Sunday 27 November 2016

Media Ownership

Media ownership has a huge impact on the availability of the products that are able to be made. Huge conglomerates such as Disney horizontally integrate, meaning that when they synergise across other sectors such as TV, publishing and games, they work with companies and institutions that they already own or have created. They earn the name ‘conglomerate’ by having these subsidiary companies within themselves. This means that all profit made across the sectors, stays within the conglomerate, being Disney. The domination of a conglomerate has a huge effect on smaller media institutions. Smaller media institutions have little media ownership. Little media ownership may cause losses in their overall profit. This is due to the fact that for them to synergise to other sectors, they must work with other, separate companies and institutions, that specialize in that particular area. Doing this causes the company to share out its profit to any companies that have helped.

The ease to which a conglomerate can offer new products is great. The parent company can decide what products they want, and can use their subsidiary companies to create it. An example of this would be Disney wanting a TV show to be broadcast on The Disney Channel. Whatever this new show is, Disney will have full influence on its outcome. Smaller companies will have greater difficulty doing this as the reality of converging with another company is not guaranteed. Even if successful, part of the control of the product goes to this external company, influencing the final outcome. Media conglomerates will have full control of their products and how it turns out. The subsidiary companies are under control of their parent company.

Tuesday 22 November 2016

Ex Machina Research


  • Producer- Andrew MacDonald, Allow Reich 
  • Director- Alex Garland
  • Distributor- Universal pictures 
  • Cast- Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac 
  • Budget- $15,000,000 (million) 
  • Locations- Norway,Bloomberg offices, pinewood studios and UK 
  • Technology- 
  • Number of screen (opening weekend)-1,255 screens
  • Number of screens (peak number)- 
  • Box office figures- $33 million worldwide

Thursday 10 November 2016

Major Film Studios
A major film studio is a film producer and production company that releases a substantial number of films annually.The Big Six film studios are:1. Warner Bros. Pictures. Comprising a whopping 19.7 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Warner Bros. Pictures is the biggest player in the film industry. Securing the rights to major films like Harry Potter, Superman, Batman, The Matrix and Star Wars have made Warner Bros. the No. 1 name in the business.2. Paramount Pictures. With 15.5 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Paramount Pictures continues to be one of the most successful film production companies in the world. Star Trek, War of the Worlds, the Mission Impossible series, Transformers and Tropic Thunder are just a few of the popular films produced by Paramount Pictures.3. Walt Disney. One of the most renowned film production companies in the history of the business, Walt Disney now holds 15.3 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures). With highly successful movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure, Meet the Robinsons and Enchanted, there's no doubt that Disney will continue to play a key role in the industry for years to come.4. Columbia Pictures. Comprising 12.9 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Columbia Pictures remains a big player in the business. Some of this company's recent successes include Casino Royale, The Da Vinci Code, the Spider-Man series and Step Brothers.5. Universal Studios. 12.2 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures) belongs to Universal Studios, which continues to make millions for the film industry. With major hits like the Bourne series (Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum), The American Pie series, Knocked Up, American Gangster and The Incredible Hulk, it's very clear that Universal Studios knows what it takes to make money in this industry.6. 20th Century Fox. Also known as "Twentieth Century Fox," this highly successful movie production company makes up 11.9 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures). Some of the biggest and most successful movies from this empire include the X-Men series, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Star Wars Episodes II and III, and the Fantastic Four.Roughly 9/10 films in the UK are seen as a result of these distributors

Wednesday 9 November 2016

Ex machina Review



Ex Machina is a psychological thriller in which A young programmer Caleb Smith (Domnhall Gleeson) is selected to participate in a ground-breaking experiment in synthetic intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a breath-taking humanoid A.I Ava (Alicia Vikander). built by millionaire Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac), personally i believe that this is one of the best films of 2015 despite it only having a budget of around $15 million, as an audience we are plunged into a pit of horror inhumanity and questionable ethics, all to have our eyes opened at the finale of the film rally questioning everything we thought we knew about the future its truly 'the work of gods'.

After serious consideration i believe my favorite character in this film has to be Oscar Isaac's depiction of millionaire Nathan Bateman, Oscar Isaac was successful in truly bringing depth to this role and showing the many faces of Nathan. Oscar Isaac also had to work extremely hard to get him self into the physical condition to play this role by gaining a lot of weight in the form of muscle it really shows the dedication to the character Oscar Isaac possess.

The use of nudity has become controversial with many critics saying its simply not needed and its only there to appeal to the male eye and get some easy publicity, however i believe that it really showed the life style of Nathan and that it only added to the portrayal of the character showing his true colors.

Overall Ex Machina is a stellar film and has thoroughly earned its place at the adult table, the final twist to this film has to be one of my favorite modern day twists and will hold its place in history and who knows maybe it will become a reality in the not so distant future. I give it a 8/10 and its highly recommended!


Sunday 25 September 2016

Ethnicity on TV: Hotel Babylon


I can easily identify what ethnicities people are due to the glaringly obvious stereotypes such as the arguing Russians being loud and obnoxious showing a clear generalisation of how everyone in their select country act and behave.
This shot is a handheld pan where the director is trying to show us the entire room and allow us to see the resoulution to the prior problem.


Here ethnicity is clearly represented with the two tall powerful looking white men overlooking the weak buckled over black man oviously being shown as inferior.
This shot is a long medium and uses a wide angled sense making the speed of the men seem faster and the corridor seem longer.

He senses the presence of the passing white men showing that they have power just by entering a the hotel.
Reaction shot is always used to draw away from the main focus of the scene to show a reaction which in this case is the immigration control walking into the hotel.

Wednesday 14 September 2016

Star Wars: Force Awakens Reaserch


Star Wars: The Force Awakens was produced by Bad Robot and Lucasfilm, Lucasfilm have done all the prior 6 Star Wars films also other films such as Land Before Time and Indiana Jones. Bad Robot have produced Cloverfeild and Star Trek.
 directed by J.J Abrams and screen written by Lawrance Kasdan, J.J Abrams Michael Arndt. Some of J.J Abrams other work consists of lost and super 8.
 the lead actors consist of John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Mark hammill, Harrison Ford, Gwendoline Christie. this list of actors is quite a famous one with the return of Mark hammill and Harrison Ford from the originals however Daisy Ridley and John Boyega have only starred in minor things such as Attack The Block and Lifesaver.
The budget for the film was $306 million and it made in the box office $2.068 billion and almost beating avatar in the most grossing film of all time.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens as a multitude of filming locations including Ireland, Iceland, England, Scotland, Abu Dhabi, New Mexico and finally California. a large amount of filming can ramp up the price of production as you have to fly everyone over to the specific place and film also it could add time to production as it might not be the right season if you are filming outside also its reliant on weather conditions.


Monday 12 September 2016



Roles in film production




Development 
This is simply the process of 'finding' a story. Ideas for films come from a variety of sources, they can range from novels, real life events to computer game adaptations. Once you've got an idea you'll need someone to write a pitch for you which you take to a film producer in an attempt to get some funding to make your film. Even at this very early stage you need a very clear idea of who you're aiming you film at so you can include elements that will appeal to them.

Pre-production 
Once you've got funding you establish your budget and can begin to get a film crew together, you can storyboard the script. You also need break the script down into individual scenes and identify all the locations, props, cast members, costumes, special effects and visual effects needed.

Production
This is simply the process of 'making' the film. Provided you've done your job properly in the pre-production stage making the film should be straight forward. 'Film' is very expensive and difficult to store so an increasing number of film makers are using digital cameras to save money.



Post-production
During this stage you take all the 'film' you've shot and give it to a film editor. They will then begin putting it together. Special effects will be added, a soundtrack will be added, any missing dialogue will be re-recorded and added resulting in a 'rough cut'. This will be shown to the director and a test audience who will offer feedback. Often this causes scenes to be filmed and added or removed.

Writer
The writer is responsible for writing the script once that is handed over that is the end of there creative involvement, the producer can always ask for re writes if they think the script is not up to the level it should be this happens quite a lot in hollywood as it can be quite fickle.

Producer
The producer is essentially in charge over everything during the film making process, they are responsible for all the hiring and other things to do with the production like cameras, locations, props this is possibly one of the most important jobs during the film making process.






Casting director
Organize and facilitate the casting of all of the actors and stars of the film they work closely with the producer and director to make sure everyone is getting what they want and no one in the cast is okay.

Director
The director is responsible for making the script come to life though the camera and are basically in charge of all creative decisions within the filming and creation of a film they can make changes to the script to suit there own personal vision they will storyboard the whole thing and chose shots locations and outfits.   

Film finance
They are there to make sure that the budget isn't busted and that there is enough money to go around eg paying actors paying for food and props everything that has to be purchased will go though them.

Camera operator
Making sure that the shots within a film suit the ideals of the director this person literally operates the camera.

Editor
Making sure that the final version of the film is ready for cinemas the producing companies will also have an input here making sure that the film isn't to gory or too ridiculous for example.

Production designer
they are responsible for making all the sets and making sure they look how they should eg a western set would include as a bare minimum tumble weeds and open sandy backdrops  

Marketing
Making sure that the film is marketed properly eg the trailers are representative of the pace or theme of the film also that lots of people know about it this is where most of the budget would go as they have to market to the whole world.

Exhibition
its the people who distribute the film to cinemas, the person in charge of this must make sure that the cinemas sell the experience to the viewers

Friday 9 September 2016


Find your tribe


Today i took a find your tribe test on the official channel 4 website i managed to receive the results of
creative, trakkie, maker.
Personally I do not agree with these results as I am not creative in anyway shape or form I do believe that I have the capabilities to be creative however this is stunted by my extreme lack of drive or any form of will I have left in my body.
one of the other tribes I was added to was trakkie however I would like to stress how much I hate the trakkie/chav culture as it is utterly repulsive in every way.
Finally I was given the tag maker, this I can't relate with too much either as I feel I do not consciously act in this way, however feel free to check out my Instagram @newark_jamie


within media I don't believe that i am like one person in particular as I don't overly idolise or strive to be similar to anyone one person I almost see myself as just a ball of stuff rolling down a hill picking up any influence i can stealing ideas from everywhere any anywhere shameless jumping in blindly and pulling myself out with what ever sticks to me I keep it becomes me, this behaviour means that I can be easily manipulated however im powerless to stop it or myself, insecurities masked by joke and a fake smile.
as far as fashion sense goes its really anything im not too self-conscious to wear so big shirts loud colours ripped jeans vans typical stuff, mostly I don't like to make a scene at all but I love my style of sticking out, recently I've been looking indo more naturalistic outfits like Baja hoodies for example.

In my opinion i believe that everyone knows who they are and if not who they are then who they want to be and someone should never be told what they have to be or what they have to conform to never should someone feel pressured to be anything they don't want but the path to self discovery is a long one and is met with insane difficulty but its one that we all must take.

Thursday 8 September 2016

Mise en scene


Analysing the mise en scene in the movie FRANK.
This frame is from the movie Frank clearly you can see here that the use of low key lighting makes it feel mysterious and makes the viewer question the whole scene. the focus in on Frank the use of depth of field and the way he is positioned center frame shows that our attention should be 100% on him. the use of the trees surrounding him being so stationary is supposed to show calm and the camera angle is still and very precise nothing is moving as if time has stood still. Franks body language is very closed off and tangled up this could be to represent his thoughts all wrapped up and confusing so many things at once causing an overload. Franks clothing is blue this colour is widely associated with deeper thoughts and sadness it could also be represntitive of his sadness. Part of Franks costume is his mask and is reflective of how he wishes to stay anonymous and could be viewed as an insecurity.

Tuesday 6 September 2016

My 5x5


Albums/EP’s

Modern baseball-holy ghost they are a more accurate representation of the pop punk, indie pop/rock genre.


 Death grips-no love deep web the 2013 the hip hop group death grips lead by the ever illusive mc ride is a well needed hype to my melodic collection.


American football-self titled American football the amazing album all about leaving for university my person prefer over mineral .


Snowing-fuck your emotional bullshit is the most recent album from snowing and there last since there breakup a great way to end things on a high note.


Mac de Marco-salad days the most popular album from mac and my favourite album too its soothing and somewhat uplifting.


Crywank-don’t piss on me im already dead the most recent Crywank album and one of the most upbeat and generally loud however the new rendition of their song love seems to bring it down however it is still a very good album.



Tv Shows


It’s always sunny in Philadelphia-is my all-time favourite tv show its constant jokes and ever evolving story really makes the world pop and feel realistic.


Game of thrones-an amazing tv show with a vast and creative world it holds many titles from its production and has plans to continue its story.


Arrested development-somewhat slow to begin however my love for Michael Cera overrules any bad acting or cheep jokes.


Peaky blinders-set in the early 1900’s a gruelling crime drama about a family syndicate expanding there empire, personally i have begun to loose interest in the show as i believe that at season 3 it became a chore to watch.


Ru Paul’s drag race-the reality competition tv show pitting contestants against each other to become the best queen a bit of mindless fun that doesn’t need to be taken too seriously.



Movies im interested in seeing


Don’t breathe- one of the latest horror movies to be released and is loved by critics from the director of evil dead, another horror about stupid teens.


Hush-Is quite the opposite to don’t breathe as it is about a woman who is deaf since a teenager and engages in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a serial killer who has broken into her house.


Suicide squad-despite all the harsh reviews and cautionary tales about this movie the concept is a fun one, although I would never pay a great deal of money to see it I would still like a mindless hour and a half of explosions and Margo Robbie's depiction of Harley Quinn.


Rouge one (Star Wars)-would be the newest in the line of Star Wars movies and is looking up after the recent success of force awakens it has a n amazing company behind it and a load of money.


Sausage party-now my motivations for wanting to see this one are different I want to hate this movie so bad but im a sucker for animated movies I can’t get enough of them, I hate the idea of talking food and the fact that it is r rated I find it not needed to make a good film it only limits the audience that can go see it however Seth Rogan has never given me a reason to dislike him in the past so I want to give the movie an honest shot.


All-time favourite song quotes



‘desperate a praying atheist’-Crywank


‘put me in a hospital lock me up, throw out the key’-Cage The Elephant


‘Rather die than be dying’-Modern Baseball


‘I feel like the sea cause no one’s waving at me’-Car Seat Headrest


‘Love just like a flower when that flower dies you’ve got to say goodbye’-Mac De Marco


favourite album/Ep arts


Snowing-I could do anything I want if I wanted to
 Image result for i could do anything i want if i wamnted to snowing


Crywank-tomorrow is nearly yesterday and every day is stupid

Image result for shameless valentines money grab

Car Seat Headrest-Teens of denial
Image result for car seat headrest teens of denial
Modern Baseball-Sports
 Image result for modern baseball album
Weezer-blue album
Image result for weezer