Homework

In this clip ethnicity is represented through camera shots, sound, mise en scene and editing.

The mise en scene represents a contrast between the ethnicity of the chefs through the clothes that they are wearing. All of the English chefs are wearing the white traditional chef costume where as the other ethnics are dressed in a a black chef costume. Therefore this is suggesting that there is some sort of rivalry between the different ethnicity with the kitchen.

 Also at the beginning of the clip, the fact that the two men have the same colour skin suggests that they are of the same ethnicity. We can tell that Ben is shocked to see Tel by this body language and his facial expression, he also looks around to see if anyone is around as he doesn't want anyone to see him have this conversation.

Ethnicity can also be shown through sound such as dialogue. The two men at the beginning are talking about each others appearance which suggests that appearance is a important factor due to their ethnicity.Also Tel uses words such as 'bro', 'blood' and 'ganja' we is associated with a west Indian background. Tel seems to have a stronger regional accent compared to Ben who would appear to be more English. Over all we can tell that Tel has kept his ethnicity where as Ben has changed it to be appropriate for the environment that he is working in. The two women cleaners are shown to be of the same ethnic group due to them having the same accent. The fact that they are both cleaners could be suggesting that to be cleaner, it is a normal job within their ethnic group. Also the fact that they are cleaners is portraying them to be not well educated otherwise they would have a better job than a cleaner.

In a long shot, you establish the two women cleaners. This is shown by the uniform that they are wearing, However they begin to strip which obviously is not what they are meant to be doing. we see a shot of one of the cleaners face looking at the money which the man has left. This is portraying that money is more important to her than her having self respect.Also in this scene , a Chinese man is sitting on the bed, which then leads to a close up of his money which is going to pay the maids to strip with. This is representing people of a Chinese ethnicity to be wealthy enough to spend there money on what they want.

 Through a over the shoulder shot during the conversation between Ben and Tel, we are able to establish that Ben is feeling uncomfortable due to his facial expression. Also in these shot we can see that Tel that dread locks which is a stereotypical west Indian hair style, in contrast to this Ben has a a closely cropped hair style which could be seen to more 'English' rather than West Indian. When Tel mention the past, we can see from a close up shot that he uncomfortable or embarrassed about his past and would rather not talk about it.

Ethnicity can also be shown through editing, there are several eye line matches and action matches throughout the clip. One action match is when we see the Italian chef take out a knife and then we we see both chefs look down at the knife which is representing neither of there ethnic groups to be the better chef. Also there are continuous eye line matches between Ben and Tel as Tel is trying to persuade Ben up have a party like the old days 

Homework- 13th Feb

“Successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution to a specific audience as they do upon good production practices.” To what extent would you agree with this statement, within the film area.

 You may make reference to other areas in your answer. • Film • Music • Newspapers • Radio • Magazines • Video games.

Within the film industry the importance of marketing and distribution paired with good production practices are vastly recognized and appreciated. We can witness first-hand in the film industry how production and distribution can influence a film's success, and the link between which is more important can sometimes vary from film to film. We can see, however, that both are extremely important factors for companies to take into account when trying to create a popular film.

An example of a large film company is Disney; Disney's marketing and distribution skills are incredibly vast and play a key role in contributing to the success of their films. Disney was founded in 1923 and since has produced over 158 feature films. The company grew into a popular household name when it released its first animated classics such as the Lion King and Robin Hood. These films became timeless and as the target audience is young, the stories were suitable for children across the world, Disney's 'Robin Hood' was translated into over sixteen different languages, a clear example of how wide Disney's distribution tactics have stretched.

Disney also uses a wide variety of Horizontal and Vertical marketing to ensure wide distribution of its productions. By owning their own studios, record labels, shops, clothing brands, radio stations and TV channel, Disney have a wide scope to advertise with as they own these companies, they are able to distribute through them with ease. An example of this is Disney's High School Musical, which was premiered on the Disney Channel and had its own soundtrack released. Disney also use a variety of Viral Marketing to appeal to their audience with an online presence, by doing so they can keep their young target audience up to date with new releases and teasers and are keeping their own company up to date with the developments of technologies and trends. Disney released its own fan pages on social networking sites such as Facebook for 'Loyal Followers of the Red Queen' and many other aspects of the film. By creating fan groups for films, Disney allows for an even wider audience and can use these pages to spread awareness and introduce people to the films.

Disney's 'Alice in Wonderland' is an example of a typical Disney film aimed to become hugely successful. With names of popular stars such as Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton the film already creates a wave of people who want to see it just due to the people involved in the film. The budget given was $200,000,000 When comparing this to the 'King's Speech' made by Bedlam with their low budget of $15,000,000 with help in funding from the UK Film Council, we can see how even with a small budget a film can become a huge success due to its quality and production practices.  We can see a clear rift between the power and wealth of the two companies, however, we can also see that this does not build a direct correlation between power and success of films as 'The King's Speech' was nominated for twelve Oscars, four of which it won, and 'Alice in Wonderland' won half this number with two Oscars.

When regarding Disney as a whole we see that it has received over two hundred Oscar nominations, but has only won just over fifty of them, when comparing this to the 'The King's Speech' alone whilst taking into account how many films Disney has made in comparison to Bedlam Productions it becomes clear that even with a vast array of marketing and distribution chains at your disposal you cannot guarantee the response to the film. Indeed marketing and distribution are highly important in getting people to want to see the film, but if the film lacks in quality then the success will be short-lived. Quality films such as 'The King's Speech' are films that become timeless through their appeal. Films such as these are living proof that although marketing and distribution is important, it can lose all of its worth once the film has left cinemas as nobody will want to see the film again or buy the DVD to a film they dislike. I therefore conclude that good production practices hold more wealth over distribution and marketing techniques as they guarantee a lasting success for a film as opposed to a short-lived one.

Homework

2) To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of media products in the media area you have studied? Candidates must focus on the following media areas: Film

Distribution can be divided into three stages: licencing, marketing and logistics.In 2005 this was when the distributors started to move towards digital distribution.Digital technology is seen is offer a most cost effective and logistics-light alternative to the tried and trusted 35mm print distribution.

Digital distribution betters the consumption of film.A film can be consumed via cinema or DVD. Cinemas only show a film for a short period of time due to the bettering of the logistics. Therefore films have to be sent to cinema very quickly. However due to new technology, distributors are able to do this through an electron system compared to sending a tape like they used to. This is therefore much cheaper for the distributors, On the other hand a DVD can be consumed much quicker due the cinema only showing films for a short period of time. However the making of the DVD is an expensive process.

The fact that films are sent via a electronic system this does not mean it is always safe. If the film was to become unlocked or hacked, this would then been seen illegally therefore people would not pay to see it in cinema or buy the DVD. This would leave the companies with a loss in money.

Digital distribution bettered the marketing of film as they are able to advertise films in more ways than before. For example people are able to view trailers of films on the internet via YouTube. This is opening the marketing of the film to wider audience. Therefore the film is more likely to be a success as more people will know about it.

Digital distribution can also market the film a way in which celebrities comments on the film can be recorded and played on air. This would therefore promote the film as people are easily persuaded if a celebrity they like, said that they loved the film. This would therefore gain the film more viewer and therefore more money. However someone may say a bad comment on the film therefore the film will loss viewers and money.

Overall digital distribution can help promote films to a wider audience and make it consumption a lot quicker however there is always the risk of the electronic system not working which would leave the film companies with a loss in money.