REVISION INFORMATION (AUD & INST)

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (the 7th instalment)

DIRECTOR: J.J Abrams

PRODUCER(s): ^^ Kathleen Kennedy, Bryan Burk

DISTRIBUTOR: Walt Disney Pictures

BUDGET: $306 mil (gross) $245 mil (net: when the taxes are taken off)

BOX OFFICE: $2.066 BIL

LOCATIONS: Pinewood Studios UK, Abu Dhabi as well as the UK, New Mexico USA, California and Iceland

SCREENS SHOWING ON OPENING WEEKEND: 4000+ USA

BRITISH?: YES

TECHNOLOGY:
Roger Guyett, a VFX supervisor said in the interview. "I work in this business and I'm shocked at how much we were able to just blur the line between the reality of shooting something and the stuff that we [added] later."

Kylo Ren exiting the ship with Stormtroopers

The ship and background were added digitally, but the sound stage featured both sound and exhaust from the ship

One of the aliens (actress Lupita Nyong'o) performed on set while wearing a suit designed to capture her movements and facial expressions.

"We used a lot of different techniques to allow her to play her part on set and interact with all the actors," Guyett said.

Similar to Jakku, Ridley actually scaled a large-scale replica of part of the First Order base.

The hangar (belonging to the First Order) was a mix of green screen and physical elements, with the TIE fighters (spaceships) and view of space added digitally.

Luke has a green screen glove which can be replaced with a prosthetic arm

The film was shot on Kodak film and with IMAX cameras

Shown in 2D 3D and Blu Ray
The film was shot on film so that elements of authenticity and tangibility are shown. 
Movies that use it benefit from its boutique, nostalgic visual quality, thus gaining a subtle yet distinct look. Johnson’s desire to stick with film most likely stems from his negative attitude toward CGI-overkill and digitally-dependent movies.

CAST:

Daisy Ridley

John Boega

Harrison Ford

Adam Driver

Oscar Isaac

Carrie Fisher

Mark Hamill

Domhnall Gleeson

Gwendoline Christie 

1) the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;

The Star Wars franchise was originally a part of Lucasfilms and then Lucasfilms sold the franchise to Disney so that more films could be guaranteed in the series as well as broadening the synergy of the film eg. merchandise. Star Wars have an array of video games for XBOX, PlayStation, Nintendo and PC; Angry Birds also released a Star Wars version of their game. 

2) the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was long awaited and with it being the 7th installment it was an exciting event for the fans. High street clothing stores sell merchandise such as tshirts, bags, socks etc as well as there being stalls at Comicon.

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

The films are available on BluRay and DVD as well as being able to be streamed online. Soundtracks to the films are also available and you can download Darth Vader and Yoda voices for your SatNav.

4) the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences;

Star wars uses new technology for their VFX (eg. CGI) and the films are available in 3D and IMAX

5) the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences;

Star Wars released multiple trailers online and many adverts were shown for it - especially on Disney Channel due to Disney's ownership over the franchise.

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

Star Wars - The Clone Wars on cartoon network to target younger audiences. The film was translated into other languages and showed subtitles for non- English speaking audiences 

7) the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour.

Star Wars dominated the Christmas period and saturated the screenings. Everyone was Star Wars mad. Also, people fell in love with BB8 and sales for BB8 toys went through the roof.

EX MACHINA:

DIRECTOR: Alex Garland

PRODUCER: DNA Films and FilmFour

DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures

BUDGET: $15 mil

LOCATIONS: Pinewood Studios for 4 weeks, 2 weeks in Norway

TECHNOLOGY: Rotoscoping for AVA (cheaper than CGI) Sony F65 camera

SCREENS (OPENING WKND): 4

SCREENS (AT PEAK): 2004

BOX OFFICE: $36.9 mil

BRITISH?: YES

CAST: Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander and Oscar Isaac

1)the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;

Challenged traditional ways of marketing (viral)

2)the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

two film companies coming together to create a bigger film

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

Rotoscoping, Tinder, Instagram

4)the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences;

3D not as popular, not needed for this particular film

5)the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences;

Piggybacked Avengers

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

Film buffs, SXSW - spread by word of mouth, doesn't fit the quadrant

7)the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour.

Streaming, intimate films, home watching.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

DIRECTOR: George Miller

PRODUCER: Doug Mitchell

DISTRIBUTOR: WARNER BROS

BUDGET: $150mil

LOCATIONS: Namibia. 

TECHNOLOGY: iPhone 6 slow mo camera, edge arm, greenscreen, polecats, Arri Alexa camras and Canons for the crash scenes

SCREENS (OPENING WKND): 12,000 in 48 countries, 3,702 USA

SCREENS (PEAK): 16,900

BOX OFFICE: Weekend $109 mil, total $375.8 mil

BRITISH?: YES

CAST: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult

1)the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;

No script in prep for shooting, only storyboards. Miller had a 12 month delay so he could work on Happy Feet 2

2)the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

Video game of mad max, $7 mil on tv adverts. promoted at the NBA playoffs and on MTV/Comedy central 

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

Edge arm was used to film the moving sequences, the slow mo camera for the guitar. Digital distribution 

4) the significance of the increasing amount in hardware and content for institutions and audiences;

Action films are the most successful (blockbusters). Films like that benefit from cinemas because of the sound systems and big screen

5) the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences;

the 4th installment, Japanese trailer as well as English 

6) the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by 

international or global institutions;

had a rep to live up to, no Mel Gibson

7) the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour.

Mad Max: Fury Road was very popular and was shown on many screens. Not much merchandise.