The British Film Industry

1. What % of global box office was the British film industry responsible for?
They were responsible for 15% of the global box office which is roughly around 600 British films that were produced between 2003 and 2010.

2. What was this % in 2009?

In 2009 there was 6.8% global box office profit from British Films.

3. What might this change indicate about British Film? 

The change over the years conveys that the British film industry is increasing and the more films that they produce the more of a success they will be.

4. What films have been responsible for this change?

The films that have been responsible for this change are The Kings Speech, Slumdog Millionaire, The Woman in Black and Skyfall.

5. What % of the British film industry make a profit?

Lower budget films such as those that are created using a budget lower than £2m are less likely to make a profit of around 4%. The profit figure increases as the budget rises due to 17% of films that have a  budget higher than £10m- making their money back. 

6.  What % of Hollywood films make a profit?

The percentage of Hollywood films that make a profit are around 17%

7. How does that % differ between £2m and £10m budget British films?

Lower budget films such as those that are created using a budget lower than £2m are less likely to make a profit of around 4%. The profit figure increases as the budget rises due to 17% of films that have a  budget higher than £10m- making their money back.  

8. What might we infer from this difference?

A film with a larger budget, more well-known actors and better quality special effects is more likely too succeed in creating a greater profit than films without these qualities.

9.  Which age group makes up the largest % of the UK cinema goers?

The age groups range from around 18-24yrs, which include both genders.

10.  Why do you think this might be?

This is due too the designated age range suiting all certificates, allowing them too see all the films  of all genres in the cinema due to them fitting the designated target markets.

11. Which 'type' of film has seen an 18% drop in attendance?
The 18% drop in the film attendance has been seen in the 3D screenings in 2012 which is continuing to decline.
12. What 'type' of genre has seen the biggest fall?

Big 'family' films (such as Brave and Madagascar 3) is the genre that has seen the biggest fall in viewings.

13.  What did Charles Grant put this decline down to?

The cost of 3D tickets prevented families from going too the cinema because of the higher cost rate for 3D viewings, and due to them being family films, a whole group does not want too spend a lot of money on a simple outing.

14.  Who is Paul Greengrass?
Paul Greengrass is an English film director, former journalist and screenwriter. 

15. How did he describe the British film industry? 

He states that the British film industry has changed from what is used too be. 

16. What did a BFI spokesperson say was the point of less profitable low budget British films? 

''Tiny budget films that, while commercial success is always hoped for are successful and beneficial to the industry for other reasons like skills and training development and for artistic and cultural importance''.

17. What was the budget for Filth and how much money did it take?

The films budget was around just under £2m and it made around £4m. 

18. What advantage did James McEvoy feel £100m films have over low budget films?

He claims that films with larger budgets have greater chances to sell the films in all sorts of ways, where as smaller budgeted films are unable to do so.

19. What is VOD?

VOD stands for Video On Demand.

20.  What % increase did VOD see last year?

The VOD market increased by around 50% last year.

21. What impact might VOD have on distributors and studios?

Due too VOD becoming more highly popular with within the industry, there is a chance that it may outsell them.

22. What impact has it had on Blockbuster rental stores?

There is a chance that it may outsell them which would cause them too have business and profit issues.

23. What was unique about Ben Wheatley 'A field in England'?

It was the first UK film to ever be released simultaneously in cinemas, DVD, on the Television and through VOD. 

24. What does director of The Machine Caradog James think is the toughest part of the film making?

''The toughest thing is you make a good film but can you get it too reach an audience? its events like this and individuals who champion independent cinema that give us a profile and any chance of a mass audience''

25.  Why have rules been relaxed on what makes a film 'British'?   

To encourage more people to make a British films, so that there can be more successes.  

26.  How has the use of visual effects in films been encouraged? 
Visual effects are being encouraged more in the making of films because they make the film more interesting for the audience which encourages them too watch the productions- boosting the ratings.
27. Name five of these rules and link them to The Kings Speech, Kill List, The Worlds End.
British culture theme kept throughout (Britishness)- The Kings Speech
LAD like actions and ways about them- The Worlds End
British director- The Kings Speech
British cats- Kill List, The Worlds End
Location set in Britiain- [All]
28. What rules has chancellor George Osbourne announced for tax on British Films?
 Counselor George Osbourne has announced rules for tax on British films 'that films only need to now spend 10% of their budget within the UK to qualify for tax relief, where previously they had to spend 25%. Tax relief would be applied to 25% of the first £20m of a production, and 20% on any remaining budget, regardless of the overall total; previously only films under £20m were eligible for the higher rate.'
29. What is the highest grossing film in Uk box office history?
James Bond, Skyfall.
30. How much has it taken and how many screens was it available on?
It took £94.3m in the UK alone. It was opened in 587 cinema across the UK and Ireland on 26th October, it is still on general release as of now. 

Roland Barthes

Roland barthes. from Livvy Free

Essay question- Ford

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

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

I would agree with this statement because I believe that within the film industry, the way in which films are marketed and distributed throughout the media justifies its financial success. In order for a film too make a vast amount of money within the industry, it needs too have a widely well known distribution company that can blanket market the product too its designated target market effectively. Due too marketing being extremely important throughout the film insustry,it can be one of the main reasons as too why a film may flop in the box office causing a loss in profit. Without the use of large marketing, the production will no0t be widely heard of towards its designated target market which means a loss of recognition means a loss of profit. And so the more marketing that is used, the more money that would most probably be gained due to people hearing and seeing about the film through the use of hardware content, tie-ins, posters and television advertisements.
Marketing stratergies are highly relied on now and those that are most profound for their distribution skills are those of the Big Six- such as Walt  Disney which is third.

Walt Disney's marketing and distribution strategies play a huge role in the companies success within the film industry due too the way in which they are proliferated and are famous for their global, influential distribution techniques. This is due to their ability too do so due to their reputation that have too uphold because of the vast audience that their films and products cover and therefore, as an audience, we feel that they are a reliable company and so we support their films.
Disney are not only a huge distributor, but they also own a vast amount of well known film companies such as: Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Entertainment and The Muppets Studio. They also have their own clothing line, theme parks and attractions, television channels, radio stations, along with a number of convergance uses. These include game apps for children and older audiences and also film apps and downloads. By having a such a large amount of tie-ins and marketing techniques, global audiences know exactly who Walt Disney are by the mere mention of their name. By investing such a large amount of money into their marketing and distribution techniques, they know for a fact that this makes their products more successful so can confidently gain other companies to distribute their products as tie-ins as well, e.g, Food chains, drinks companies ect.

For example, Toy Story 3 was distributed by Walt Disney and is currently the 1th highest grossing film of all time, grossing around $414,984,497 from its $200,000,000 estimated budget. The amount of marketing and distribution for the film that Walt Disney did for this production guaranteed its amazing success in the box office worldwide.  Along with the film, Walt Disney did a vast amount of marketing strategies in order to gain the films major success in the box office and the ability to have a continuing grow of profit due to the tie-ins.
Mattel, Lego and Thinkway toy companies produced toys in order to promote the film and suit a wide range of children audiences globally due to the films main target audience being children. Disney Interactive Studios also produced an electronic video game based on the feature length film which was released for Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, Playstation 3 and PSP on June 15 2010. By producing a video game on such a large array of devices makes it accessible for almost anyone and suiting a wide variety of the target markets needs by promoting a tie in that fits with the latest gadgets for all the family.
Also, an Apple Iphone App was featured on the IOS4 event on April 8 2010, making it available too download on the Appstore. By doing so, it connoted the use of convergence by creating an interactive app that does not only suit a wide range of people in their target market, but also promote the film even more. 
Along with the tie-ins, the film also released the hardware to go along with it including the standard DVD, two-disc Blu-ray and also a four-disc Blu-ray/Digital copy/DVD combo pack. the features include behind the scenes which show a sneak peak teaser of Walt Disney's next up and coming film Cars 2, which again, is another clever way too promote their next film by enticing their audience by a trailer. Lastly, a 3D Blu-ray was released too suit those that have the 3D equipment too relive the cinematic experience. 

Even though we tend to think that films that do not have well known distributors will not do as much marketing as those from 'the big six' but they can also gain recognition and still be successful.
The Kings speech is a traditionally British Film that only used an $15,000,000 budget yet grossed $138,795,342. This due American taking a huge liking to the traditional 1930's British aspect of it which the Americans love., and due to the USA taking a huge liking to the film, word of mouth spread causing more and more people  too hear and watch it globally and due to it being nominated for the Oscars (and winning multiple awards) promoted the film even more. Along with the use of trailers on the internet and posters campaigning the films release, the more people worldwide that had watched and enjoyed the film, resulted in the uses of marketing strategies being expanded and extended more globally gaining more recognition of the film resulting the global success.

This production was distributed by Momentum Pictures and The Weinstein Company, which connotes examples of synergy. By doing so, it allowed a small British film too become a global success due to the two different companies distributing the same film, allowing two lots of budgets to be used on marketing. Smaller distributors (like the above two), tend too use synergy in order too distribute their film because they do not have a large budget unlike larger distributors would have (such as Walt Disney) Also, smaller companies- like those that produce British companies- tend to use smaller distributors in order to fit in with their budget a s well, and so synergy could also be used.

Although marketing and distribution is important and can supposedly guarantee the films success in the box office and overall, but some films that will become timeless, such as The Kings Speech, did not need vast amounts of marketing and distribution methods because of the word of mouth and nominations that excelled the love for it. If it had over done it with the marketing by blanket marketing the target audience, it would of spoilt the films perspective. But  with children's animation and family films, such as Toy Story 3, blanket marketing is the best approach because that way, it can suit the widest possible target market by incorporating a vast amount of hardware, proliferation and tie-ins to keep on making a profit for years to come.

So, I conclude that I believe that the use of distribution and marketing methods can make a successful media production gain a higher profit and not flop overall because this way, by blanket marketing its audience, it not only gains recognition but excels all products overall.

How is Regional Identity portrayed in the Doc Martin clip?

In the classic Doc Martin clip, regional identity is connoted to the audience in a variety of different ways. The stereotypical idea that we are given is that people from the city are better educated and are seen as cleverer, and those from rural, countryside areas are not.

Doc Martin is highly educated doctor, who started off as a brilliant and successful vascular surgeon at Imperial College London, but developed a fear of blood, forcing him to stop practising surgery. He then obtains a post as the (GP) in the quite Cornish village.
The way in which he is conveyed to the audience is that he is seen as of a higher status then the rest of the village and is connoted as more educated and has a lot of power. The audience also gains the impression that he is of a higher status than the other characters within the village due to the mise-en-scene used. Throughout the clip, Doc Martin wears a formal, sophisticated suit which gives the viewer the suggestion that he is seen as different compared to the other characters casual dress attire, but that he is of a much higher status and business proud.

At the beginning of the opening scene, as he enters the room, a diagetic music is played fro around 3-4 seconds. By doing so, it gives the impression that he is the central focus and is seen as the most important character and therefore, because of his high-class achievements, he is portrayed as more respectable and so the audience learn this through the use of diagteic music. The non diagetic music used is a simple, yet effective use of a grand piano and symbols, which suggest that Doc, as a character, is a formal and classic character. The music stops as he begins to speak, conveying that he obtains the power and status in this clip and also suggests that when he speaks- everyone else should listen (including the audience)
The vast use of non-diagetic dialogue during this scene shows us how stressful the situation is. Diagetic music is not needed because they want the audience to understand the chaotic situation to make it feel more realistic. The way in which Doc shouts at the other 3 characters in this scene to put them all too use conveys the urgency of the scenario, which also portrays that is one of the only characters that has common sense. This relates back to the initial idea that those from the city, that are well educated, are cleaver, connoting that Doc has simple common sense because of where he is from, whilst all of the other characters that are from that current region don't have any- showing a lack of education. The way in which he orders the characters also asserts his dominance by the fact that he knows what to do and can simply order them around because they are dense.

Once Doc enters the room, the camera pans around from behind the son on the floor-revealing him to the audience. As we see him, he is stood up and they are sat down conveying that he is superior compared to them because they are doing manual work, and he is seen as having a white collar profession. The fact that the other 2 characters are sat lower down than him suggests that they have no power compared to him because they are seen as less-educated due to the profession that they have in comparison to him. 

When the stray dog enters the room at the ending of that scene, the camera uses an eye-line match so that the audience can see what he is looking directly at so that it also involves us. Due to him begin stressed and not wanting this stray dog here, as he walks towards the dog to grab it, non-diagtic music is added too create a more tense and suspenseful atmosphere for the audience. The camera also walks towards the dog in the eye-line match focus to make us feel like we are walking towards it as well.

From scene to scene, jump cuts are clearly used too connote a jerky flow to each scene for the audience so that they can clearly see what is happening but also the stress of the situation. The jump cuts are mainly used when Doc is tacking the dog through the town to the police station to show his lack of interest of the scenery and his stressful determination to dispose of the dog.

When the father character, who is sat on the chair makes the sink pipe burst water everywhere, Doc intervenes and begins to help conveying that he is a multi-purpose character and shows more use than the lazy father who does nothing. Mid shots are used when Doc is stopping to leak to show the audience fully what he is doing and the emotion he is expressing at this point.

During the clip, we are introduced to a father and son combination that have a manual working job and we see them at the beginning of the scene when the camera pans around from the floor too reveal them. The camera uses a low angle shot when the son is speaking on the floor to Doc to convey the social class difference between his manual job and Martins white collar profession. This also conveys the status difference between the two by the camera angle connoting the difference of respect due to the regional differences between the two.

The father of the son is stereotypically fat and rather lazy for a middle-aged plumber and constantly eats throughout the whole water disaster as well. This conveys that country people are lazy and all have stereotypical jobs such as farming, pluming and corner shop owning. Yet, the son is conveyed as diverting the stereotype of country people being less educated when he quotes Daphne Du Maurier to Doc Martin. Daphene Du Maurier was a famous English author and playwrite and by the son quoting her makes the audience re-consider their views on him. All of the plumbing work is done by the son, as the audience see a variety of mid-shots and high angle shots on the son trying too fix the damage that his dad tried too do whilst eating. This conveys that he is more switched on than we first thought and diverts from the original stereotype, yet his dad conforms exactly to it,  On the other hand, the father still knows nothing, which makes him appear un-educated as well.

Throughout the scene, the characters mise-en-scene costume is the typical blue, dirty overalls that plumbers wear fully portraying to the viewer their known profession. During the office scene, the father and son are in a darker lighting at the beginning of the scene whilst Doc is in a more brighter, natural light connoting the level of importance difference.

The use of diagetic dialogue for these two characters fully demonstrates their regional identity by the use of their strong Cornish accent, conveying to the audience the regional identity difference between their accents and Doc's.

During the ending of the scene, we are introduced to a female character, but this time, even though she is from the village herself, she is conveyed as more educated and higher class due to the mise-en-scene used to connote her personality.
Throughout her few short scenes, she is seen too us as wearing a sophisticated velvet blazer and vintage clothing giving the impression that she is of a higher class than the rest of the villagers and appears to have quite a lot of money.

Even though she has never properly met Doc Martin, she appears quite flirtatious towards him by grabbing his wrist too see the time, when in theory you would never comfortably touch someone you haven't properly met before. She begins to deviate him into making him write her a prescription on the spot, but shows her educational prospectus when she quotes the 'Hippocratic oath' connote to him that she does understand that it is wrong. 

Overall, the way in which regional identity is presented throughout the clip is that those from a country background appear less educated, have manual professions and are rather lazy, yet when we have a proper incite into their life, we can see that they do not all conform to the original stereotype. And those from a city background are more educated, have a white collar profession and are seen as superior to those that do not conform to their moral.

The Kings Speech

 

 

 

The Kings Speech:

 

The kings speech is a 2010 British historical drama production, directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seilder.

 

The film tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. Who, after his brother abdicates, George (known as 'Bertie' by close relatives) reluctantly takes the thrown. Plagued by a dreaded stammer and considered to be unfit to be the King, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a number of un expected techniques and unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and lead the country proudly through war.

 

Box Office:

 

Budget- $15,000,000 (approx.)

 

Opening Weekend- £3,523,102 (Jan 2011)

 

Gross- $138,795,342 (10 June 2011)

 

In the UK and Ireland, the film was the highest earning film on its opening weekend on 395 cinemas. The Kings Speech continued a ''stunning three weeks'' stop the UK Bok Office, and earned over £3,000,000,000 for 4 consecutive weekends, the first film to do so since Toy Story 3 in 2010. After five weeks on UK release, it was hailed as the most successful independent British film ever. It holds the record for the highest per-cinema gross of 2010 as well.  
It was widened to 700 screens on Christmas day and then widened again too 1,543 screens on the 15th January 2011. 

 

What is Britishness:

 

 

''Britishness is the state or quality of being British, or of embodying British characteristics and the is used to refer to that which binds and distinguishes British people and forms the basis of their unity and identity, or else to explain expressions of British Culture.''  

 

 

 

Tom Hooper:

 

 

Tom Hooper is a British film and television director who began making short films at the age of around 13yrs old. He had his first professional short, 'Painted Faces' broadcast on Channel 4 in 1992. At Oxford University, Hooper directed plays and television commercials, who then (after graduation) directed episodes of 'Quayside', 'Byker Grove', 'Cold Feet' and 'Eastenders'.

 

Hooper's work was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for his pieces 'Prime Suspect' and 'John Adams'. He also won one for 'Elizabeth I' and was nominated for the British Acadamy (BAFTA) TV Craft Award for being Best Director for 'Longford'. ONe of his most influential and recognisable pieces, 'The Kings Speech' won multiple awards such as Best director (from the Directors Guild of America) and Best Director nomination at the BAFTA's.

 

Criticism of the film:

 

Empire gave the film a wopping 5 stars and commented- ''You'll be lost for words''

The film has received widespread critical acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 94% based on reviews from 233 critics; their average rating was calculated as 8.6/10. It summarised the critical consensus as: ''Colin Firth gives a masterful performance in The Kings Speech, a predictable by stylishly produced and rousing period drama''.

 

The British Stammering Association welcomed the release of The Kings Speech congratulating the film makes their ''realistic deception of the frustration and the fear of speaking faced to people who stammer on a daily basis''. It is said that ''Colin Firths portrayal of the Kings stammer in particular strikes us a very authentic and accurate''. 

 

The films origins:

 

(David Seidler was the writer for the production)

 

As a child, David Seidler developed a stammer, which he believes was caused by the emotional trauma of World War II and the murder of his grandparents during the Holocaust.

When Seilder became an adult, he resolved to write about King George VI and during the late 1970's, he voraciously researched the King but found a lack of information on Logue.

Eventually, he contacted Dr. Valentine Logue, who agreed to discuss his father and make his notebooks available if the Queen's Mother gave her permission. She asked him not to do so within her lifetime and Seilder halted the project.

She then died in 2002. 3 years later, he returned to the storyline during a shorty period of creative work which was inspired by the recovery from cancer.

His research included a chance encounter with an uncle that Logue had treated, which indicated he used mechanical breathing exercises combined with psychological counselling to understand the underlying causes of the condition. With this information in hand, he imagined the sessions in which is took place. Seidler showed the screenplay to his wife, who liked it but pronounced it '' too seduced by cinematic technique''. She then suggested he would rewrite it as a stage play to focus on the essential relationship between  Logue and the King. Once he had completed it, he sent it to a few friends who currently worked in theatres in London and New York for feedback. 

In 2005, Joan Lane of Wilde Thyme, a production company in London received the script as well. Lane started talking with Gareth Unwin and Simon Egan of Bedlam Productions and they then invited Seidler to London to rwwrite the play again, yet this time, for the screen.

Shortly after, Ian Canning from See-Saw Films became involved.

 

The production team learned, 9 weeks prior to starting filming, of a diary containing Logues original notes on his treatment with the Duke of York. They then went back and re-worked the script to reflect on the original notes. Tom Hooper said that the most memorable lines on the film are those of which are from the original notes. 

 

The production companies & Distributors:

 

 Momentum Pictures is the leading independent motion picture in the UK and Ireland and releases approximately 20 theatrical films a year with several dtv releases.



The Weinstein Company is an American mini-major studio founded by Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 2005. The companies films are released on DVD and Blu-ray by Anchor Bay Entertainment.

Marketing:

For the marketing of the film, there wee a vast number of a variety of different poster used in order too entice the audience into watching the film. There were a number of official trailers to appeal to the UK and America, followed by an official website to promote the film even more.  [www.kingsspeech.com/]
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Regional Identity

Definition:- ''Regional identity refers to the act of identifying with a specific geographic region of a nation. This term can also be defined as something that is limited to a particular region.''  
Different regional identities:  

1. Scotland 

• Tartan
• Haggis 
• Bagpipes 
• Kilts
• Ginger haired people 
• Castles 
• Mountains 
• Whiskey
• Lochs 
• Cold Weather 

2.      Wales

• Sheep
• Fields 
• Dragon 
• Rugby 
• Daffodils 
• Choirs

3.     Liverpool

• The Beatles
• Scouse
• Football
• Paul O'grady
• Permed hair
• Shell suits

4.     Essex

• 'The only way is essex'
• Spray tans
• Vagasils
• Fake nails
• Fake hair
• Fake eyelashes
• Rylan Clark
• Olly Murs
• Stilletto heels
• Big boobs

5. Newcastle

• Geordie
• Geordie shore 

6. Ireland

• Leprechauns
• Gold
• Green
• Clovers
• Guinness
• Irish dancing

Me and my mums family are from Braunstone Town in Leicester.
I believe that I have some sort of an accent which people can tell that I am from Leicester. I have lived there until I was around 10, so have developed that form of accent.
I believe that you can tell where people come from due to their accents if they are strong enough because we all recognise their accents due to other places that we have heard them or what we associate them with. You can sometimes tell where people come from due to their food habits because of their culture and what they eat so we can understand where they are from as well, eg Indian ethnic people tend to eat curry, Scottish people eat haggis and black people ect.
We tend to have different opinions on people from rural or urban areas because of the stereotypes that follow with these types of places. Some people believe that people that are from rural areas speak with a posh, clear and well-mannered accent and those that are from urban areas speak like chavs, are rough and in gangs.