Media Industries

Production Roles - Director

In the film industry, a director is the person who is responsible for the production of the film. They control exactly what goes on whilst it is being made.

Some examples of director would be; James Watkins – The Woman In Black Martin Scorsese – Hugo Peter Jackson – The Hobbit

Production Roles - Producer

A producer starts and finishes the the process of filmmaking. They will produce the actual film.

Some examples of producers would be; Brian Oliver – The Woman In Black Johnny Depp – Hugo Fran Walsh – The Hobbit

Production Roles - Screenwriter

A screenwriter will write up a blueprint for the film, this may be based on a novel, true story or a play. Many scripts are written but not all of them are turned into films.

Some examples of screenwriters are; Jane Goldman – The Woman In Black John Logan – Hugo Guillermo del Toro – The Hobbit

Production Roles

Editor - Once the filming is completed, an editor will work with the director of the film and carefully edit the scenes to ensure that the story flows.

Costume - The costume department is responsible for the design, fitting, hire, purchase, manufacture, continuity and care of all costume items.

Music - Music can differ depending on the type of film. In a musical it would be the main focus, whereas in a romance film, it may be used to show emotions.

How are Films Funded?

Films can be funded in many different ways: Private investors – investors will lend money to the company if they feel

as though the audience will provide a good financial return on the original investment, they will negotiate special fees with the company.

TV companies – the TV companies will donate money toward being made and in return they will broadcast the film on their channel.

Lottery (UK) – the lottery is very much involved with the government, it is part of the Arts Council of England’s Lottery Film Department, BFI production, British Screen Finance and the British Film Commission.

Government – the government provide films with money through the film council and is in partnership with the National Lottery’s funding of films.

Foreign Investors – most foreign investment is provided by the major US studios. Many countries offer finance or tax incentives if a significant proportion of the main photography is done there. Money is not always given, instead the country may loan out a studio or equipment as the film will bring tourism.

Film Distribution

Film distribution is the process of getting the film to the audience through a media platform, for example, cinema, bluray, DVD, digital download.

Some of the biggest distributors in the UK are; Warner Bros – The Hobbit: an unexpected journey, Cloud Atlas,

Thunderstruck, The Dark Knight Rises, Rock of Ages Paramount – Rise of the Guardians, Paranormal Activity 4,

Madagascar 3: Europe’s most wanted, the Dictator, Titanic 3D 20th Century Fox – Ice Age: Continental Drift, Diary of a Wimpy Kid:

Dog Days, Wont Back Down, Taken 2, Life of Pi Universal – Snow White and The Huntsman, Ted, Savages, The

Man With The Iron Fists, Anna Karenina Walt Disney – The Avengers, Brave, The Odd Life of Timothy

Green, Frankenweenie, Wreck-It Ralph

A Distributor

A distributor aims to exploit the film in order to make a profit. A distributor can acquire the distribution rights to a film by investing in it, buying the rights after it has been made or by being part of a larger company responsible for both production and distribution.

The tasks of a distributor include; Acquiring a film Negotiating both the number and timing of the prints to be released Arranging the distribution of these prints. Supplying the publicity material, advertising and trailers in order to

promote the film Arranging promotional partnerships to tie in with the film Dubbing and subtitling foreign language films Arranging and paying for a certificate Acquiring the rights to distribute the film on DVD

How are Films Distributed?

In the standard distribution, a movie is first released through movie theaters, then after 17 weeks it is released on DVD. After an additional number of months it is released to Pay TV and VOD services and approximately two years after its cinema release date, it is made available for free-to-air TV.

Films are first screened to a film company (cinema), then depending on whether or not they like the film, they will agree on dates on which the film will be shown, the distribution company will then send the hard drive to the cinema with an encryption code for the film to be screened to an audience.

Technology used In Film

Film has changed dramatically over the last 100 years, with colour, sound, digitalisation, special effects, high quality picture, DVD/Bluray.

Some of the technology used in film includes; 3D – This is becoming widely used in film, three different lenses are used

to film the image, so 3D glasses are required to put the images together. CGI – Computer Generated Images, these are images created by the

computer forming animated characters and settings. This works well with 3D.

Editing Software – there are many types of editing software, it improves the overall quality of the film, this makes it quicker and easier to produce the film, you are also able to add special effects.

Cameras and HD – High Definition cameras are becoming widely used. It has gone from using a 35mm to digital cameras. A 35mm camera takes 24 frames per second whereas a maxi vision 48 takes 48 frames per second which is HD.

Technology in Hugo

Hugo was filmed in 3D to bring the story to life and give the audience a better understanding of the film. 3D makes the audience feel as though you are part of the film, they become more active and engaged.

Not only does the film use technology but the film is about a film maker, who painted every frame by hand, as the most modern technology he had was a camera.

Many green screens were used during the making of the film, to create the special effects.

How are films promoted?

There are many way in which films can be promoted.

Quite often the first time you hear of a film would be in the cinema, they would show you clips of a film which is going to be released, before the release and any major advertising. It will usually relate to the film that is about to be screened, making it more likely for the company to reach their target audience.

The internet is a large and popular platform for film advertising as it is so widely used by so many people, making it more likely to be noticed. It can also help a company to reach their target audience directly, making it very effective.

Films are also advertised on billboards, buses, magazines, television, radio, posters, newspapers.

Audience Theories

Cultural industry theory – Adorno and Horkheimer wrote the cultural industry theory in 1944. it states that all media texts are produced in the same way (repetition), audiences do not like change, they are inauthentic, repetitive and everyone can understand