Kick Ass: 7 Areas of Assessment

Kick Ass: Seven Areas of Audience and Inatitution Assessment

The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice:
This issue with the british film indusrty is that we have to have imput from american film companies as we are 'poorly organised.' Because of this, 'Kick Ass' had to have the imput of Plan B. The reason for this is because the British production companies dont have the same amount of money on the same scale as the American film companies. Most, if not all, of the 'Big 6' major film production companies (major film studio is a production and distribution company that releases a substantial number of films annually and consistently commands a significant share of box-office revenues in a given market) are all American showing that American films dominate the film indusrty meaning that British films struggle to ever be a major success without the help (sharing ownership) of American companies. Personally, I don't really think yhat smaller production companies can compete with the massive film companies, however I still think they can be successful. This is because their budgets and profits will be a lot smaller that the major film companies, however their profit margins could be similar meaning they are just as successful just not on such a large scale. For example, Kick ass almost tripled their budget at the box office making around '96 million dollars' whereas 'The Amazing Spiderman' also doubled the revenue at the box office. Their total at the box office is about £750 million- much more than 'Kick Ass', however their budget was £230 million- around seven times the budget of 'Kick Ass.' This shows that both films were equally as successful- just on completely different size scales.

The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing:
In the initial idea of 'Kick Ass', director Matthew Vaughn went to all of the major film production companies, all of which refused to finance the film. This meant that he had to raise finance on his own. He put in half of the £30 million from his own pocket and got the rest from private investors, including a hefty chunk from Brad Pitt's production company (Plan B) making him a co producer of 'Kick Ass.' This joint venture into the making of a film is a perfect example of synergy within the film industry. Without the merge of the two large companies, Kick Ass wouldnt have been as much of a success as it was. this is because they will have worked together in the distribution and promotion of the film. With Matthew Vaughns company being British and Brad Pitts being American, they can work together to ensure that they distribut and market in both countries meaning that they will have a greater knowledge about selling/distributing/marketing in more than one country meaning more people in the different countries will be likely to go and see it.
Disney can use their size to promote and piblicise films as they are already a well known brand/company. This means that they are very successful; they will have a lot of money which they will be able to use to market/promote any films which they produce. This is good as they can then advertise to a wider audience meaning more people will know about the film so more people are likely to go and see it. This will continue Disney's success and allow them to do this again and again.
By smaller companies joining togther, it allows them to cover more advertising methods. This is because each company will put in a small amount of money. When put together, they will have a larger advertising/promotional budget. From this, they can use the money on trailers, posters and launching offical websites in order to create a buzz. These types of things were created during the promotion of 'Kick Ass'
Trailer for Kick Ass:

This trailer was shown before other films as a promotional trailer in cinemas throughout the UK and the USA in order to gain publicity and make people aware of the film. This (hopefulluy) would lead to people going to see the film meaning the joint advertising would have been worth it.

The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange:
Recently, 3D films have been introduced into cinema as a way of bringing in more money. The 3D films attract people who want more of a real life experience when going to see a film with objects flying out of the screen. Even though the cost of equipment for 3D filming is very expensive (some 3D cameras can be thousands and thousands of pounds) however the 3D concept often attracts a lot more people to go and see the film meaning that the production companies will make up the costs through extra ticket sales. Often, films will release a 3D and a 2D verion of the film in the same cinema giving viewers the choice of 2 different screenings. This means that they will appeal to a wider range of people (those who like 3D films and those who don't) meaning that they will sell tickets to more people than they would if they only had one screening. Kick Ass didnt have a 3D version of the film, however still managed to be a success. This proves that 3D doesn't necessarily have to be included within films in order for them to be a hit.
The special effects used in the film 'Kick Ass' are very good and clever. This is useful in a lot of the graphic scenes (hit girl shoots/stabs a lot of people.) The use of the special effects make it look very realistic and gory which makes it seem more realistic to the viewers. The growing use of special effects in films means that the quality is better and the over all effect is much more life like as 10 or 15 years ago, the technology wasn't advanced enough in order to make the film look as gory and realistic as it does in films today.
Also, there hasn't been a decrease in DVD sales proving that they are still very popular with the public. This is good for films such as 'Kick Ass' as they can be bought by the public after they have left the cinema. Because of the high age rating on Kick Ass, people who werent eligible to see the film when it came out in the cinema would now be able to buy it when it was released on DVD. This would mean that the film production companies would still be making money even though 'Kick Ass' is no longer in the cinema, being advertised/promoted, etc. As well as DVD, there is now Blu-Ray players which quite a lot of people own. This means, as well as DVD sales, 'Kick Ass' will alos benefit from the sales of Blu-Ray disks. This leads to more sales and then more money for Matthew Vaughn and his company which makes Kick Ass and even bigger success.
Internet streaming and downloading (often illegal) can have negative effects on film production companies as people are able to view the films, which have cost millions of pounds to make, for free. This means that the production companies get no money from them yet the people still get the luxury of viewing the film. In 2010 when Kick Ass was released internet streaming and illegal downloading werent as popular as they are now which is good as this means more people who now illegally download will have gone to the cinema to see the film, however this may be a problem for the sequel 'Kick Ass 2' as more people are using illegal downloads as it it quicker and easier than it used to be.
Also, with new technology being introduced such as iPads and iPhones, films are now available to purchase online so people can watch them on their phones and iPads. People are more likely to do this than buying DVDs as it is cheaper (The average film on iTunes costs around £6 whereas an actual DVD is between $10 and £15.) This introduction of technology is good for films such as 'Kick Ass' as they may still sell the films to people even when the film is no longer in the cinema.

The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences:
It is good that a lot of people now have smart phones as it means that they will be able to access the film trailers and information on their phones. This could be used when they are with friends meaning that larger amounts of people will become aware of the film. This is all a way of creating a buzz for the film- the more people that hear about the film, it is likely that more people will go and see the film. The increase in viewing rates will mean more money generated by the film and therefore making the film a success.
For 'Kick Ass,' they would have had to have made a phone-enabled page for their website as this would then mean that more people will be able to access the trailer. This wouldn't cost too much to do but would have needed time in order to make it perfect and attractive to the people who are viewing the website. If the phone website looks awful it is likely that people won't think that film will be very good so will be unlikely to go and see it.
Also, with things such as NetFlicks, people dont have to go out and buy DVDs as they can just download the film on their game consoles. For 'Kick Ass' they will have to make sure that the film is available to buy/download on sites such as this one as it means more people will be able to buy and see it. If they like it then they will hopefully go and see the sequel. Because of this and other things such as illegal downloading, people no longer need to go to the cinema in order to see the film. This means that the amount of cinema sales is likely to decrease as there are other ways of film viewing. However, it doesn't mean that the film will be unsuccessful as, due to things such as NetFlicks, the film is still liley to succeed as they will still get money and people hyping about the film.

The importance of technological converge for institutions and audiences:


The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically British) by internnational of global institutions:
The director of the 'Kick Ass' is British, he owns a Birtish film company 'Marv Films'. This is useful as he will is able to relate to the British public. For this, he has used a British actor as the main character (Aaron Johnson is Kick Ass) which means that British people will recognise him which may attract them to go and see the film.) Also, he has British connections within the film industry meaning he can use professionals within the film (Jane Goldman wrote the script- she is married to Jonathan Ross as well as being very successful in her own rights meaning that people will recognise the name and want to go and see the film.) He will also have been able to conduct research through his previous films, such as 'Stardust', when considering how to appeal to the British Public.
However, he was able to appeal to the American market as he joined up with American film production company 'Plan B' which is owned by Brad Pitt. This is good when appealing to the Americans as 'Plan B' will have knowledge on how to prote throughout the USA as they have done it before. This is good for 'Kick Ass' as it means more people across different countries will have heard about the film and will then be likely to go and see the film. The more people that hear about the film means more people will be likely to go and see the film making 'Kick Ass' an overall success.

The ways in which the candidates' own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour:
I feel like 'Kick Ass' was a success as they tripled their original budget at the box office. This means that a lot of people went to see the film and enjoyed it which is the maoin reason for creating a film. I think that the film was fun, not too serious as well as being entertaining and gripping to the viewer.
I think that because the film was made in 2010, some of the technologies werent as well. For example, things such as internet streaming and illegal downloading werent as well know and easy to access. I think that this was good for 'Kick Ass' otherwise not as many people would have gone to see the film at the cinema. If these things were as well know when they released it, thye wouldn't have made as much money and the viewing figures wouldn't have been as high, so i think that for Kick Ass, the lack of technology wuld have been a bonus. However, people will still be able to download the film illegally now rather that purcasing a Blu-Ray disk or a DVD, however I dont think that will effect the overall success of the film. However, i do think that this is a bad thing for future releases (such as 'Kick Ass 2' as the amount of people who illegally download and watch films has increased menain gthat the amount of people who go to the cinema and watch films has seen as slight decrease. If the amount of illegal downloaders continues to grow then it could have a serious negative effect on the film industry. I think that the amount of illiegal downloaders will continue to grow as the 'cinema experience' is so expensive these days (tickets ranging from £6-£10, more for 3D as special glasses have to be purchased, drinks now cost at least £3 and snacks can be well over a fiver!) that people would rather save moeny and watch it at home. I think that this is good for the public as they get the pleasure of viewing films without having to pay for it, however this is bad for the film industry, including films such as 'Kick Ass,' as people would rather stay at home and watch them so arent spending money at the cinema meaning not as much money will be made. Currently this isnt a huge issue, however if films start making losses rather than profits, the film industry might completely die out.