Vertical and Horizontal Integration

Vertical Integration

This is when the production company has the ownership of the means of production, distribution and exhibition of the film by the same company, because of this they receive all of the profit.

Horizontal Integration

This is where a production company expands into other areas of one industry. This means that the company can develop in a particular area of production or they can buy out another company that deals with these areas.

Synergy

Synergy is the promotion and sale of a product within films, examples of this would be soundtracks, phones and laptops etc.

There are many advantages to using synergy in films, it can increase the profit made on the film, it enhances the companies image and it can influence public opinion.

Digital vs Film

Digital Vs Film

In 2002, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones became the first major movie to be shot entirely on digital video, even though, back then, it had to be transferred on to 35mm film for most cinemas to show it. The producers of Attack of the Clones estimate that they spent $16,000 on 220 hours of digital tape. If they had used the same amount of film, it would have cost them $1.8m.

Yet the real opportunity to axe costs digitally comes long after the final scene is shot. To produce and ship a 35mm print to an American cinema costs about $1,500. Multiply that by, say, 5,000 prints for a big movie and it comes to $7.5m. Digital formats can do the same job for 90 per cent less.

Overlaid on this is the growing importance of global box-office receipts. Digital distribution makes it feasible to launch a movie simultaneously on tens of thousands of screens across the planet, from Cartagena to Kolkata – and, while you’re at it, on platforms such as iTunes and on aeroplanes.

Moreover, no matter how carefully it is handled, every time a 35mm film print is run through a projector, it will degrade, collecting blemishes – scratches, tears, worn edges – that affect the viewing quality. Titanic reportedly played for so long in theatres that some prints fell apart in the projectors. In this sense, film is indeed mortal, perishable, fragile – human. This analogy would make digital “immortal”. You show a digital copy of a film once or a thousand times and the quality remains undiminished while the studios’ bottom lines grow.

the big six

1. Warner Bros. Pictures. Comprising a whopping 19.7 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Warner Bros. Pictures is the biggest player in the film industry. Securing the rights to major films like Harry Potter, Superman, Batman, The Matrix and Star Wars have made Warner Bros. the No. 1 name in the business.

2. Paramount Pictures. With 15.5 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Paramount Pictures continues to be one of the most successful film production companies in the world. Star Trek, War of the Worlds, the Mission Impossible series, Transformers and Tropic Thunder are just a few of the popular films produced by Paramount Pictures.

3. Walt Disney. One of the most renowned film production companies in the history of the business, Walt Disney now holds 15.3 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures). With highly successful movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure, Meet the Robinsons and Enchanted, there's no doubt that Disney will continue to play a key role in the industry for years to come.

4. Columbia Pictures. Comprising 12.9 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Columbia Pictures remains a big player in the business. Some of this company's recent successes include Casino Royale, The Da Vinci Code, the Spider-Man series and Step Brothers.

5. Universal Studios. 12.2 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures) belongs to Universal Studios, which continues to make millions for the film industry. With major hits like the Bourne series (Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum), The American Pie series, Knocked Up, American Gangster and The Incredible Hulk, it's very clear that Universal Studios knows what it takes to make money in this industry.

6. 20th Century Fox. Also known as "Twentieth Century Fox," this highly successful movie production company makes up 11.9 percent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures). Some of the biggest and most successful movies from this empire include the X-Men series, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Star Wars Episodes II and III, and the Fantastic Four.

Roughly 9/10 films in the UK are seen as a result of these distributors

Disney as a conglomerate

Disney as a conglomerate

Disney is a conglomerate

A media conglomerate, media group or media institution is a company that owns large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies, and the Internet. Media conglomerates strive for policies that facilitate their control of the markets across the globe.

Disney owns

• Walt Disney Studios
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment
• Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group:
• Touchstone Pictures
• Pixar Animation Studios
• Lucasfilm
• ESPN
• ABC Entertainment Group
• Marvel Entertainment
• Disney Music Group

The media industry is dominated by 'The Big Six'

Just how dominant are 'The Big Six' studios?

How many independent films can you spot?

Why might conglomerates be seen as a negative?

Global conglomerates can at times have a progressive impact on culture, especially when they enter nations that had been tightly controlled by corrupt crony media systems (as in much of Latin America) or nations that had significant state censorship over media (as in parts of Asia). The global commercial-media system is radical in that it will respect no tradition or custom, on balance, if it stands in the way of profits. But ultimately it is politically conservative, because the media giants are significant beneficiaries of the current social structure around the world, and any upheaval in property or social relations—particularly to the extent that it reduces the power of business—is not in their interest.— 

film piracy

Film piracy

The movie industry excels in selling dreams. But since the dawn of the digital revolution, there is one narrative they've consistently and conspicuously failed to sell: that piracy is theft and consumers who indulge ought to feel guilty about it. Recent research by Ipsos suggests that almost 30% of the UK population is active in some form of piracy, either through streaming content online or buying counterfeit DVDs. Such theft costs the UK audiovisual industries about £500m a year.

Perkins five assumptions

Stereotypes are not always negative e.g. the French are good cooks. stereotypes are used to attach a certain image to a group of people, which is usually bad, for example, youths are stereotyped as violent and bad people who brake the law. However, Perkins described stereotypes of youths aren't always negative, such as: when riots happen the majority of the blame falls on the youths shoulders, due to only certain groups being violent. On the other hand, using the 2011 London riots, they started by the death of 29 year old Mark Duggan, who was shot by police and the riots began as retaliation of the polices action. In the eyes on Perkins and few others, the youths acts of violence was justified as it was to get justice for the death of Duggan that the courts wouldn't have done efficiently, Parsons says this these acts are justifiable and is the example that not all stereotypes is bad. This has a relation with the Hotel Babylon scene as a stereotype holds the upper class, wealthy and powerful in this class that doesn't help or protect others, which the owners of the hotel rejects    

They are not always about minority groups or less the powerful e.g. ‘upper class twits’

Perkins saw that most stereotypes were aimed at the lower/ working classes therefore she argued that the upper classes could always be treated in the same way. Within hotel Babylon we can see that there are stereotypes that are focused on other groups, not just the migrant workers. An example of this is the officers that storm the building who are represented as careless and horrible by the way they show no emotion and take one of the workers away from his loved ones.

 They can be held about ones own group

Perkins saw that even in larger groups of people stereotypes can still be made about each other by the people in said group, even though they hold the same believes and ideologies just on assumption. We can see in hotel Babylon that groups of people aren't always held to their own stereotype, this is shown by the way that the migrants are represented as more of an intelligent, useful workforce and therefore break their stereotype and gain respect from the audience.

They are not rigid or unchanging 

In Hotel Babylon that stereotypes change within different characters, as the people who work in the hotel treat the immigrants with respect, whereas the officers don’t care how they treat the migrants and just throw them about.

They are not always false 

From the scene where the migrant officers catch an immigrant, we can see that the stereotype of them being mean is true, as is it their job to catch them, and if they weren't being thoughtless in this clip then their role would be pointless.

DNA 20 questions

Who were the co-founders of DNA Films? 

Andrew mcdonald and duncan ken worthy 

When was the company founded? 

1983

Where is DNA based? 

London and United Kingdom 

How many films have DNA Films produced? 

What awards have DNA Films won?

How many full time staff does DNA Films employ?

What is DNA Film's philosophy?

List 5 box-office hits that DNA Films have made.

Ex Machina

Dredd

28 Days Later

Love Actually

28 Weeks Later

List 5 flops that DNA Films has made.

Never Let Me Go

Sunshine on Leith

The History Boys

Beautiful Creatures

Heartlands

What is Danny Boyle's relationship with DNA Films?

Danny Boyle's relationship is that it was rumored that he owned the company. This turned out to be false. This rumor came around because it was thought that his film Slumdog Millionaire was made by DNA Films, but it wasn't.

List 3 famous directors that DNA Films have worked?

DNA Films have worked with Alex Garland, Dexter Fletcher and Richard Curtis

List 5 famous actors who have starred in films made by DNA Films ?

Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Michael Sheen, Keira Knightley and Emily Watson

What has been DNA Films highest grossing film?

DNA Films highest Grossing film was Love Actually. This is a well-enjoyed and recognized Christmas Film. It was produced in 2003.

List two of DNA Films big blockbuster films and find out their budgets.

2 of their Blockbusters film are: Sunshine and Love Actually. The budget for Sunshine was $40 million and the budget for Love Actually was $45 million.
What film is DNA Films most famous for?

Love Actually is the film that DNA Films are most famous for as the film is very popular and enjoyed by all. It is also a festive film and is still played at Christmas time on the TV.

What other genres do DNA Films films like to make?

 DNA Films also make films with Genres such as: Sci-fi (Ex Machina) and Adventure (Sunshine).

Who have DNA Films entered into a partnership with for DNA TV Limited?

DNA Films have partnered with Fox Networks Group. This is so that their company is more broad and they can work together to release new ideas.

What information can you find out about DNA Films through their web page?

DNA Films are one of the UK'S most successful production companies.

Find out one other interesting fact about DNA Films that you would like to share with the class. DNA Film's new TV Company will be owned and operated as a independent TV Production Company