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

Media Homework Question Word Doc

Good example answer

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

Example answer:

All media is owned by a company or conglomerate, a media conglomerate is a multinational firm that distributes media products in the industry, six conglomerates hold 90% of what we read, listen to and watch therefore the public is easily manipulated without them knowing through the use of the hypodermic needle theory. Moreover these conglomerates tend to provide a variety of products to audiences to promote their brand or film through synergy. Walt Disney pioneered synergy; it is the promotion of a media product through numerous media platforms in the hope of attracting audiences, therefore making a large profit.

Big six companies such as Time Warner produce media to make a profit therefore they are given large sums of start-up capital and in return they expect large profits. With the large market share they have they can force their product onto audiences without they realising.

“The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug” was produced by Warner Brothers a subsidiary of Time Warner and is owned by Wingnut Films and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer two giants in the media ownership market, therefore it was expected that their product would make a large profit ($735.4 million) with the pre-existing fan base from the previous Lord of The Rings Trilogy. “The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug” commits audiences to continue to watch the films as they have made it into a three part trilogy therefore making large profits and completing a successful synergistic production. Gratification Theory, realising that the audience is much more complex in modern times, the audience selects media products that best suits their needs and ambitions; “The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug” entices the audience as they too desire treks across ancient lands and battles with bloodthirsty orcs and enchanting elves. This captivation bodes well with Warner Brothers as with their games division they can produce videogames which further the experience viewers witness in cinemas.

On the other hand “12 Years A Slave,” produced by Fox Search Light, PlanB, River Roads Entertainment and Film4, does not have the funds that a Big 6 company would, it had $22 million to make the film, moreover it was originally made for a small film festival where viewers would pay to watch a screening of a film which they knew nothing about. Despite its content, the film's critical success has assisted its domestic distribution by Fox Searchlight that began with a limited released aimed primarily towards art house and African-American patrons. The film's release was slowly widened in subsequent weeks, similarly to how films such as Black Swan and The Descendants had done in previous years. In a clever marketing stunt the international release dates for 12 Years a Slave were largely delayed to early 2014 in order to take advantage of the attention created by awards seasons. This paid off as 12 Years made an astonishing $187.7 million at the box office. This is due to the actors and producers who evolved the production as Brad Pitt and Benedict Cumberbatch (actors) played key roles in advertising through the use of trailers therefore grasping the audience’s attention as they are ‘A listers.’ Furthermore the influence of Kanye West and Chris Rock proved imperative as 12 Years A Slave made it to the big screen eventually.

Big 6 companies tend to use over the line promotion stunts for example “The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug” released the trailers 3 month before the film was released therefore allowing fans to anticipate the release. Moreover a face book page was established allowing fans to communicate before the big release whilst adverts trolled the webpage promoting the film. The Cinema release promoted the film in 3D and widescreen HD creating an experience for cinema goers. Moreover using synergy to their advantage Time Warner made a deal with Lego allowing their characters to be present in the new release therefore the production was promoted and Lego receives greater revenue. Moreover synergy played a part in the production of a Lego Hobbit game. A tie in game was also made further promoting the film. As the Hobbit was originally a book the companies decided to renew the cover of the book and create an audiobook giving the rights to the audio book to ITunes and Amazon Prime. This creates problems such as Piracy as with media conglomerates they overprice products to create the greatest profits possible therefore hackers manage to publish online illegal versions of the film meaning revenue is lost by the larger companies. The producers decided to burn the tape to Blue Ray, Blue Ray 3D and then created a new cover once it received an Oscar.

On the other hand as 12 years a Slave had little range of products as it was originally a novel. This novel was reproduced after 12 Years won numerous awards, the book was branded with the same images as on the DvD’s which were distributed. Moreover with the new title the book was concentrated into an audiobook where the dates of the release of the film were imprinted on the title. This continued before the release of the film in national cinemas. Moreover the film was advertised online through social networks and in trailer form displaying sneak peeks and interviews with the characters. Therefore attracting fans. The film rights where given to Amazon Prime where piracy was a threat. Small figurines were released after the film’s success however its main products where the dvd with multiple covers after awards season and the audio book.

Audiences were given every opportunity to receive products from both cases, some other products from other productions such as Battle ship failed in the promotion with a tie in game however the small production costs and minimum advertising has worked in 12 years favour as it was promoted as a work of art rather than a multimillion explosive Peter Jackson production. Products attract audiences and small children however many people now see big 6 companies as producing media products for the sake of profit.

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Kill list research

Kill List (2011)-                                                                                        IMDb rating: 6.3

   

Produced by: Claire Jones and Andy Starke

 

 

Written by: Amy Jump, Ben Wheatley

Director: Ben Wheatley

 

Ben Wheatley (born 1972) is an English director of feature films, TV comedy shows, adverts and idents, animated shorts and internet viral ads.

 

Awards:

Austin Fantastic Fest 2009- won best film and British Independent Film Awards 2009- rain dance award

 

 

Budget: $800,000
Box Office: $462,206

Actors
Neil Maskell- Jay

MyAnna Buring- Shel

Harry Simpson- Sam

Michael Smiley- Gal

Emma Fryer- Fiona




Warp X- is a British film production company, sister to Warp Films based in Sheffield, UK with further offices in Nottingham and London. The company was founded in 2005 and produces feature films. It is a digital film studio that produces feature films in the UK with budgets usually between £400,000 and £800,000.The studio serves as a format for new film directors to create movies for the first time on a lower budget scale with less expectation for high box office revenues on their initial feature foray.The film studio began with support from organizations including Warp Films, Film Four, the UK Film Council, EM Media and Screen Yorkshire. The intent of the film studio's creation was to add energy and vitality to the film industry in Britain.- This company was the studio of production and distributor of the film. 

·         A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008)

·         Donkey Punch (2008)

·         Hush (2009)

·         Tyrannosaur (2011)

·         Studio Canal- a key element within Studiocanal, the pan European film, production and sales distribution arm of French media group, Canal+. 

·         Paddington 2 (2017) ... Distributor (2017) (UK) (theatrical)

·         From the Land of the Moon (2016) ... Distributor (2016) (UK) (theatrical)

·         Bastille Day (2016) ... Distributor (2015) (UK) (theatrical)

·         Robinson Crusoe (2016) ... Distributor (2016) (UK) (theatrical)

·         Free Fire (2016) ... Distributor (2015) (UK) (all media)

·         Gold (2016/I) ... Distributor (2016) (UK) (all media)

·         The Circle (2016) ... Distributor (2016) (UK) (theatrical)

·         High-Rise (2015) ... Distributor (2015) (UK) (theatrical)

·         Legend (2015/I) ... Distributor (2015) (UK) (theatrical)

 Film Yorkshire (Screen Yorkshire)- Following a major review of the film infrastructure in the United Kingdom during 2000, the UK Film Council set up nine Regional Screen Agencies, one in each regions of England, to deliver support for film-making, exhibition and related media activities. They have a complex role spanning cultural, economic and social objectives. To be effective, they have found it essential to engage actively with other regional partners and to involve stakeholders including local film and television producers, broadcasters, games developers, museums and other cultural organisations.Each agency has interpreted the brief from the UK Film Council in its own way. Typically, this focusses on the provision of operational activities such training schemes, administration of funding for activities such as film festivals and film education, and the operation of investment funds and local services designed to make a region an attractive place for film-makers to bring inward investment.

Film Four- is a British film production company owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The company has been responsible for backing a large number of films made in the United Kingdom. 

·         High-Rise (2015) ... Production Company (financier)

·         Suffragette (2015) ... Production Company

·         Youth (2015/I) ... Production Company (in association with)

·         Carol (2015) ... Production Company

·         The Lobster (2015) ... Production Company (presents)

·         Slow West (2015) ... Production Company

·         Ex Machina (2015) ... Production Company

·         American Honey (2015) ... Production Company

UK Film Council-  a non-departmental public body set up in 2000 to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private company limited by guarantee, owned by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and governed by a board of 15 directors. It was funded from various sources including the National Lottery. John Woodward was the Chief Executive Officer of the UKFC. As at 30 June 2008, the company had 90 full-time members of staff. It distributed more than £160m of lottery money to over 900 films. Lord Puttnam described the Council as "a layer of strategic glue that's helped bind the many parts of our disparate industry together."

·         Rook Films-  small production company that produces vinyl, digital and posters of films to bring them promotion.  

Kill List - Original Soundtrack on very limited edition vinyl

Then do the same for the distributors:

·         Optimum Releasing (UK)- StudioCanal UK (formerly Optimum Releasing) is a film distributing company working in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company releases many films, including foreign language films, anime releases such as Studio Ghibli's films, and independent British, Irish, and American films in the United Kingdom and sometimes Ireland. 

Optimum released over 200 films a year and were one of the most prominent distributors in the UK independent film and world cinema market, since the closure of Tartan Films in 2008. Kill List, The Guard, and a re-release of Whisky Galore! were the last titles released under the Optimum Releasing banner

In September 2011, the company was renamed StudioCanal UK. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tyrannosaur, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, The Awakening, and W.E. were among the first films released under the new name.

·         IFC Midnight- IFC Films is an American film distribution company based in New York City, an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes independent films and documentaries under the IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight brands. It operates the IFC Center. 

·         Y Tu Mamá También (2001) — by Alfonso Cuarón

·         Casa de los Babys (2002) — by John Sayles

·         My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) — by Joel Zwick

·         Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980, restored 2002) — by John Sayles

·         XX/XY (2002) — by Austin Chick

Representation of class and status

Find two examples (a mixture of images and clips) from UK and US TV dramas for each of the following:

• Upper Class (rich/posh)
• Middle Class (neither rich nor poor/in the middle)
• Working Class (poor/common)

Add a brief justification for each choice.

Representations of the upper class and wealth

Neo-Marxists argue that mass media representations of social class tend to celebrate hierarchy and wealth. Those who benefit from these processes, i.e. the monarchy, the upper class and the very wealthy, generally receive a positive press as celebrities who are somehow deserving of their position. The British mass media hardly ever portray the upper classes in a critical light, nor do they often draw any serious attention to inequalities in wealth and pay or the overrepresentation of public-school products in positions of power.

Newman (2006) argues that the media focus very positively on the concerns of the wealthy and the privileged. He notes that the media over-focuses on consumer items such as luxury cars, costly holiday spots and fashion accessories that only the wealthy can afford. He also notes the enormous amount of print and broadcast media dedicated to daily business news and stock market quotations, despite the fact that few people in Britain own stocks and shares.

Representations of the middle classes
 

Four broad sociological observations can be made with regard to mass media
representations of the middle classes.

• The middle class are over-represented on TV dramas and situation comedies.
• Part of the British newspaper market is specifically aimed at the middle classes and their consumption, tastes and interests, e.g. the Daily Mail.
• The content of newspapers such as the Daily Mail suggests that journalists believe that the middle classes of middle England are generally anxious about the decline of moral standards in society and that they are proud of their British identity and heritage. It is assumed that their readership feels threatened by alien influences such as the Euro, asylum seekers and terrorism. Consequently, newspapers, such as the Daily Mail, often crusade on behalf of the middle classes and initiate moral panics on issues such as video nasties, paedophilia and asylum seekers.
• Most of the creative personnel in the media are themselves middle class. In news and current affairs, the middle classes dominate positions of authority – the ‘expert’ is invariably middle class

Representations of the working class

Newman argues that when news organisations focus on the working class, it is generally to label them as a problem, e.g. as welfare cheats, drug addicts or criminals. Working class groups, e.g. youth sub-cultures such as mods or skinheads, are often the subject of moral panics, whilst reporting of issues such as poverty, unemployment or single-parent families often suggests that personal inadequacy is the main cause of these social problems, rather than government policies or poor business practices. Studies of industrial relations reporting by the Glasgow University Media Group suggest that the media portray ‘unreasonable’ workers as making trouble for ‘reasonable’ employers.

Curran and Seaton (2003) note that newspapers aimed at working class audiences assume that they are uninterested in serious analysis of either the political or social organisation of British society. Political debate is often reduced simplistically to conflict between personalities. The content of newspapers such as The Sun and the Daily Star assumes that such audiences want to read about celebrity gossip and lifestyles, trivial human interest stories and sport.

Source: http://revisionworld.com/a2-level-level-revision/sociology/mass-media-0/age-social-class-ethnicity-gender-sexuality-disability

Examples of upper class and wealth:


Here is an example taken from the BBC show merlin. It shows the distinct difference in class between lower and upper. It does this as it conforms to the stereotype that all upper class citizens are uncompassionate and also ungrateful, this by showing Arthurs disgust at him being awarded a slave. Also this extract shows us that upper class people feel as if they are deserved of there position and are un equal, this through the fact that they see awarding someone for saving his sons life they let him be his slave to say a sort of thank you. This clip conforms to these stereotypes. 

Social class test results