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.

To further add to the freedom of control that conglomerates have over their products, they no longer have to worry about the thoughts and opinions of their audience. They no longer have loyalty to their audience because of the scale of their company. These conglomerates are at a stage where they no longer need to attract new audiences. Whatever they make will be a success, despite being a high quality product of a low quality product. For example, smaller institutions must ensure that their product meets the demands of their audience. If they do this, then the chances of their product being successful will be maximized. However, they cannot ignore what their audience wants like conglomerates can, because their reputation for high quality products will be a lot lower, meaning that if it looks bad, no one will watch/buy it.

Ex-Machina Review

Ex Machina Review by Anonymous auM8uA on Scribd

Ex-Machinima Research

Ex-Machinima Research

Producer(s):

Andrew MacDonald and Allon Reich (pictured above) were the producers both have previously worked on '28 Days Later' and 'The Sweeney'. Andrew was also a co-founder of DNA Studios with Duncan Kenworthy.

Director:

Alex Garland, this was his first time directing even though he has been involved in the film industry especially with DNA studios  

Distributor:

Universal Pictures

Cast:

Alicia Vikander as Ava
Domhnall Gleeson as Caleb Smith
Oscar Isaac as Nathan Bateman
Sonoya Mizuno as Kyoko

Budget:

$15 million

Locations:

Shot over four weeks at Pinewood Studios and two weeks at Juvet Landscape Hotel in Valldalen, Norway.

Technology:

15,000 mini-tungsten pea bulb lights were installed into the sets to avoid the fluorescent light often used in science fiction films. Alicia Vikander had to wear a body suit that was visually perfected in the editing department very similar to what The Force Awakens did with models, specificaly the scent where Po crashes the TIE-Fighter on Jakku, we saw the model of that in a model of sand, it was a pale whit colour with no colouration (similar to her suit) this was edited to look as it did in the movie. GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition Sony CineAlta F65, Cooke Xtal Express, Kowa Prominar and Angenieux Optimo Lenses Sony CineAlta PMW-F55, Cooke Xtal Express, Kowa Prominar and Angenieux Optimo Lenses
AXSM SRMemory Video (HD)

Dolby Digital
SDDS 
Datasat

Number of screens - opening weekend:

$5,349,500 (USA) (24 April 2015) (1,255 Screens)$250,000 (USA) (12 April 2015) (4 Screens)€251,000 (Italy) (3 August 2015)€38,500 (Netherlands) (3 May 2015) (8 Screens)$30,733 (Portugal) (23 April 2015) (22 Screens)

Number of screens - peak number:

$3,690 (USA) (30 August 2015) (5 Screens)$3,324 (USA) (23 August 2015) (4 Screens)$9,571 (USA) (2 August 2015) (17 Screens)$30,721 (USA) (19 July 2015) (31 Screens)$144,881 (USA) (21 June 2015) (124 Screens)$389,000 (USA) (7 June 2015) (302 Screens)$768,000 (USA) (31 May 2015) (506 Screens)$1,423,000 (USA) (24 May 2015) (896 Screens)$2,103,000 (USA) (17 May 2015) (1,718 Screens)$3,510,000 (USA) (10 May 2015) (2,004 Screens)$2,286,000 (USA) (3 May 2015) (1,279 Screens)$5,349,500 (USA) (26 April 2015) (1,255 Screens)$250,000 (USA) (12 April 2015) (4 Screens)€38,500 (Netherlands) (3 May 2015) (8 Screens)

Box Office:

$36.9 million

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Who Owns Lucasfilm: The largest film company in the world, Disney after buying it from George lucas.

Who Formed Lucasfilm: George Lucas who also started the star wars and Indiana Jones franchises.

What Year Was Lucasfilm Formed: Lucasfilm was founded in 1971, 45 years ago.

Who Is The President Of Lucasfilm: Kathleen Kennedy on October 30th, 2012 when Disney baught out Luasfilm. the reason Disney appointed Kathleen was because they wanted to make a new Star Wars film straight away and she had experience working on films such as that. the fact she had worked with Lucas before also helped in her claim to presidency.

What Other Major Films Have They Worked On: Every Indiana Jones, E. T.  the Extra-Terrestrial, Gremlins 1+2, Back to the Future 1+2+3, Twister, Jurassic Park 1+2+3 and Schindler's List.

How Much Was Lucasfilm Sold For: Disney paid $4 billion, similar to what they paid for marvel.

Who Wrote Star Wars: The Force Awakens: J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Arndt was originally meant to write the script but he would have taken too long so he was taken of writing duty.

Who Was The Director: The Director was J.J. Abrams who also wrote the film.

What Other Major Films Have They Been Involved In: Mission: Impossible III, Cloverfield, Star Trek, Super 8 and Star Trek Into Darkness.

How Many Star Wars Have There Been:
Original Trilogy
1. IV A New Hope (1977), Global Box Office: $786,598,007
2. V The Empire Strikes Back (1980, Global Box Office: $534,171,960
3. VI Return Of The Jedi (1983), Box Office: $572,705,079
Prequel Trilogy
1. I The Phantom Menace (1999), Global Box Office: $1,027,044,677
2. II Attack Of The Clones (2002), Global Box Office: $656,695,615
3. III Revenge Of The Sith (2005), Global Box Office: $848,998,877
Sequel Trilogy
1. VII The Force Awakens (2015), Global Box Office: $2,058,662,225

What Does ILM Stand For: Industrial Light & Magic .

What Does ILM Do, Who Created It, Why Did They Create It: an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded in May 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company, Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when Lucas began production of the film Star Wars. Lucas wanted his 1977 film Star Wars to include visual effects that had never been seen on film before.

What Do Casting Director Do: They cast actors for films plays or other forms of media.

Where Were The First Few Scenes Filmed: In the desert near Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).

What Format Was The Force Awakens Shot In: It Was Shot In Film.

What Types of Camera Were Used: Arri Alexa (aerial plates) IMAX MKIII, Hasselblad Lenses IMAX MSM 9802, Hasselblad Lenses Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2, Panavision Primo, Retro C-, E-Series, ATZ and AWZ2 Lenses

What Studio Was Used to Film A Larege Portion Of The Movie: The film was shot in pinewood, a famous studio that has been used to film the previous Star Wars movies.

Where Is The Studio: Pinewood Studios, Pinewood Road, Iver Heath SL0 0NH. 

What major franchise is famously filmed at this studio: James Bond

How does said franchise link to Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Daniel Craig has a part in both films (a very small one in star wars).

Who was the inspiration for the character Maz Kanata: Rose Gilbert 

What technology was used to create Maz Kanata: Motion Capture

Who played Maz Kanata & what other roles is she famous for: Lupita Nyong'o. she was in 12 years a slave playing Patsey.

Who played General Snoke: Andy Serkis

What is he renowned for in the movie business: Serkis is famous for his motion caption work, being the main man in the movie industry to do it. famous roles he has had in motion capture are Gollum in the Lord of the rings franchise and Caesar in planet of the apes.


Where was the final scene filmed:  Skellig Michael, an island off the coast of County Kerry, Ireland

Who composed the film score: John Williams

How many Star wars films has he composed the music for: All 7

What other famous films has he created the music for: The First 3 Harry Potter films, home alone 1+2, Jurassic park + The lost world and the Indiana Jones movies

How mant times did John Boyega audition for the film (according to JJ Abrams): seven months of auditions.

Over what period of time did these auditions occur: Casting began in earnest in January 2014, because of changes to the script by Kasdan and Abrams. Screen tests with actors continued until at least three weeks before the official announcement on April 29, 2014

How many people operated B-B8: For shooting, several BB-8 models were constructed. The most prominent was a puppet, controlled by puppeteers Dave Chapman and Brian Herring. In addition, there were several radio controlled units and some static prop versions. A full functioning, self-contained robotic unit was not practical for shooting, so most of the "walking" scenes were achieved by the puppet, with rods removed in post production. Later a self standing remote controlled unit was constructed and used at promotional events. 

What colour suit did the B-B8 operator wear: Green, so they could Edit out the person controlling it more easily.

How many people were behind the monitor watching the scene when Han and Chewie returned to the Millenium Falcon: "But then, as we finished the shot, what I didn’t realize until I turned around is that more than 200 people had quietly gathered behind my chair and were also watching the monitor."

Why was Simon Pegg thanked in the credits for Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Simon Pegg played Unkar Plutt (the character who traded food for parts on Jakku)

JJ Abrams shot part of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in IMAX. What is IMAX: "a technique of widescreen cinematography which produces an image approximately ten times larger than that from standard 35 mm film"

How many IMAX screens was The film available on: 15

What was the age rating of the film in the UK: 12A

How much money did the UK government contribute to the production of Star Wars: The Force Awakens: £31 Million

How much was Harrison Ford paid to reprise his role of Han Solo: It is believed to be around £16.7 million 

How much were Daisy Ridley and John Boyega paid: John Boyega and Daisy Ridley were paid in the low-six-figure range ($100k-$300k).

5x5

5x5 by Ben Freeman on Scribd

this is my first post