Sightseers Research Cast

StudioCanal

What was StudioCanal's original purpose? 
The original function was to focus on French and European productions, but later made strategic deals with American production companies. StudioCanal's most notable productions from its early years include Terminator 2: Judgment Day, JFK, Basic Instinct, Cliffhanger, Under Siege, Free Willy, and the original stargate movie. In those days, it was known as Le Studio Canal+.
Which big 6 company has connectios with StudioCanal?
Studio canal is a spin of of canal+. Studio canal are very closely linked to one of the major 6 film companies, universal studios.
How large is StudioCanal's film library? 
studio canal have a small film library of 10 films having been founded in 1988

Big Talk Pictures

The total gross for all Big Talk films was $313,717,990.

They specialise in British films.

Big Talk was founded by Nira Park

Film4 Productions
Who owns Film4 Productions?
channel four television corporation
When was it 're-established'?
It was re-established in 2006
Which TV chanel is it connected to?
Film 4


Bfi Film Fund
What is the purpose of the Bfi Film Fund?
is to invest in lottery money into film development, production and distribution in film industry.What is its budget pa? 
the budget is set to rise from 26 million to 30million by 2017. 

The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences

Which formats is the film available on?

TV, VOD, Magazines, National and Specialist Press, Outdoor – Underground, High Impact Online Display, Video, Social.

How was it released in the US (formats and release pattern)?

Didn’t have a release date at the time, and now it does. Sightseers will show you a love story like no other whenever it hits theaters on May 10.

How was it marketed how did StudioCanal help?

Gave away the movie for free. "It’s kind of counter-intuitive to give a movie away for free. But at the same time, if you’ve got a million people talking about it, that’s’ a pretty amazing bit of marketing. And if you’ve got big resources, you’ve got to use them."

How was twitter and facebook used to market the film? 

Created a Facebook and twitter page and kept up on information on the film. They made fake posters for the "missing dog". This made the film feel more realistic.

They set up deck chairs, camping chairs and trams to go with the theme of the movie at the premier.

How was Stella Artois involved? What is a Stella Artois bursary?

At the premier they were sponsored by stella artois and it was hosted by the drink too. 

Stella Artois Bursaries are unique funds that directly support the film community.

Cross media convergence and synergy

"Cross media convergence and synergy are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences." To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to your media area? 

I agree with this statement because synergy and convergence are vital process for media companies to be able to get there film out to the public and there target audience. cross media convergence is where the film works together accidentally with another company to promote there film. An example of this is youtube. Films always cross media converge with youtube as they put there film trailers on the website to promote the film to the public but youtube wasn't made for film trailers it is just there so they use it for advertising. Another example of this is the social networking site Twitter. Twitter is a platform which allows you to tweet and anyone view it. This is good as a film company can use twitter to write and keep their fans up to date with news about the film. Facebook is another example of a cross convergence is a film company can make a page and people on Facebook can like the page about the film and then they will post statuses and pictures/videos about the film to keep their fans up to date about the film and promote their film. 

Synergy is where a film works with a company to promote their film. An example of this would be when a film company works with a magazine to publish an article about the film. Doing this promotes the film as anyone who buys the magazine will see the advertisement. An example of this would be when planet of the apes worked wiht vice to promote film and they released.

Media Essay - Distribution and marketing

“Successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution to a specific audience as they do upon good production practices”.

I agree with this statement and i think that distribution and advertisement of a film is one of the most important aspects when creating a film because if know one knows about the film no one is going to watch the film, however it is essentials it targets your target market. It is one of the elements which makes the film successful if done well or unsuccessful if not done accurately. The distribution of a film needs to be done strategically, and to the widest and most effective way e.g. trailers on youtube and through social media and the advertising of a film needs to be also directed at key audience members who can market the film socially through retweets and word of mouth. The marketing off a film now relies on the distributor in the modern film industry such as warner bros,20th century fox and paramount pictures which are classified as one of the 'big six'. These are two of the best companies at distributing films because of there ability to distribute a film global and to make it accessible to all audiences, they have greater access to cinema chains. Also there status as being well know n high class film distributors means that there films get more noticed and they have links with in Tv companies and different accepts of the media to make sure that there marketing campaigns are a success. An example of this is the film transformers age of extinction this is a film which was almost guaranteed success because it was distributed by Paramount pictures this meant the film was distributed globally through there distribution network and cinema chains. Also the film was advertised very efficiently and to a high quality. There was 5 different trailers up to the release if the film. The film was in tv commercials for products such as Oreo Cookies, Uber app, ESPN, Samsung HD Tv, Chevrolet and Duracell batteries, they also released loads of different toys. But the film transformers age of extinction did not have very good reviews from film critics. IMBD gave it a 5.9 out of 10 which is low for a hollywood blockbuster and common sense media gave it a 2 our of 5 which again is a low score for a film with a budget of $210 million. But even with these bad reviews from critics the film still made a massive $1,087,289,076 at box office which which wipes out its budget. This just shows that distribution of a film and advertising is one o the most important elements of a film and can be make a film successful or un successful. 

The film Dredd is a film which is distributed by entertainment film distributors and lions gate. The film loss money at box office and was unsuccessful. This is due to the way the film was distributed. The film was well marketed to its audience but the Film was distributed poorly as in many cinemas it was released only in 3D so if you didn't like 3D you had to travel to see it in 2D. Eventually they stopped showing it in 2D and it was only shown in 3D, which really made the films audience a lot smaller, and it made it so it was not accessible to all audiences. The films reviews were really good it got mainly 4s/3s out 5, which is good for a film, which only had a budget of $45 million budget. Unfortunately reviews do not affect a films success very much as it only made $41 million at box office, which means that it was a failure. This failure is due to the way it was distributed to cinemas and the lack of advertising and marketing there was for the film. Not many people new about it not even the there target audience, which it was aimed at. This again shows that the statement is true and that distribution and marketing is one of the keys to success for a film. The film the expendables 3 is another example of a film which has bad reviews but succeed because of its advertising and distributed. The expendables was distributed by lions gate and it was successful film. The film got pretty poor reviews for a film with a $90 million getting 2 maybe 3 star ratings from most critics but it was still some how successful. The reason it was successful was due to the way the film was distributed by lions gate it was distributed globally and it was made accessible to all audiences, Also the film was well advertised and marketed which made the film look better than it was and attracted people and made them want to go and see it. From doing the advertising and the distribution well the film made $206 million at the box office making over double the budget. 

The film Grand Budapest Hotel is a film which incorporates these two things together and is a successful film. The film has great reviews getting 4/5 out of 5 which shows the film is to a great quality and is produced and thought out really well, which got the film 5 awards. The film also has great distribution and advertising/marketing. The company that distributed the film is fox search light productions  which is a subsidiary of 20th century fox, they usual distribute independent British films. The film was distributed on Ultraviolet BluRay,this enabled consumers to watch it on a series of different platforms, So you can watch it on blu ray players as well as normal dvd players. The only problem with is being distributed They marketed the film in many different ways such as selling merchandise on eBay, products such as fake moustaches, wax and bow ties. They did Unique Promotions; they toured a large-scale model of the hotel to theatres around the world. They made videos and recipes so people that had watched the film can bake their own mendls cakes (a cake which is featured in the film). Finally they had a very nice high quality website fully dedicated to the film. All of this made the film successful as the budget for the film was only $31 million for the film and it made $172 million at box office making more than 5x the budget. This shows if a film has good reviews and is distributed and marketed well it will be guaranteed success. 

Overall i agree with the statement and think that the success does depend on how well a film is distributed and marketed. Because with out a film doing this the films audiences may not even find out about the film, or if it is poor advertising and not to a high quality they may think the film is going to be poor quality. I think that this statement will always be true and that advertising and distribution will always be a big part of the a films success as it is the way you get people to come an watch the film and with out it, it would be a lot harder to get the film to your target audience. 

Grand BudaPest Hotel

TASK 1 

What is Indian Paintbrush and who owns it?
Indian paint brush is a company owned by Steven M. Rales and the company gives money to production companies to help fund films (a lot of the films which it funds are Wes Anderson films Which company 

What is Fox Searchlight a subsiduary of?
20th century fox

Which type of films do Fox Searchlight distribute?   

They are all typically independent and british films.
  

Which two countries financed the film?
Britain and germany 

What did Anderson use instead of CGI (computer generated imagery)?

he used stop start Moudling instead of special effects to make everything looking more real

Where did the inspiration for the Hotel come from?
inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig.

Which film festival opened with The Grand Budapest Hotel?
64 th Berlin film festival international  

Alexanre Desplat wrote the score, which major Hollywood films has he worked on? 

Godzila
Harry potter 

How many awards has the film won?
5

Initially how many cinemas did the film open on in the US?
4

How much did it average per cinema? 
200,000$

The film was released on Ultraviolet BluRay, what does this enable consumers to do?
You can watch it on a series of different platforms, So you can watch it on blu ray players as well as normal dvd players. 

Which two countries financed the

Which companies do not support Ultraviolet?
Walt Disney 
Apple 
Amazon 

What complaints did Ultraviolet encounter when it launched? 
It can not be played on iOS, amazon instant
limited content 
Restriction on use 
Black market 
Confusing process

Task 2 - comprehension

Edward Norton - Henckles 
Owen wilsion - M.Chuck 
Ralph Feinnes - M.gustav H 
Tony Revolori - Zero 
Jeff Goldbloom - deputy kovacs
Tilda Swinton - Madam D
Adrien Bordy - Dimitri 
Saoirse Ronan - Agatha
Jason schwarzman - M jean 
Willem dafoe - jopling 
Harvey Keiitel - Ludwig
Bill murray - M.ivan 
mattieu amalric - serge X
F.Murray Abraham - Mr Moustafa 
Lee Seydoux - clotilde  
Tom wilkison - Author 
Bob Balaban - M.Martin 

Where did scouting for a hotel take place?
Central Europe
Which location did the production team eventually use?
Gorlitz
Did they film on location or on a sound stage?
on location
Where were the production offices located?
Top floor of the hotel 
Top floor of the setHow did they film the 60's and 30's hotel?
They made the 60's sets first and they pealed it away to reveal the 30's set
Where did inspiration for the hotel's interior come from?
He was inspired by what he saw in the library of congress and the european hotels 
it was a inspearation was from european hotelsHow many extras did it take to fill the loby?
150

Task 3 
5 secretes to the films success 

1) selling merchandise on ebay , products such as fake moustaches, wax and bow ties 

2)  Unique Promotions - they toured a large scale model of the hotel to theatres around the world

3) they made videos and recipes so people that had watched the film can bake their own mendls cakes  

4) due to the success of moon rise kingdom younger audiences were attracted to the idea of the grand buda pest hotel 

5)The film is asscesible to audiences 
   

Representation Of Sexuality

Representation of ethnicity in spooks

In this essay I am going to be talking how ethnicity is represented in a clip from spooks. Mostly focusing on Danny who's is a Spy and is black and also a terrorist in the background who is Arab. 

The mise en scene represents ethnicity in the clip from spooks. First of all Danny is a spy which is un stereotypical for a black person as they are represented to be un wealthy and not have very good jobs. As he is a spy he is wearing smart dress this is un stereotypical for a black person as they are normally represented as wearing hoodies and trainers. The terrorist in the background is Arab, which is a common stereotype for a terrorist, and Arab. He is wearing a stereotypical terrorist costume a black robe where the whole body and face is covered this is another way which ethnicity is represented for Arabs. Also the main bad person in the clip is wearing a suit he comes across as a stereo typical terrorist leader another way which ethnicity of Arabs is represented in the clip. 

The editing in the clip from spooks reprints ethnicity. When Danny is in the camera the cuts are sharper and quicker this represents his bravery and how he his strong willed. This is stereotypical for a black person as they are stereotypically known to be brave and not to show emotion. When Danny gets shot it goes to a scene of a white mine who starts to cry he comes across to be the boss of Danny. He starts crying and the cuts become slower and less sharp this represents the white man to be weaker and can't hide emotion. This is stereotypical as white people are stereotypically known to be weaker than black people. This is a binary opposite to black people.

Camera work is a way which ethnicity is represented in the clip. An example of this is when Danny is in focus on the camera and is talking, the camera shakes to show his nerves. This shows that he is scared but trying to hide his emotions. This is stereotypical representation of ethnicity but also un stereotypical because it shows that he is hiding his emotions which is stereotypical of a black person, but also un stereotypical as it shows nerves but black people are stereotypically represented as brave. Another way ethnicity is represented in the clip is through the camera angles. When the camera is on the terrorist the angle is low so you are looking up at him showing that he has the power. This is stereotypical for a terrorist. When the camera is on Danny the the angle is high so you are looking down on him. This is stereotypical as black people are stereotypically looked down on by other races because they are represented as poor and live in 3rd world un developed countries. 

Sound is another way which ethnicity is represented in the clip from spooks. 

non-Diegetic sound is used in the clip, first of all there are gun sounds which come from the Arab terrorist which is a stereotypical representation of ethnicity as terrorist are associated with weapons such as guns. Danny Mumbles a prayer to himself which shows that he is religious and soulful which is a common representation of black people. 

There is also diabetic sound, which represent ethnicity. After Danny gets shot the Muslim call to prayer starts to play which represents Arabs ethnicity as them being terrorist which is a common stereotype of Muslims. The music which is playing is tense which is a showing a hatred between black people and Arab people, almost a clash of cultures who have ideological differences. This is stereotypical as certain races are know to hate each other. 

Questions that will be asked in the exam - on the Avengers

- the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice
The avengers is made by marvel studios this influences its potential success as it is a big company which is well known for its films that it has made before so people who have watched and liked films made by marvel studios will want to go and watch it. Also because they are a big company they will have a higher budget to work with so the film will be better. 
- the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing 
All the other films made by marvel studios link into the avengers such as the hulk and iron man. This is a marketing scheme to make people go and watch the film. Because if someone has seen all the marvel films for the characters in the avengers they would want to go and watch this film. This is an example of a synergy. Also disney distributed the film this is an example of an convergence and this would have brought more attention to the film. 
- the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange
Because of the different technologies such as 3D, films are now filmed in 3D more now and scenes in a film are purposely there for the 3D. For example in the avengers there are scenes were and object/character comes close to the camera if watching in 3D it would come out of the screen. Also because of Streaming software such as Netflix people now do not buy DVDS as much as it is much cheaper to watch the film on love film or Netflix for example.
- the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audience
Film companies have had to change the way they work because of being able to watch and stream films easily on PC, consoles and Phones. When making the avengers they would of had to change the way they make the film so the film can be seen on a small phone screen and a PC screen so more people can watch it. More people will now watch films on there phone and laptops due to the easy accessibility. This means for a film like avengers a large amount of the views of the film will not be from the cinema they will be from people watching the film on there phones/PCs using a streaming site like Netflix.
- the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences
Different editing software has came in to help the film industry such as better special effects software for the films so in avengers software like this would have been used a lot. Also better quality cameras such as the IMAX cameras have been developed to improve the quality of films. Also you camera which allow you to shoot in 3D have been developed these camera would have been used to shoot the avengers. 
-the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour. 
Overall the developments in film industry are bad and good. They are good because films are being made at a better quality and people can view them and enjoy them in different ways. People can also view films anywhere they want now through there phone or laptop and on streaming services such as Netflix it is a lot easier to watch films. It is also bad because of streaming services like Netflix people don't feel the need to go to the cinema anymore so film companies are losing out on money. This is bad as the need this money to carry on making high quality films and develop them further.So for the film avengers made by marvel studios there is a good side and a bad side more people will be watching the film because they can watch it anywhere and cheaply through services like netflix. But because less people are going to the cinema they are loosing out on money and will develop there films and quality of film at a slower pace.