What significance does the continuing development of digital media technology have for media institutions and audiences?

The continuing development of digital media technology has had a large significance on media audiences and institutions. over many years there have been many developments of distributing films; cinemas to DVD to now being able to use cross-media to watch film online using VOD such as Netflix.

In production, digital media has come along way, for example in mad max: Fury road- directed by George miller, they used a phantom camera. A camera that can shoot 300 frames per second, increasing greatly in quality. Another camera they used was a flash camera, allowing them to film it in 2D and 3D at the same time. They also used an edge arm to film scenes on moving vehicles. For example, in the scenes where Nux hangs off of the truck, we see very close detail and it allows the audience to follow him as he moves around. This is a large improvement, saving them time and money. This film also consists of CGI to add detail to the background and make it more dramatic. Another film that used CGI is ex machina- directed by Alex Garland. In this film they use rota-scoping to pencil in the body of the AI after shooting the scene twice, once with the actress and once without.

The marketing process of films has had significant development, which is important to get the film out to audiences. Ex machina was marketed using viral marketing. They did this by creating a fake tinder account in Texas under the name of Ava, who is not a real person and got people to talk to 'her'. When it came out that it wasn't a real person, it caused a lot of an up roar on social media pages such as twitter and Facebook, creating free advertising for the film. Having the access to viral marketing is really good for low budget British films such as Ex machina. Mad max had more traditional marketing such as posters and adverts, which would have costed a lot of money. However, This film worked in cross-media with a gaming company to create a game that was released before the film came out. This style of marketing was not available when the first of the mad max series came out, showing a significant development in the marketing processes.

When films where first about they could only be seen in the cinema, this was later developed to now being able to purchase DVDs and later on, blurays. There where many cases of films being illegally downloaded online, so blurays introduced a way of over coming this by giving a free download of the film they purchased. In very recent developments, we now have VOD (video on demand) this is a legal way of watching films online or at home. This has become very popular because it saves the user a lot of money because instead of spending £10 on a cinema ticket, they can pay £10 monthly instead to get a wide range of over 1000 films to watch at home. The biggest VOD site is Netflix, this site contains both old and new releases of films for the user to enjoy.

In conclusion the significance of the continuing development of digital media technology has meant that both institutions and audiences have benefited from a great film experience. Media institutions have made hit films such as Mad Max and Ex Machina generating a huge profit and media audiences have had the opportunity to watch the new films for their enjoyment.

Licensing
Who licensed Ex Machina in the UK and how much did it cost? Universal studios- $15million
Who licensed Ex Machina in the US and how much did it cost? A24
Was Ex Machina an example of vertical or horizontal integration? vertical integration
Who licensed Mad Max Fury Road in the UK and how much did it cost? Warner bros- $150 million
Who licensed Mad Max Fury Road in the US and how much did it cost? warner bros
Was Mad Max Fury Road an example of vertical or horizontal integration?
Who licensed Me And Earl And The Dying Girl in the UK and how much did it cost? FOX
Who licensed Me And Earl And The Dying Girl in the US and how much did it cost?
Was Me And Earl And The Dying Girl an example of vertical or horizontal integration?


Marketing
What was the release date for Ex Machina in the UK? January 21st 2015
What was the release date for Ex Machina in the US? April 24th 2015
Which major films appear in its US release window? Avengers
What was the release date for Me And Earl And The Dying Girl in the UK? September 4th 2015
Which major films appear in its UK release window? Maze runner
What was the release date for Me And Earl And The Dying Girl in the US? June 12th 2015
Which major films appear in its US release window? 
What was the release date for Mad Max Fury Road in the UK? May 14th 2015
Which major films appear in its UK release window? 
What was the release date for Mad Max Fury Road in the US? May 15th 2015
Which major films appear in its US release window? 

Distribution
How many screens was Ex Machina released on in the UK? 
How many screens was Ex Machina released on in the US? it started at 4 then increased to 2000
When did Ex Machina screen at the Phoenix Leicester?   
How long was its theatrical run in the UK?
How many screens was Me And Earl And The Dying Girl released on in the UK? 
How many screens was Me And Earl And The Dying Girl released on in the US? 
When did Me And Earl And The Dying Girl screen at the Phoenix Leicester? 
How long was its theatrical run in the UK?
 How many screens was Mad Max Fury Road released on in the UK?  546
How many screens was Mad Max Fury Road released on in the US? 50
When did Mad Max Fury Road screen at the Phoenix Leicester?  
How long was its theatrical run in the UK? 

Distribution

• A specialised film will typically have less then 10 prints.
• Distribution is the third part of the film supply chain.
• Distribution is often referred to as 'the invisible art', a process known to those only in the industry.
• When discussing distribution, vertical integration means where the three stages (production, distribution and exhibition) are seen as one large process, under the control of the film company
• Vertical integration isn't so common in the independent sector because producers tend to not have long term economic links with distributers, who likewise have no formal connections with exhibiters. 
• The three stages involved in the independent sector are: licensing, marketing and logistics. 
• Licensing is the process by which a distributer requires the legal rights to exploit a film.
• The two levels of licensing are international distribution and local distribution
• The advantages of being a major US studio are that they have their own distribution offices in all major territories. 
• The three different types of rights that you can acquire at a local level are: Theatrical rights (showing the film in cinemas), Video rights (for video and dvd exploitation) and TV rights.
• Royalties are taken from the profit that the film makes. Usually a local distributer will conventionally share profits equally with the producer for the theatrical leg, pay back higher royalties for broadcast rights, and lower for video/DVD.
• The most effective way to increase interest in a film is to release a film in a theatrical way (in cinema) so that the film creates interest.
• It takes two years after the opening in cinemas to come out on 'free to air TV' 
• The two key questions surrounding the marketing of a film are; when? and how?
• Films are typically released on a Friday
• Before releasing a film on a Friday the distributer will look at a schedule of other film releases on that day.
• A 'light week' in terms of distribution means that there won't be a load of films on at the same time, ensuring screen space and adequate review column inches in the press allocated to any new release.  
• To position a film distinctively means to avoid releasing the film around the same time when a film with similar traits is to be released.
• This has become increasingly difficult in the UK due to the release schedule featuring over 10 new releases each week.
• P&A are Prints and Advertising.
• P&A can range from £1,000 to over £1 million for a release of a film in the UK.
• A mainstream film will have over 200 prints.
• A key factor for developing a profile for a film is press response.
• Awareness of a film can also be raised by advertising in magazines/news papers and cinema posters. 
• It is risky to release a film in the UK because the print cost is very high.
• Companies are looking towards viral marketing because it is the easiest and cheapest way of marketing.
• The benefits of a talent visit is to get editorial coverage to support a release

In the pre digital film age what was a distributor responsible for?

• The average cost of a 35mm print, including delivery to a cinema, is around £1,000. 
• In a future print there are usually 5-6 reals
• 35mm prints tend to get damaged because of the amount of times they are used in different projectors.
• Prints are usually stored  at the UK's central print warehouse in West London. 
• A theatrical release usually lasting up to 6 months. 
• Digital distribution in the UK started towards the end of 2005.
• Digital distribution is more cost effective. It is also less stressful to send films as computer files to cinemas across the UK.
• China and Brazil where the first countries to adopt digital distribution.
• 2005 the UK Film Council Digital Screen Network launched in the UK by Arts Alliance Media creating a chain of 250 2K digital cinema systems

Why has digital distribution radically altered the operating model of distributors?

• Films are now available to pre order as the film is still in the cinemas.
• A loss leader is a strategy where a product is sold at a price below its market cost to stimulate other sales of more profitable goods or services.

sexulatity

https://prezi.com/1q2ohmo8egsz/sexuality-in-a-tv-drama/

what significance does the continuing development of digital media technology have for media institution and audiences?

what significance does the continuing development of digital media technology have for media institution and audiences?

Aspect:
computer- CGI, editing, distribution and marketing.

Distribution:

• DVD- Bluray- free download
• Netflix- stops illegal downloads

Editing:

• Mad max- improvement throughout the films
• Ex machina- CGI/rotoscoping

marketing:

• youtube
• socialmedia
• viral marketing ^

View point- The continuing development. such as Imax, CGI, 2D and 3D.

instruction- what significance?

• 2D and 3D, IMAX, flash, edge arm
• how its filmed -proccess
• marketing
• distribution
• editing- Ava body
• crossmedia
• synergy
• screens
• conversion- watching from phones, yt and social media.

The continuing development of digital camera media has had a great significance for media institution and audiences. It has made a huge change in marketing, distribution and the filming process.

Films such as mad max have come so far in terms of action and the graphics. The lastest mad max film -'fury road' was shot mainly using a flash camera. A flash camera can shoot the film and then to be turned into 2D, 3D and IMAX. This has resulted in wider audiences and will attract people who want the film in great quality, in 3D for extra effect or just 2D for those who just want to see the film, and all these can be shown in the same cinema at the same time. During this film they also used an edge arm- a camera attached to the side of a moving vehicle. This is a good development because we can now easily shoot moving vehicles. At the end of the film they shot it using a slow motion camera instead of doing it in the editing process. In the editing process of mad max they used CGI in some of the parts to make the background bigger and added in little details to the costume of the characters. In Alex Garland's Ex machina, rotoscoping was used to pencil in Avas body to make it robotic and see through, we would not have been able to do it for similar previous films such as 'AI' and '2001'.

Digital media has also impacted how we distribute films. We can now watch films on line legally through websites such as 'Netfilx'. Netfilx came about so people could watch the film with out going to the cinema and not downloading it illegally. It appeals to audiences because we can watch hundreds of films without having to pay and so to the cinema. We do have to pay to use these websites so it is still beneficial for the production companies but for us it is a lot cheaper and we get more from our money. We can as well put the films onto discs to sell in shops. The development of this went from video tapes to DVDs then finally to Blu ray. A blu ray is very similar to a DVD but it comes with extras such as downloading the film to your computer for free which is why more and more people are starting to but them. Another improvement we have on film is that through each generation of film the quality increases.

The biggest significance that digital media development has had is how we market films.  Because of conversion that we now have, such as social media and youtube, we can now uses a marketing process called viral marketing. This is when the film gets spoke about on the media pages and youtube adverts where everyone can see it. This costs the companies very little money and is the fastest and wider spread way of getting everyone talking about a film. Conversion also lets audiences watch films from our phones and computers getting even more views. However, mad max didn't rely on viral marketing, and more on other methods such as posters and adverts. Another marketing example is cross-media that is used to market Mad max. The company worked with a gaming company to produce a gamed about the film that was released just before the film.
      

In conclusion, the development of digital media has impacted greatly on the marketing, distribution and production process of the film. It has now got a faster way of marketing which saves them a lot of money- viral marketing and can work in cross-media to produce other popular products such as video games to attract people who they think will have an interest in the film. It has also made a great change to how we view films. Being able to watch films online attracts so many more audiences because it's cheaper and we can do it from home.
It has also made the filming processes a lot easier and quicker to do while the quality is really high.

ex machina and mad max essay

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mad max and ex machina essay

I believe that a media products success depends on marketing and distribution just as much as production practices. A USA film is a success if it is a blockbuster film and a British film is successful just based on making money and awards.

Ex Machina was influenced by previous films such as '2001', 'AI' and 'Blade runner'. The 'Sci-fi' genre is one that there isn't a big audience for, making it harder to get an audience. However, Ex machina had a good and interesting story line which contributed to the films success. The film was directed and written by Alex Garland who also directed '28 days later'.  The film challenged industrial practice and ignored the rules put into place by Mark Kermode. The film had no action throughout and we as an audience only saw very little action towards the end. The film starred 4 unknown actors which also means that it shouldn't have been successful for a British film. The actors where; Sonoya Mizurio, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Issac and Domhall Gleeson.
     Oscar Issac and Domhall Gleeson are unknown as of yet but both have roles in the upcoming star wars film. For all these reasons the film should not have been successful. However, this film is a success because of marketing and distribution. The form of marketing they used was viral marketing. This means that it was almost completely free and relied on the public to get the word out, saving a lot of money. They created a fake finder account for Ava (the AI in the film) that the people would talk to thinking it was a real person. They did this in Texas at a south by southwest festival. This was a good place to do it because it is full of well known people that other people would listen to. It links very well to the plot of the film being to prove that a 'robot' can have humanistic emotions.

Ex machina was worked on in synergy with DNA films, film 4 and universal studios. As universal studios distributed the film, it impacted greatly on the film being a success. The film was distributed in a pattern. It was originally shown in America on 4 screens on April 12th, then increased to 1200 screens by April 24th and lastly to 2000 screens. The reason for the great increase was due to Ex machina being 'piggy backed' by Avengers. So as the avengers dies out and people have seen it, they will want to see a similar film so when Ex machina was released it created a wider audience.
    The film as a $15 million budget, $21 million profit and made $36.9 million box office. It also won an award at the Garardmer film festival and was nominated for 2 others. This to me is a very successful British film.

All of the above things show us that sometimes plot is more important than action, more money doesn't make a better film and a film relies on marketing and distribution just as much as production practices.
 
Mad max was a US block buster film with a $374.7 million box office and $150 million budget. This is very successful production practice because it made almost 4 times as much as it needed to be a blockbuster ($100million). The film was both written and directed my George Miller. It starred very famous actors which is good production practice. the stars where; Nicholas Hoult, Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. It has a lot of action in it and is continuous through out. Max max was in 2D and 3D and was filmed on a flash camera. These are all big contributors to the films success.

The film was marketed in these ways; TV adverts, posters and billboards. They also used cross-media to create a video game of the film. They spent a total of $7 million on TV adverts and a further $43.7 on Warner bros. The film was distributed on may 14th and was widely released onto 12000 screens. This adds to the success of the film but isn't as dependent on marketing and distribution as production practices.

Overall, i think that in some cases, mainly British films, marketing and distribution is just as important as production practices. Both of these films where rated 15 making it not a four quadrant film, loosing views. I believe that with Ex machina, it was only a success due to marketing and the plot of the film. With Mad max, it was because of all the action in it and the people that it starred, marketing had little contribution to the films success compared to the production practice.

representation of ethnicity.

skins.

black- Thomas is a black character that comes to the UK from africa. He is very friendly which is a countertype to the normal sterotypes of black people being dangerous and very violent. we see him help his friends alot and he shows that he cares. he also stays out of any trouble.





asian- This is Anwar from skins. he is a sterotypical asian/indian. His family and him dress in the traditional outfits and they do their daily prayers.
he is also a countertype because he is really rebelious and his best friend is gay, which is seen as a sin within his religion.








white- Effy from skins is seen to be a loud anti-behaviourist teen. she goes out drinking and does drugs while sneeking around behind her parents back. This is a stereotype of a typical British white teen.









Pretty little liars.

chinese- Mona from PPL is a chinese character. as she was born in America she doesnt have any chinese elements to her.

Black- this character is a police man in this TV drama. this is a countertype of a black person because sterotypically black people are seen to be put into prison but in this case it is the other way around.








white- this a Ali who is a white character in PLL. she is very girly which can be seen as a stereotypical thing. she does have a rebellious side to her which goes against the 'christian' stereotype.










Vampire Dairies  
black- this is the only black character that has appeared in the show apart from one main character. there isn't much to say about him because he is very new to the show and is mute. he is one of the bad guys in the show which can be seen as a stereotype of all black people being thugs.

Chinese- Oscar is another new character to the show. so far we have seen him to be quite cleaver in his action. this related to the stereotype that all Chinese people are smart.

white- this is the main character from the show. he has a 'bad boy' representation which is opposite to the white stereotype being that they are good and christian.