Week 5: Tuesday August 25th (A & I's - DISTRIBUTION)

 Hi guys,

We are going to move into Institutions and Audiences today!

Remember, you can get a question on ANY 2 of the following topics and you will answer 1 question;

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

 (the Big 5, big budget films vs. smaller indi films, Hollywood bowing to China censorship demands, 

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

(technological impact on ability to have cross media convergence, ownership and how big corporates own companies through horizontal / vertical integration = benefit, 

3. The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and at the point of consumption 

 (Side by Side doco on most recent move from film to digital, case study examples of all technologies used)

4. Proliferation of hardware & software / the significance of the spread of such technologies for institutions and audiences

 (linked to the above - how does this change in technology affect / impact big budget Hollywood vs. Indi filmmakers in processes of filmmaking, how does it impact audiences - more choice (market saturated etc))

5. Audience - the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends in audience behaviour(trends, Gen X, Y & Z / i-gen's, technological factors that influence trends (Netflix & decline in cinema numbers, what types of films are people watching and HOW (consumption))

6. the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences

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

ACTIVITY #1

Click here to read the article on DISTRIBUTION (The Art Of the Deal) and then answer the following questions;

1. What are the two different financial models that distribution agreements are based on?

2. Describe what they both entail.

3. What are ancillary rights?

4. What is the definition of the film's 'opening' and what factors are taken into account when making decisions about a film's opening? 

5. What does it mean if a film has 'legs'? What factors might determine this? 

6. At the time of this article, how many theatres were there across USA and where are they mostly located?

7. What role does a 'buyer' play and what are some of the terms they negotiate?

8. What are the 2 ways a theatre may release a movie? Explain how they work.

9. What is meant by a 'loss leader'? 

ACTIVITY #2

Go to your case study notes on the 4 films you looked up information for. Check what information you have about your film's ditribution process.

- who distributed the films?

- how were they distributed?

- Where were they released and when?

- What type of release did they have?