Digital Distribution Affecting Consumption of Media Products Essay

To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of media products in the area of media you have studied?

Digital distribution has an effect on the film industry as more and more people are watching films in their homes, whether this is on DVD, Blu-Ray or, more often, online. Television premiers also mean that less and less people are going and spending money on film tickets at the cinema, however this doesn’t necessarily mean that digital is the way forward.

In the science fiction thriller ‘Prometheus’ directed by Ridley Scott, a huge marketing strategy was put into place in order to promote the film to a wider audience. A huge amount of funding was given by 20^th Century Fox as well as marketing partners including Amazon. An advertising budget between $40 and $50 million was given ($20 million from the initial film production budget of $130 million and the other $30 million from advertising) in order to promote the film.

Ways in which the film was advertised was by creating a viral marketing scheme. This included four videos about the film which were released online. The first video was of Guy Pearce who plays the character Peter Weyland in ‘Prometheus’ doing a futuristic TED talk about the mission.

The next video was showing the robot ‘David 8’, another character in the film. The video was first released to the visitors of WonderCon, who got business cards from ‘Weyland Industries’- the business in the film- which directed them to a website. This website then gave them a link which showed them the ‘David 8’ advertisement. A while later, an extended version of the video was released to the public listing the qualities of the robot portraying the video as an advert.

The third video was of Naomi Rapace who stars in the movie as one of the main characters Elizabeth Shaw. She is shown asking various questions and explaining the reasoning behind the mission, which was carried out in order to create excitement about the film. The fourth and final video used in the viral marketing campaign of ‘Prometheus’ was of the ships captain preparing for the mission. It was kept short to add an element of mystery for the viewer and would make them even more excited and more desperate to go and see the film at the cinema. 

As well as this, ‘Prometheus’ released a tease, unfinished trailer before releasing the complete film trailer. This was to create a bigger buzz for the film and makes it more exciting for the film audiences. The virals and trailers were all distributed digitally as they were put on to the main ‘Prometheus’ website as well as on the ‘Prometheus’ channel on YouTube. This allowed for thousands of people to hear about the film and make them want to go and see it. Promoting to a large audience is expected for this type of film as it allows for more people to go and see the film. For big budget films, big audiences are needed in order for the film to make its money back and be an all around success.

‘Prometheus’ was released on DVD on the 18^th of September 2012 in over 50 countries. It was then released on Netflix on the 6^th of November 2012, just over 150 days after the initial cinema release. This would have had an impact on a lot of people who would have been interested in seeing the film because it would cost a lot less. As well as being released on Netflix, ‘Prometheus’ was released on LOVE FILM meaning that people are able to rent the DVD from the company for less money than it would cost for them to either buy the DVD or go and watch the film at the cinema.

However, ‘Prometheus’ was also released in IMAX meaning that audiences who wanted this feature would have to go and see the film at a special IMAX cinema. This would have meant that people would have to have gone out and paid the money for this purpose.

As well as this, it was released in 3D meaning that audiences would have gained a better, more fun and interesting cinema experience as they would have been able to see rocks and spaceships flying at them and made them feel as though they are in the film. The film was also released on DVD in 3D so people with 3D televisions would be able to watch the film in this way using this feature.

A way to increase the realness of the film ‘Prometheus’ was released in 4D meaning that people were able to feel movements in their seats as well as seeing mist and smelling things which the film characters would be experiencing. Although this was only released in one 4DX cinema, it would have been a major factor and would have played a large part in the amount of money the film made. Digital distribution would not have prevented the 4D film from being successful as there is no way of digitally distribution a film in 4D and so the unique experience would have made audiences want to go and see the film in 4D.

Films need to make their money back which is why illegal downloading and streaming of films is such a huge problem. Although the cinema experience is becoming increasingly expensive, some films are finding it difficult to make a profit. The large amount of money spent on marketing a film such as Prometheus means that people are more aware of the film. The more hype, the more likely it is for the film to be up for illegal downloads as the people uploading them will know it would be worth it as it is almost a guarantee with big budget films and so there is always the fear that illegal downloaders will be more successful than the actual film makers. Advances in technology have allowed for people to be able to sit in their homes and watch the latest releases with one swift click. Luckily for ‘Prometheus’, this wasn’t an issue, however for many, lower budget films this is not the case.

For example, a low budget film such as sci fi adventure film ‘Attack the Block’, directed by Joe Cornish, did not have the money for the amount of marketing as ‘Prometheus’. This meant that less people would have heard about the film. The shortage of marketing meant that they were only appealing to a small audience in comparison with ‘Prometheus’ however this was expected due to having a significantly smaller budget of £8 million. The budget was put together by Studio Canal, Film 4 and also from the National Lottery Funding. These companies are used to making low budget, low grossing movies and so will have to consider the use of digital distribution in order to reach a wider audience.

As well has having the small budget, the audience was limited even further because of the age rating for the film. This meant that even less people were able to see the film. Because of digital distribution, people under the age of 15 would have been able to watch the film online because of things such as streaming and downloading the films.

Although the streaming could have had an effect on DVD sales of ‘Attack the Block’, it would not have really affected the audiences in cinema. With the age rating being a 15, only a small audience was targeted for the film. This meant that it wasn’t surprising that the film only grossed £2.5 million however the film wasn’t a flop. Over time, through the sales of DVDs, ‘Attack the Block’ will make its money back. Digital distribution didn’t really have an affect on ‘Attack the Block’.

Meida Ownership, Production and Exchange Essay

Discuss the issues raised by media ownership in the production and exchange of media texts in your chosen media area:

There are many issues which can occur in production and exchanges in media texts

An example of when issues were raised in media ownership was in Matthew Vaughans comic book adaptation action packed film ‘Kick Ass’. The production company ‘Marv’ (owned by Matthew Vaughan) made up the original budget for the film which amounted to $10 million which is extremely small. Having no backing from any of the major film companies meant there was a problem with the production as there would not be enough funding for the film to actually be created and exhibited.

Luckily for Matthew Vaughan, Plan B Entertainment, a film production company owned by Hollywood ‘star’ Brad Pitt, joined in with the venture and raised the budget from $10 million to $30 million. Although this budget is still small, it allows enough money to pay for the production and promotion of the film as well as the exhibition of the film which allowed more people to go and see the film which ultimately made the film a success.

The low budget meant that issues were raised with the cast. The stars of the movie were relatively unknown and therefore did not have a huge fan base and did not bring masses of viewers to the cinema to see the film. For this reason, there was fear that the film would be unsuccessful and not be a big hit at the box office.

However, with the use of big, successful Hollywood actors who work for low budgets such as Nicolas Cage, the film would instantly gain more publicity. Nicolas Cage is a very successful actor who, after having money troubles, now works on small films with low budgets that tend to be fairly successful- ‘Kick Ass’ an example of this. Because Cage only required a small section of the films budget (unlike he would a few years ago- in 2009 he was one of Hollywood’s highest paid actors earning an estimated $40 million) it meant that the rest of the budget could be used more in the production as well as other, less known actors.

Another issue with the casting in ‘Kick Ass’ due to the budget was having Aaron Johnson as the main character Dave Lizewski and his alter ego ‘Kick Ass’ the superhero. Aaron Johnson, a young actor who the audience would have probably recognised from the John Lennon film adaptation ‘Nowhere Boy’, is young and relatively inexperienced. The issue with this is that Vaughan wouldn’t know how good a job he would do starring as the main character in a film of this type- something which he is extremely unfamiliar with. His performance could have either made the film brilliant or made the film horrendous. The risks taken by Vaughan to put him as the lead roll could have been the reason behind the unsuccessful film.

Also, the other main character of ‘Hit Girl’ and Mindy McCready was played by another unknown, upcoming child actress; Chloe Grace Moretz. Having only had minor roles in previous films, this was another risk taken by the films producers. If her performance wasn’t up to the standards, critics and viewers wouldn’t enjoy the film and wouldn’t promote through word-of-mouth and so the film wouldn’t have been as big of a success as it was!

Also, a lot of the cast who were playing Americans were British actors. This is because issues with the budget meant that Americans who would have expected a bigger pay check than the British actors would have been too expensive. Also, with Matthew Vaughan being a British director, it meant that people who he would have worked with in the past would be happy to work with him because they are loyal rather than the money aspect of the job.

Another issue which was raised about the exhibition of ‘Kick Ass was the age rating. With ‘Kick Ass’ being an action film adapted from comic books, the idea audience would have been young teenagers, however this was not the case. Instead of the 12 or 12A rating which would have been expected, ‘Kick Ass’ was a 15. This meant that the audiences who were able to see it may not have been attracted to the film and not wanted to go and see the film. This could have made the film extremely unsuccessful.

However with the release of ‘Kick Ass’ on Blu-Ray and DVD, the people who were unable to see the film in the cinema were able to buy it from a shop. Because they couldn’t go and see it in the cinema, they would have to buy it on DVD or online and so made the film more successful after the release.

Also, something which didn’t impress film critics was the language used throughout the film. Having a twelve year old girl swearing would have been slightly off putting for certain people (even if it was what made the film so humorous) and would have put them off going to see the film. May critics said that the bad language should have been taken out of the film- as well as being kinder to ears, it would have lowered the age rating and made the film available to a larger audience- however Vaughan and script writer Jane Goldman decided against it as it was one of the main features of the film.

As well as this, the sound track consisted of songs notably from many other films. This is because the small budget didn’t allow for songs to be produced purely for the film. There was one song- the main song- used in the film which was recorded for the pure purpose of the film and was recorded by star of the time; Mika. This was good publicity for both Mika and the film as he was fairly successful in 2010 when ‘Kick Ass’ was released. However using songs from other films could have been risky because some of the songs were used from well known movies.

Lastly, the small budget meant only small amounts of CGI used. This could have made the film have a poor effect on the viewer; however this was not the case as the poor quality of some of the fight scenes were what made the film funny and appealing to the audience.

Another example of where there were problems with media ownership, production and exchange was in Ben Wheatley’s action/horror film ‘Kill List’. With a budget of just £500,000, there was hardly any money to get any well known actors or actresses and so had to use unknown actors in the film (including Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring and Michael Smiley). This meant, as there were no huge stars, no amount of fans would have gone to the see the film as no one who was in the would have created a large amount of excitement for the film.

Also, the small budget left no money for promotion meaning, again, that no buzz was created amongst potential audiences. The lack of promotion meant that no one really knew about the film unless they went to small, art house style cinemas to see a film of the same genre and saw the advert for it as a trailer before their actual film.

There wasn’t a proper premier because there wasn’t a large, well known cast and the potential audience was limited. This also meant that there was no buzz created for the film. The only place where the film was ‘premiered’ was at the Film 4 Fright fest- It was held at the Film4 Fright Fest because Film4 were one of the film production companies that put money into the film along with Warp X and Rook Films. They all put the money together in order to create the film- meaning that the people who were interested in the genre would have seen it. This was a good way to promote the film to the target audience, however this audience is only limited and so would not have been a guaranteed success.

Having this issue with the audience meant that only people over the age of 18 were able to go and see the film, however I think that people who are most interested in horror films are slightly younger teenagers (like 16 year olds) and people who are 18 and over wouldn’t necessarily be attracted to this genre of film.

Also, the extreme violence and strange plot meant that some film critics loved it and some hated it. It was important for the success of the film that it got good reviews as that was one of the only ways people would be attracted to go and see the film. Luckily, most thought that the plot and violence was good and gave fairly good reviews meaning that some of the people who read the reviews went to see the film. Could the good reviews from critics have played the major part in the film grossing over £16,000?

Digital Media Technology Essay

What significance does the continuing development of digital media technology have for media institutions and audiences?

To a certain extent, the development of digital media technology has allowed media institutions to connect and branch out to their specific target audiences. In a way, it allows the media institutions to promote the film on a smaller scale- and budget- and creates more excitement for the film among the target audience and therefore creates a bigger buzz in the run up to the films release date.

One example of when digital media technology being used in a successful film was in Ridley Scott’s science fiction film ‘Prometheus’. Digital media technology was used in both the production and the promotion when the film from the ‘Alien’ franchise was released. It was shot using 3D cameras and was released in 2D, 3D (in selected cinemas) and, in one cinema in Mexico City, even 4D. 4D is where physical effects in the cinema allow the audiences to feel as if they are in the film by including motion in the seats and sometimes smell-o-vision which is where smells are released in the cinema. ‘Prometheus’ was released in a 4DX cinema which allowed the viewers of the films to feel motion in their seats as well as having a feature which released and allowed then to feel the mist, wind, fog and smell which the characters in the film experienced.

Ridley Scott’s film production company teamed up with Brandywine productions (a production company which has worked on all of the films from the ‘Alien’ franchise) and 20^th Century Fox, one of the ‘big six’ Hollywood production companies in order to come up with a budget for the promotion. They came up with $50 million ($30 million of which came from promotional partners such as Amazon) which paid for a huge advertising campaign. The advertisement budget allowed a series of videos which were created and released on the internet in order to be shown all over the world. One of the virals was of Peter Weyland- a character in the film played by Guy Pearce- doing a futuristic style TED talk about the basic plot of the film in front of thousands of people. This viral was released a few months before the films release. The growing use of media technology meant that a website was created especially for this reason. As well as this, a Weyland industries website was created as a fake website for the fictional company in the film owned by the TED taker Peter Weyland.

As well as the TED talk, at WonderCon- a science fiction convention- the film panel (people who attended the convention) were given a business card which directed them to a website which featured a video advertisement for the ‘David 8’ robot (played by Michael Fassbender) which is featured in the film. Later in the year (and closer to the films release date) an extended version of the video was released listing all of the qualities and functions of ‘David’. As a free method of promotion, a twitter account was created for David which allowed twitter users to ask the character/robot questions and get to know more about the character.

Also, two more videos; one of Rapace starring as scientist Shaw and the other of the ships captain Jack preparing for a mission were all released consecutively in order to create excitement about the film.

However digital media technology was not only used in the promotion of the film, it was also used throughout the production of the actual film. As the film was released in 3D, it was shot in 3D as it is easier and was better for when the footage was being edited. Scott was focusing on the 3D footage as he said it added the ‘illusion of depth’ showing that the continuing growth of digital media technology is not only good for promotion but also makes the quality of films a lot better for audiences.

Also, a lot of special effects were used in the film which required CGI. This would only have been able to happen due to the growth of digital media technology. For example, in ‘Prometheus’ a lot of alien creatures are used, most of which required some form of CGI, in order to make them seem realistic. Neal Scanlan and Connor O’Sullivan developed the alien creature trying to make them all seem to have a logical biological function and purpose. The ‘Engineers’ were created to resemble Roman Gods and were created by the application of bulky, full body prosthetics to the actors- whose facial features were diminished by the material and were later digitally enhanced to portray a god-like perfection. Another snake-like alien called the ‘Hammerpede’ was created through a mixture of CGI and practical effects after the practical puppet wires were removed.

As well as alien creatures, sets and vehicles required lots of special effects to create a realistic effect for the film. Arthur Max, the set and vehicle designer, used digital 3D models and miniature replicas of each set to allow designers/makers to know where the CGI elements would be inserted. The realistic look of the ships and the vehicles would not have been conveyed as well as they were without the use of digital and CGI which is all a direct result of the growth and advances in digital media technology.

Approximately 1,300 digital effects shots were used in ‘Prometheus’ meaning that most of the film was created through the use of digital which is also a direct result in the growth and advances in digital media technology. Studios including Movin Picture Company (MPC) created the shots, with the most complex effects being used for the orrey 3D digital map which contained over 80 million polygons within it, taking several weeks to render as a single, complete shot. This made the map look realistic and futuristic and would not have created the same effect if the advances in digital media technology hadn’t been as big.

Another science fiction film which used a lot of digital media technology was ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ directed by Rupert Wyatt. It was released in 2011 and had a budget of $93 million- less that ‘Prometheus’ which had an estimated budget of $130 million- which was financed by 20^th Century Fox and was a film following on from the ‘Planet of the Apes’ franchise.

Digital technology was used when creating the apes in the film. Originally, real apes were going to be used in the film rather than computer generated creatures; however the producers decided to use actors which would then be digitally transformed into the apes we see onscreen. Andy Serkis, the actor who played the role of lead ape Ceaser in the film, has had roles in films like this previously, such as King Kong in the 2005 film ‘King Kong’, and so is familiar in the ways in which the apes move and makes it look realistic.

The performance capture process begins with Serkis in a grey tracksuit with green stickers tracking his movements in an ape style way on set in Vancouver. When the producers are happy with the movement they send the footage over to the WETA digital studio base in Wellington, New Zealand where they create a more ape-like look by adding skin and fur. The end result is very realistic showing that digital technology is useful in the film industry. Without it, ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ wouldn’t have been nearly as good and wouldn’t have had such a realistic look.

Digital technology was also used on some of the sets of ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’. The budget allowed the crew to have freedom when filming on set and it often led to them using exterior environments to shoot in. However, in some cases- such as the golden gates bridge scene- physical set was used with additional computer generated parts to create a scene of better quality.

The growing use of technology also meant that the adverts and promotional trailers were able to be shown/viewed worldwide. With the ever increasing use of smart phone technology, websites such as YouTube enable people to see film trailers and teasers on the go. This also means that if a film has its own website, it can ensure that a mobile phone version of the website will be created so that people can search for information on the film wherever they are rather than waiting until they get to the nearest computer.

Facebook and twitter pages and accounts were also made for ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes.’ This was used as a cheap method of promotion for the film as facebook has over 1 billion activated accounts and twitter has over 140 million users meaning that the pages would show to a huge amount of people. The more people that know about the film, the more chance a film has of success and so it was important that ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ branched out to a large audience. People use online social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter every day so it is almost impossible for the dedicated film pages to not attract anyone to go and see the movie. It worked. ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ grossed over $480 million.

Without CGI and digital technology, ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ wouldn’t have been as good and wouldn’t have had the same effect on the viewer. The way the apes all looked so realistic meant the audience felt a connection with the character and made them more emotional when they watched it as all of the chimps actions and emotions were shown and created purely for that purpose.

CGI was also used in low budget British film ‘Attack the Block’ which was directed by Joe Cornish when creating the aliens. The CGI effects were used to create the glowing teeth of the monsters which made them original and scary. The addition of fur was also added by the digital effects team and the overall effect wowed critics, some of whom said that the creatures were what made attack the block so good.

IMAX (Image Maximum) is a motion picture film format and a form of digital media technology. It improves the quality of display images up to a greater size and resolution which ultimately ends up in having a film with a better quality image. Since 2002, some feature films have been upgraded to the IMAX format purely for display in IMAX theatres and some films have been partially shot in IMAX.

The IMAX conversion with Warner Brothers (WB), one of the Hollywood ‘big six’ film production companies, means that, as well as increasing the worldwide popularity of the IMAX experience, the quality of the 20 films WB plan to release in IMAX will be much better and will be more pleasing for the audience to watch. Since the decision to release various films in the new format, massively successful films such as ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ have been released by WB in IMAX and gained incredible reviews proving that this huge advance in digital media technology makes the film industry more enjoyable and overall more exciting for the audience

Overall, the growth and advances in digital media technology mean that the quality of the films released in the future will be much better. The idea of things such as IMAX and 4D cinema experiences makes the film experience much more enjoyable and more exciting for the movie audiences and aims to create a boost in the number of people going to the cinema and supporting the film industry.

Kill List Prezi

Kill List on Prezi

Kill List Research

Nearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.

Movie Info

From director Ben Wheatley, Kill List is a mind-blowing genre concoction being called the "#1 Horror Film of the Year" (Bloody-Disgusting). A brilliant blend of family drama, hitman action-thriller and terrifying psychological horror film, Kill List tells the story of an ex-soldier turned contract killer who is plunged into the heart of human darkness. Eight months after a disastrous hit job in Kiev left him physically and mentally scarred, Jay (Neil Maskell) is pressured by his partner Gal (Michael Smiley), into taking a new assignment. As they descend into the bizarre, disturbing world of the contract, Jay's world begins to unravel until fear and paranoia sending him reeling towards a horrifying point of no return

Director: Ben Wheatley

Writers: Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump

Stars: Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring and Harry Simpson

Genres: Crime | Horror | Thriller

Details

Official Sites: Official site

Country: UK

Language: English | Swedish (a few lines)

Release Date: 2 September 2011

(UK)

Also Known As: Lista za odstrel 

Filming Locations: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK

Budget:

£500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$9,838 (USA) (5 February 2012) (2 Screens)

Gross:

$26,297 (USA) (4 March 2012)

Technical Specs

Runtime: 95 min

Color: Color

 Awards:

British Independent Film Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2011	Won	British Independent Film Award	Best Supporting ActorMichael Smiley
	Nominated	British Independent Film Award	Best Achievement in Production
			Best ActorNeil Maskell
			Best ActressMyAnna Buring
			Best DirectorBen Wheatley
			Best Screenplay Ben Wheatley Amy Jump
Empire Awards, UK
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2012	Won	Empire Award	Best Horror
Evening Standard British Film Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2012	Nominated	Evening Standard British Film Award	Best Screenplay Amy Jump Ben Wheatley
London Critics Circle Film Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2012	Nominated	ALFS Award	British Film of the Year
			Supporting Actor of the Year Michael Smiley
Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2011	Won	Best Actress	MyAnna Buring
	Nominated	Best of Puchon	Ben Wheatley

Directed by	Ben Wheatley
Produced by	Claire Jones Andy Starke
Written by	Ben WheatleyAmy Jump
Starring	Neil Maskell Michael Smiley MyAnna Buring Emma Fryer
Music by	Jim Williams
Cinematography	Laurie Rose
Editing by	Ben Wheatley Robin Hill Amy Jump
Studio	Rook FilmsWarp X Film4 Productions Screen Yorkshire UK Film Council
Distributed by	Optimum Releasing (UK)IFC Midnight (US)
Release date(s)	28 August 2011 (2011-08-28) (FrightFest (UK Premiere)) 2 September 2011 (2011-09-02) (UK)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£500,000

Release Information

In Theaters: Sep 2, 2011 Wide

On DVD: Dec 26, 2011

Interveiw:

Reviews:

"Kill List" didn't have very positive reviews with only just over half of 'Roten Tomatoes' users liking the film. Considering that Ben Weatley's film debut 'Down Terrance' was praised by critics, they didn't seem to think that this was very good. Maybe it is the outrageously ridiculous story line? Perhaps the blood and gore seems to be too much to handle? Either way, it wasn't the best film that they have ever reviewed. Not by a long shot.

Rotten Tomatoes

All Critics
Average Rating: 7.1/10
Reviews Counted: 81
Fresh: 61 | Rotten: 20
Audience:

56% liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 6,427

"Kill List" begins with verbal violence at a dinner table, continues with actual violence in a hit-man scenario and concludes with metaphysical violence that threatens to decapitate the movie itself. It's baffling and goofy, blood-soaked and not boring. That it's well-made adds to the confusion; it feels like a better film than it turns out to be.

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

Following up his impressive 2010 debut, “Down Terrace,” with something altogether more implacable and strange, the British director Ben Wheatley has gained confidence in his handling of male violence and domestic distress. That assured style is the spackle that holds “Kill List” together: when the plot doglegs into insanity, and the characters follow suit, this brutal fever dream refuses to fall apart.

Andrew O'Hehir

Salon.com

Top Critic

Writer-director Ben Wheatley served up one of last year’s punchiest British debuts with Down Terrace, the story of a common-or-garden Brighton crime family. With his second film, the joltingly scary Kill List, he plunges further into genre territory – but identifying exactly which genre we’re going to wind up in is half the challenge. The less you know in advance, the more potent the feeling of being shoved head-first down a rabbit hole. What’s waiting at the end isn’t a bunny – it’s hideous.

Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph

Top Critic

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.

Prometheus: About

A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race. Director: Ridley Scott Writers: Jon Spaihts, Damon Lindelof, Stars: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green and Michael Fassbender Storyline A team of scientists travels through the universe on the spaceship "Prometheus" on a voyage to investigate alien life forms. The team of scientists becomes stranded on an Alien world, and as they struggle to survive it becomes clear that the horrors they experience are not just a threat to themselves, but to all of mankind. Tag Lines The search for our beginning could lead to our end They went looking for our beginning. What they found could be our end. We came from them. They will come for us. Details Official Sites: Official Facebook | Official site Country: USA | UK Language: English | Gaelic Release Date: 1 June 2012 (UK) Also Known As: Prometeo Filming Locations: Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK Box Office Budget: $130,000,000 (estimated) Opening Weekend: $51,050,101 (USA) (10 June 2012) (3396 Screens) Gross: $401,933,453 (Worldwide) (1 October 2012) Company Credits Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox (presents) Dune Entertainment (in association with) Scott Free Productions (as Scott Free) Brandywine Productions (as Brandywine) Technical Aspects Camera Red Epic, Zeiss Ultra Prime and Angenieux Optimo Lenses Laboratory Company 3, Los Angeles (CA), USA (digital intermediate) DeLuxe, Hollywood (CA), USA Fluent Image, London, UK (digital negative management) Film length (metres) 3379 m (Portugal, 35 mm) Film negative format (mm/video inches) Redcode RAW Cinematographic process Digital Intermediate (2K) (master format) Redcode RAW (5K) (dual-strip 3-D) (source format) Printed film format 35 mm (anamorphic) (Fuji Eterna-CP 3514DI) 70 mm (horizontal) (IMAX DMR blow-up) (dual-strip 3-D) (Kodak Vision 2383) D-Cinema (also 3-D version) Aspect ratio 1.66 : 1 (70mm IMAX 3D version) 2.00 : 1 (IMAX Digital 3D version) 2.35 : 1 Trivia According to Ridley Scott, the film's plot was inspired by Erich von Däniken's writings about ancient astronauts: "Both NASA and the Vatican agree that it is almost mathematically impossible that we can be where we are today, without there being a little help along the way. That's what we're looking at: we are talking about gods and engineers, engineers of space. Were the Aliens designed as a form of biological warfare, or biology that would go in and clean up a planet?" Soundtracks "Theme from Alien" Written by Jerry Goldsmith Prezi

Prometheus on Prezi

Prometheus: Ridley Scott Interview

Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback

Sci-fi films are as dead as westerns. There’s nothing original. We’ve seen it all before. Been there. Done that.’ So said Ridley Scott in 2007 and sounding absolutely, categorically final, which he was about it. Five years later the 74-year-old director blusters a bit gruffly when I remind him of his death-knell speech: ‘Errm. Did I?… I wish I hadn’t said that.’ He’s just given a press conference in a Leicester Square cinema unveiling 11 minutes of his new sci-fi film. Yes, sci-fi – and not just any old sci-fi. Unless you’ve been on Mars, you can’t have missed the juggernaut of hype and expectation behind ‘Prometheus’ – which started life as a prequel to ‘Alien’.

So what changed his mind? ‘I suddenly had an idea.’ Scott’s arms are crossed over his chest and his posture is poker-straight (his dad was a military man). ‘No one had asked the question: who is the big guy on the chair?’ He’s talking about the nine-foot creature (fanboys call him the Space Jockey) whose fossilised corpse is discovered by the crew in ‘Alien’, but who featured in none of its three sequels. Scott says he started wondering about the creature and its kind a few years ago: who are they? Why are they there? ‘If I got underneath that, would it be enough to unearth a new story?’ Predictably, the more he burrowed into the new story, the less inclined he became to tie it to ‘Alien’. Now, he says, the connection is ‘barely in its DNA: you get it in the last seven minutes or so’.

‘Prometheus’ is set late in this century, when two archeologists (one Christian, the other atheist) discover what they believe is a clue to the origins of human life: the same cave paintings in ancient ruins in different countries. The paintings turn out to be cosmic maps, and the pair embark on a mission aboard the starship Prometheus – named after the Greek god who was punished for giving humans fire (nastily too: his liver was pecked out by an eagle every morning, only to grow back that day). So we don’t need the trailer – with its desperate disembodied howl: ‘cut it off!’ – to tell us that this meeting with our makers may not end in a warm glow of halos.

Scott comes across as every bit the Hollywood survivor: a man who’s had to fight his fair share of corners. In a career of highs (‘Alien’, ‘Blade Runner’, ‘Gladiator’) and lows (‘GI Jane’, ‘A Good Year’), he’s watched studios carve up his films and critics misunderstand them (they blasted ‘Blade Runner’: ‘No one knew what the hell I was doing. No one got it. And then they ripped it off’). A ‘helmer’ in the truest sense of the word, Scott steers epic tanks of movies. How does he stop them careering out of control? ‘By casting very strong actors. I think I’m pretty good at casting. I take my time. Because everyone has to defend their island. They’ve got to be able to survive the process.’ He talks like this, in short, snappy sentences – his accent mixing Teesside (where he grew up) with Americanisms (he lives in LA). He was knighted in 2003, but earlier gave a journalist a ticking off for calling him ‘Sir Ridley’. He’s plain Ridley.

He won’t call ‘Prometheus’ a prequel (‘I think I’ve been quite successful in resurrecting a notion but going off at a new tangent’). But he’s craftily given us plenty of enticing nods to ‘Alien’, not least in the casting. Noomi Rapace, playing one half of the archeologist duo, looks every inch a heroine in the Ripley mould. Scott watched her twice as kick-ass feminist avenger Lisbeth Salander in the original ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ before meeting her. (Though she may not be so tough in real life – she had to get Michael Fassbender to open her mineral water bottle at the press conference.)

Fassbender plays an android, David (the ship’s butler), and he’s the character Scott is most enthusiastic talking about. There’s a great scene, he explains, where David is pouring a drink for a tipsy crewman, who’s ribbing him about not being human: ‘Are David’s feelings hurt? Is he pissed off? How far is he away from being dangerous?’ And how far from being human, presumably – if he’s feeling human emotions? ‘Exactly right. And it evolves beautifully at the end.'

Androids with soul-envy. It’s a paradox at the heart of Scott’s two modern masterpieces: ‘Alien’ and ‘Blade Runner’ (his most personal film: made after the death of his older brother, it’s filled with loss). Like the gods, androids are stronger and smarter than humans, yet they long for human flaws, to feel what we feel. God occupies the director’s thoughts more than He used to, says Scott, who’s an agnostic, converted from atheism. ‘You could have ten scientists in this room. You could ask them all: who’s religious? About three to four will put their hands up. I’ve asked these guys from Nasa. And they say: When you get to the end of your theories, you come to a wall… you come to a question. Who thought up this shit?’ Scott was turned off religion by his Church of England upbringing (‘altar boy… terrible burgundy wine… all that stuff’). Now? ‘Now my feeling goes with “could be”.’

Next up for the self-confessed workaholic is another future-set film, a ‘Blade Runner’ sequel. Does he stay on top of new technology to keep up? Not massively. ‘I’m not avid. I flick through Scientific American and National Geographic.’ And what about the future? Does he buy into the ‘doom and apocalypse’ vision of what lies ahead? ‘No. I try to be positive. I’m fundamentally a positive person. Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing some of the insane movies that I do.’