The Big Six - Walt Disney

Walt Disney is one of the most renowned film production companies in the history of the business and now holds 15.3 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures). With highly successful movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure, Meet the Robinsons and Enchanted, there's no doubt that Disney will continue to play a key role in the industry for years to come. 

• Walt Disney was founded by Walt and Ron Disney on October 16th, 1923, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. 
• Revenue for 2011 was $40.893 billion. 
• The company has 156,000 employees (2011 figures).
• The chairman and CEO of Walt Disney is now Bob Iger.
• 1923-1928: The Silent Era. In early 1923, Walt Disney created a short film entitled Alice's Wonderland. After the bankruptcy in 1923 of his previous firm, Laugh-O-Gram Films, Disney moved to Hollywood to join his brother Roy O. Disney. Film distributor Margaret J. Winkler of M.J. Winkler Productions contacted Disney with plans to distribute a series of Alice Comedies purchased at $1,500 per reel with Disney as a production partner. Walt and his brother Roy Disney formed Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio that same year. More animated films followed after Alice. In January 1926 with the completion of the Disney studio on Hyperion Street, the Disney Brother's Studio's name is changed to the Walt Disney Studio. Disney developed a cartoon series, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, distributed by Winkler Pictures through Universal Pictures. 
• 1928-1934: Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies. In 1928, Disney developed Mickey Mouse and Disney's first sound film Steamboat Willie was released on November 18th, 1928, through Pat Powers' distribution company. It was the first cartoon to feature synchronised sound. Disney continued to produce cartoons with Mickey Mouse and other characters, and began the Silly Symphonies series with Columbia Pictures signing on as Symphonies distributor in August 1929. On December 16th, the Walt Disney Studios partnership is reorganised as a corporation with the name of Walt Disney Productions. In 1932, Disney signed an exclusive contract with Technicolor to produce cartoons in colour, releasing them through Powers' Celebrity Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and United Artists. 
• 1934-1945: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Word War II. Disney began production of it's first feature-length animated film in 1934. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, premiered in December 1937 and became highest-grossing film of that time by 1939. Using the profits from Snow White, Disney financed the construction of a new studio complex in Burbank, California. The new Walt Disney Studios was completed and open by the end of 1939 and on April 2nd 1940, Walt Disney Productions had its initial public offering. After World War II began, box office profits declined. 
• 1946-1954: Post-War and Television. The release of Cinderella in 1950 proved that feature-length animation could still succeed in the marketplace. Other releases of the period included Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, both in production before the war began, and Treasure Island. Disney ended its distribution contract with RKO in 1953, forming its own distribution arm, Buena Vista Distribution. In December 1950, Walt Disney Productions and The Coca-Cola Company teamed up for Disney's first venture into television, the NBC television network special An Hour in Wonderland. In October 1954, the ABC network launched Disney's first regular television series, Disneyland. ABC became Disney's partner in the financing and development in Disney's next venture - It was the first phase of a long corporate relationship.
• 1955-1965: Disneyland. In 954, Walt Disney used his Disneyland series to unveil what would become Disneyland. On July 18th, 1955, Walt Disney opened Disneyland to the general public. On July 17th, Disneyland was previews with a live television broadcast. In November 1965, Disney World was announced in Orlando, Florida. Disney continued to focus its talents on television throughout the 1950s, but Walt Disney Productions invested little into television ventures in the 1960s. Disney's film studios stayed busy as well, averaging five or six releases per year during this period. Disney's most successful film of the 1960s was a live action/animated musical adaptation of Mary Poppins, which was one of the all time highest grossing movies and received five Academy Awards.
• 1966-1971: The Deaths of Walt and Roy Disney and the Opening of Disney World. On December 15th, 1966, Walt Disney died and Roy Disney took over as chairman, CEO, and president of the company. On October 1st, 1971, Walt Disney World opened to the public. On December 20th, 1971, Roy Disney died, leaving the company under control of Donn Tatum, Card Walker and Ron Miller, each trained by Walt and Roy. 
• 1972-1984: Theatrical Malaise and New Leadership. As head of the studio, Miller attempted to make films to drive the profitable teenage market who generally passed on seeing Disney movies. Inspired by the popularity of Star Wars, the Disney studio produced the science-fiction adventure The Black Hole in 1979 that cost $20 million to make, but was lost in the Star Wars' wake. The Black Hole was the first Disney production to carry a PG rating in the United States. In 1979, Disney entered a joint venture with Paramount Pictures on the production of the adaptation of Popeye and Dragonslayer - the first time Disney collaborated with another studio. Paramount distributed Disney films in Canada at the time, and it was hoped that Disney's marketing prestige would help sell the two films. In 1984, Disney CEO Ron Miller created Touchstone Pictures as a brand for Disney to release more adult-orientated material. In 1983, The Disney Channel debuted as a channel on cable systems nationwide. In 1978, Disney executives announced plans for the second Walt Disney World theme park, which would open in April 1983. 
• 1984-2004: The Eisner Era.
• 2005-Presnt: The Iger Era.

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What Significance Does the Continuing of Development of Digital Media Technology Have for Media Institutions and Audiences

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Warp Films - Facts

• Warp Films was established by Warp Records founding partners Rob Mitchell and Steve Beckett. It was initially created with financial support from NESTA and had a remit to produce a number of short films.
• After the death of Rob Mitchell in 2001, Beckett decided to continue with Warp Films and enlisted the expertise of Sheffield friend Mark Herbert to run the company.
• The first film (Chris Morris' My Wrongs) was shot in 2002. It won the award for Best Short Film at the 2003 BAFTA Film Awards and became the first short film DVD in the UK market.
• Warp Films breakout success came with Shane Meadows' This Is England. Since its release in early 2007, it has gained many awards including the Best Film at the British Independent Film Awards, the Special Jury Prize at the Rome Film Festival and Best British Film at the BAFTAs.
• At the same ceremony, Warp Films recieved its third BAFTA as Paddy Considine's directional debut Dog Altogether won the best short film award.
• Three months after This Is England released in cinemas, Warp's third feature film, Grow Your Own, was released by Pathe. This film was Warp's first collaboration with BBC Films. The film was directed by Richard Laxton, written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Carl Hunter, and produced by Barry Ryan for Warp Films, Like Alkin for BBC Films and Carl Hunter for Art in Action.
• In 2004, Warp Films made a significant expansion its capacity. Robin Gutch joined Mark Herbert and Barry Ryan to devise the Warp bid for the Low Budget Film Scheme tender put out by Film4 and UK Film Council. The Warp bid was backed by Optimum Releasing, Screen Yorkshire and EM Media. Warp won the tender against competition and Warp X was formally set up in 2005 as a low-budget digital 'studio' to develop and produce films with focus on new talent and commercial potential.
• Warp Films/Warp X productions, Tyrannosaur, Kill List and Submarine were nominated for a total of 18 awards at the 2011 British Independent Film Awards.
• Warp Films successfully ran a crowd-funding campaign to fund four short films shot at the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival by Vincent Moon, using the website Kickstarter.com. The project reached its funding goal on 15th October and the films are currently in post-production.
• Warp Films is currently developing several television products with Channel 4, the BBC and Sky. Warp Films' development slate currently includes projects with Shane Meadows, Chris Morris, Tony Grisoni, Paul Fraser, Gregory Burke, Paul Wright, Yann Demange, Tom Kingsley & Sharpe, The Sheeps, Peter Strickland, Olly Blackburn, Paddy Considine, Mikey Please, and Shynola amongst others. 

Films

• Dead Man's Shoes - A short film directed by Shane Meadows and written by Paddy Considine, Shane Meadows, and Paul Fraser. The film took $1,825 on the opening weekend (USA) (14th May 2006) and was shown on one screen. The total gross of the film was $6,013 (USA) (28th May 2006). 
• Four Lions - A film directed by Christopher Morris and written by Simon Blackwell, Christopher Morris, Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong. The film took £608,608 on the opening weekend (UK) (9th May 2010) and was shown on 115 screens. The gross of the film was $30,527 (USA) (13th February 2011). 
• Submarine - A film directed by Richard Ayoade and written by Richard Ayoade and Joe Dunthorne, who was the writer of the novel. In the opening weekend, the film took £244,476 (UK) (both March 2011) and was shown on 60 screens. The total gross of the film came to $466,702 (USA) (14th August 2011). 
• Kill List - A film directed by Ben Wheatley and written by Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump. The budget of the film was an estimated £500,000 and on the opening weekend, the film took $9,838 (USA) (5th February 2012) shown on two screens. The total gross came to $26,297 (USA) (4th March 2012).

Film 4 - Facts

Film4 was originally known as Film four when established in 1998 as channel 4’s second channel but was for subscription only.

Channel 4 is a production house company, who's funding comes from adverts/commercial funding.

FILM 4 - "committed to enhance the British film making industry by nurturing and funding new talent"

Film 4 has a niche (very specific small audience)

It was then followed by many other channel 4 further programmes who time shared the air of blockbuster films.

In 2006 film four modified its name to Film4 and also became a free digital viewing channel and started producing many adverts with celebrities in weird situations to stress and intrigue the audience that this is the only channel to watch free movies continuously.

Tessa Ross became the Controller of film4 in 2004 and head of TV drama for Channel 4. 

Film4 is very heavily linked with Channel 4. Channel 4 financed in the helping of production in such films as “The Crying Game” and “Madness of King George”. Channel 4 also decided that there side film channel would be made free on digital networks, therefore becoming the only free film program to boost ratings. 

Film 4 are currently on some large projects including Tyrannosaur, which Film4 backed in production and distribution closely working with Warp X and Inflammable films. This movie is an example of how Film4 help broadcast and produce English films and not just Hollywood Blockbusters as this was the first film ever to be directed by Paddy Considine. Also Film4 are in the final stages of distributing their own creation of Random originally a theatre play by director Debbie Tucker Green. It is being regularly advertised on channel 4 and competitions have started to try and attract people to see the film in cinemas.

Film 4 produces about 6 films a year and works along their subsidiary Warp X

Less of the budget is spent on distribution, because the films can be advertised on their own and parent companies TV channels.

They have won 5 Oscars in 4 years & 3 BAFTA's in 2007. 8.3 million AB Cl's a month, with an upmarket (42%) and male (55%) profile.

Successful Films include - Slumdog Millionaire/127 Hours/Four Lions/This Is England/Trainspotting

Film 4 work closely with specific actors and directors such as Danny Boyle's/Martin McDonagh/Steve McQueen/Peter Mullan/Chris Morris

Film 4 recently launched Film 4.0 - digital/online arena

Film 4.0's aim will be to find new talent and discover new ways of making, marketing and distributing films and engaging new audiences online in a multi platform environment.

Films:

• Johhny English - It was wrote in 2009, worte by the same people of James Bond which grossed $160 million. Rowan Atkinson starred and the sequal was released in september 2010.
• Wild-Child - Budget of $20 million. Filmed at Cobham Hall. Was marketed on radio stations, social networking sites and TV adverts - was a financial flop with 2.2 mill opening weekend.
• The Soloist - Based on true Story. Budget $60 mill. Based on books and articles/directed by Joe Wright. Produced by Gary Foster & Russ Krasnof. Grossed $31,720,158 mill. Paramount helped distribute through Dreamworks animation and Universal Pictures. Released a year later than planned, therefore lost oscar potential

Written by Stephen Hare

"Successful Media Products Depend as Much Upon Marketing and Distribution to a Specific Audience as they do Upon Good Production Practices" To What Extent Would you Agree with this Statement, Within the Media Area you have Studied?

Successful Media Products Depend as Much Upon Marketing and Distribution to a Specific Audience as They Do...

Anuvahood Prezi

Anuvahood Research on Prezi

Anuvahood - Candidates Own Experience of Media Consumption

The devlopments of technology within the film industry have had both a positive and negative effect on a low budget film, such as Anuvahood. Developments in technology within the production stage of the film industry have had a negative effect on the film - the low budget did not allow Anuvahood to release their film in 3D, or in IMAX theatres, which are now-a-days seen as the standard way of releasing a film. Consequently, Anuvahood would automatically decrese in critics expectations and also would be less accessible to audiences who prefer to watch films in 3D or IMAX. However, the use of technology to create word of mouth has been an advantage for Anuvahood, as this is what they based their markting techniques on. Through the use of online distributors, like LoveFilm, I was able to watch this film at home and was able to send it back afterwards. As I didn't know what to expect from Anuvahood, I preferred to rent the film from LoveFilm rather than make a long term investment of buying the DVD, as there was a possibilty that I would not have liked it as much as I initially thought, and there was always the safety of sending the DVD back.

Anuvahood - Issues Raised in the Targeting of National and Local Audiences

Adam Deacon is a well known English film actor, rapper, writer and director. He is previously known from his lead role in Kidulthood and his directional debut and role in Anuvahood. Being a well recognized actor and known for his roles in urban street films, there would have been no question about his name being a huge attraction of British, local audiences, and therefore would automatically be a great marketing tool for the film within the UK. As well as this, Anuvahood was Adam Deacon's first film that he directed, and so critics, fans and bloggers would have been highly anticipating what he would have to offer and whether or not he made the right decision of directing the film himself (as he has previously stated that "I was too street and too scary for directors") suggesting that Anuvahood may have been like no other urban film that has been released. Previous films such as Kidulthood and Adulthood would also have an existiting audience that would be attracted to see Anuvahood, however, the majority of these audiences are locally based in the UK. Targeting worldwide audiences was an issue for Revolver Entertainment due to the small budget and the relatively unknown cast outside of the UK. Therefore there was minimum marketing used worldwide as this was not possible within the budget and was predicted to be unsuccessful and a waste of valuable money, creating a small worldwide audience and a lack of potential sales.

Anuvahood - Technological Convergence

Anuvahood has an official iTunes app that can be installed onto any iPhone, iPad etc. for free. This convergence in technology has helped the film market and publicise itself, even for months after the official UK release. Although this won't primarily ignite a financial boost for the film's producers, it will boost word of mouth and in the long term, may help encourage an increase in sales for the film.

As well as this, Adam Deacon managed to team up with JME to release 'Hype Hype Ting' the single and publicise the film even further. Big names, like JME, attract the right audiences to Anuvahood as his fan base is the younger teenage generation. Both of these examples of the use of technological convergence by Anuvahood demonstrates how it can be used to promote the film in various ways that will attract a specific audience. Films such as Anuvahood command a niche market from diverse backgrounds that is hard to replicate and draw in to see a film, but using apps and singles to publicize the film will dramatically help Revolver Entertainment when distributing the film and making it accessible. As well as this, Anuvahood used the internet to it's advantage by releasing official trailers, 'Anuvahood Cast Freestlye' videos to be viewed on YouTube and also filming their Anuvahood Bus Tour around the UK and also releasing the various videos virally. Anuvahood has also used other social networking sites when publicizing their film, for example their popular Twitter (5,004 followers) and Facebook (204,969 likes). Anuvahood use the internet and technology to their full advantage when promoting the film, as this is the most successful way to appeal to their small market, without breaking the low budget.

Anuvahood - The Significance of Proliferation in Hardware and Content

Films such as Anuvahood are now usually sold to online film distributors, such as Netflix and LoveFilm, as audiences have dramatically changed their viewing habits due to the development in technology in media. Teenage viewers, especially, no longer feel the need to spend extortionate 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 on their laptop or download it onto their smart phone/tablet. 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 the warmth and comfort of their lounge and to publicise the other windows that the film has to offer, e.g. DVD, Blu-Ray, online distributors. However this may not be the case for a film such as Anuvahood as the target market for a film such as this is a younger audience, who tend to view films on their smart phones or on the internet rather than buying the long term DVD because it is cheaper in the short term to do so.
Also, with the forever increasing usage of smart phones, the film industry has had to adapt to the change when it comes to marketing their product and advertising it. For example, there is an Anuvahood app available to download on iTunes for the iPhone, which includes the voices of each main cast member, and a quiz on how 'gangster' you are, publicising the film even after it's release.

Anuvahood - Technologies Introduced in Recent Years

Since the release of Anuvahood, the film has relied heavily on Blu-Ray/DVD sales to contribute to it's success. The DVD/Blu-Ray is crammed full of 'exclusive extra features' such as cast and crew interviews, 'the making of', the west end premiere, Levi Roots - cooking with the cast, Hype Hype Ting music video (Boy Better Know, JME & Adam Deacon), behind the scenes footage, comic strips and the theatrical trailer - All of which are promoted in an attempt to advertise the DVD. There is a direct link that appears on the official website of Anuvahood so that audiences can "order yours now"and takes you straight through to play.com so that you can order a physical copy of the film. As well as this, Aunvahood is also available to download and is on-demand, making the film even more accessible for the public, as watching films through internet streaming or smart phones (because of downloadable content) is becoming increasingly popular amongst the target audience of a film such as Anuvahood. The film was not to be released in 3D because of the small budget that the film had and so this particular introduction in technology did not effect the way that the audience watched or bought the film.

Anuvahood - Cross Media Convergence

Gunslinger Productions was the only studio to produce the film, however it then worked together with Revolver Entertainment to distribute the film and make it accessible to the public. Revolver Entertainment has bases in London and West Hollywood and is therefore able to distribute heavily in those two areas. As these are only two moderately small companies, they are not able to use their size to promote and publicize the film very successfully. However, the two companies work together to promote their business' when making and promoting a film; If Anuvahood recieved a positive crtical response from the public and the media, then the companies that produced and distributed it will therefore also recieve a positive response, resulting in possibly more awareness and recognition of their companies in the future. However, it is also possible for a company to be 'trashed' by the public or the media and, consequently, their company could recieve negative, unwanted attention, which could be significantly damaging to their company.

Working on Anuvahood would have been a great risk for both of the companies producing/distributing it as the film was supposedly the first of it's genre 'urban comedy' and so Revolver and Gunslinger did not effectively know how well it would be recieved, putting themselves at risk.

Anuvahood - Media Ownership

Anuvahood was directed by Adam Deacon, Daniel Toland and Najama Dahir, and was produced by Nick Taussig, Paul Van Carter, Daniel Toland and Terry Stone. The writers included Adam Deacon and Michael Vu, who together wrote a British urban comedy film. Adam Deacon is a well known actor and director and would've been known previously for his lead role in Kidulthood, his background in urban films influenced the type of film that he was setting out to make and therefore would have had an impact on the success of the film also.
Adam Deacon had a budget of $1,000,000 and therefore was dealing with a small film that was not guaranteed to be successful as the budget would not be able to market the film hugely. Consequently, this only attratced a small production company (Gunslinger), however, a relatively well known distributor (Revolver Entertainment) became involved with film.
Revolver Entertainment is well known for it's promotional stunts and are the leader in social media marketing with over 10,000 Twitter followers and 9,000 Facebook subscribers, a great helping hand in creating publicity for the 'first urban comedy film' Anuvahood. Revolver Entertainment has also distributed similar films to Anuvahood, such as Kidulthood, and so therefore will attract fans of the previous films and know how to make the film accessible to audiences of the urban film industry. Revolver Entertainment would have, therefore, been a massive influence on Anuvahood's potential success as a film.
Gunslinger Productions are a small, un-heard-of production company and, consequently, will not have the advantage of attracting fans of the previous films that they have worked on. Therefore, this supports the general idea that small companies make small films and don't tend to make a substantial amount of money as a result.

Anuvahood - Official Trailer

Prometheus Prezi

Prometheus Research on Prezi

Prometheus Revisited

Prometheus - 2D Vs. 3D

Prometheus Responses

Prometheus - Candidates Own Experience of Media Consumption

The developments in technology used in media during recent years has definitely had a positive effect on the film industry. With advancements in technology, such as CGI, allows films like Prometheus to have incredible realistic effects that have a great impact on the audience making the aliens realistic and believable. This development in technology in production and editing also means that the horrifying scenes within Prometheus can be made in such a way that it scares the audience - creating a strong atmosphere in the place of exhibition, for example the cinema. This certain aspect of the use of technology in media has always had a positive effect in the way that Ridley Scott directs his scary scenes, such as the 'alien chest burst' in the first Alien, which would have horrified the audience at that time. This enabled Prometheus to match up to the genre of a sci-fi horror and achieve it. I also feel that the distributor for Prometheus, 20th Centruy Fox, made the film very accessible for the public and assisted the producers a great deal with doing so.