Prometheus: 7 Key Areas

• the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice; (how does who owns a media company influence the type of film made and its potential success? For example do BIG companies make BIG films and therefore make all the money? Is it possible for small companies to succeed?)

20th Century Fox is the main film production company who would have put in the most money and we would therefore assume that they would have had the most influence within the making of 'Prometheus.' However the director of the film was Ridley Scott, a very well known and well respected English film director and producer. He owns  his own film production company called Scott Free Productions. This would have meant that, being the director, he would have had a very large role in the making of the film and Scott Free Productions would have been very influential when making 'Prometheus.' However this would have not been able to happen unless the film had a large budget- the budget for 'Prometheus' was $130 million however Ridley Scott wanted $250 million which was declined by 20th Century Fox as they wanted the age range to be brought down to broaden the audience- which was provided almost fully by 20th Century Fox. Although 20th Century Fox is a massive film production company- one of the big 6- another film production company- Brandywine Productions- was also brought in to help produce the film. They are known for their part in the production of the films in the alien franchise and so are very knowledgable about what needs to be done in regard to the films within the alien franchise. It is what they are experts in and, although they are a very small film production company (having only ever been involved in the making of 9 films over the course of 43 years) they have the right ideas about the films. They have been extremely successful, the gross of all films being over $900 million, and are only a very small film production company. This goes to prove that smaller production companies can be successful however not on the same scale as the big Hollywood film production companies.
Together the film production companies spent an estimated $50 million on advertising, $30 million of which came from marketing support from companies including Coors, Amazon, and Verizon FiOS.

• the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing; (how do companies work together to produce, distribute and publicize a film? How can Disney use their size to promote and publicise a film? How can small companies work together to promote their business' when making and promoting a film?)

In the making of Prometheus, a few different film production companies combined in order to create the film. This was good because it enabled the film to get a bigger budget which gave the film a better more marketable budget to work on. The main film production company which halped to create 'Promatheus' was 20th Century Fox. This is a good thing because it is one of the Hollywood big 6 so it has a massive amount of money which it could provide for the making of the film. It also has a good reputation- meaning that Prometheus will be associated with them and automatically have a fairly good reputation. Another film production company which worked of Prometheus was Dune Entertainemnt. This film production company works in close assosiation with 20th Century Fox and invests in a lot of the same films. This will increase the underrtsanding of film making and make Prometheus a good film. The films director Ridley Scott also owns a film production company called Scott Free Productions which invested and helped to make Prometheus. It is important the Ridley Scoot became very involved with the film as it shows the dedication to the film. The final film production comapny which became involved with Prometheus is Brandywine Productions- the film production company which has had involvement in the success of all of the Alien films. It was good for Prometheus to have all of these production companies to help in the making because with the combined knowledge of the film industry, science fiction genre and the direction of films it was guaranteed that the film would do well.

• the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange; (how has the introduction of digital film, 3D, DVD, Blue Ray, internet streaming, downloadable content, home cinema influenced the types of films made, the way we watch them and the way we 'buy' them?)

Production
Set and Veichals- 'Prometheus' is a film which required a lot of special effects. To do this CGI was used when making the alien creatures as well as some of the set and veichals.
Arthur Max designed the sets, including the alien structures and the alien world landscape, and vehicles, including the Prometheus and the Engineer's ship. Digital 3D models and miniature replicas of each set were built to allow the designers to envisage the connections between them and to know where the CGI elements would be inserted
To better blend the practical and the digital, the design team took rock samples from the Iceland location so they could match the graphical textures with the real rocks. To create the Prometheus, Max researched NASA and European Space Agency spacecraft designs, and extended these concepts with his own ideas of how future space vehicles might look.

Creatures- Neal Scanlan and Conor O'Sullivan developed the film's alien creatures, aiming to convey that each creature has a logical biological function and purpose. Creature designer Carlos Huante chose to make the creature designs pale to contrast the black-toned, Giger-influenced aesthetic of Alien. When designing the Engineers (pale scary alien type creatures) Scott wanted them to resemble Greco-Roman gods. Were created by applying bulky, full-body prosthetics to the actors, whose facial features were diminished by the material, and were later digitally enhanced to preserve the "godlike" physical perfection. Scott described the Engineer's as tall, elegant "dark angels". The snake-like alien dubbed the "Hammerpede" was given life through a mixture of CGI and practical effects, and the wires controlling the practical puppet were digitally removed. The mutated "Fifield" effects were achieved mainly through the use of make-up and prosthetics. Due to concerns that the practical effects would be unsatisfactory, the filmmakers completed an alternative version of the sequence, in which Fifield was rendered as "a digital character with elongated limbs and an engorged, translucent head, incorporating a semblance of Harris's face". For its grown form, the "Adult Trilobite", Max found inspiration from an arthropod-like creature from Earth's Cambrian era and the alien octopus in Jean Giraud's illustrations for the comic strip The Long Tomorrow.T he film's last-unveiled creature, the "Deacon", was named by Scott for its long, pointed head that he considered resembled a bishop’s mitre. Shaw and Holloway who produce the Trilobite which impregnates the Engineer, in its design. However, they focused on making the creature feminine, and said that "it was born of a female before being born of a male." Messing drew inspiration for the Deacon's birth scene from the birth of foals, and created an iridescent appearance for its skin, based on the equine placenta.The Deacon's protruding jaw was inspired by the goblin shark.
Visual Effects
Prometheus contains approximately 1,300 digital effect shots.The main effects studio was Movin Picture Company (MPC), which produced 420 of the shots.Several other studios, including Weta Digital, Fuel VFX, Rising Sun Pictures, Luma Pictures, Lola Visual Effects, and Hammerhead Productions, also produced effects shots for the film.
The Orrery-3D digital map-was one of the most complex visual effects, contained 80–100 million polygons, and took several weeks to render as a single, complete shot.

'Prometheus' was released in 3D as well as 2D. It was shot on Red Epic cameras in 70mm DMR with inherent 3D meaning it could be easily transferred from 2D to 3D when creating the shots.
It was released on DVD and Blu-Ray which was also available to download onto iPods and iPhones through the means of Amazon, iTunes, PlayStation and Xbox in over 50 countries. During its first week of sale in the United Kingdom, Prometheus was the number 1 selling film on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, outselling its nearest competitor by a factor of three.

• the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences; (how and why have film companies had to alter the way they work now everyone has web enabled phones, PC's, consoles etc? How have audiences changed their viewing habits now we no longer need to go to the cinema to watch a film)

I was available to download onto iPods and iPhones through the means of Amazon, iTunes, PlayStation and Xbox in over 50 countries. The producers of the promotional tool of the Weyland Industries website will have had to enabled the website to be accessable on mobile phones and other technologies other than computers. Also, due to the recent growth in games console film downloads such as NetFlicks, the film will be able to be viewed and bought through these. Audiences no longer need to go to the cinema due to the recent development of being able to watch film online, often illegally. However because of the massive amount of advertising and promotion of the film, 'Prometheus' did not lose out. Instead of only making a small amount like a fair amount of films have because of illegal streaming and illegal downloading, 'Prometheus' managed to make $51 million in the USA in its opening weekend. Overall it grossed $401,933,453 (as of October 1st 2012.) This shows that, even with the growing use of illegal downloads and people staying at home when watching movies, that some films can still be extremely successful.

• the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences; (can you think of examples of how different technologies have come together to help the film industry?) 

Films such as Prometheus now tend to be sold to online film distributors, such as Netflix and LoveFilm, as audiences have changed their viewing habits due to the development in technology in media and the film industry. Viewers do not feel the need to spend large amounts of money on a trip to the cinema to see a film when they can either buy it on DVD/Blu-Ray as a long term investment or even rent the film from an online distributor and watch it in the warmth and comfort of their own home. The introduction of home cinema has influenced the way that film companies have to alter the way they work as they have to consider their production, distribution, and marketing to fit the majority of audiences that prefer to watch a film in their own homes and to publicise the other windows that the film has to offer, e.g. DVD, Blu-Ray, online distributors.

Also, with the increasing use of smart phones, the film industry has had adapt to changes when it comes to marketing their product and advertising it. As for the Weyland Industries website, Ridley Scott is able to apply a setting so that iPhone and other smart phone users can view it, increasing the publicity of the film even further. This proliferation in hardware has boosted the publicity of Prometheus even further than the already successful viral marketing. 

• the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions; (how do film companies try and attract their audience? Do they do different things in different countries?)

The director of 'Prometheus' is the very well known British Ridley Scott. Along with his brother he owns his own film production company called Scott Free Productions. It has produced films such as 'Gladiator', 'Robin Hood' and 'The A Team'. He has also directed the first film 'Alien' in the franchise and so he is well known within this genre. People who are interested in the sci-fi genre will be attracted it go and see the film because of the genre and the director. Film companies use a lot of metods of promotion in order to make people go and see the film.
Rumours were that the cost of marketing the film was between $40 and $50 million- very expensive!!! It was important that the film was marketed in a massive way because the more people that hear about it will mean that more people will go and see it when it is at the cinema.
The 'Prometheus' marketing campaign began on July 21, 2011 at the San Diego Comic-Con International, where images and footage from the film were presented by Lindelof and Theron; Scott and Rapace participated via satellite contribution. A segment of the footage showed Theron performing naked push-ups, which attracted much attention. A teaser poster was released on December 14, 2011, with the tagline, "The search for our beginning could lead to our end." A bootleg recording of an incomplete trailer was leaked online on November 27, 2011, but was swiftly taken down by Fox. The full proper trailer was released on December 22, 2011.
On March 17, 2012, Scott, in partnership with AMC Theaters, hosted the premiere of the first full Prometheus trailer at the AMC Downtown Disney during WonderCon in California. The event was streamed live via Facebook, Twitter, and the AMC Theater website, and the trailer was posted on AMC's Youtube channel immediately after its debut. Reactions to the trailer from WonderCon attendees, and on Twitter, were generally positive, and it received nearly three million views in the three days following its release. On April 10, 2012, media outlets were shown a 13 minute montage of scenes in 3D from the film's opening at the Vue Cinema in Leicester Square, London. The screening, and in particular the 3D visuals and the performances of Fassbender, Rapace, Theron, and Elba, was well received.
On April 29, 2012, the international launch trailer debuted in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 during the first advertisement break of the TV show Homeland. Viewers were encouraged to share their opinions about the trailer on Twitter, some of which were then shared in a live broadcast during a later break. This was the first time that viewers' tweets were used in a broadcast advertisement. A competition, offering viewers a chance to win tickets to the film whenever the social platform Zeebox detected the advertisement airing, was launched on that site.
Although marketers typically avoid promoting adult-oriented films in order to reach a broader demographic, the film attracted several promotional partners including Coors, Amazon, and Verizon FiOS, which were estimated to have spent $30 million in marketing support. Amazon directed interested users to purchase tickets through Fandango, and placed promotional material in products shipped to customers; this was the first time that Amazon had allowed such marketing by an external company. The premiere in London was streamed live via the film's website and the Verizon FiOS Facebook page. The event was facilitated by BumeBox, which took audience questions from social sites and gave them to reporters to ask at the event.The National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA) is developing a series of Prometheus action figures, scheduled for release in September 2012. A book, Prometheus: The Art of the Film, containing production art and behind-the-scenes photographs, was released on June 12, 2012
VIRAL CAMPAIGN:
-A viral marketing campaign began on February 28, 2012, with the release of a video featuring a speech by Pearce, in character as Peter Weyland, about his vision for the future. Set in 2023, the video presents a futuristic vision of a TED conference, an annual technology and design event held in Long Beach, California. The segment was conceived and designed by Scott and Lindelof, and directed by Scott's son, Luke. The production was made in collaboration with, and made available through TED because Lindelof wanted to introduce new audiences to the conference itself. Lindelof said that the scene takes place in a futuristic stadium because "a guy like Peter Weyland—whose ego is just massive, and the ideas that he's advancing are nothing short of hubris—that he'd basically say to TED, 'If you want me to give a talk, I'm giving it in Wembley Stadium.'"
-During the 2012 WonderCon, attendees at the film's panel were given Weyland Corporation business cards that directed them to a website and telephone number. After calling the number, the caller was sent a text message from Weyland Corporation that linked them to a video that was presented as an advertisement for the "David 8" android, narrated by Fassbender. An extended version of the video, released on April 17, 2012, lists the android's features, including its ability to seamlessly replicate human emotions without the restrictions of ethics or distress. A full page "David 8" advertisement was placed in The Wall Street Journal: a Twitter account operated by a David8, that allowed Twitter users to ask the character questions, was included.
-Another video, "Quiet Eye", starring Rapace as Shaw, was released on May 16, 2012, and debuted on the Verizon FIOS Facebook page. In a telephone call monitored by Yutani, a fictional company from the Alien series, Shaw requests Weyland's aid to seek out alien life.
-Another video followed in September 2012, featuring Elba's Captain Janek preparing for a mission.
All of this was in aid of getting a buzz going for the film.

• the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour. (what is your opinion on the above? Do you see the developments as a good or bad thing?)

Overall, I think that 'Prometheus' was a good film. I thought that the use of special effects and CGI was good and made the film interesting and gripping to watch. I think that the developments in the film industry were good for the making and production of 'Prometheus' because, without the growing use of technology, the film would not have been as good and would not have had as much impact. The scenes involving the creatures were realistic in a stupidly unrealsitic way and the settings were very realistic and were exactly how you would imagine it to be. The technology deveklopments may be good for the production of the film however may not be the best for people who can illegally download, stream and watch films over the internet without going to the cinema and spening the money which determines whether the film has been a success or not. If this gradually becomes more and more frequent, less and less people will go to the cinema to see the film and the films will start to generate less money. This could lead to a huge loss of money which could mean less chances of things like follow up movies. This would be bad for 'Prometheus' as it is part of a franchise and so more films are expected. The final scene of the film was left on a cliffhanger meaning that people will be expecting there to be another film- which is scheduled for release in summer 2014 at the earliest- (luckily there is) however if the film was unsuccessful then the chances of another film would have decreased significantly.