Broken notes

Broken Notes
On the 27 March we were visited by the producer of the British film Broken. During her visit she answered many questions and gave us a talk on the production of the film, below are some notes taken during the talk.

• Media Ownership
• Originally Collin Firth was attached to the film but firth pulled out which caused an external financier to pull out taking away 2 million dollars.
• BBC film, BFI, Bill Kenwright chairman of Everton funded the film
• The film was originally a book
• To produce the script for the film, the script was constantly re-drafted several times; in the source text there were much more deaths and more characters however, this was edited in the script as they believes it was too "doom" and "gloom".
•  It cost 2.2 million pounds to make
•  When producing a film you can defer fees i.e an actor signs up asks for said amount, you pay him/her half when the film makes money you pay the rest.
• BFI turned down the film 3 times.
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• Cross Media Convergence and Synergy.
• Broken has an OST by BLUR
• The OST was released onto ITUNES
•  The money made from ITUNES doesn't go directly to the producers
• The main actress from the film  Eloise Laurence sung at the premier of the film at cannes film festival. 
• 
  
• Technology
• The film was shot on 16-mm which was more expensive however this was done for aesthetic reasons. They used the digital conversion process to distribute the films easier.
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• Proliferation of Hardware and Content
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• Technological Convergence
• The film was promoted via Steven fry's twitter page.
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• Targeting of Local and Global Audiences
• They did market screenings - to work out a potential market for the film.The film performed, well with women in their 30's.
• When played overseas British films can be distributed by the big 6 i.e the full monty was distributed by fox.
• One way of improving the marketability of a film is by entering film festivals and winning awards which generate good word of mouth.
• When an independent film is produced there's an external sales company which create marketing strategies i.e finding film festivals to screen said film.
• It cost 2.2 million pounds to make.
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• Media Consumption and Audience Behavior

What are the benefits of 3D films for audiences and producers

What are the benefits and the negatives of 3D films for  audiences and producers ?

What are the benefits of 3D films for audiences and producers?

Source: Business insider

As a result of the popularity of 3D films in recent years this has caused a rise in the installments of 3D screens in theaters. As evidenced by the knock on effect of the film Avatar's box office performance with there only being 9,000 3D screens in 2009 worldwide and in 2012 a significant jump from only 9,000 to 43,000 screens.

This as a consumer benefits us as we have more or a variety in ways to consume film, furthermore its much more easier for us now to access these new film formats. As a producer this means distributing a 3D film is much easier than it would be say in 2005 with only 98 cinemas housing 3D film projectors. This also means that producers no longer have to fear as much when producing a 3D film will it receive a mass audience as compared to a standard 2D film.

According to an article written by Hugh Langley for Total film, Langley claims that 3D benefits we as an audience as it allows us to be even more immersed in the narrative and setting of the film; allowing us to interact with the environment of the film much more effectively. He goes on to claim that revisiting 3D films such as Hugo and Coraline in 2D just seems "cold, distant and flat".

Furthermore Langley proposes that 3D for producers is a solution to the threats of piracy and on demand services that are threatening cinemas, "3D is putting bums on seats". Meaning that 3D is bringing in audiences in an age when consuming film has so many alternatives. This benefits Producers as the fear of loosing money to piracy in someways is lessened to how it was post- avatar.

Langley also suggests that we as audiences are allowed to consume classic films that we may not have seen but can now due to 3D re-releases. "It's given a new generation a chance to see classics revived on the big screen, and for others to relive them from a whole new perspective". This benefits audiences as we can watch classic titles now return on the big screen in a new format but this also benefits producers as they can potentially convert older films that were both critically and commercial successes into 3D films and some form of success can be made as compared to producing an entirely new film this process should be cheaper.

Source: Business Insider

Another benefit of 3D films for producers is that they earn a lot of money. According to the business insider, 9 of the top 15 highest grossing films of 2012 were in 3D contributing to make 2012 the biggest projected box office earnings so far making $10.8 million worldwide.

What are the negatives of 3D films for audiences and producers?

For consumers of film the rise in 3D films has meant an increase of the average ticket price. In 2012 the regular ticket price for a 2D film rose to around $8.12, if one wants to purchase a 3D ticket we as consumers must pay somewhere between $10 to $18.50.



The increase of 3D films since 2005

Another result of the popularity of 3D films that can be considered as a negative as it has caused an increase of of 3D films being released every year. In 2013 it is estimated that 39 films will be released in a 3D format in the U.S. The problem this poses for some consumers is that what if there are audiences that simply don't like the idea of 3D. Moreover there is the chance that these 3D films offer nothing to add to the viewing experience and are simply just "cash grabs"; a way of producers and film makers to shelve any film regardless of the quality of  how 3D adds to the experience and just charge extra for a ticket.

For producers the negatives 3D films offer is that producing a 3D film is much more expensive than producing a 2D film as evidenced by the graph on the right.Source - cost of 3D movie by falsecreekproductions.com.

Furthermore it is apparent that 3D conversions are not selling as evidenced by Disney's sales in their 3D re-releases.  According to the business insider none of Disney's re-releases have lived up to their projected sales. From this one may suggest that for producers 3D films are expensive to produce but also pose the chance of simply not selling; becoming a box office bust in a way.






What are the benefits of HFR films for audiences and producers?

For audiences the benefits of HFR films is that there is that there is reduced motion blur and allows more clarity when viewing films. According to the Den of geek.com HFR can also improve our viewing experience as it removes "the rather gloomy pall we usually associate with 3D film."

Moreover Director Peter Jackson claims that HFR offers more a immersive viewing experience to audiences allowing them to interact with the setting and environment of the film's narrative in greater detail.

For producers the development of HFR films allows new waysof telling stories in film. Furthermore Producers can also charge more for a ticket similar to how producers charge more for 3D viewing as marketing it as the premium viewing experience.

What are the negatives of HFR films for audiences and producers?

According to an article written by Vincent Laforet the problem HFR poses for viewers is that its so clear that, "It's like being on a film set in person: all of the magic is lost. You get to see behind the curtain and you're no longer under the spell."

Laforet goes on to mention that he's viewing experience felt like a "Universal Studios "4D" Ride ...where everything is painfully fake, but at least THERE you're moving fast enough on that ride to forget that and you can let yourself be distracted by the thrill of the ride."

He then went on to claim that it felt like watching a really cheap British TV soap that "just looks plastic."

To summarise Laforets points he the downsides to HFR is that because everything is so clear we as an audience react to these films as if we are watching a cheap soap opera due to how we have been trained to viewing films in a certain way because of previous viewing experiences.

Moreover another downside for audiences for HFR screenings is that because filmmakers and costume designers and other designers are so accustomed to using design methods that would work more for 24 fps on 48fps we the audience can see so much clarity and detail, we can also see how fake these designs are which take us away from the immersion of the worlds that is attempted to be crafted.

According to the Den of Geek this can be best seen in scenes which contain CGI; "We look at an actor, whose every skin pore and arm hair can be made out with perfect clarity, then the monster he’s fighting, and we can see how different the digital textures look."

This may also pose a problem for producers and film makers of HFR films as more money may have to be invested in order to develop new design methods such as set and props to counter this "fake" looking problem.

Another problem that HFR poses for producers but more importantly distributors is that if HFR becomes a norm similar to the rise of 3D films many cinemas would have to upgrade most of their projection equipment which can cost up to $1 million per screen.

What makes a successful 3D film according to working title films?
According to working title films 3D films that are post converted never work, they believe that this type of 3D film doesn't add to the viewing experience. That said they mentioned 3D works well when it is built from the ground up . Currently Working title still film their films such as Anna Karenina on film but do plan in the future to use digital.



Cinema Exhibitor's Association Annual Report 2011

Cinema Exhibitor's Association Annual Report 2011

Why have attendances in increased?

 Recently the figures for cinema attendance has increased because of technological developments such as 3D which has managed to attract audiences by marketing 3D as a feature that would enhance audiences viewing experience.

Television shows are also screened in cinemas which also attracts audiences.

What is the DFP And VFP?

 DFP - Digital Funding Partnership was established by the CEA to support small and media sized cinema operators seeking to switch from traditional film reel to digital.

VFP - Virtual Print Free refers to a subsidy paid by a film distributor for the purchase of digital cinema projection equipment for use by a film exhibitor or cinema in the presentation of newly released films.

What may happen to those who don't use the DFP?

 By the end of 2012 those who do not use the DPF may not be able to receive new films and may go bankrupt as a result. This is because of how distributing digital films are cheaper this is why distributors are switching to digital.

What problems face 'alternative content?

BBFC must rate the alternative content that is shown in cinemas which costs money; this serves as a deterrent for cinemas

Maintaining the model

Today's business practices are built around existing and historical practices

This needs to remain as the predominant methodology for at least 8/10 years to allow cinemas the time to recoup their outlay and take full ownership  of the equipment

new practices e.g. early VOD, restricted copies ,may challenge the model and make life very difficult for a number of cinemas over the period

Extra notes

Financial - converting film cinema screens to digital

• Cost - 50k per screen + finance of other costs
• Major distributors unwilling to accept lower standard
•  No or minimal public support
• Current funding mechanism - VPF is complex and difficult for small individual operators to enter
• General Banking and Economic environment

VPF explained

• Sum of money paid to a cinema when a film is played on a DPF supported system on the release of a film.
• If a cinema plays enough first run films over the funding period, say 10 years, then it covers off about 75/80% of the equipment and finance costs.
• A good proportion for major commercial operators
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 DPF

 

• By collecting all the indie cinemas to raise the funds together they can all enter the VPF - All cinemas benefit.

Technical and Logistical

• Competition for equipment and technical expertise for psychical installations
• Space and Facilities required in projection Booth
• Training and mindset - some people don't like digital films
• Loading and playing content
• Unlock Keys for encrypted content
• A new way to operate - you have to train those use to 35mm to use the hard drive

Hollywood Media Synergy as IMC

Hollywood Media Synergy as IMC

• Hollywood media products in recent years have been produced to promote one another One for of media synergy in Hollywood is the sqeulisation of blockbuster films. Other important and profitable convergant forms include theme park rides,soundtracks, novel tie ins and videogames - an increasing importance to the bottom line at media conglomerates.

• Following the success of Star Wars and its various sequels and pre-quels, Hollywood focused more of its attention to developing  and marketing megafranchise films - big budget films that have potential for sequels video games, theme park rides, novels and other media product tie ins.

• Top performing Hollywood megafranchisees are produced by the conglomerated "big-six" and Dreamworks.  (time warner, news crop, Sony, Disney, Viacom and NBC universal).

• The megafranchise model was intiatied by star wars and is one which has generated the most revenue for the majors. Culture critic Mark Crispin Miller(1990) was one of the first to analayse Hollywood's move to vertical intergration(buying up companies that allow distribution of saod media product to be eaiser) to horizontal (buying up the competition), and films that have been developed withb the purpose of deployablty on multiple media platforms, as well as thier abilty to be sequelised and thier abilty to be cross-promoted with other media texts.

• Those who make the decisions within media conglomerates undterstand that every pice of media under the same brand-umbrella promotes every piece of media unser said umbrella.e.g the disney stores promote consumer products which promote the theme parks which promote the Tv shows.

• According to Miller this can be described as constant media synergy, wherein everythingwith in a franchise promotes and endorses other products with the umbrellaAccoridng to Hollywood a francise film is any film title that is a sequel, or a title that has one or more sequels following it.

• However there is an idea that Hollywood has been sufering from a case of sequelitis at term that refers to the increasing ratio of sequels. The term was coined in the mid 1990's by Hollywood trades

• Film scholar David Bordwell 2006 pointed out that sequels begin to account for 25% of domestic box office in 2003. However, what Bordwell is refering to are sequels generated by revenue alone and thus couldn't factor in the revenue generated by films that would later produce film franchises for example the films Bruce Almighty and Cheaper by the doxen which were later seqlised in 2007 and Evan Almighty and as Cheaper by the Dosen 2 in 2005.

• Sequels are considered as theatrical brand extenstions driving revenue beyond raw box office.

• Domestic Box office revenue is regarded as the single best predictor of all follow on supporting revenue.

• This includes foreign box office, domestic DVD, Toy merchandies, soundtrack and videogame revenues.

• The film industry market has started to rely more on the sequelised model.

• Media scholar Thomas Schatz claims that there have been over 100 "new hollywood film franchises".

• Furthermore these film franchises are bieng planned in one go for example New line executive Robert Shaye made the decision to produce the entire lord of the rings trilogy for the combined cost of $270 million.

• This business model may impact the business strategies of active franchises such as James Bond and Spider-man where the success' inheret in prsequalisation are likely to appeal to studie executives and where the risk that comes with producing films are lowered by the pre-sold elements i.e. a dedicated fan base that is inherent to a long-running film franchise.

The 4's franchise model - synergy, sequels, spectale,story

• Franchises such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Shrek, LOTR, Spider man and Pirates of the Caribbean follow these models to ensure success.

• All seven films have theme-park rides, video games, books and soundtracks under their brand umbrella.

 

• The importance of videogames should not be underestimated, they have generate enournmouse revenues and have become Hollywood's most important form of media cross-promotion with films.

 

• Sequelisation itself is a form of cross promotional media synergy.

 

• All the franchises above invest heavily into the development of their screenplays, wheter they are adaptations of books or presold properties or theme park rides.

 

• Majority of these megafranchises, present and then represent a "campbellian" hero's journey in a fairytale-like fashion -a simple yet effective and reduced narrative which is then intergrated into other synergistic media under the same brand.

 
 

• Schatz(1997)  - "film franchises such as Jurassic Park comprise a profitable product line and a cultural commodity whose form directly reflects the structure of the media industry at large."

 

• Producsts such as movies, videogames and theme park rides can be treated as related aspects of entertainment supertexts, multimedia narrative forms that can be expanded and exploited almost ad infinitum

• Spectacle and high production value does not simply attract and provide enjoyment to audiences, it increases the megafranchise's brand value and provides a robust "barrier to entry" to lower budget would be competition.

 
 

• Elements from theses films such as score and CGI can be imported directed by other media such as videogames.

 

• As important are the 4'Ss can be to Hollywood megafranchises,  simply using large does os the 4'Ss does not ensure success, there must be a glue which holds all the elements together.

 
Film/videogame convergance
 

• Media scholar Kristin Thompson - biggest videogame projects have acieved success becaues of their big franchise film licesnses e.g the Lego Star Wars games.

 

• Over 100 Star Wars games have been reloeased starting with The Empire Strikes Back (1982).

 

• Young gamers are being targeted by the media conglomerates in counterintuitive cross promotional maneuvers for example the Lego Star Wars partnership which is an effective way of getting children to interact with the Star Wars brand at an early age.

 

• The direct convergant repurposing of elements from film to videosgames only came into common practise in the mid 200s.

 
IMC implications
 

• IMC practitioners can beneift by observeing the ways in which successful megafranchises practice brand consistency accross multiple sequls and interations.

 

• They can also take not of the skill with which Hollywoodhas adopted the synergised model intiated by Star Wars.

 

• One may alrady observe the synergistic practises where in the case of nike the athletic shoe promotes the athletic shirt, that promotes the atheletic jacket and vice versa.

 

• Coca cola- soft drink>cooloer>T-shirt

 

• Harley Davidson - Key chain > Leather Jacket > motorcyle.

 

• The power of synergy is a force IMC practitioners have the opportunity to help design and unleash for clients in their respective marketplaces.

How has one media conglomerate used synergy successfully?

How has one media conglomerate used synergy successfully?

What is synergy ?

Synergy is the promotion and sale of a product throughout the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate, e.g. films,soundtracks or video games.

Film

On october 2012 the media conglomerate Disney have purchased the rights to the megafranchise Star Wars for $4.05 billion and announced that they are planning to produce 3 new films, the first of which is planned for release in 2015.

The Star wars megafranchise is a space opera that was first released in 1977 and became a pop culture phenonom and was the first franchise to kickstart the Hollywood megafranchise model of box office sequels and successful cross media synergy. The film franchise is known for the 3rd highest grossing film series, generating a total box office revenue of $4.49 billion. However the 2nd highest grossing film franchise is the James Bond series grossing around $6,159,388,878 in box office revenue worldwide whereas the up to date the highest grossing film franchise is currently the Harry Potter franchise grossing $7,706,147,978 worldwide.

Games

The star wars franchise is known not only for its box office film series but also for its other successful merchandise such as an array of Star wars licensed video games with over 100 titles under the Star Wars license each with their own sub franchises e,g the Star Wars Battlefront franchise. Although the video game franchise of Star Wars Battlefront has sold well with the second game in the series selling over 500,000 copies on the psp platform, I feel what drives the sales more about these Star Wars video games is the Star Wars brand which sells these games. One may argue this is because these video games are licensed under a big and well known brand with a large fan base and audience, therefore regardless of the quality of the game those who enjoy Star Wars are more inclined to purchase these video games as they serve as sort of an extention to their Star Wars viewing experience. This benefits media conglomerates as in some ways the production of these games are quicker as all they have to do if lift assets such as sound directly from the films and place them in the games if they wish. Furthermore there is less risk when producing these games as these companies know that the Star Wars name alone will draw in mass audiences of Star Wars fans and Children who play these games who as a result of this exposure to Star Wars will start interacting more with the Star Wars brand. Additionally, there is also the possibility of drawing in another mass audience of "Gamers" as if these Star Wars video games produce good "word of mouth" this may draw in the "Gamer demographic" who like the children may interact more with the Star Wars franchise as a result of this exposure.


 Attractions

Star wars weekend promotion

Furthermore the Star wars franchise has also branched into many tourist and theme park attractions such as for example before disney's aquishion of the megafranchise lucasarts and Disney went into partnership  in 1986 for the production of a motion simulator attraction in disenyland paris based on the Star Wars franchise called Star Tours. Additionally in Disney's Hollywood studios ( a theme park part of the Walt Disney world resort) a festival based on the Star Wars franchise called Star Wars weekends is hosted which includes an vast amount of attractions to involve audiences in for example Jedi Training Academy; a live show where children are selected to learn the practices of the fictional Jedi Knights and the Force in order to become Padawan learners.  Audiences can also participate in an event called Carbon Freeze Me; an interactive attraction where audiences can have their face scanned and reproduced in a prism of carbonite, which can be purchased later.

These attractions benefit the film franchise of Star wars by meeting a larger audience and also bringing more attraction to the disney franchise which in turn promotes other franchise under its ownership. This is done as Star wars fans will come to these attractions to consume Star Wars based media and, however this demographic may also be exposed to some of the more traditional disney media texts during their visit and the same works the other way round with Disney fans wanting to consume Disney products but being exposed to mass imagery of Star Wars. This can be evidenced by the cross media text image above of Disney's Mickey Mouse and Star Wars Darth Vader fighting each other.  This cross synergy allows both products to be successfully promoted which in turn will promote other products within the franchise umbrella. Both of which franchises are now own by Disney so potentially the Media conglomerate Disney has used synergy to promote their franchises to a mass audience and therefore possibly increase the consumption of these products.

Soundtracks

The soundtrack for the film franchise was produced by Composer John Williams, the first score to Star wars episode 4 was released in 1977, episode V's in 1980, VI's in 1983, I in 1999, episode II in 2002, episode III in 2005 and finally in 2008 the soundtrack for Star wars the clone wars was released. The soundtracks have won many prestigious awards such as the Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1977 and has spawned a number of concerts which feature Star Wars music for example Star Wars: In Concert. From exploring the official Star Wars main site Star Wars.com I have found out that the site does not directly sale it's Star Wars merchandises and products instead offering a link to popular  online store Amazon.com to sell its products; this included the sale of its soundtracks. Meaning that the vendor vendor is not owned by the same conglomerate that currently owns the Star Wars franchise. Additionally from looking on the Disney store website I have found that the Disney store does not currently sale any Star Wars products what's so ever. The use of a soundtrack may benefit the film franchise and media conglomerate of Disney as the good "word of mouth" that was produced about the score prior to the release of the soundtrack would have made the music in the Star Wars film desirable on its own and thus have allowed Disney to easily sell said product and promote other products under the Star Wars name. However, the fact that Disney themselves do not distribute their soundtrack but rather Amazon causes Disney to loose out on some potential revenue as Disney may have to pay Amazon for the space of distributing their product in contrast to companies such as Sony which have the means of distributing their products along the production line.

Toys
The Star Wars film franchise has also spawned a number of toys and action figures produced by top toy manufacturers such as Hasbro producers of the popular Transformers toys and the Lego group producers of the popular line of Lego construction Blocks. Such products prove to be beneficial tot he film franchise and Disney as a conglomerate as it easy promotion of products under the Star Wars brand and the development of a larger audience by capturing those who  necessarily Star Wars fans but consume Lego products or just toys in general. Which as a result may increase the films sales as children who are first exposed to Star Wars products  such as the toy range may take their families to consume the Star Wars film series via cinema or DVD.

Moreover to produce these action figure and Toys the rights would have to be licensed to these companies generating revenue for  Disney. This in turn has manged to produce successful toy lines such as the lego star wars toy line which has also managed to cross over media text as well and has produced short films such as Lego Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 and the commercially successful Lego star wars videogames which has managed to sell over 20 million copies. This as an effect produces a larger audience for the Star Wars film franchise and has also allowed Disney to make more sales for its Star Wars product, with each successful product promoting the other product to an audience that is yet to be exposed to the Star Wars brand.


Conclusion.
From looking at various Star Wars branded and licensed products it appears that the media conglomerate Disney has manged to use synergy successfully to promote other products within the Star Wars Brand umbrella and also other products which are also owned by Disney for example the Star wars weekend promotion containing Mickey Mouse Graphics which promote the Mickey Mouse franchise. The success of this cross media synergy format lies by generating vast amounts of Star wars products on different media platforms which all promote and advertise each other.All these promotions allow the Star wars and other Disney brands reach a larger audience and thus increase the sales of these products and brands respectively.




 

Crowd Funding: The Future of the industry?

Crowd Funding: The Future of the industry?

The term crowd funding refers to the collective effort of individuals who network and pool thier money usually via the internet to support the efforts of other people or organizations. Crowdfunding is used in the funding of citizen journalism, disaster relief and support of artists by fans,political campagins, motion picture promotion and other products.

Crowd funding may affect the big six by forcing these companies to adapt their marketing and development strategies if Crowd funding does prove to be the "future of the industry", this could mean that in the future we see more of the Big six developing film studios with the sole purpose of using crowd funding to appeal to a nicher and more direct audience. This would also mean that financing and marketing may not be a problem anymore since said studio can fund a film by asking its potential audience to fund it and then make a profile of those who funded it, which as a result would make for easier marketing. Furthermore one may suggest that perhaps in the future we may see more of these crowd funded films being bought up by the big six companies to buy out any potential competition (Horizontal integration).

In some ways I believe that this approach to financing may allow creativity to flourish to a certain extent as we will see more filmmakers take more risks with the safety net of the fact that the money is from an audience who would want to watch the film. However one may argue that Crowd funded film may not feature the same quality of film we are used to i.e. big budget spectacles due to the amount of resources these films will have initially. In addition there is the possibility of stagnantatnon since if once crowd source film project may do well, there may be several imitators to cash on the originals success.

Crowd funded films can appeal to global and local audiences by exploring themes that are relevant to said audiences but are not explored in big hollywood films that control most of the market. These crowd funded films serves as an alternative to the stagnantatnon that occurs in Hollywood and allow audience to relate more to these films.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1270411036/the-death-of-superman-lives-what-happened

The Hyperlink above is a link to a successful crowd funded film; a documentary about the cancelled Tim Burton directed superman film. The film originally pledged for a total of $98,000 however the project surpassed its goal and gained $115,110. From this one can suggest that not only has the project met its target but its surpassed it clearly evidencing that there is a demand for this film and that there are people willing to pay to be a part of a films development not matter how niche the film and its audience is.

Media ownership Questions

Media ownership Questions

What is horizontal and vertical integration in the media industry and can you provide an example?

Horizontal integration - where an organisation develops by buying the competition in the same section of the market for example walt disney who work in the field of animation bought Pixar animation studio's n 2006 for $7.4 billion. This allows media corporations to reach a wider audience

Vertical integration - Where an institution has shares or owns each part of the production and distribution process for example Warner Bros entertainment calls itself a fully integrated broad based entertainment company which film studios and the means to distribute these films. Warner Bros also owns cinema chains to showcase these films in. It allows media organizations to make profit at every stage in the production chain.

What does Melody(1978) believe happens to the 'media market' ?

In 1978 William Melody claimed that as a result of economic conditions or circumstance, 
access to the marketplace of ideas is restricted to a privileged few meaning that it is harder for smaller 
companies to enter the media market as these larger companies have all the finances and control.

What does Neuman(1991) believe happens to media content? Why is this a problem for audience?

In 1991 Neuman believed hat because of the mass concentration of media concentration this 
meant that what most people hear and see in the mass media is uniform in content and 
world view meaning that we as an audience only consume a similar perspective on information 
and content which poses a problem for audience's as we in a way surrender our own personal ideals and 
values to those who have the most power. Furthermore we as an audience loose out on a vast amount of 
information and knowledge that isn't presented to us via these powerful conglomerates.

What does Sterling think about the level of research?

Sterling believes that the level of research into problems of large conglomerates is too little,
 he goes on to suggest that too much is assumed or anecdotal which merely suggests results 
from ownership changes meaning that there are little to no stats or figures concerning the 
problem most of the evidence is based on stories or assumptions.

What does the media reproduce according to Gormery (2000)?

Gormery claimed the "mass media assume an alll encompassing conspiracy by monopolist" 
 meaning that general everyday values are created by the few who own such monopolies; their
 ideas of class inequalities is reproduced via the media, which communicates a fix set of values 
which benefit them and protect their jobs.

The media industry and corporate power form a powerful cartel.What does it do to local cultures (Meier)?
Meier claims that  the powerful cartel created by the global interlocking of the media industry and traditional corporate power erodes at local cultures and comunities by only showing a set of values such as consumerism,indiviualism and egoism. This presents these values as the 'common sense view of the world' and hence other cultures which don't fall within these values eventally confrom.

 

How have media corporations influenced the law? What impact does this have on new businesses entering the market?

According to Bagdikian the largest media giants have achieved success in writing 
the media laws and regulations to favor.
the interests of their corporations rather than the interests of the general public. 
As a result of this newer business's which wish to enter the market are less likely to be 
successful since the much larger business have laws to protect them and can develop more laws to
 protect them if they wish. 

What issue does convergence pose for media ownership?

Many cross media ownership laws are relaxed  with the rise of a liassez-faire ideology 
which causes the problem of concentrated ownership worse and larger companies spreading the same messages. 
The relaxed cross media laws also prevent smaller business from entering the market since larger business's can 
consume without regulation.

What does the FCC believe about programme diversity?

The FCC believes that programme diversity was necessary to maximize public service as 
it is considered that the greater number of independent broadcasters meant greater chances for 
achieving desired diversity in the media

Is the British film industry dead?

 Is the British film industry dead ?

• The UK film councils claims about the recent success of British film were false according to screenwriter Jonathan Gems. According to Gems none of the films were British as most of them were produced by 4 foreign studios:Pathe, Warner Bros, Disney and Universal.
• In 1939 "Hollywood Accountancy" was born when Franklin D Roosevelt wanted to encourage the American public to help support Roosevelt's idea to help Britain by declaring war on Germany.After being turned down by congress Roosevelt sought after the help of the newspapers initially however due to complications he decided to approach the film studios in Hollywood to produce anti-German films, in exchange these studios will receive financial-control exemptions.
• According to defenders of UK subsidies to foreign companies it is insisted that they create jobs for British film makers keeping British production facilities alive however according to producer John Peter's the real reason behind this is because how it's "30% cheaper" to film in the UK and also British workers are much more submissive than American workers.
• Gems states that the British film industry doesn't exist- it hasn't existed for more than 30 years
• Gems goes on to say before the Eady Levy scheme was abolished and capital allowances, there was a British film industry. The Levy meant that in exchange for access to our domestic market, foreign distributors paid the government a small amount of their profits, which were passed onto British distributors.
• However in the early seventies, under the pressure of the US government,the levy was abolished which according to Gems began the death of the British film industry.
• Today the Hollywood six control 84% of the British domestic market with the french company Pathe controlling 12% and only a 4% for British films. Gem's states that A national film industry cannot exist unless it has at least 20% of its home market share.
• America makes about 2000 films a year however Americas hit ratio is 2.5% .Whereas France only produces 100 film but are four times more successful than Hollywood's.To make sure things are fair legislation is used to adjust it which prevents the destruction of french films.
• Before 1970 British films created close to 100 stars however since 1970 according to Gems British film hasn't been able to produced one star.
• Jk Rowling sold the right of Harry Potter to an American film studio because of the absence of a British one.
• The Misconception is that Britain cant produce these film because we lack the money however banks are investing billions into other projects.
• There are many unofficial laws which protect US films such as the Working title rate which dictates that if a foreign production company wants an American star they must pay a tariff which is the star's price multiplied by three. This is known within the film industry as the working title rate because the British production company were the first to pay this tariff.
• The Government however protects British television as legislation dictates American products can't take  more than a 30% share of terrestrial broadcasting.
• Gems claims that Britain will continue not to have its own film industry until it starts releasing 50 films regularly each year.