1989 Wants to challenge the multiplex cinema model and provide cinemas that serve

their communities in city centre locations. Have a total of 18 cinemas, mostly, in university cities. According to their website they’re the fourth largest in the UK. Show both independent and mainstream films. Picturehouse cinemas feature “stylish café-bars, which host art exhibitions and

events such as live music, comedy and quizzes.” Run Kids’ Club, parents and babies’ screenings and senior citizens’ matinees.

Slackers Club, set up by E4, for students. Transmit live material from stage to screen including interviews with Quentin

Tarantino, Ang Lee, Ken Loach, Shekhar Khapur, Terence Davies and many others.

Company philosophy Central to the Company philosophy is maintaining the individuality of each

cinema. This means Cinema City remains individual. Picturehouse also run Virtual cinemas (venues that City Screen programmes but

does not own).

Digital Projection Part of the Digital Screen Network (therefore have to show ‘specialised’ films)* City Screen was the first exhibitor in the UK and Europe to install a nationwide

satellite network encompassing all its cinemas to show ‘live via satellite’ events. First satellite event was in October 2006, Amnesty International’s The Secret

Policeman’s Ball. Screens sold-out and audiences quickly embraced the new concept of 'cinecasts'. Since then, they have broadcast music, comedy, filmmaker Q&As, red-carpet premieres and productions transmitted in High Definition from The New York Metropolitan Opera and Royal Opera House.

For the 2008 return to the big screen of Amnesty International’s Secret Policeman’s Ball, they were the worldwide theatrical digital distributor, and delivered the live show via satellite to over 100 cinemas, including screens in Canada and Australia.

Digital Screen Network*As stated by the UKFC, a requirement of receiving a digital projector is that cinemas show specialised films. These include:

• Foreign language with subtitles, Documentaries, Archive/classic films, Genre - more difficult to categorise, Hook or USP - less easy to summarise, Cinematic style - more innovative.

What is it?• Funded by the National Lottery• 240 screens in 210 cinemas• Exhibitors committed to showing more specialised films• £300m spent on distributing and marketing films in UK in 2005• Only £18m (6%) spent on specialised films in 2005

Benefits of digital• Choice – more ‘product’ and the ability to match it to customer demand• Quality – better sound and image, no deterioration of the print• Alternative content – cinemas diversifying through live concerts, sport• Spectacle – higher resolution, new 3D technologies (Avatar)

Key Areas 1, 3, 6 & 7

How are Picturehouse different in terms of ownership compared to other cinemas?

What technologies have been introduced and how do these benefit audiences?(Ownership / Technologies)

How is the way in which Picturehouse target their audiences different to Vue? How do they benefit or overcome global institutions targeting British audiences?

(Targeting Audiences)

Vue Cinemas(Taken from skillset and myvue)

REMEMBER: The majority of this information is taken directly from sources which boast how brilliant Vue is. When reading this, take into consideration their use of language – you can mention their own opinions in an exam. It tells you a lot about the differences between Vue and Picturehouse!

Who they are Started in May 2003 after SBC International Cinemas acquired 36 cinemas

from Warner Village and 7 in 2005 from Ster Century. Their flagship cinema is in London’s West End with 9 screens and 2,300

seats. Have 2 cinemas in Portugal and Taiwan (from when they were owned by

SBC International) Focused on being the dominant exhibitor in the business as it continues

with its commitment to build and develop the most distinct, modern multiplex cinemas in the UK.

Company philosophy Endeavours to consistently provide the best possible cinema experience. Emphasis is on the mainstream, with mass market Hollywood crowd

pleasers such as Harry Potter and Shark Tale or accessible British films like Bride and Prejudice playing at its key sites.

DVD Rental Launched ‘Vue at Home’ a DVD rental service in conjunction with

ScreenSelect.co.uk. This is a unique partnership between Vue and ScreenSelect.co.uk because it marks the first time that a leading national exhibitor and a leading DVD home rental company have offered such an integrated service.

Mark de Quervain, Sales and Marketing Director for Vue Entertainment said: “We are delighted to have a partnership with ScreenSelect.co.uk. We both recognise that DVD renters are also cinema goers and as such, we see natural synergies between our two entertainment format offerings. Our plan is to combine marketing activities to increase cinema attendance and DVD rental”

Westfield In Feb 2010, the “stunning multimillion pound Vue cinema” opened Vue Westfield will be the largest fully digital cinema in Europe equipped

with the very latest in digital projection technology offering customers far greater film choice than ever before all delivered to the highest possible standards of picture and sound quality. With 82,360 sq ft of cinema space, 14 wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling fully stadium seated screens, including 5 3D enabled screens and almost 3,000 ultra comfortable seats; this is Vue Entertainment’s most ambitious development to date.

VueXtreme - large-format screens offering customers a ‘super-sized’ sound and vision experience.

High-end interior design, concierge service, cloak room, a private lounge and bar and three luxurious auditoriums with spacious, ultra-comfortable specially designed reclining seats. SCENE will deliver a premium, luxury experience for pleasure seeking cinema-goers aged 18 and over.

Key Areas 1, 2, 6 & 7

What can you determine about the way Vue control their cinemas (individuality?)?

How does their collaboration with the home DVD rental company affect their control of the market?

(Ownership / Synergy)

How is the way in which Picturehouse target their audiences different to Vue?

How do they benefit or overcome global institutions targeting British audiences?

(Targeting Audiences)

Beyond the Rave

• Directed by Matthias Hoene• Released on 17th April 2008• Shown in 20 episodes on MySpaceTV• Made with Pure Grass Films and Hammer Films• With music from Pete Tong• Written by Tom Grass• A horror about vampires on the underground rave scene. With drugs,

horror and violence Ed (about to go off to Iraq tries to find his girlfriend on his last night in England.)

• DVD released by Pure Grass in October 2009

MySpace• Launched in 2007 as MySpaceTV.com (available in 15 countries in 7

languages) http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/social-networking/networks/myspace7.htm

• Owned by News Corp (media conglomerate) & Rupert Murdoch• Main competitor is YouTube• MySpace acts solely on revenue generated from advertising. They use

‘behavioural targeting’ to select each ad a user sees.• Showed, exclusively, Beyond the Rave• Shows user-generated content AND Sony Minisodes (5 min clips of classic

TV shows)

“Even though MySpace Movies doesn't offer any services that are above and beyond those of ordinary movie Web sites, it gives users one less reason to exit MySpace's domain. Plus, avid movie fans enjoy adding movie profiles to their friends list.”

Questions• Why release a film over MySpace?• What are the benefits and negatives?• Who is the target audience?• Which of the key concepts could you use when talking about Beyond the

Rave?

Resources• www.hammerfilms.co.uk• www.puregrassfilms.com• www.myspace.com/beyondtherave

Key Areas 1, 2, 6 & 7

How has the use of technology in this case study impacted exhibition? Will this case study change the way in which audiences watch films or does

audience consumption already follow this (via the internet, etc)?(Technologies / Proliferation/ Synergy/ Technological Convergence)

Has Beyond the Rave targeted its audience well? What benefits can you see?

(Targeting Audiences)

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Introduction

Conclusion

Essay plan template