Media AS Blog: November 2016

Thursday, 24 November 2016

Disney as a conglomerate

Disney is a conglomerate

A media conglomerate, media group or media institution is a company that owns large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies, and the Internet. Media conglomerates strive for policies that facilitate their control of the markets across the globe.

Disney owns

Walt Disney Studios
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group:
Touchstone Pictures
Pixar Animation Studios
Lucasfilm
ESPN
ABC Entertainment Group
Marvel Entertainment
Disney Music Group

The media industry is dominated by 'The Big Six'

Just how dominant are 'The Big Six' studios?

How many independent films can you spot?

Why might conglomerates be seen as a negative?

Global conglomerates can at times have a progressive impact on culture, especially when they enter nations that had been tightly controlled by corrupt crony media systems (as in much of Latin America) or nations that had significant state censorship over media (as in parts of Asia). The global commercial-media system is radical in that it will respect no tradition or custom, on balance, if it stands in the way of profits. But ultimately it is politically conservative, because the media giants are significant beneficiaries of the current social structure around the world, and any upheaval in property or social relations—particularly to the extent that it reduces the power of business—is not in their interest.—

Robert W. McChesney, The New Global Media; It’s a Small World of Big Conglomerates, The Nation Magazine, November 29, 1999.

Wednesday, 16 November 2016

Above the Line and Below the Line Marketing

https://www.koozai.com/blog/content-marketing-seo/above-the-line-vs-below-the-line/

Tuesday, 15 November 2016

Piracy

Piracy has become more of a problem in the past decade than it ever has before, specifically movie piracy. In fact, a study from Columbia University came out recently that said at least 45% of US citizens pirate movies actively, but that number bumps up to 70% if you include the younger demographics as well (Mick, 2). This act of pirating is growing more and more common every year and most people do it mindlessly, not realizing what it costs. Everyone has seen the text at the beginning of movies saying “Piracy is not a victimless crime,” and this is completely true. Piracy is extremely harmful to the movie industry and its effects are larger than anyone could imagine.

More on Piracy below.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/17/digital-piracy-film-online-counterfeit-dvds

Monday, 14 November 2016

Tie-In Marketing

Poster Marketing

Appearance Marketing

Toy Marketing

Magazine Marketing

Thursday, 10 November 2016

Major Film Studios

A major film studio is a film producer and production company that releases a substantial number of films annually.

The Big Six film studios are:

1. Warner Bros. Pictures. Comprising a whopping 19.7 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Warner Bros. Pictures is the biggest player in the film industry. Securing the rights to major films like Harry Potter, Superman, Batman, The Matrix and Star Wars have made Warner Bros. the No. 1 name in the business.

2. Paramount Pictures. With 15.5 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Paramount Pictures continues to be one of the most successful film production companies in the world. Star Trek, War of the Worlds, the Mission Impossible series, Transformers and Tropic Thunder are just a few of the popular films produced by Paramount Pictures.

3. Walt Disney. One of the most renowned film production companies in the history of the business, Walt Disney now holds 15.3 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures). With highly successful movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure, Meet the Robinsons and Enchanted, there's no doubt that Disney will continue to play a key role in the industry for years to come.

4. Columbia Pictures. Comprising 12.9 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Columbia Pictures remains a big player in the business. Some of this company's recent successes include Casino Royale, The Da Vinci Code, the Spider-Man series and Step Brothers.

5. Universal Studios. 12.2 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures) belongs to Universal Studios, which continues to make millions for the film industry. With major hits like the Bourne series (Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum), The American Pie series, Knocked Up, American Gangster and The Incredible Hulk, it's very clear that Universal Studios knows what it takes to make money in this industry.

6. 20th Century Fox. Also known as "Twentieth Century Fox," this highly successful movie production company makes up 11.9 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures). Some of the biggest and most successful movies from this empire include the X-Men series, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Star Wars Episodes II and III, and the Fantastic Four.

Roughly 9/10 films in the UK are seen as a result of these distributors

Ex Machina review

Ex Machina is a Sci-Fi thriller written and directed by Alex Garland. The three main characters are played by Alicia Vikander (Ava), Domhnall Gleeson (Caleb Smith) and Oscar Isaac (Nathan Batemen). The film had a small budget of $15 million but performed very well commercially, generating a revenue of $36.9 million.

The plot follows a young programmer called Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) as he is invited to the home of the owner of the search company he works for after winning a competition. The owner, Nathan Batemen (Oscar Isaac) reveals to Caleb upon his arrival that he is building an artificially intelligent robot which is named Ava and wants Caleb to take part in a Turing test on it. The film then takes the audience on a thrilling journey of intense mind games and ethical challenges which finish with an unpredictably shocking ending.

Ex Machina won an academy award for best visual effects and i can see why when viewing it. The film was shot like ordinary live action. There were no special effects, greenscreen, or tracking markers used during filming. All effects were done in post-production. To create Ava's robotic features, they filmed the scenes both with and without actress Alicia Vikander's presence, which allowed them to capture the background behind her. The parts they wanted to keep, especially her hands and face, were then rotoscoped while the rest was digitally painted out and the background behind her restored. Camera and body tracking systems transferred Vikander's performance to the CGI robot's movements. In total, there were about 800 VFX shots, of which 350 or so were robot shots. Other visual effects were Ava's clothes seen through the transparent areas of her body, Nathan's blood after being stabbed and the interior of the artificial brains. All of these effects were done brilliantly with great techniques as they fit in perfectly with the overall picture and didn't draw attention away from the plot.

An ethical issue i can establish when watching Ex Machina is that all of the nudity in the film is female based. This is the case for most films which paints a very sexist picture of the industry.

Overall i enjoyed the film. It was based on an interesting subject and challenged the mind on an intellectual, ethical and moral level. The ending was also unorthodox and allowed for imaginative thinking as to what happened next.

Jack Astill