Star Wars

Hello Year 12! I am marking your coursework.

Can you have a look at these links:

http://www.insidethemagic.net/2016/04/new-star-wars-the-force-awakens-bonus-feature-now-available-as-itunes-extras-exclusive/

http://www.vulture.com/2016/04/star-wars-the-force-awakens-dvd-blu-ray.html#

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=18864

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2016/03/star-wars-the-force-awakens-blu-ray-has-already-hit-torrent-sites/

Make notes on how The Force Awakens has been distributed to audiences for home viewing, as opposed to cinema.

• What formats is it available on? 
• Why is it available on different formats? 
• What is the advantage of this for the distributor and Disney?
• Have some distributors (such as iTunes) any exclusive features that others lack? Why do you think this is? 
• How does the home distribution of The Force Awakens differ from; 
• A Field In England (In terms of format, sales figures, and release windows) 
• Another independent British film released at a similar period (i.e. in the last three months) 

AGE REPRESENTATION

Harsh stereotypes can cut both ways - against both the old and the young.     

	Stereotypical Characteristics
	YOUNG PEOPLE Immature, stupid, greedy, lazy, selfish, unfit, obese, violent, callous, gullible, unreliable, careless, self-entitled, never going to achieve anything
	OLD PEOPLE Grumpy, out-dated, slow, weak, whining, unable to use technology, unhealthy, miserly, hard-of-hearing, ugly, never go anywhere

Coming down the mountain

How is the audience positioned to think about both David and Ben?
The audience are positioned to think that David is looking after Ben. The audience may also be able to tell that they have a close bond.

 How is the editing conveying representations of disability?
The use of the shot reverse shot implies that Ben and David respect each other. It also contradicts the stereotype that able bodied people are more superior and capable than disabled people because they both show equality.

 Who gets the majority of screen time?
Both characters get the same amount off screen time, this reinforces the counter stereotype that each character is equal.
How does the mise en scene convey representations of disability (facial expressions, props)?
Ben has a scrunched up face, when talking about sex. This implies that disabled people are unable to have mature adult conversations.
Can you find any examples in the dialogue which convey representations of disability?

How do UK film companies, and UK films manage to compete, exist and survive in this system?


BFI supports UK films which allows them to exist and survive in this system. The BFI will fund the company for their film. The BFI uses National Lottery Funds (NFI)  to develop and support original UK filmmakers and films, and to increase the audiences who can enjoy them. 
Also, they support high-quality British and independent releases, increase film choice for audiences and offer a springboard for UK film exports.

 
What effect does this US dominance have on UK filmmakers and production companies?


British films are usually brought by America studios which takes away the fact that its a British company as an American company own the rights to the film which implies that US dominance has a major effect on UK film makers. For example Harry Potter has a large British cast and was mostly shot in the UK. However, 20th Century Fox are the producing company and are one of the major six which are all American. What ‘screencast’ ask is can Harry Potter be counted as the ‘pride of Britain’ if it is owned by a big American Company.
Also, UK institutions cannot afford a large budget for the movie so the producers are forced to sign with American studios to pay for the film.



What effect does it have on the audience and the types of films they can see?


The big six would not like to loose audience and try to keep it safe by producing sequels such as Star Wars the Force Awakens as the film would already have a large audience due to the previous films.


They focus on action adventure / superhero movies and this is what we are constantly seeing. This prevents us from seeing content that we wouldn’t normally see such as a movie like a unique movie such as A Field In England and Frank, these are a different style/genre of film. A large American company will not want to risk wasting their money on a movie that isn't successful and will not make them a lot of money. A superhero film or a sequel is guaranteed to make them profit and that’s why they are constantly being released whereas new interesting and unique films are not. This limits us from the types of styles and genres we can watch. If all our films which were made were made by majors,  we would not have any controversy of films and everything will be the same. Additionally, one could argue that major films are not actually high quality and have amazing narratives or special effects, but it is because they already  have a built audience which makes their films successful.

Exam Practice

Evaluate how different media institutions market and distribute products in the media are in which you have studied.

In film, major movie studios and independent production companies market and distribute their films in many different ways. In todays media landscape there are hundreds of different channels and platforms, this creates a competition between film companies, as they have to work much harder to attract audience to them.

A major institution, that has successfully marketed and distributed a blockbuster film, is Disney which produced and marketed Star Wars: A Force Awakens.  Additionally, Film4 Productions, an Independent Production Company produced A Field In England.

Disney used many marketing strategies to engage the audience with the film, for example, Disney created a multimedia interactive app. The app took advantage of technological convergence, using convergent devices to allow the audience to take Star Wars selfies, and participate in a online game which they could connect and play with other Star Wars fans. This was successful because it encouraged sharing and spreading of the brand content virally, and encouraged the audience to share the outcome of the selfies on social media.

Another strategy used by Disney is that the trailer was premiered on ESPN, a channel that is owned by Disney. This is an example of synergy. The premiere of the trailer was shown on Monday night which is a popular time for football, this means that there was a large audience engaging with the channel which meant that lots of people were able to watch the screening of the premiere.

Furthermore, Disney also used social media to create hashtags on Facebook and Twitter. An example hashtag is, #ForceFriday. This encouraged the audience to help with the marketing as they were sharing with their friends. This created a organic and viral spreading of content. By using a hashtag also created a ‘event’ feeling with the ForceFriday hashtags.

In comparison, Film4 Productions are unable to do as much as Disney when it comes to marketing due to them having a lower marketing budget. Though having a smaller budget, Film4 built single momentum around the film and created interest across all media platforms.

Film4, like Disney also used synergy as a way of marketing their film. Channel 4 has an audience view count of 23 million viewers, which allowed them to successfully market special trailers to encourage them to watch the television screening of A Field In England.

On top of this, Film4 Productions created a Digital Masterclass Website that appealed to the film’s ‘cinephile’ target audience. The website included behind the scene content and took advantage of digital technology. Statistics show that 34% out of 54,000 visits onto the website went on to buy tickets to watch the film in cinemas. This is evidence that the website successfully engaged the audience. Film4 Productions also had a running commentary when the film was first released on it's 'Live Blog' this attracted the audience and encouraged them to post their reactions throughout the film also.

Similarly, Film4 also used social media. A Field in England took advantage of Ben Wheatley's (the director) niche cult fanbase and created a Twitter page for the film which had 2,000 followers. By using social media allowed the audience to tweet the director, which was evident as it got 12,000 mentions on Twitter. This was effective as it allowed viral marketing to take place and also encouraged the audience to take part and express their opinions on the film.

The distribution of both films was very different. Disney had a $240 million budget on production and advertisement which meant that they could afford to do a day and date release. This is when the film is released on one specific day and date. Disney decided to follow the traditional release window and released the film on the 17th December 2015, and later on released the film on DVD and Blu-Ray, and eventually onto VOD and TV. Not only was in distributed in cinemas, the audience were able to choose to view the film in different formats, for example: 2D, 3D, IMAX and IMAX Laser. Star Wars: A Force Awakens had a blanket release and was distributed to 90% of the UK cinemas, and shown in 4,134 cinemas within the US. This was effective as it allowed fans to choose a format in which they wanted to view the film. It also encouraged fans to repeat viewings in different formats to compare the differences. For example, between home viewing, and IMAX Laser. By having a day and date release also meant that a hype was built around the film and it created a 'event' for the release.

In comparison, A Field In England was simultaneously released on July 5th 2013. This means that the film was released on all media platforms on one day and there were no release windows. Film4 Productions decided to release the film this way as they believed it would not be as successful if they followed a conventional film release. The film was only released in 17 cinemas within the UK, and was available on VOD on the same day. This gave the audience the option to how they would view the film, which would have encouraged more people to watch the film as it would be suited them and regardless geography. Film4 Productions did however, add value to cinemas by having a Question and Answer screening with the director of the film, Ben Wheatley, in which 51% of people intended. Unlike Disney, Film4 had a small budget of £112,000. This way of distribution was successful to Film4 as although the niche audience (mostly men) knew that the film was available free to air on Film4, 77% still went to view the film in cinemas. This was successful and also effective as it was very audience centred as they were able to choose where to watch the film. It was also successful as it became the most watched film on Film4O by having a average of 567,000 viewers. It was also effective as it took advantage of convergent devices as the choice to how to watch the film was suited to the audience.

In conclusion, we can see that their are many differences and similarities with how major and independent institutions market and produce their products. One reason why there are so many differences is due to the budget they are both given. By having a larger budget, Disney are able to distribute their film in more ways and in more creative ways too. Whereas, Film4 Productions have a more simplistic way of marketing and distributing. However, they did both use convergent devices in order to both market and distribute as well as social media websites, which suggests that this is the most popular way to virally market a product.  In my opinion, I believe that Disney had a more successful marketing and distribution strategy mainly because of the financial differences, but also because it has a larger, much wider audience.

http://www.slideshare.net/SophieOttmann/regional-identity-newcastle

3 Interactive Online Digital Marketing

Pitch Perfect 2

Release Date: May 15th

Production Budget: $29 million

Opening Weekend Box Office Sales: $69,216,890

Pitch Perfect 2 premiered just before the start of summer. It was the first movie to use Snapchat and Snapchat Story in its marketing strategy, earning it more than 300,000 followers. The Snapchat filter created for the film was viewed over 6 million times. Parts of the premier were even livestreamed on Periscope, the video streaming app for iOS and Android. The use of the snapchat filter meant that the audience interacted and added the advertisement to their own photo and they could then share and forward on the advertisement.

Minions

Release date: July 10th

Production Budget: $74 million

Opening Weekend Box Office Sales: $115,718,405

Minions even have their own colour by Pantone: Minion Yellow. These yellow creatures appeared everywhere to create hype, whether it be on your delivery box from Amazon or at McDonald’s with life-size mascots, or at your favourite theme park. The film partnered with many major brands, such as Chiquita Bananas, Comcast, and General Mills, to spread the hype. Like Pitch Perfect 2, Snapchat was also a major marketing component. Giant minions were a hugely successful experiential activation in theatres and at McDonald’s, as people lined up to take and post. The movie had the help of its existing franchise followers from the Despicable Me movies to drive the conversation and excitement on all social media platforms. Minions advertisement was the most successful, as Minions took over every shop, hashtags on Twitter and Instagram and many competitions were created which a big hype and engaged the audience to create hashtags and share and repost.

Jurassic World

Release date: June 12th

Production Budget: $150 million

Opening Weekend Box Office Sales: $208,806,270

Though some critiqued the heavy advertisements, the movie gained serious traction long before its opening weekend. Aside from its partnerships with brands like Mercedes-Benz, Jurassic World came to life with a website designed as a virtual theme park, featuring brands like Hilton Hotels and Margaritaville. With Jurassic World’s strategy to blur the lines between fiction and reality, people were able to interact with the movie as if it were an actual destination to be visited and experienced.

 

Intermission had a Twitter account with a hashtag.            

Fingersmith, 2005, BBC Drama Sexuality

One way in which editing was used within this extract was through a dissolve. An example of this is when Maud is getting her hand licked by her male admirer, and there is a close up of her facial expression of disgust. It then dissolves to the other girl undressing and showing her back. The use of the dissolve suggests that the two scenes are linked and that they represent Maud's thoughts at this point. This makes the audience realise that Maud fantasises about the other girl, which implies that lesbian relationships are about fantasies and desires of lust.

In contrast to this, when the man is in the shot the diegetic sound changes from classical piano and violin to now discordant and tense. Additionally, the use of the body language which he portrays is violent and physical. For example, when he pushes her against the tree and holds her. This suggests that heterosexual relationships are all about dominance and violence, whereas lesbian relationships are more peaceful and caring between one another. This is reinforced through the use of the dialogue, "Wake her, she'll burn" suggesting that they care about each other.

The use of the lighting inside where the two girls are alone together is always dark and candlelit, whereas when they are outside it is naturally lit and the lighting is bright. This implies that lesbian relationships at this time were forbidden and have to be a secret.  Furthermore, the positioning of the frame when the man comes between the two girls and he is standing higher in the frame, this reinforces that heterosexuality is all about being dominant and demanding and is the norm of society at this time.

The use of the slow tracking shot when Maud and the other lady are in the setting of the bedroom and the use of the gesture when Maud is contemplating whether to touch the other lady or not. This suggests that lesbian relationships are not all about physicality but also reinforces the forbidden love and also the unrequited love which is suggested in this extract. The prop of the glove which she is wearing also implies that lesbian relationships are repressed and hidden away from society as they were not acceptable during this time period of the Victorian Era.

The hyperbolic and enhanced sound of the heavy breathing and the rustle of the silk dress suggests intimacy between lesbians but also that lesbians share a emotional relationship. The costume and props portray the idea that lesbianism is also about appreciating the art and literature of the world and applying it to their relationship. For example, when Maud is painting the woman she is appreciating every part of her. The eye-line match from Maud to the other lady's breasts represents that lesbianism love is also about the physicality of others and the intimacy between them.

How has the film industry (Disney, or Film4 productions, or, another) used digital technology to appeal to an increasingly fragmented audience?

A fragmented audience is the break up of a audience. This has been happening in the most recent years and we have found that fragmented audiences are more diverse due to the increased in media platforms, and the availability  to more diverse content and more choice. This is a major problem for media institutions because there is more competitions between cinemas, advertisement, and traditional media in general. Nowadays, modern advertisers have to get a audience to come to them. This is done by engaging the audience through the techniques of Web2.0 to engage an audience used to interactivity. This allows the audience to virally market the products of media institutions.


One media institution which has used digital technology to attract fragmented audience is Disney. One way in which they did this is:

The force was strong in the digital and mobile space, where the content plan ran at a different speed. It was much faster, much more conversational and fluid. With starwars.com as the hub and social platforms —yes, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, but also a super cool Tumblr blog and even a well-managed presence on Google+—as the spokes, there were new pieces to the story revealed multiple times a day. We shouldn't forget that brands have to earn their way into users' social feeds. Star Wars earned its way into those feeds and the right to stay by publishing and sharing great content. A new app was launched, games arrived, all feeding elements of the overall story Disney was telling.

They even used events like Comic-Con and Star Wars Celebration to further feed the frenzy. Disney streamed live on YouTube, revealing cast members and characters, teasing future films, and essentially bringing fans into the experience as if they were family. They launched toys before the movie release and before the critical holiday shopping season, making that an event in and of itself by labeling it  "Force Friday," and bringing key partners like Amazon, Target and Toys "R" Us into the mix, then mistakenly (perhaps?) revealing minor plot details on some of the toy packaging.

The brand partnerships were big and bold and really pinned their only hopes for holiday marketing campaigns on Star Wars. Covergirl, Duracell, General Mills, HP, Subway and Verizon launched major efforts and timed those launches in a way that engaged consumers and fans with products and ads that provided as much unique new content as some of the official work coming directly from Disney.

Force Friday hashtag on Twitter 

Mock Exam Feedback

Q1:

EXPLANATION/ANALYSIS/ARGUMENT
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USE OF EXAMPLES
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USE OF TERMINOLOGY
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OVERALL: 35/50 (B)

FEEDBACK: 
NEED MORE POINTS ON SOUND AND EDITING
CORRECTLY USE ESTABLISHING SHOT AND CUTAWAY
USE A RANGE OF EXAMPLES
UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF TYPICAL STEREOTYPES CREATED IN TV DRAMA




Q2:

EXPLANATION/ANALYSIS/ARGUMENT
         13

USE OF EXAMPLES
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USE OF TERMINOLOGY
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OVERALL: 33/50 (C)

COMPLETE OVERALL EXAM MARK- 68/100

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Sexuality Questions

Upload the posters for the 1933 King Kong film and the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still and comment on the representations of sexuality depicted in them.

 

 

 

 

 

Both posters represent sexuality in many ways. There is a clear protagonist who is saving the woman who is the 'damsel in distress' this suggests the representation that women are reliant on men and incapable of surviving on their own and protecting themselves. The low angle shot helps portray the representation of women is that they are weak and submissive as they are being held by the male figures, and are below them, aswell, as being obviously significantly smaller.  The flailing of her limbs implies that she is being melodramatic and emotional, a typical representation of females. In addition, she is being sexualised by the large amounts of skin on show from her provocative costume.Additionally, the men in both posters are represented as strong and powerful, and resilient. The evil aggressor, the ape or robot, is in some way posing a sexualised threat to the half naked but pure virginal woman who is seen as needing to be rescued from the masculine threat seeking to violate her. 

 

 

 

2. What reason is given in the article for the Sci-Fi genre including more challenging representations of female sexuality?

 During the early era of sci-fi women were rarely sexualised in film, however, the new  alien characters brought a new opportunity for presenting women in a different way that may not have been appreciated or accepted in characters of other genres. Extra-terrestrial beings were not as relatable as human characters and therefore it was perceived as acceptable to view them in ways that would seem distasteful and offensive had it been a human. Due to their unnatural characteristics they were often portrayed in a very sexual manner, many being associated with the protagonist through his love life. This new breed of characters proved fascinating for the audience and they would not have seen an issue in the over-sexualising of their costume and behaviour.

 

3. What are the two main ways that women have traditionally been depicted in terms of female sexuality?

 They were given the representation of openly offering a much more provocative representation of sexuality. They were provocatively dressed, with heavy eye make up and a seductive voice. The female characters followed mainly a narrative which included them attempting to seduce the hero of the story.

 

4. How have recent writers and directors changed representations of sexuality in television dramas?

 Recent writers and directors have changed the representation of sexuality in television dramas by not following the conventional heterosexual relationship. Instead they have changed the sexuality of the main protagonists and have represented them as homosexual.

 

5. What has television producer and screenwriter Russell T.Davies done to challenge depictions of sexuality in mainstream television drama?

He wrote a TV drama which was a ground-breaking but controversial about a group of young gay friends in Manchester.

 

 

6. Why is Captain Jack’s sexuality in Dr Who kept oblique?

Captain Jack's sexuality in Dr Who is kept oblique so that the audience can work out from some of his one-liners what sexuality he is. Also because Doctor Who is considered family viewing, and references to any kind of sexual behaviour, heterosexual or otherwise have to be kept oblique.

 

 

7. What technical aspect (camera, sound, mise-en-scene or editing) does the article suggest gives most hints to the viewer about Jack’s sexual orientation?

The article suggests that the audience should pay attention to the framing of Jack. He is occasionally framed in a medium longshot or medium close up in order to emphasise his physical attributes. Additionally, sound might also have a part to play in telling us how a character feels about another character, so incidental and other music might also play a part in the representation of sexuality.

 

 

8. Which technical aspect of the representation of Jack (camera, sound, mise-en-scene, editing) challenges traditional stereotypes of gay men?

 In contrast, the author argues that the costume element of mise-en-scene is a counter stereotype of his sexual orientation as it is very masculine. For example he regularly wears military attire and has the phisique of a hyper masculine character, another counter stereotype.

9. Why might some audience members be offended by Jenny and Vastra’s relationship in Doctor Who?

As mentioned before, some people would be offended that the only lesbian couple has one character as an alien since it implies that humans are incapable or shouldn’t be involved in homosexual relations with each other. The fact that it is only possible through the use of an extra-terrestrial being rather than a human could be seen as an insult to the homosexual community. Alternatively it is a plot point using central characters and the entire programme revolves around the lives of non-human’s it appears to be an acceptable compromise.

 

 

10. Find a still image from an episode Dr Who and annotate the mise-en-scene characteristics that give clues to the character’s sexuality – eg. setting, costume, body language, props, facial expression, positioning in the frame.