Mad Max: Fury Road

Producer- George Miller, Doug Mitchell, P J Voeten

Distributer- Warner Bros production

Script writer-

Budget- $150 million

Box office gross- $224.7 million

Director- George Miller

Actors- Tom Hardy (Max), Charlize Theron (Furiosa), Nicholas Hoult (Nux), Hugh Keays-Byrne (Immortan Joe), Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (The Splendid Angharad)

Marketing-

Critical receptions- Rotten Tomatoes (87% liked it and it was rated 4.2/5), IMDb (8.2/10)

Reasons for success- The original 3 Mad Max's were a massive success in the 80's and 90's so it already had a big reputation so people were willing to see it.

Awards- It was voted best film of the year by International film critics, it also won most original trailer by the Golden trailer awards. It's also nominated for awards like, Best film, Best direction and Charlize Theron has been put up for best actress award by the AACTA awards.

Technology-

Stereotypes and countertypes of gender

Stereotype: a widely held and oversimplified image or idea about a type of person or group of people. Usually created by selecting the negative characteristics of that person/group of people.







Countertype: a widely held and oversimplified positive image or idea about a type of person or group of people.  e.g. all religious people are kind.


Sex refers to the biological  and physiological characteristics that define man or women.


Gender refers to socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.


Male
Examples of male stereotypes include:

• Anger/violent
• Can't multitask

Examples of male countertypes:

• Provides for family
• 
  

  Physically strong
• Gentlemen
  
• Sporty
• In control

Female

Example of female stereotype include:

• Sexually promiscuous
• Avoid confrontation/weak
• Likes to go shopping
• Cooking and cleaning

Example of female countertype include:

• Nurturer
• Organised
• Romantic

Sound

Sound

• Diegetic sound- Sound which has a source on-screen. E.g. dialogue
• Non-diegetic sound- Sound which does not have a source on-screen. E.g. music or voiceover
• Sound bridge- The sound from one scene continuing to the next or the sound from the next scene being used before the audience see the relevant images. It gives the sense that the film is linked together
• Synchronous sound- Sounds which are expected with what is viewed. For example in a birthday party you expect to hear laughter, singing and music
• Asynchronous sound- Sound which does not match or is unexpected with the images on the screen. Can be used to build tension, suspense or emotion
• Voiceover- Non-diegetic sound of a person speaking over a scene
• Sound effects- A sound other than speech and music made artificially for use in a play, film or other broadcast production
• Sound motif- Sound associated with a character or people
• Dialogue- A conversation between two or more people 
• Direct address- Speaking directly to the camera/audience by looking at the camera
• Sound perspective- Sound recording that helps us place a sound as either near or distant from a particular source

Diegetic sound:

Non diegetic sound:

Sound bridge:

Synchronous sound:

Asynchronous sound:

Voiceover:

Sound effects and sound perspective:

Sound motif:

Dialogue:

Direct address:

The Hobbit Battle of the Five Armies

1.    The issues raised by media ownership and contemporary media practice

The company that makes a certain film will have a massive influence on what the film is and what type of genre the film is also. The larger companies like New Line Cinema are likely to make the bigger and more successful films. To make a film successful like these large companies do, they follow rules that Mark Kermode said wold make it impossible to lose money on. The rules are, a news worthy budget, not a comedy, spectacular visuals and include an ‘A’ list star. Obviously the big film companies are able to put these rules into place and also have lots of money spare so they can add things that will make the film even more successful and therefore make lots of money.

An example of a big movie company is Marvel. Marvel has created memorable films such as Avengers Assemble and many super hero films like ‘Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk etc.’ as well as old classics like the original ‘Spiderman’ that everyone remembers. Marvel is associated with always producing top class superhero films so that whenever they release a new film, people want to pay to watch it as they hope it is as good as the previous ones. As well as their budget being very high so they can constantly add to their films with top quality effects and visuals.

The Avengers Assemble had a budget of $220 million and made $1.5 billion at the box office so it made over 6 times more than it cost to make. It included ‘A’ list stars such as Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L Jackson. It also contained fantastic visuals and special effects and it wasn’t a comedy, it was an action movie which means it fit all 4 of Mark Kermode’s criteria so it was guaranteed to not lose money and obviously it didn’t. 

Another example is Warner Brothers. These are arguably one of the biggest movie companies, creating many films such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Superman etc. These films are massive films all over the world and will always be remembered and continued to be watched for many years to come. Warner Bros also has a good reputation so when they release a new film, everyone knows that it’s going to be good and worth paying the money to go and watch.

The Harry Potter series were all successful. The first of the 8 films (Sorceres Stone) had a budget of $130 million and made $380 million at the box office so made almost 3 times as much. The latest and last Harry Potter to be released was Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows pt 2 which had a budget of $250 million and made all together $380 million. In all 8 of the films they had ‘A’ list stars such as Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. It was also not a comedy and had fantastic visuals and special effects so it also fit into the criteria of Mark Kermodes rules so it was guaranteed to make money and lots of it.

An example of a smaller film company is DNA films. They have produced films such as Ex Machina, Dredd, 28 days later etc. Sometimes smaller films may do extremely well for example Ex Machina did well but many films that they produce will not. Dredd had a budget of $45 million and only made $40 million at the box office. This film did not fit the criteria of Mark Kermode’s rules which is the reason why that it overall lost money. The main stars in the film were Karl Urban, Domhnall Gleeson and Olivia Thurlby. These are not classed as ‘A’ list stars and also with a low budget, it did not catch headlines and as people have not heard of DNA films as much, they did not know what to expect and therefore didn’t bother seeing it.

The Hobbit Battle of the Five Armies was produced by New Line Cinema and distributed by Warner Bros. It had a budget of $250 million which classes it as a high budget film and it made a total of $955 million on the worldwide box office so it made almost 4 times more than it cost to make. Lots of people wanted to watch this film as it was the end to a sequel and was advertised greatly before the film was released. This meant that lots of people wanted to see the film as they may have been a fan of these films and are familiar with New Line Cinema’s productions before.

2.    The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing

The Hobbit Battle of the Five Armies is an American made action film, made by New Line Cinema’s and distributed by Warner Bros. It is the third instalment of the Hobbit trilogy and a spin off from the three part Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The Hobbit was always going to be a film, ever since the books were published and even when Lord of the Rings was released. The Hobbit benefited from Lord of the Rings as it was a spin off and all fans of Lord of the Rings were always going to want to see The Hobbit as it’s the same genre. J. R R Tolkien always had the plan of releasing the Hobbit after the Lord of the Rings. Martin Freeman was brought in to play the leading role in the films and as he is a big name, many fans of his wanted to see how he performed in this big name film. During the Lord of the Rings films, many references were made to the Hobbit and to the time before it was set. This left mystery about what happened and the plan was to always make a set of films to reveal all the questions.

The audience of The Hobbit was mainly made for people who were also interested in the Lord of the Rings so for people who like fantasy movies and old action style. It is a 12+ in the UK so it attracts teenagers and young adults. Martin Freeman appeals to many middle age people, Sir Ian McKellan appeals to older people and Orlando Bloom who will appeal to younger people and maybe teenagers.

3.    The technologies that have been released in recent years in the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange

3D- At cinemas, there is an option watch films in 3D to enhance the experience and make it feel like you’re in the film and makes it more enjoyable.  3D glasses have to be worn for it to work. 3D was introduced in 1915 but only in the 21^st century has become a massive hit and is now used all over the world.

Blu Ray- Blu Ray DVD’s have been introduced. It is able to show movies at a much better quality than normal DVD’s. They have been introduced over the past 10 years and are making a huge impact.

Internet streaming- Internet streaming is becoming more commonly used and a person can chose to play a certain media file before it is even downloaded.

Downloadable content- Various downloadable content is available such as video games or soundtracks.

All these types of media distribution had large impact on how well The Hobbit BotFA did overall. It meant that people were able to watch the film in different ways, and still it generated money.

4.    The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing

The Hobbit Battle of the Five Armies was one of the biggest films of 2014. It was distributed by what is classed as one of the ‘big six’ in Warner Bros. Because of this we could tell that it was going to be a big hit. Its budget was $250 million and generated just short of $1 billion and its gross profit was around $700 million.

New Line Cinemas and Warner Bros worked together to produce and distribute the Hobbit. This also helps to gather in lots of ‘A’ list stars as they can see that the film is a good project as big companies are involved in the production and distribution. This shows how much power big companies like this have as they can spend lots of money and almost get who they want for their films.

Smaller companies may have been involved some way in the production but they aren’t deemed big enough to be advertised with the bigger companies. This shows how little power small companies have as they may have played a large part in e.g. the marketing but don’t get any credit for it. It also shows that smaller companies may be working with the larger ones to help distribute a film or maybe even produce it.

Overall we can see that cross media convergence is a massive factor as they can help big companies to generate a film but still get no/little credit.

5.    The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences.

Going to the cinema will be the most expensive out of all of these methods so some families or people who don’t want to spend that much money going to the cinema can always stream, rent or buy the DVD. The Hobbit BotFA was released in cinemas in 2D and 3D and then 6 months later released on DVD and Blu Ray. As it was a high budget film, it was not available on things like Netflix. It may be released on these sites once the money being made on it starts to slow down, as it is a good way to keep making money even long after the film was made.

6.    The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences by international or global institutions

In the making of a film, things like advertising campaigns, press releases, merchandising, media and interviews with key people involved in the film. Film studios will invest in massive marketing campaigns to make sure the film generates the maximum revenue of its potential.

The Hobbit was actually advertised slightly during the Lord of the Rings as references were made constantly throughout. A very short teaser trailer was released on the 28^th July 2014, getting many Hobbit fans excited for the movie to be released on the last month of 2014.

To promote the film's release, Wellington-based association football club, Wellington Phoenix, wore a special designed jersey to commemorate the opening of The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies. The custom, film-themed jersey was worn only once, on 13 December 2014. In the film's Japanese release on 13 December, Warner Bros. collaborated with mobile gaming company A-Lim to bring Bilbo, Gandalf, and Legolas into the game Brave Frontier at the end of December as Vortex Dungeon units. The campaign ran until February 2015.

Smaug (The Dragon) made a guest appearance, animated by WETA and voiced again by Cumberbatch, on the satire show The Colbert Report on December 12, 2014 to promote the film

I think that the influence that big companies have on the type of film made is huge. New Line Cinemas produced films similar to the Hobbit so they had experience in making this type of film. The Hobbit Battle of the Five Armies was released in December 2014 but advertising for it began when the Lord of the Rings was released in December 2001. Everyone knew that the Hobbit films were coming after the LOTR as many hints were left and the people were even told about it. This created lots of excitement as people were wondering who was going to play the main part and who was going to play what part. All of this contributed to the fact that the Hobbit BotFA generated just short of $1 billion at the box office. A big advantage that contributed to the success is the fact that they have the ability to spend big. Smaller companies cannot do this but big companies just have to follow Mark Kermodes 4 rules (A list star, newsworthy budget, fantastic visuals and not a comedy) which they supposedly do and they are always successful which is shown through the Hobbit making around $700 million.

In my opinion going to the cinema is the best way to enjoy movies. This is also because of the option for 3D. Many people don’t have 3D TV’s in their house so it is better to enjoy it in cinematic conditions where you can get the best experience. The Hobbit BotFA was also very quick to release the film on DVD, only taking 4/5 months to be released compared to some films that can take up to a year. 

Analysing Luther Scene

Discuss ways in which the extract constructs the representation of gender using the following:

This extract is a clip from Luther between a protagonist Luther and a female called Alice. This extract demonstrates gender and how different camera shots and mise-en scene portray this.

Camera shots, angles and movements

The extract opens with a close up of the female in the centre of the frame. This suggests to us that she is the most important in the extract. There are multiple mid shots of the female (Alice) in the opening scene which emphasises this point. But also there is many over the shoulder shots from the male (Luther) which could suggest that he has all the power in the extract. This backs up the stereotype of men having power over women. Also to show that Luther has the power, we are shown a high angle shot looking down on Alice from Luther's point of view to show that he is more powerful and has more authority than her. From these components in this opening scene, we can put together than Luther seems to have more power, authority and control over the women in this scene and possibly overall in society. From the high angle shot looking down at Alice, it makes us look as her as a less authoritative figure and therefore shrinks the amount of power she obtains. This again fits the stereotype that women are 'weaker'.

Another way that Luther is seen as powerful is from low angle shots. From various low angle shots, it makes us think that Luther is in control as the camera and therefore the audience are looking up at him which makes him seem like the dominant one.But from the position of the camera, this is actually the view that Alice gets so we can see that she is the less powerful one and Luther has more authority. This further reinforces the stereotype of men having more 'power'.

The movement of zoom is used various times in this extract. The camera will zoom in on certain characters faces to grip the audience and make us listen to what they are saying. This will cause all the focus to be on that particular character. At one scene in this extract, there is a zoom on Alice's face so that we listen to her and are gripped by what she is saying. This enhances her power and we then see that she is not in fact powerless, but actually quite authoritative. This goes against the stereotype that all women are 'weak' as in this particular scene she seems to have the power over Luther and seems to be persuading him and seems quite seductive.

Mise en scene

We can see that the female, Alice has a tidy apartment. We are able to see that she has things like a telescope, various books and a globe in her apartment. This goes against the typical stereotype that men are always the clever ones and women aren't so intelligent, but these props clearly show that she is smart and intelligent. We can also recognise that she may be fairly wealthy as from various camera angles, the Shard and St Paul's Cathedral are visible through the windows at the back of the apartment. This portrays that she may posses a lot of money as these buildings are attractions in London, so a flat overlooking them would certainly cost a high amount of money. This would definitely go against the stereotype of women being 'private' but this contrasts that as she would not be because we know she is wealthy so we can see she is not private and earns money.

There is also a red chair positioned in the middle of the room. The chair seems to be the only bit of colour in her apartment, surrounded by dull and lifeless furniture. The fact that her flat is relatively tidy, suggests that she maybe is harmless but the placement of the red chair in the centre of the room portrays the fact that she may have some danger in her. The colour red gives us the impression of danger and that she may fit into the 'mad, bad and dangerous' stereotype for women. But also it may go against the stereotype for women that they are 'weak' but this contrasts this as she seems dangerous.
The red chair represents a symbolic code as it symbolises the fact that the red chair shows the danger within her. A symbolic code is something that represents a more abstract concept, so the chair shows the danger.

Sound
Non-diegetic sound is used when the male and female close in on each other. This creates lots of tension as it seems the music/sound is building up for something to happen. From this we can tell that the relationship between them is uneasy. As the male moves closer, the sound seems to increase. This could suggest that the male has the power in the situation which fits the male stereotype of being the one with all the power and has more power over women.

Gender is shown through this extract between the two characters Luther and Alice. Gender is shown through various stereotypes that back up the idea of gender. But the stereotypes are challenged throughout the extract because of the representation of gender.

Mad Men mise en scene analysis

The setting appears to be an office. We can see this from the desks, along with the all white ceilings and walls which we associate with offices and work places.

The overall colors in this clip are all white and therefore neutral. This again links with the idea of an office as they are generally white to allow the workers to focus on their work rather than the surroundings.

We can see a few different props, including a typewriter which could suggest the time period that it is set in, maybe around the 70's. A telephone is also seen which again reinforces the fact that they're in an office.

The hairstyles in this clip clearly look old and outdated. This suggests that this is not set in recent times.

The outfits seem to represent where the women are with status in the work place. The woman in blue is wearing quite tight dress which shows her curves which shows how she is a confident woman and is maybe more important in the work place than the other. The other woman looks less confident, and more like just worker. This is because she is just wearing normal clothes and just looks like an employee.

All of the women seem to be wearing lots of make-up which suggests they all care about their appearance.

All of the women in this clip are relatively unknown, so we don't know anything about them so we can't form opinions.

The woman in the blue dress looks like  she is in the power because of the way she is standing. The other woman is slouched and sitting down so looks like she is not confident and has less power.

The characters all seem convincing and play their part well.

The lighting is artificial but it is also daytime outside which we can see from the windows.

Audience and institutions- The 7 key concepts

Section B: Institutions and Audiences

Candidates should be prepared to understand and discuss the processes of production, distribution, marketing and exchange as they relate to contemporary media institutions, as well as the nature of audience consumption and the relationships between audiences and institutions. In addition, candidates should be familiar with:

• the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;
• the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;
• the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange;
• the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences;
• the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences;
• the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions;
• the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour.

• the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary (current) media practice

The depth and range of ownership across a range of media and the consequences of this ownership for audiences in terms of the genres and budgets for films. How for instance, can Channel4's Film4 survive in the British market place against the high concept, big-budget films made by Newcorp's FOX, Warner Bros, Disney, Universal, etc.? What kinds of niche audiences are left for Film4 to attract? Are mass audiences out of reach given the genres of films Film4 have the budgets to make? How successful have they been in reaching mass audiences with their films? How healthy is it that just a few mega media groups can own such a range of media and can decide what the public may see, and, perhaps, shape audience's tastes?

• the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing

 Digital technology is enabling various media to converge in hubs, platforms and devices. For instance, mobiles phones do a lot more than act as hand held telephones: you can download and watch films and TV programmes, use them as alarm clocks, watches, play music on them, take photos and short films, text, go online, use GPS functions, a range of apps, and a whole lot more. New HD TVs, Playstations, X-Boxes, iPads, Notebooks, MacBooks, etc. are also examples of hubs which in which a variety of media technologies can converge for convenience for users. Media convergence is having an enormous impact on the film industry because of the ways in which institutions can produce and market for audiences/users on a widening range of platforms, capable of receiving their films.

Synergies can come out of an organisation's size; smaller media organisations such as Channel4 can-cross promote their films, etc. but the scale of cross-media promotion is nowhere near as great as that which can be gained by massive media organisations. Film4 is therefore unable to promote their lower budget films on a level playing field.

• the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange

The audience's ability to interact with films by, for instance, using digital technology to put extracts on You Tube and overlay new sound tracks on them, etc. and make answering videos has been greatly enhanced by Web 2.0; Film studios can make films using CGI, greenscreen and other special effects that were impossible to make only a few years ago. The ways of filming and editing films have changed, too, with the introduction of digital film and film cameras, editing software, laptops, digital projectors, etc. Distributors market films using the latest software for designing high-concept film posters and trailers. They can use phone apps., online marketing, Twitter, etc. File-sharing and piracy are growing issues because the software exists to take the protective encryption of DVDs, etc and WEB 2.0 enables people to make and share copies of films easily. One way in which film companies are trying to get around this is by releasing films soon after theatrical release by selling them on video-on-demand, premium TV channels and downloads. US and UK cinemas chains are not happy about this, especially after all the investment some have made on digital equipment, projectors, etc. which unfortunately quickly goes very quickly out of date!

• the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences

This means the increase of something: i.e. digital cameras, software, CGI, 3D films, film genres, etc. which are part of current trends; how significant is this for See Saw Films or Film4? Or are they still able to be successful without it by making films with genres that do not need the latest breakthroughs in digital technology? Research the film company's use of cameras, special effects, software, posters, digital distribution of films, etc.

• the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences

This is a WEB 2.0 issue and how technology is coming together in hubs like laptops is one of the features of our age; the mobile phone in your pocket is a great example of technological convergence: it can do so much more than a simple phone call; think how this is affecting film making at the production, marketing and exhibition stages? The Internet is acting as a hub for many aspects of film: you will find film posters, YouTube videos on films, interviews, trailers, official film and blog websites, etc. on it.  Audiences can also remake their own films by creating extracts and running new scores over them and then posting them on YouTube. This often leads to answering videos, never mind the comments, etc. that people make  on such sites. The internet, film and videos games seems to be converging in so many ways. People can watch films in a range of ways, using an astonishing range of hardware and software. They can also find audiences of their own. This amounts to free publicity for film institutions for their films and "A Long Tail" sales into the future through endless exchange.

• the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions

"Slumdog Millionaire" was originally aimed at Asian audiences living in various parts of the UK and also at Danny Boyle fans. The film's unexpected success at film festivals and being nominated for the Oscars led to another theatrical release and a crossover from the "indy" art-house into the mainstream. British film makers often make social realism films and aim them at local and regional audiences whereas this would never be enough for the major media players who tend to make high budget, high concept films. They have boutique offshoots who make and often distribute lower budget films, aimed at more high brow audiences. Disney's Mirimax and Fox's Fox Searchlight are examples of such boutique, art-house film distribution.

• the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour
How you consume films whether it is as a social activity after visiting a shopping centre or on an MP4 player or Playstation, is what is at issue here. Visit Pearl and Dean to see how multiplex cinemas are adapting the experience of cinema-going to gain audiences. In an age of falling DVD sales, home cinema and an increase in downloading for both music and film audiences are changing in how they want to consume film. Identify trends and consider where the audience trends are going in the near future.

This unit should be approached through contemporary (up-to-date) examples in the form of case studies based upon one of the specified media areas.