Working Title - 20 Questions

1. Who were the co-founders of Working Title?
Working Title Films was co-founded by the producers Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983.
2. When was the comapny founded?In the year 1983.
3. Where is Working Title based?
The headquarters of Working Title is situated in London, in the affluent inner-city area of Central London.
4. Who are the co-chairpersons of WT now?
Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan are now the co-owners of the company.
5. What awards have Working Title won?
Working Title have won 6 academy awards, 26 BAFTA's, 4 Oscar's and loads more.
6. How many full time staff does WT employ?
In total, there are only 42 full time staff employed at Working Title altogether.
7. What is Working Title's philosophy?
Their philosophy is to make films for an audience and played in a multiplex.
8. List 5 box office hits that Working Title have made. 
Paul, Shaun of the Dead, Johnny English Reborn, Hot Fuzz, Notting Hill.
9. List 5 flops that Working Title have made.
Thunderbirds, Green Zone, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, The Boat That Rocked, Wimbledon.
10. What is Richard Curtis' relationship with Working Title?
He has directed many of Working Title's films that have been produced and became a success.
11. List 2 famous directors that Working Title have worked with.
Richard Curtis and Kirk Jones.
12. What is Hugh Grant's relationship with Working Title?
He has worked with Working Title on numerous occasions and starred in many of their films, mainly romcom's, as he believes there is something about the company that sets it apart from all others.
13. Find out about the Coen Brothers (films, genres, status) and what do they have to do with Working Title?
Joel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen are American filmmakers. They write, direct, and produce their films that are known for their dry humour and amazing visuals. They have worked with Working Title on numerous occasions, on their films.
14. Who owns 67% of Working Title Films? When did this happen? Why did this happen?
Universal Studio's own 67% of Working Title, as PolyGram films was merged and sold to Universal Studios in 1999.
15. List two of Working Title big blockbuster films and find out their budgets. 
Bridget Jones' Diary had a budget of £26 million. Notting Hill had a budget of £46 million.
16. What genre of films is Working Title most famous for?
Working Title produce films with various genres ranging from comedy to family films, which cater for a large target audience from U rated to 18 rated movies.
17. What other genres do Working Title like to make?
A range of films - Comedy, family, romantic comedy's etc.
18. Find out as much as you can about WT2. (When established, films made, budgets, awards)
This is a subsidiary company to deal with low budget titles, and since 1999 has been run by Natasha Wharton and has made films such as Billy Elliot and Ali G In Da House.
19. What information can you find out about WT through their web page?
Using their web page, you can find out various information such as their upcoming movies and their trailers, and news.
20. Find out one other interesting fact about Working Title that you would like to share with the class. 
Working Title has a budget of $35 million, before having to consult their parent company, Universal.

Key Terms for Audience and Institution

An Institution (in the film industry)
Definition: any company or organisation that produces, distributes or exhibits films. The BBC makes films with their BBC Films arm; Channel4's Film Four produces films, Working Title also produce films, as does Vertigo Films, etc. Some institutions need to join with other institutions which distribute films. Vertigo Films is able to distribute its own films, Channel Four distributed Slumdog Millionaire through Pathe. Working Title's distribution partner is Universal, a huge US company which can make, distribute and show films. The type of owner ship within an institution matters as, for instance, Channel 4 and the BBC are able to show their own films at an earlier stage than other films made by other institutions. They are also better placed to cross-promote their in-house films within their media organisations. Use you work on Film Four as the basis for most of what you write, Moon is a good cross comparison as Duncan Jones had to create his own institution just to get the film made.

Distribution and Marketing
Definition: the business of getting films to their audiences by booking them for runs into cinemas and taking them there in vans or through digital downloads; distributors also create the marketing campaign for films producing posters, trailers, websites, organise free previews, press packs, television interviews with the "talent", sign contracts for promotions, competitions, etc. Distributors use their know-how and size to ensure that DVDs of the film end up in stores and on supermarket shelves. Distributors also obtain the BBFC certificate, and try to get films released as the most favourable times of the year for their genre, etc.
Examples:
Universal distributed Working Title's The Boat That Rocked; Pathe distributedFilm4 and Celadors' Slumdog Millionaire after the original US distributor, Warner Independent went out of business. TRON was heavily marketed across a variety of mediums, Moon struggled to get press attention and Duncan Jones had to really push the film  in obscure places like Popular Mechanics etc. The Kings Speech was distributed by Momentum (a susiduary of Aliance films) Who are a major independent film distributor.


Exhibition
Definition: showing films in cinemas or on DVD. Media attention through opening nights and premieres How the audience can see the film: in cinemas, at home, on DVD, through downloads, through television, including premieres, the box office take in the opening weeks; audience reviews which includes those of the film critics, ordinary people, cinemas runs; awards in festivals, The Oscars, BAFTAS, etc.Examples:Slumdog Millionaire almost never for ditribution. Its early US ditributor, Waner Independent was a victim of the economic downturn and went out of business. The film's makers then struggled to find a distributor! Then Fox Searchlight stepped up and "the rest is history". The 8 out of 10 Oscar nomination wins ensured that the film has been the greatest British success in awards and in box office for nearly 60 years.
Motherhood took just £86! Moon. Initially Sony Pictures worldwide were due to distribute the film but they specialise in straight to DVD features. Following positive reaction following its Sundance film festival the rights were acquired by Sony Classic Pictures who gave the film a limited release in the US Cities like New York and LA.

Exchange
Definition: The unintended use of an institution’s media text (i.e. a film) by OTHER PEOPLE who use the film or parts of it to form new texts. What happens to a film, etc. after the public get their hands on it using digital technology. 
Examples:People unconnected to the institution/ film using WEB 2.0 applications such as YOUTUBE, Blogger, Amazon film message boards, TWITTER, Face-Book, discuss the film or edit parts of together to form a new text which the may then put a new soundtrack to and publish on YOUTUBE, etc. When you add a trailer from a site like YouTube on your blog you have been engaging with exchange. Look back to MArk Kermodes video regarding piracy and the new release strategies for films like Ken Loach's "Route Irish" or the Jack Ass 3 release on DVD and Sky Box Office.

Vertical and Horizontal Intergration

Definition: Absorption into a single firm of several firms involved in all aspects of a product's manufacture from raw materials to distribution.
Example:
Vivendi Universal have integrated film, music, web and distribution technology into the company, including owning big stakes in cables and wires that deliver these services. Therefore they are vertically integrated because they own all the different companies involved in film, from production to distribution to exhibition. They are also horizontally integrated because they have all the expertise for producing media content under one roof – films, TV, magazines, books, music, games thus being able to produce all the related media content for one film under the same roof (see synergy). This is important for the control the institution has over their product/film.

Synergy/SynergiesDefinition: The interaction of two or more agents (institutions/companies) to ensure a larger effect than if they acted independently. This is beneficial for each company through efficiencies in expertise and costs.

 
Examples:
Working Title know how to make films and they have formed a business partnership with Universal, a massive US company, who have the experience and size in the marketplace (cinemas, stores, online, etc.) to distribute them. (They create the marketing campaign to target audiences through posters, trailers, create the film’s website, free previews, television and press interviews featuring “the talent”, drum up press reviews, word of mouth, and determine when a film is released for the best possible audience and the type of release: limited, wide, etc.) Channel Four’s Film 4 and Celador Films(Celador also produce Who Wants to Be A Millionaire and films, too) benefited by pooling their know-how, experience and expertise to jointly produce Slumdog Millionaire. These companies formed a business relationship with France’s Pathe to distribute this film. In the UK Pathe helped create the poster, trailer, website, etc. In the USA the film found another distributor after being nominated for the Oscars.

Viral Marketing
Definition: A marketing technique aiming at reproducing "word of mouth" usually on the internet and through existing social networks. YouTube Video pastiches, trailers, interviews with cast members, the director, writer, etc. You can find interviews of “the talent” trying to gain publicity for your case study films on YouTube. Find some clips from the films we have studied to help you in the exam.
Guerilla Marketing Definition: The use of unconventional and low cost marketing strategies to raise awareness of a product. The aim is usually to create “buzz” and “word of mouth” around a film. Unusual stunts to gain publicity (P.R.) on the film’s opening weekend, etc.Examples:
Sasha Baron Cohen created “buzz” before the release of his film “Borat” by holding fake press conferences. The studio also accessed the popularity of YouTube by releasing the first 4 minutes of the movie on YouTube, a week before it’s release, which can then be sent virally across the nation. At a special viewing of “Bruno” Cohen landed on Eminem “butt first” from the roof MTV Awards venue, dressed in as an angel outfit with rents in the rear end.

Media ConvergenceDefinition 1: Convergence of media occurs when multiple products come together to form one product with the advantages of all of them.

 
Examples:
More and more films are being marketed on the Internet and on mobile phones. You no longer need even to buy the DVDs or CDs as you can download films and music directly to your laptop, Mac or PC. Blue Ray DVDs can carry more features than ordinary DVDs and can be played on HD televisions and in home cinemas for enhanced/cinematic picture quality. You can save films on SKY digital, Free-box digital players, etc. You mobile phone has multiple features and applications. With media and technological convergence this is growing year on year. Play-Stations, X-Boxes and the Wii can can connect with the Internet and you can play video games with multiple players.Definition 2: The growing interractive use of digital technology in the film industry and media which enables people to share, consume and produce media that was difficult or impossible just a few years earlier.
Examples:
For instance, the use of new software to add special effects in editing; the use of blue-screen; using new types of digital cameras like the one Danny Boyle used in “Slumdog Millionaire” (The Silicon Imaging Camera to shoot high quality film in tight spaces); you can use the Internet to download a film rather than go see it in the cinema; you can watch it on YouTube; you can use special editing programs like Final Cut Pro to edit bits of a film, give it new soundtrack and upload it on YouTube; you can produce illegal, pirate copies on DVDs from downloads and by converting the film’s format; you can buy Blue Ray DVDs with greater compression which allows superior viewing and more features on the DVD; distributors can use digital software to create high concept posters; cinemas can download films to their projection screens and do not have to depend on a van dropping off the film! The is also the Digital Screen Network. There are tons of ways in which technological convergence affects the production, distribution, exhibition and exchange by prosumers. ( A prosumer is someone who not only consumes (watches films) but also writes about them the Net, blogs and make films out of them, often uploading them on sites like YouTube, etc.


A Mainstream Film
Definition: A high budget film that would appeal to most segments of an audience: the young, boys, girls, teenagers, young people, the middle aged, older people, the various classes in society. Distributors often spend as much or more than the film cost to make when distributing mainstream films that are given wide or universal releases.
Example: The Boat That Rocked was a mainstream idea and was given the mainstream treatment on wide release. The film flopped at the UK box office on release ( and has not done too well since mid November 2009 on release in the USA. This was mostly because of its poor reviews, particularly from “Time-Out”. However, when young and older audiences see the DVD they generally like the film because of its uplifting storyline and the well-chosen soundtrack.


Art House Films
Definition: A low budget independent film that would mostly appeal to an educated, higher class audience who follow unusual genres or like cult directors that few people have heard of. Therefore it is usually aimed at a niche market. Foreign films often come under this category.
Examples:
The low budget film, Once (2007) which found a specialised, boutique distributor in Fox Searchlight fits this label. (FOX the mainstream company usually distributes big budget film and blockbusters); So does “Juno” from 2008 which began as a low budget film about teenage pregnancy that the big studios thought too risky to touch – but it found popularity through its touching storyline, engaging music and its Oscar nomination for best script. Like “Slumdog Millionaire” the film crossed over between art-house cinemas and audiences to mainstream ones because of the recognition it received from Canadian film festivals and award ceremonies like Britain’s BAFTAS and the Hollywood’s Oscars.

Ratings bodies BBFC - The British Board of Film Classification.
How your institutions films are rated will affect audiences in so far as WHO can see them. Remember that sex scenes, offensive language, excessive violence, the use of profanity, etc. can affect the rating and certificate the film receives and therefore affect who is able to see the film.

Representations

Representation #1 - The man
Previously this week in class we were asked to construct a representation of each picture we were given of an unknown person. Firstly, this man was shown to us. Immediately I noticed the man's patches on his trousers checkered shirt and old tattered scarf and cardigan, therefore I jumped to the conclusion that he was homeless and/or a very poor and unemployed man. The messy hair and the fact that he is smoking also adds to this assumption. As well as this, I noticed that he looks very out of place in his surroundings as the majority of people in the background are smartly dressed and look like they are from a middle class background.
However, if you look closer at the man in the picture, the patches on his jeans are in fact sewn perfectly and neatly and the fact that his jeans are turned up and sewn with a perfectly straight line seemed peculiar. Furthermore, the man's cardigan fits him perfectly and his plaid shirt is fairly fashionable for a 'homeless' person.
At the end of this task we found out that the man was actually Doug Bihlmaier who works for the fashion designer Ralph Lauren and in this picture is in fact stood outside one of the Ralph Lauren shops he was helping to design.

Representation #2 - The man
Secondly, we were shown this picture of another unknown man. Just from this picture I got the impression that he was a wealthy man and of a higher class background. I also thought that he was intelligent and had a well paid job that required intellect, for example a university lecturer, due to the documents he is holding in his hands. He also appeared posh and very clean cut.
However, at the end of this task we found out that the man was intact a serial killer who's name was Ted Bundy, and killed approximately 30-36 women. In this photo Ted Budny is in fact holding the documents to prove his innocence in court against the allegations towards him, the same documents that I thought made him appear an intelligent man.

Representation #3 - The woman
Finally, we were shown this picture of an unknown woman. From looking at the picture I thought this woman was a very eccentric and dramatic, wealthy woman of an older age. It is apparent from the picture that the woman has a very unique sense of style and could possibly take an interest in vintage clothing. The best phrase I could think of to describe this lady was "Over the top".
After I constructed my representation of this woman we were told that she was Anna Piagi, an extremely well known writer for Italian Vogue and was big friends with Vivienne Westwood and Karl Lagerfeld.

The Gaze

Representations from hammonda

The Gaze Music Video Analysis

Soundtrack 2 My Life - Kid Cudi (Music video)

This video for Soundtrack 2 My Life by Kid Cudi is a collection of tapes from his various gigs and tours edited and stitched together to produce a music video, with a few extra bits filmed especially and added in for the song's video.
Kid Cudi opens the video with a 'Comic' gaze into the camera lens as he is purposely pulling a face which is exaggerated and acting the fool in the snippet of film, this is a look recognised by Trevor Millum in the 1990's. Snippets of his tour are stitched together through editing for the following minute of the video, showing behind the scenes footage and gigs. However, Cudi then throws a Marjorie Ferguson 'Super-Smiler' look towards the camera, with his full head in the camera shot and a wide open, toothy smile as his head thrusts forward. He then shows another one of these gazes a matter of seconds after the first 'Super-Smiler' as he is side-on to the camera. Throughout the whole music video, Kid Cudi continues to use 'Carefree' looks towards the camera and towards other people in the scene with him, which shows his personality well throughout the video. Cudi also displays the 'Practical' gaze when he is focusing on the iPod/iPhone type object in his hands in the car. This look is a combination of concentration and being engaged in the business in hand, with his mouth closed and his eyes object directed, with a very slight frown.
I think Kid Cudi's video to Soundtrack 2 My Life is a good example of all the various 'looks' and gazes from Marjorie Ferguson and Trevor Millum as it has examples of more than one of the looks, so you get a clear idea of each one.

The Gaze, Advert Analysis

J'adore Dior (Charlize Theron) Advert

In this J'adore Dior fragrance advert, Charlize Theron is dressed in a revealing, expensive dress with a slit all the way up to her hip to reveal her right leg as she walks, which immediately catches the eye of the male, and sometimes female, audience. Throughout the advert, Charlize is strutting down a long hallway; This is a powerful walk that oozes confidence and control. Whilst striding towards the camera, Charlize is roughly throwing her jewellery (that looks expensive and valuable) onto the ground. This presents a reckless character who isn't short of money. However, as she is throwing her jewellery onto the floor, Charlize stares into the camera in front of her and into the audience watching on the other side of the screen - the look that she gives is called the 'Seductive' look distinguished by Trevor Millum in the 1990's. In this look, her eyes are less wide than usual and her expression is less reserved but still self confident whilst staring into the lens. To add to the seductive look that she gives the audience, Charlize starts to undress until she is completely naked and still strutting down the long hallway. Her skin appears smooth and shimmers in some lights, adding to the sexy appeal that Dior were trying to achieve. After undressing, Charlize looks up to the camera lens and throws what's called an 'Invitational' look, created by Marjorie Ferguson in the 1980's, just for about 2 seconds. This look has an emphasis on the eyes and the persons head is to the side whilst looking at the camera. Notice that although she removes her jewellery and clothing, Charlize keeps her high heeled shoes on - This is something we relate to strippers etc. Which then again adds to the sexy theme of the ad. Finally, the advert ends with Charlize still strutting powerfully and remaining as confident as she was at the start of the advert when fully dressed - This advert is more than likely to catch The Male Gaze throughout the whole 19 seconds. This advert is a perfect demonstration of Laura Mulvey's theory of The Male Gaze.

The Gaze

Marjorie Ferguson (1980's)
Chocolate Box
-Half/Full smile
-Lips together/Slightly parched
-Teeth barely visible
-Full/Three quarters of face to the camera

Invitational
-Emphasis on the eyes
-Mouth shut with hint of a smile
-Head to one side or looking back at the camera

Super-Smiler
-Full face
-Wide open, toothy smile
-Head thrusts forward or chin thrown back
-Hair often wind blown

Romantic or Sexual
-Includes male/female 'two somes'
-Dreamy
-Heavy lidded
-Overtly sensual/sexual


Trevor Millum (1990's)
Seductive
-Similar to cool/level
-Eyes less wide
-Expression is less reserved but still self-confident
-Milder

Carefree
-Active
-Healthy
-Vibrant
-Outdoor girl
-Often smiling/grinning

Practical
-Concentrating
-Enraged in business in hand
-Mouth closed
-Eyes object directed
-Sometimes a slight frown
-Hair often tied back or short style

Comic
-Deliberately ridiculous
-Exaggerated
-Acting the fool
-Pulling faces

Catalogue
-A neutral look as of a dummy, artificial or wax like
-Features may be in any position, but most likely to be with eyes open wide and a smile
-Looks remain vacant and empty with personality removed