The British Film Industry 30 questions

1. What % of global box office was the British film industry responsible for?
2. What was this % in 2009?
3. What might this change indicate about British film?
4. What films have been responsible for this change?
5. What % of the British film industry makes a profit?
6. What % of Hollywood films make a profit?
7. How does that % differ between £2m and £10m budget British films?
8. What might we infer from this difference?
9. Which age group makes up the largest % of UK cinema goers?
10. Why do you think this might be?
11. Which 'type' of film has seen an 18% drop in attendance?
12. Within that 'type' which genre has seen the biggest fall?
13. What did Charles Grant put this decline down to?
14. Who is Paul Greengrass?
15. How did he describe the British film industry?
16. What did a BFI spokesperson say was the point of less profitable low budget British films?
17. What was the budget for Filth and how much money did it take?
18. What advantage did James McEvoy feel £100m films have over low budget films?
19. What is VOD?
20. What % increase did VOD see last year?
21. What impact might VOD have on distributers and Studios?
22. What impact has it had on Blockbuster rental stores?
23. What was unique about Ben Wheatleys 'A Field In England'?
24. What does director of The Machine Caradog James think is the toughest part of film making?
25. Why have rules been relaxed on what makes a film 'British'?
26. How has the use of visual effects in films been encouraged?
27. Name five of these rules and link them to The Kings Speech, Kill List, The World's End
28. What rules has chancellor George Osbourne announced for tax on British films?
29. What is the highest grossing film in UK box office history?
30. How much has it taken and how many screens was it available on?

Roland Barthes Narrative Theorist

Roland Gerard Barthes was a French literacy theorist, philosopher, linguist, critic and semiotician. He was born on the 12th November 1915 and died on the 26th of March 1980 aged 64. He had main interests in semiotics, Literacy theory and linguistics. 

Roland Barthes described 5 different types or codes that are added into any narrative.

The Hermeneutic Code 

The hermeneutic code contains anything in the text that is mysterious or unexplained, usually leading to questions which the reader needs answered. In the starred reading, the Hermeneutic code is represented as (HER)

The Proairetic Code

The proairetic code contains sequential elements of action in the text. Like the hermeneutic code, proairetic elements add suspense to the text. In the starred reading, the proairetic code is represented as (ACT)

The Semantic Code

The Semantic code refers to elements of the text that carry referential, extra-literal meaning. Elements of the Semantic code are called Semes. In the starred reading, the semantic Code is represented as (SEM)

The Symbolic Code

The Symbolic code refers to organised systems of semes. When two connotative elements are placed in opposition or brought together by the narrator, they form an element of the Symbolic code. In the starred reading, the Symbolic code is represented as (SYM) 

The Cultural Code

The Cultural code refers to anything in the text which refers to an external body of knowledge such as scientific, historical and cultural knowledge. In the starred reading, the Cultural code is represented as (REF) 

How Is Regional Identity shown in Doc Martin?

Regional identify refers to the act of identifying a person with specific geographical region of a nation. Regional identity is used allot in TV dramas in the world today to separate groups of characters to give a TV drama depth. In the extract of Doc Martin, regional identity is show to the audience in different and specific ways that the audience can understand. The idea we get from the extract is that people from cities and the inner city are far more educated and understood than people who live in the countryside.

The outline of the clip is that Doc Martin has been moved to the countryside in a new office where he is greeted by locals throughout the day. The main character is Doc Martin who is a highly skillful and educated Doctor who comes from the inner city this so far follows the stereotype given by the TV Drama. The way in which Doc Martin is portrayed to the audience is given by low angle shots looking up at him and mid shots showing his body posture showing he is a confident man. The audience gains the feeling that he is a higher class than the other villagers from the first scene where Doc Martin has the local plumbers in his office. They are dressed in overalls which was be for their normal job but there Literature is bad compared to Doc Martin’s with little words pronounced correctly this would follow the rules of the stereotype. There is a second plumber who is a teenager who seems to be more intelligent as he talks about meanings in depth showing not all countryside’s are dumb and less intelligent. The plumbers are sitting down as well lower than Doc Martin meaning they are seen to be less superior to him. There is not much editing in the clip with many shots that flow freely giving the audience the effect of being in the scene themselves.

The pipes break in Doc Martins office and the plumbers cannot fix it showing the may be less dense than inner city folks this shows they might be less motivated than inner city people as well. The costumes of the characters in the extract show how people can portray others to be less intelligent.

The sound that is involved in the clip makes the atmosphere more chaotic for the audience which grips their attention even more. There is allot of diegetic sound in clip such as dog barking, phone ringing, people speaking and water running all at the same time to again add chaos to the clip.

Another character is added into the extract now this is a woman wearing yellow. She does not follow the stereotype of regional identity she is very well spoken without a countryside accent meaning she may have moved there recently or might have not adapted to the accent.

The camera shots that are all used in this extract show how Doc Martin is higher up than them and he is superior to them. As well as this jump cuts are used to revel new scenes however sometimes the scenes would jump quickly and sharply so the audience might forget what happened in the scene before.

Gender Representation in Doctor Who

Over the years on television and around the world in normal day lives women are seen to be inferior to men who are seen as the superior beings of the planet Earth. Women of the plant Earth have a certain stereotype to themselves which sees them being weak individuals who sponge of working men. As well as this woman are seen to be people who because they are weak have to stay at home and do less intense jobs than men for example cooking and cleaning at home. The males are seen to be stronger more dominant over the females with their stereotype meaning they have control over the woman population. In the extract of ‘Doctor Who’ not all characters play these stereotypes and the stereotypes are not presented well.

At first in the extract we meet the Master who is seen to be the all mighty one in this extract and the character who seems to have all the power this does follow the audiences feel of stereotypes overall. The scene begins with a focus upon his character with out of focus characters in the background showing he is the main character of this clip and maybe the whole episode also the fact it is a dark shallow focus portrays him to be a sinister and evil character maybe the bad guy of the extract. The master walks around on a raised platform with low angle shots looking up at him showing dominant power he has this again follows the rule of the gender stereotypes and males being more dominant over female characters.

After this clip we see a second character emerge into the extract and this character is Martha who is a female character dressed in kind of arm gear with hair type back and no makeup to be seen. Straight away we can see that this is not normal for a female on television so this shows her character may not be following the stereotype rule of males being more dominant over females. There are multiple shots between Martha and the Master with low angle shots looking up at the Master and high angle shots looking down at Martha showing the master’s dominance. This fits the stereotype given about males being more superior to females. There is a shot were the camera follows Martha this gives a sense that the audience is with her and following her.

The next part of the extract shows Martha walking towards the master as she looks up at the master a quick shot of the Doctor is used where he is trapped in a cage and looks weak and helpless. This does not follow the rule of the stereotype as the Doctor is a male but is still weak and vulnerable.

As well as this the camera gives close ups of the Doctors face showing his emotions towards what is happening and what is going to happen.

In the next scene or sector of the extract we see the Master looking at the Doctor as well as Martha and because he is poised on a platform raised above everyone else it gives him power so throughout the clip he has a raised voice when speaking to show power and dominance. Next we see Martha talk with a Sharpe voice to show that she is not a vulnerable person and will not go down easy. She tells of the story of how she spreader the word of the Doctor around the world and whilst saying this she has passion in her voice showing a typical female with emotions and feelings that are shown.

The Master is wearing a black and white suite to show his formality to the audience and his dominance over others in this extract. Whereas the Doctor who is trapped in a cage is wearing scruffy clothes that are ripped showing he is a slave and less dominant than the Master. Martha is wearing army gear which is full black showing she has power and determination which breaks the rule of the stereotype.

There are non-diegetic sounds in the scene such as background music which is intense music to build up tension for the audience at home to make them feel as though they are there in the clip with the actors. There are diegetic sounds as well in the background of the scenes such as machines going off which adds realism to the extract its self.

Editing is used throughout the clip to make the shots and the story flow faster and smoothly for the audience at home as well as this there are CGI and special effects used in the clip as well where the Doctor turns back into a human and starts flying which seems realistic from the special effects.

Mr Ford: Marketing and Production Practices Essay

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

To what extent do you agree with this statement, within the media area you have studied?

In all media products around the world weather it’s a Film, Game, Magazine or CD there is some type of marketing for it such as poster, adverts or trailers depending on the product. I agree that successful media products do need marketing because it’s the main way companies promote their products to the world and audiences the product is aimed for. After marketing there are other sectors that also sectors as well, such as production practices which allow the company producing the product to get a good idea on the quality of the product, and what these big companies such as Paramount Pictures who produce films are selling to their valued customers and audiences. Over the next couple of paragraphs I will talk about how successful media depends on marketing and production as well as production practices and the reasons for and against them. Examples of a large film company would be Disney or Warner Brother. Disney’s marketing and distribution skills are incredibly good and they have a wide range of marketing skills as well, these marketing skills play a big role in the success of the company’s films. Disney has been a popular company ever since it was founded on October 16^th 1923 and since then the company has made and produced over 158 films. Many films created by Disney are massive household name films for the children audiences such as The Lion King and Robin Hood which most children of the 1990’s generation have seen and the new 2000’s generation are also seeing the films now due to their releases onto DVD and Blu-ray. These films were produced and translated into many languages this is a clear example of how Walt Disney’s distribution tactics are highly rated and stretched.

Disney also uses a wide range of vertical and horizontal marketing to widen the distribution of its productions and products. Disney own most of their own studios, TV channels and Clothing Brands meaning they again have a wider range to market meaning more audiences can be covered. An example of this would be Disney’s Alice in Wonderland which has had lots of products made around it so it can gain more money for its franchise. As well as bigger companies smaller companies such as Bedlam Productions use very different tactics in marketing and distribution. With the right distribution and marketing Bedlam Productions gain high profits of The Kings Speech. Bedlam used techniques to market the production for small audiences that the film would apply to such as patriots of the UK. As well as this Disney created fan groups for films which meant they could now attract an even wider audience and also can use these pages to spread awareness of the films they are producing and the upcoming films they are producing with advertising on these fan pages. In perspective to how Disney markets and distributes its films, Bedlam Productions use different tactics in marketing and distribution for different audiences. This was proved when they marked The Kings Speech a film they produced very well and ended up with it brining in a handsome profit. The film appeared to be a smaller produced film, having more of a selected audience which can be seen again as English patriots and American British lovers. This film was marketed through posters with main characters on and

Many audiences engage with distribution and marketing strategies for many reasons. A main reason is that it helps the audiences get a better insight into the product being produced weather it’s a film or a piece of clothing made to spin off from a film. A type of marketing would be Engagement marketing because it is a strategy that directly engages consumers to participate in the evolution of a brand. The audiences engage with the marketing by watching the trailers and reading the posters if they are attractive enough to grab the audience’s attention. I believe that it is equally important to have good marketing skills and a successful marketing scheme, as well as this not all films use really expensive marketing schemes and instead of having massive posters and trailers choose to use smaller techniques such as spreading the word or ‘word of mouth’ in which a film is marketed vocally and is passed on by others eventually reaching a wider market and audience meaning a healthy profit can be made from this scheme. Production on its on gives the film its basics and its structure but the marketing helps fill in the other gaps making the product a whole meaning you can’t have one without the other and expect the product or film to be a big blockbuster hit. Directors need to use a balance of the marketing schemes with production practices to get a good amount of attention for the product they have been producing.

 

The Kings Speech Case Study

Britishness:

Britishness is the state or quality of being British, or of embodying British characteristics, and is used to refer to that which binds and distinguishes the British people and forms the basis of their unity and identity, or else to explain expressions of British culture—such as habits, behaviours or symbols that have a common, familiar or iconic quality readily identifiable with the United Kingdom. The main symbol of the United Kingdom is the Union Jack. This brings England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland together.

Britishness sprung into political and academic prominence in the late 20^th century, but its origins lie with the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. Although Britishness was used to refer to Britons collectively as early as 1682, historian Linda Colley asserts that it was after the Acts of Union 1707 that the citizens of Great Britain began to assume a "layered" identity—to think of themselves as simultaneously British but also Scottish, English, and/or Welsh.

Britishness in the Kings Speech:

The Kings Speech shows a lot of patriotism in the film itself about the United Kingdom and how the population of the country treated one another. For example in the film you would see most male actors wearing suits with blazers and ties to show professionalism as well as the posh look of the English. The way in which the English spoke was also recognised by the film producers and directors as they inherited this accent and way of speech into the film to give a realistic effect of the time when the film was set. Even tiny details were added into the films sets and scenes to show the britishness of the film.

Exhibition:

Exhibition is the distribution of a film through a process which a movie is made available to watch for an audience by a film distributor. The kings Speech was released on the 24^th December 2010 for USA audiences and the 7^th January 2011 for UK audiences. The film was a massive success with its budget only being around $15 million estimated and returning in the box office with $138 million meaning the films profit was almost 10 times the actual budget.

Appeal:

The film had many appeals to audiences around the world but the two main appeals was that it was a full British film meaning it was all about Britain and the Royal Family. This would help attract attention from the UK public as well as the USA public who seem to like British Royal Family films. As well as Royal Families it also presented commoners such as Lionel logue who was seen as a less fortunate man who had nothing going for him but still seemed to live his life to the full.

Film Reviews:

There were many reviews of The Kings Speech for example http://www.rottentomatoes.com  gave the film 94% out of 100 only 6 of the highest score.

Some Top critics gave reviews such as “The Kings Speech is the rare work of art that’s also an immense crowd-pleaser” also “The King’s Speech is admirably free of easy answers and simple, happy endings; it’s a slewed, awards-ready version of history, but one polished to a fine, satisfying shine”. Comments and reviews like these give the films praise and more recognition than ever before meaning they can gain more views and profit.

Award nominations and Oscars:

It received nominations for 12 Oscars including best picture, best director, best supporting actor and actress, best screenplay, best editing, best art direction and costume. It won 4 Oscars for best picture, best director, best Actor (Colin Firth) and best original screenplay. It was also nominated for 14 BAFTAs of which it won 7. Mark Kemode comments that Oscar and BAFTA nominations and awards are often expected when playing a monarch for example with Judy Dench - Shakespeare in Love Helen Mirren - The Queen etc. and especially when the story is about humanising the monarchy. 

Production Issues:

The king’s speech is an excellent example of a film which is individual that can receive major success around the UK and global audiences. All of this without helps from major studios and distributions studios. The company which produced the film is see-saw which is a British/Australian company which helped the film by sealing deal with other companies such as the Weinstein brothers.

The Finance:

Prescience saw the film's potential early on and became the key financier of the film. The Weinstein Company and Momentum Pictures were also large investors for the film. The UK Film Council gave See-Saw £1 million for the production. Together they created the budget of $12 million. 

Distribution and marketing issues:

Good marketing techniques were used in this films distribution. For example on posters that were made for the film words are used to comment on the film as well as the words are seen as connotations for the English meaning it’s kind of a hidden symbol for the film. The posters also show a British theme with a Royal Family theme as well by I believe this because the posters show a gold colour scheme with background images of iconic parts of  London England. On the posters some of the comments address the audience directly meaning they can be part of the film in which some audiences like this type of marketing. Finally on the posters there is all the information needed for the Audiences about the film with the cast at the bottom of the posters as well as dates included. 

As well as posters trailers have been released for the film meaning the audience is widened because overall 26 million of the 70 million odd in the UK watch television every day meaning that the film now would gain a wider range of audiences because more people would of seen The Kings Speech marketed. The trailers include music which is patriotic to the UK with war music to show what the films about and the struggle George VI went through.

Major issues facing British Film Makers:

There has been an evolution and revolution to British film makers around the world. With evidence showing that British films can do well if promoted and produced right they can be massive. This shown by the Kings Speech, there are more opportunities for British film makers and they can have their go in the spot light. Even if they do not go so well there are many more films out there to produce.

So overall British film makers have the same chance of producing a massive film as a Hollywood producer because it’s not just all about budget, stars or special effects it’s also the developing of a film along with the directors actions.