Industry & Audiences

 Media Industries & Audiences

Monday 4th November

LO: To explore the content of the unit

Comcast:

Worth 166.68 Billion USD

Owns:

Sky UK

Dreamworks

Universal Pictures

Sky News

Spectra

Cloo

Products:

Theme Parks

Broadband

Streaming Services

TV

Conglomerate

A conglomerate is a large corporation that includes many different businesses operating in different industries and sectors. These businesses are subsidiaries of the conglomerate and operate independently while still being owned by the parent company and benefiting from shared resources.

An example of a conglomerate is The Walt Disney Company, owning companies in all sorts of sectors, tech, theme parks, restaurants etc. Disney utilises diversification in business to become one of the biggest media entertainment companies in the world.

An example of this diversification is when Disney purchased Pixar and other companies like Marvel to expand its own expertise, brands etc.

Disney

Worth 173.76 Billion USD

There are 5 major industries Disney operates in:

Media Networks

Parks & Resorts

Studio Entertainment

Consumer Products

Interactive

Pixar- 7.4 Billion Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Cars

Lucasfilm- 4 Billion Star Wars

Marvel- 4 Billion Marvel Universe

20th Century Fox- 71.3 Billion 

Friday 8th November

Horizontal Integration- Buying other companies on the same level of the value chain that allow you to branch out into other industries (Films, books etc) and expand your companys operations.

Vertical Integration- Buying a company on a different level of the value chain, The goal being to own all methods of distribution (Production, Distribution, Exhibition) to improve efficiency, control costs etc.

Two common strategies used by companies to expand their operations and increase their market power.

Columbia Pictures- American film studio- Ghostbusters, Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia

Warner Bros- American Entertainment Company- Wizard Of Oz, Dark Knight trilogy

Universal Pictures- American Film Studio- ET, Jurassic Park,  Fast & The Furious

Paramount Pictures-  American Film Studio- The Godfather, The Titanic, Indiana Jones

Snow White & The Seven Dwarves

LO: To explore the set texts.

Major Technological Developments 1898-1915

Motion Picture Camera (Cinematograph)- Luminiere Brothers

Editing- Edit between scenes, Parellel storytelling etc.

Silent films- Orchestras actually on set

Manual painting of film to add colour

1930's Hollywood

Major film studios:

Warner Bros- The Jazz Singers, 

RKO- Notorious, 

Paramount-

Fox-

MGM- Gone with the wind, The Wizard Of Oz, The Good Earth

Universal- Frankenstein

Will H. Hays- Began regulation of film, introduced first rules and codes.

Film made on a very large scale, elaborate sets, 

Star Actors were under contract to only be in a specific companys films

Snow White Context

Large advances in film production

Regulation introduced

Monday 11th November 2024

Snow White & The Seven Dwarves

Main Characters

Snow White- Feminine, Innocent, Pure

Stepmother/Queen- Evil, jealous, Antagonist, 

Prince

Dwarves:

Doc

Dopey

Sleepy

Sneezy

Bashful

Grumpy

Happy

Narrative

Evil Stepmother

Innocent Snow White

Stepmother jealous, orders her to be killed

Sent to forest to be killed

Finds dwarves

befriends dwarves

is poisoned by queen

revived by true loves kiss

happily ever after

Representation

Gender- Sexism, snow white cleans, cooks, very hygienic . Dwarves go mining, dont usually wash etc. Very stereotypical and old fashioned gender stereotypes

Age- Snow white clearly fairly young, compared to much much older prince, far more acceptable premise at the time.

Themes

Love

Friendship

Nature

jealously

 

LO: To explore the context & influences in the 1930's

Making of the movie:

Merch available immedialtey

First movie to have soundtrack released on vinyl

Very risky, money was completely depleted

Several scenes and gags cut or shortened

Making of the film was a historic achievement

Production took 3 years to complete

Film employed large team of animators, artists technicians. Using a multi planed camera, created illusion of depth and movement.

Walt disney himself was heavily involved in production

Film premiered december 21st 1937, immediate critical and commercial success. Became highest grosing film of 1938

Today, wildly regarded as a classic, continues to be beloved.

Friday 22nd November 2024

German Expressionism

Major influence on visual style of snow white

Evil queen and castle- angular lines sharp angles, constrast, towering turrets, twisted architecture.

Also applies to snow white and dwarves, while the queen is beautiful and evil, dwarves such as grumpy are angry but kind.

WW1 caused creative developments to come to a standstill in france, germany and the UK

Government commonly controlled what films were released and what weren't

Germany has the only potential competition for hollywood

Established costume wearing

Weren't many independent production companys

Cabinet of Caligarry. Film that showed the realities of WW1 and the distrust of their leaders.

Technology used to create Snow White

Drawings on paper then quickly flipped through to create illusion of movement

Large team of staff

Composer on set to help visualise what music would sound like and what corresponding movements.

Animation paper, see through paper used to draw over previous drawing to move the animation along.

Mirror on desk used to see facial expressions example.

Each frame photographed individually by large specialised camera.

Animations pre watched in rough form to ensure quality of movement.

Colour applied manually to each frame.

Background and characters are separate, characters moved to different background. Characters placed on clear film so not visible.

Sound effects, obscure and random objects and instruments used to make different sounds.

Small Orchestra on set to record music.

American Mid-West

Walt Disneys upbringing in the american midwest significantly affected the themes and values in his productions and portrayal of an all american idealised vision of innocence and wholesomeness.

Disneys midwestern roots made him appreciative for family, community and hard work, shown through characters like snow white, cinderella. Very hard working and virtuous characters.

Disneys films also featured a nostalgic view of rural America with quaint settings and idyllic towns, this vision was popular with audiences as it offered an idyllic escape from WW2 and events such as the great depression.

Some state that Disneys representation of America was narrow and idealised and not accurate to real life. Despite these criticisms his films continued to be beloved, and his idyllic representations became his legacy.

Walt Disney

Known for being demanding and occasionally difficult to work with, but also had a clear appreciation for animation and creating entertaining and inspiring films.

Heavily involved in the creative production of his films and would closely supervise the animation, giving instructions and feedback on their work.

Still recognised the importance of his employees and was known for organising several company events and outings, offering profit sharing and pension plans.

Disney also encouraged his employees to explore their own interests, resulting in formation of a group called the "nine old men" who were group of Disney's animators that were given freedom to create and experiment in their work.

Despite his reputation as a demanding and difficult boss, his employees remained fiercely loyal, respecting his passion for creating entertainment and animation.

What Influenced The Production Of Snow White & The Seven Dwarves?

Walt Disney-

Walt Disney was extremely ambitious and passionate about creating animation and entertaining films, having only done very short films and cartoons, a full length film would be an incredible milestone in animation history, Walt Disney additionally enjoyed attention so being the first ever to create a full feature length animated film would make him incredibly famous. His passion for the art and desire for fame influenced him to create snow white.

Money-

Being the first ever full length animated film, it had incredible potential to generate an enormous profit, while not being the most prioritised reason, the idea of a large profit helped motivate the production of the film.

Animation-

Animation had become an increasingly popular art form and was enjoyed thoroughly by the vast majority of people, this caused the production of animation to be refined and enhanced, new animation techniques, independant companies etc. Tech such as the multiplane camera, technicolour and advances in sound and music on recording were developed and available. So pushing the limits of technology and proving that much larger productions could be made would help push the technology and animation as a whole to become more advanced and developed, and it did.

Fairy Tales-

Fairy Tale books were exceedingly popular, their fierce popularity influenced the idea of creating an animation following a similar storyline and theme. Princesses, Castles, Magic, Princes, Witches etc were very popular ideas and an animated fairy tale would surely be succesful.

WW2-

The occurrence of WW2 stunted and stopped animation in many different places, this meant that there was a sort of pent up creativity where animators such as Walt Disney couldn't do what they loved, meaning that when the war ended and they were free to create again, there was lots of enthusiasm and energy for creating a much larger project. Such a positive and incredible production could also create an escape and distraction for people still suffering from the effects of the war.

Monday 25th November 2024

The Golden Age

LO: To explore cinema in the 1930s

Special cinemas built that were "movie palaces" built for the wealthy higher class. Featured elaborate architecture, plush seating, air conditioning etc.

Common for cinema to show 2 features for the price of one, know as a double feature.

Before main feature films, cinemas showed cartoons and newsreels instead of adverts like modern day cinemas.

During longer films, cinemas would often have intermissions halfway through to allow audiences to stretch their legs, go to the restroom, buy refreshments etc.

Some films were edited or outright banned if deemed inappropriate or offensive by government bodies.

Cinemas in the 1930's were a massively popular form of entertainment enjoyed by all classes, allowing people to escape from their everyday lives.

Exhibition

LO: To explore Disneys exhibition strategy

Why was Snow White a success

Innovation- 

First full length feature films

Significant technologiical and artistic achievement.

Storytelling-

Engaging and accessible to all ages

Well known fairy tale

Characters charming and likeable.

Music-

Memorable songs that become popular hits

Marketing-

Extensive & Effective

Variety of promotional techniques

Reception-

Well received by critics

Positive word of mouth generated interest for public.

Overall, it was a success with all audiences in 1937 because it was groundbreaking, entertaining and well marketed film, captured peoples imagination of audiences around the globe.

Marketing:

Kay Kamen started an extensive marketing a year before that had merchandise on the shelf months before the films release.

Painted figures were already popular due to other famous productions like mickey mouse.

This got Disney's version of snow white into people homes well before the film released.

Lego Sets

Clothes

Toys

Decorations

Synergy-

Disney & Mcdonalds have a long standing partnership that has been beneficial for both companies. 

Soundtrack-

Several soundtrack releases

Original released in 1938

In 1987 Disney released a new soundtrack, remastered version 

Legacy Collection Soundtrack-

Special edition Snow White, remastered again

Released on vinyl several times throughout the years.

Rerelease Strategy

1944- Morale in WW1, release film to new generation

1952- Double feature with alice in wonderland

1967- 30th Anniversary celebration

1983- Double feature with Mickeys christmas carol

1993- 56th Anniversary

2016- 79th Anniversary 

Home Release

1994- VHS

2001- DVD

2009- Blu-Ray

Digital

4K Ultra HD- 2019

Monday 9th December 2024

Shang-Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings

LO: To explore the set texts

Blockbuster-

Highly succesful & popular

Large budget

High production values

Well known actors & directors

Strong marketing campaign

Star wars, Marvel, Harry Potter, Titanic etc

 Legacy Character-

Character whos identity is passed down from an older character in the form of title, job or persona for the new character to assume.

Shang Chi-

Origin story

Characters-

Wenwu

Shang Chi/Shaun

Katie

Narrative-

Themes-

Family- Similar to Disneys passion and strong belief in family, family is a central and important theme.

Asian Culture- Far more diversity and difference from snow white. Any non white representation is an evolution and subversion of stereotypical ideologies and progressive mindset.

Gender- Lots of female empowerment and direct comments on inequality and how bad it is. Female characters very skilled at fighting, winning fights against men, on same level as men etc.

Mythology-

Representation-

Asian characters & Heritage- Diversity

Gender equality- supported and subverted. Supported by positive representation of women, slight support of gender stereotypes. female love interest, feminine clothing and behaviour at times, gentler fighting style?. Compared to men who have very violent and aggressive fighting styles and behaviours.

Changes in film industry-

Massive evolution in technology, CGI etc

Different type of film, live action instead of animation

Film industry now more progressive