Audience and Institution Essay

Evaluate the impact of media ownership on the media texts which get produced.

In the film industry, media ownership plays a critical role in the production, marketing, and distribution processes. This is especially true for large corporations, such as disney, who have a network of cross-media platforms built around them, giving them control of all the processes needed to make and show their movies. 

Through synergy conglomerates are able to produce, market, and distribute the best film possible. This is empirically true as over three-quarters of the market-share in the film industry is owned by five major companies: disney, universal, paramount, warner bros., and columbia. All five of these companies operate within a network of other companies owned by their respective conglomerate. As a result these companies do far better in the film industry than smaller film studios who do not have direct access to the resources available to the big five. For example, Disney is a multi-media conglomerate which has been around since the 1920's and has extended its reach beyond film-making. It is vertically integrated, having control of a considerable number of procedures necessary to make and distribute its motion pictures at the highest level. 

This process begins with the production stage. Throughout production Walt Disney Pictures works alongside other subsidiaries who fall under the Walt Disney Studios conglomerate. For example, in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy Disney used synergy throughout the production process while working hand in hand with other Walt Disney Studios daughter companies such as Marvel Animation, Marvel Music, and Walt Disney Imagineering. This synergy makes it easier for conglomerates such as Disney to efficiently produce their film as they already have access to all of the necessary components for creating a film.

In the marketing stage the use of synergy only gains importance. During this part of the film-making process it is crucial that marketing is effectively done in order for the film to gain traction among its intended audience. As marketing increases so too does the consumers desire to watch that film when it is released. This kind of marketing was seen when Disney was preparing to release Beauty and the Beast. The stars of the film appeared on ABC’s ‘The Bachelor’ to promote the upcoming release of the movie. Moreover, a similar kind of promotion was seen in the marketing of Guardians of the Galaxy when a few of the main characters appeared in a super bowl commercial. Both of these examples are representative of the importance of synergy in the marketing of films as both drew in a larger audience by promoting their film during the exhibition of another piece of media. This is an effective marketing strategy as they are promoting their films at times when they know a large audience will be watching.

During the distribution stage synergy only gets more extensive. Once the film is released merchandise follows it and this too is handled by subsidiaries. This allows the parent company to not only make more money off of their film but they can also continue to draw viewers to watch their film. Additionally, during the distribution of the film the parent company uses the opportunity to market any other films which they are producing at the same time. Indeed, this was done when Beauty and the Beast was released in 2017. To build anticipation for the newest installment Disney aired the original movie on TV more often.

Media ownership has a major impact in the production, marketing, and distribution of a film as the parent company gives its subsidiaries a network of additional media platforms which are crucial in the filmmaking process. Having access to these subsidiaries gives corporations, such as Disney, an edge over smaller filmmaking studios who do not have immediate access to these resources.

Practice extract essay: Game of Thrones

Throughout the extract the director is trying to convey a theme of power. This is evident within the extract as the primary character, Stanis, is in search for gold to help him win a war. The director shows us, through the character's use of dialogue, that Stanis is likely driven strictly by greed which makes power his largest goal. This contributes to the overall theme of power present within the extract.

In the first scene the theme of power is demonstrated by the establishing shot of a large kingdom. This kingdom represents power which the ruler of the kingdom has. This image of a large kingdom becomes important later in the extract as it gives the audience greater insight into the decision made by the apparent ruler of the kingdom. This opening scene also shows how serious Stanis and the person accompanying him are about what they have traveled to this kingdom to do as they are both fixated on the large kingdom with serious facial expressions. On the other hand, while Stanis and his partner gaze at the kingdom the shot zooms out showing how small they are in the grand scheme of what is happening within the kingdom causing the audience to question whether Stanis will accomplish what he has set out to.

Between the first and second scenes there is a major gap in time which is demonstrated through the characters' dialogue in which they point out how they had been waiting all day. At this same time we can see the growing impatience Stanis has as a result of having to wait for his meeting. Stanis’s regard for time shows that he is under a lot of pressure to hurry up and finish what he came to do making it evident to the audience that this is a very serious situation. This idea is also shown through the dark lighting which made the dialogue seem far more dramatic. Once the wait is over and the meeting finally begins Stanis’s sense of urgency becomes more evident throughout the dialogue. Within this portion of the extract the characters purpose became uncovered as we find out that Stanis is in search of gold to help him fight a war to further his power. This is especially true when the audience learns that Stanis does not do a good job of taking care of his people showing that he does not want to win a war for his people but rather for his own personal gain.

The director does a good job of exemplifying a theme of power which Stanis is clearly trying to obtain more of. In the two scenes present within the extract the audience is able to gain a good understanding of what Stanis is ultimately trying to accomplish in this meeting.

Practice extract assignment: Game of Thrones

CCR

Movie

Music Video

Commercial

re-shoot blog

The time has come to start reshooting our film. This process has became difficult in our current state. Michael wanted to get it done ahead of time. Jontae wanted to just wait. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Edgardo was the deciding factor. He said we should wait and focus on putting our film together. The reshoot process was easier than I thought. The thing is I couldn’t meet up with my group because of the coronavirus. Covid-19 has forced my group and I to complete this project remotely. The thought process on how we were gonna do this was difficult. My group and I got on the phone and spoke to each other. Since Edgardo had the entire film, he was the one to do reshoot videos using what he had. I had Michael re-record parts of his house which was where we originally shot the film. Voice recordings was done as well. I was taking precautionary measures in this process. The world right now isn’t in a good place. Us leaving our house wouldn’t be a smart idea. Edgardo was the one responsible for the reshoot. The rest of the group critiqued everything. Overall our teamwork came through even in these difficult circumstances.

re-edit blog

Unfortunately, this event never occurred, due to Covid-19. We were never able to meet up and re-shoot therefore we could never re-edit. Although we did not re-shoot and collect new footage we worked with what we had. Due to the circumstances we had a feeling re-shooting would not occur. This did not stop us. With the footage we had, Edgardo went to work. He fixed all the parts that needed it. He would then send us the new film and we would give our thoughts. Lucky for us Edgardo is outstanding at editing. After a couple tries, he perfected it. My group and I were very pleased and impressed with Edgardo. He worked his magic once again. Working with the original footage and i-movie it was almost like we did not need to re-shoot in the first place. After he was done we all looked it over and Jontae critiqued it a little. We were now done and we finally could sit back and enjoy the film. It seems our journey together may be over with. Now that our film is complete nothing else is needed. I really wish we were still in school and all working together, but it is important that we take precautions. Anyways the film turned out better then I ever expected. My teammates and I did a great job, everyone contributed and played a role.

filming blog

Filming has been nonexistent since the pandemic. None of our parents would let us go to each others house. But we are always in contact with our group chat. Michael has been really on his A game with keeping us updated on what we have to do. We are glad that we did finish most of our film. It is very weird being out of school for so long because of a virus. We never went through something like this in our lifetime. No one would have ever expected to be staying inside for weeks. This has taken a toll on our film from being super perfect. All of the footage we have on Edgardo's iPad is all that we have. But we know he will fix all of the parts we need to. Covid-19 is the worst thing that could have happen to us before we even got a chance to re-shoot our film. With it being impossible to film we have to rely on all of those days we were working so hard to make this film. We are so well educated on how to edit and stuff. So, this pandemic has hurt us but did not damage us. This was a very difficult process since we can not leave our homes due to quarantining. Despite all of the tribulations, I can say we are pretty much done with our film. Our chemistry is very good since we did two prior projects with each other. My group mates and I were all looking forward to finishing our film, so we are very disappointed right now. I'm so proud of our group. Without all of us cooperating none of this would be possible.

editing blog

As the current state of the world is making it harder and harder for my group and I to complete our final task we are still working as hard as we can to produce the best film possible. We have made sure we stay in touch at a time when doing so is proving to be highly difficult. This is because none of our parents are letting us leave the house. As a result, we have not been able to reshoot any scenes which needed to be fixed. Despite this my group and I all agree that the film is coming out alright. Most of our scenes were already complete and the few that we needed to reshoot were short pieces of the film. Edgardo has continued to do a great job of editing our film. Edgardo's primary focus for all of our projects this year has been editing and he has done an amazing job doing it from home. Additionally, despite not being able to meet up my group and I have stayed in constant contact. This has been crucial for us as it has allowed us to keep making progress on our film. Luckily we already had experience coming into this project making this transition easier. If not for the two projects we had already completed my group mates and I would be nowhere near completing our project. We truly feel as if our skills in making/producing a film have improved greatly due to this class. Because of this we feel like we were prepared to handle this project from home during the covid-19 crisis. I am so excited that we've got our film almost complete. Although it's now not the final product, it is good. Overall the editing has been a large achievement and we could not have completed it without each other. We all did our parts and that's why it went so smooth.

editing blog

Although we aren’t all together we are still staying in touch. The Covid 19 has played a huge factor in this whole process. It is not as easy as it used to be. We usually plan and edit in class to get the very best video. Although we are still editing, giving insight is part of the reason we have had such great success. I miss my group and working with them. We still text and edit our video here and there. Hopefully this clears up so we can reshoot and make changes. This will be difficult due to the fact that we aren’t allowed to hangout. All of our parents are strict and not allowing us to meet up. We are all starting to stress due to the fact that our film needs some work. Edgardo is still editing perfecting anything and everything he can in case we don’t get to reshoot. He sends us the video in the group chat and asks what we think. Although it’s not the same as being in class together we still can give our opinions. Hopefully this will pass over and things can get back to normal. We are still ahead of the game but the clock is ticking. My team and I work great under pressure so I am not worried. With or without reshooting, Edgrado will find a way. With Jontae, Michael and I helping our film will turn out just fine. I can’t wait til we are finally done.

Filming blog

Filming together is the most fun I've had in a while. My group is so funny. The process of filming was overall great. The difference in this project is that we were all together. Throughout the process, Edgardo suggested that we took breaks. Michael loved the idea so Jontae and I agreed.  So in between filming scenes we stopped and got water and something to eat. It's like we bonded together. I played Michael in a game of basketball. Michael won, I was shocked. My parents are worried about this coronavirus. My mom was very hesitant of letting me go film and the same was true for many of my group mates. In all honesty, it's weird being away from school. It will become very difficult to get our filming done because all of us need parent permission. Now is the time for us to start implementing our scenes. I do not know how this is going to turn out. We have to socially distance ourselves and it is affecting our film schedule. In the mean time, finishing our film is the primary goal. I have my in my group to complete it. It will be a hard process though.

Editing blog

My group and I continued to complete the editing for our video. This process is and has been going very well. We feel as if our movie is truly coming together and will be very interesting when complete. For editing we continued using iMovie. We used this due to the fact we had a tough time using pinnacle studios and had a far simpler time using iMovie whilst we edited our video. Once more Edgardo led the manner, he is excellent at editing. He used his iPad and he worked his magic. We observed the shooting script and inserted the precise transitions in the right spots. This made the movie feel very clean due to us already understanding what transition we want and where we want them. While the editing has been going very smoothly, we have experienced one major road block. This is due to the Coronavirus which has put my group mates and I out of school. This has been especially difficult for my group and I as we still need to reshoot certain parts of our film. Despite this we feel that overall we are on top of the process. Having experience is a huge help. Fortunately, editing is my favorite part of the project and it is the easiest to do without the whole group being together. Although Edgardo did a lot of the work, I too edited a bit. Michael and Jontae gave us guidelines and have been the judges. Having them watch it over gave us a better set of eyes which helped us make the best the film. They discovered a few minor mistakes that were easy to fix. I am so excited that we've got our film almost complete. Although its now not the final product, it is actually good. Overall the editing has been a large achievement and we could not have completed it without each other. We all did our parts and that's why it went so smooth. Editing is getting much simpler and I enjoy it a lot. 

Editing blog

We finally started the editing process. This filming process went very well, it was a huge success. For editing we used iMovie. We used this because we had a difficult time editing using pinnacle studios and had a way easier time using iMovie when we edited our music video. Once again Edgardo led the way, he is very good at editing. He used his iPad and he worked his magic. We followed the shooting script and inserted the correct transitions in the right spot. This was very easy due to already knowing what transition we want and where we want it. Planning ahead was very smart and played a big role in why we had so much success. It went very smoothly, Edgardo was so impressive. Having experience was a big help, we are really starting to get the hang of editing. Editing is my favorite part of the project. Although Edgardo did a lot of the work, I too edited a bit. Michael and Jontae gave us tips and were the judges. Having them watch it over was huge, the extra set of eyes helped us perfect the film. They found a few minor mistakes that were easy to fix. I am so excited that we have our film. Although its not the final product, it is really good. Overall the editing process was a huge success and we couldn't have done it without each other. We all did our parts and that's why it went so smooth. Editing is getting much easier and I enjoy it a lot

Peer Review Blog

Posted below is my peer review sheet that I completed last class. My group and I watched and reviewed the film of another group in our class. While we all worked together to complete this assignment we all filled out our own paper. The things that I liked about the video my group and I reviewed was that the quality of the filming was very good. The lighting in the video was great.  Additionally, there was no glare and it was never too dark for us to see. Moreover, there was a good amount of different camera shots and angles which fit well into the film. I also thought that the acting in the video was good. It was easy to understand what was being said by the actors in the film and it was clear what they were doing when they were doing it. The film was also good in its use of the correct titles needed throughout the opening sequence. On the other hand, the film needed a few improvements. This is mostly because the film had no story. All we really see is a family in their car having a dialogue. It was u clear what they were doing or what was to come later in the movie. The other issue with this film was its length. The film was only a minute long which is too short. We need to have close to two minutes which means the film is only half way completed. However, this means there is still a lot of time for the story to develop which is probably why the story was so muddled.

Filming blog

We finally did it, we filmed. Today was the day the weather was beautiful and our schedules aligned. On Wednesday February 26th it was Michaels birthday so we were unable to film. Time was moving by very quick and I knew we had to film soon. Edgrado texted in the group chat and asked if Thursday worked for us, we all were free so it was perfect. I picked a camera up this morning and we were ready. After school got out we met at Michael's house and begun filming. It went really well, although we did not film the whole movie we got scenes 1-5 in. Filming went way better then I thought it was very smooth.

We took multiple shots to insure it was perfect. We did not finish the film because Jontae and I had to be home earlier then we expected. Although we did not finish filming we planned when we would. Sunday in the morning we all met up and finished filming the movie. So far the filming process has been very fun and not as difficult as I believed. I did a good job filming and using the camera. Jontae was great at making sure we are using the right angles and Edgardo was insuring we follow the story board. Our team work is outstanding, it is truly a team effort our communication was great throughout our first day of filming.

I am so excited to see what the final product looks like. Filming was great I’m so happy we were able to get that work completed. This means we are ready for what is to come when we peer review our films so far in class. Splitting it into two days was very smart instead of loading it all in one day, we now had the time to look at it and change a few things if we want. Over all filming was very successful, I am very excited to finish the editing process and see the final film.

filming blog

My group and I have still not begun the filming for our movie. This is because, as a group, my group mates and I have been busy and unable to film. During this week we all had other activities going on. For example, Wednesday was Michael's Birthday, and Jontae and Edgardo had basketball practice during the week. Additionally, I had to stay home and baby sit my baby brother while my mom worked. However, this weekend we will begin filming our movie. This is important because next class we will need some of our footage in order to participate in the peer review activity. We will exchange footage with another group and review their work as they do the same to ours.

Our filming will begin Sunday. This is the day that my group and I decided on as it is a day that works for all of us. We will be going to Michaels house to film a majority of our movie. In order to execute this plan we need to gather all of the required materials to film. All of the materials we need in order to film are available for us to check out to film out of school. This includes the camera, a tripod, and an SD card. We needed to do this as all of the filming for the movie needed to be done outside of school. I will most likely be responsible as I am going to focus primarily on filming. While I am filming my group mates will focus on acting.

Once we begin filming my main focus will be on operating the camera and tripod. This is similar to what I did during the commercial project and the music video and we felt it worked well both times. Therefore, since we remained in the same group we also decided to maintain our same general roles during the film making process. The only difference this time is that I will be in the film playing the small role of the cop. During the filming we will closely follow our storyboard which details exactly what will be going on when. Overall, I feel like my group and I have a good plan laid out for filming this weekend. Tomorrow in class this plan will be finalized and we will check out all of our materials to film and then it is time to execute.

Filming blog

Over the weekend I was not able to film preventing my group from beginning our movie. This is because on Thursday I left to go to a debate at Harvard in Boston. This meant that my group could not film. I am critical to the film making process as I am the person who handles the camera and tripod. Thus, absent my presence, filming was impossible. However, even if I was there my group mates were unavailable. On Sunday Michael and Jontae were free but Edgardo had a basketball game and a family outing. On Monday it was Michael's dads birthday so he was busy celebrating with him. I was still at Harvard for the weekend so i could not film. The weather was not great at all this weekend, so it wouldn't have worked out anyways. Although filming did not workout this weekend, we still have two more weekends to get it done. We will try to communicate better and plan out when and what time we will film. We will figure out what everyone has going on in order to pick the perfect date. Hopefully we have better luck this weekend with weather and get together and take care of business. I can not wait to film and begin the editing process. This film is going to be great.

                  

                             

Storyboard

In this blog we are drawing our storyboards. The storyboard is gonna show how each scene is gonna play out. The process of drawing was tough. Our hands started to get tired. We each rotated spots in drawing to give each other a break. It was also funny, we were making jokes about each other. Each of us has no drawing skills so we tried our best. The best drawer is Edgardo. We are numbering our storyboards to show which one is happening first. Our storyboard is 10 sheets long.