Film Industry; Black Widow

 1) List the companies involved in the creation of Black Widow. You may wish to use Black Widow's IMDB entry to help with this - see the company credits page - but the answers can also be found in the notes above.

Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

2) What is conglomerate ownership and how does it link to Black Widow?

One company owns a controlling stake in several smaller companies, conducting business separately and independently 

3) Analyse the film trailer for Black Widow. What aspects of the trailer tell you this is a big-budget blockbuster movie?

grossed over $379 million

4) How was Black Widow promoted to an audience? List at least three different methods used by the film's marketing campaign and why they were effective in promoting the film.

Tie-in products including book, toys, and music were released.

5) What was the production budget for Black Widow and how much did it make at the box office?

$200,000,000 (worldwide box office is 1.9 times production budget)

6) Would you consider Black Widow a successful Hollywood blockbuster? Why?

Black Widows success is difficult to judge due to things going on back then and because of Covid 19 paramedic. 

7) Who regulates the film industry in the UK?

The British Board Of Film Classification 

8) What age rating was Black Widow given? Why?

12+ as they thought it would've been something good for kids but people made a fuss about what there children thoughts were on it.

9) Read this feature on Marvel using a fan's tweet to help market the film. Why is audience interaction such an important aspect of modern film marketing? 

10) What other interesting details can you pick out of the article about Black Widow marketing? For example, you may want to make a note of some statistics, ratings or how they used TikTok influencers to help promote the film.

Based on the marketing budgets for other Marvel films, it can be estimated that the marketing budget of 'Black Widow' was in the ballpark of $100 million, or less than half the marketing budget of 'Avengers: Endgame'.

Film Industry: Marvel Cinematic Universe blog tasks

 1) How many films were there in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) at the time of this article?

22 films

2) How much money have the MCU films made in total according to this article?

over $29.8 billion

3) Why did Marvel create the Avengers films?

In 2007 Marvel was recovering from bankruptcy and had sold of the film rights to some of the companies.

4) Who owns the rights to Spiderman and why is the character now appearing in Marvel films?

Sony bought them for 7million

5) Which company owns the rights to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men?

Marvel studios

6) Look at the very end of the article. What has Disney announced regarding TV shows on their new streaming service Disney+?

Marvels deal with Netflix has come to an end and is not on Disney but is on different platforms.

Industries: Ownership and control

 1) What is a conglomerate in the media industries?

A big organisation that owns different types of media companies. 

2) What is a subsidiary?

Something fully owned or partially controlled by another company.

3) What are the benefits for media companies of vertical integration?

Greater economies, lower variable production and quality concerns. 

4) What are the benefits for media companies of horizontal integration?

Increasing market share, reducing competition and creating economies. 

5) Give three examples of media companies or brands that have used synergy to maximise their profits. There are examples in the notes above to help you.

vertical integration, horizontal integration and convergence.

6) What is convergence and what device has changed the relationship between audiences and producers?

 devices like smartphones has ruined the relationship between audiences and producers. 

Now read this article about Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram and answer the following questions:

7) Why did Facebook buy Instagram for $1bn? Answer in as much detail as possible

Facebook as its own admission saw Instagram as a threat that could potentially siphon business away from Facebook. 

Now read this BBC article on Disney buying 21st Century Fox. 

8) What is the name of the media billionaire who used to own Fox?

Rupert Murdoch 

9) List 10 companies that are part of the Disney media empire. The graphic below will help you. 

• Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, 20th Century Animation, and Searchlight Pictures.

10) Why did Disney buy Fox - what are the benefits? These benefits are particularly discussed towards the end of the article. 

Allowing it to broadcast its content on Disney+ and broaden its movie genres.

Blog feedback and learner response

 

1) List any tasks you have that are missing or incomplete.

The demographic and photographic.

2) Reflect on your tracker/feedback and write what you need to do this week to get your tracker all green or improve your work in GCSE Media.

Try completing my work as homework if I don't finish it in lesson.

3) Finally, come up with a list of three things you are going to do this half-term to help you make progress in Media.

-Revise things I've done last half term.

-Complete all incomplete work.

-Try improving my ideas on some pieces of work.

Audience Effects Theory

1) Write a definition of a passive audience: The animals in the water all swam together, and animals that people think rarely exist were also in the water and there was also many different fish together.

2) Write a definition of an active audience: many of the fishes have been swimming together, many of the different type of natures animals came out of different spots and discover more around the sea.

3) Write a definition of the hypodermic needle theory: 

4) Write down a media product (e.g. TV show, newspaper or videogame) for each category of Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory and WHY it fits that particular audience use/gratification. The first one is done for you: 

INFORMATION/SURVEILLANCE: Media text - The Times newspaper
 > Why: It tells audiences important information about politics, the world and more.

PERSONAL IDENTITY: 
 > Why:  

DIVERSION/ENTERTAINMENT: 
 > Why: 

RELATIONSHIPS:
 > Why: many different animals together

5) Re-watch the clip from Blue Planet above and write a paragraph analysing how elements of the clip offer the audience pleasures or gratifications (use media terminology from Uses and Gratifications theory and the 3 Vs - notes outlined above). 

Demographics and Psychographics

1) What information do media companies use to create a demographic profile of their audience?

age, gender, income, education, and occupation

2) Why are media companies and advertisers increasingly using audience profiling and not just demographics?

it makes it easier for you to reach your target customer

3) What are the seven different Psychographics groups? 

lifestyle, personality, values, focus groups, interests, and interviews.

4) Write a brief summary of what each Psychographic group is seeking or motivated by.

Motivations can be defined as the underlying reasons or desires that drive individuals to take specific actions or make certain choices . In the realm of psychographic profiling, identifying and understanding these motivations is essential for businesses to effectively target and engage their target audience.

5) What psychographic group or groups do YOU belong in? Think about your own interests and lifestyle and explain your decision. Remember, you may fit into two or three different groups! 

I think I belong in interests as it does depend on what the person likes and prefers. I also think focus groups, as focusing in things can lead u somewhere really good and somewhere u also want to be.

Reception theory

 1) What is the preferred reading of a media text?

When the producer picks and chooses how they want there audience to view the media text.

2) What is the oppositional reading of a media text?

The viewer completely rejects and intended message and instead proposes a new, resistant reading

3) How does the Harry Brown trailer position the audience to respond to the teenage characters in the film?

It shows us the teenagers act very dangerously and want our thoughts on what this can do and show other teenagers this and see if they easily get influenced.

4) Why might young people reject this reading and construct an oppositional reading of the trailer?

Young people reject this as they do not wanna get influenced in doing these type of stuff which can lead them to have people suffering or in dangerous positions. 

PREFFERED: The preferred reading for the McDonalds image is many others enjoy eating things from outside.

They decided to create something new and try getting many more peoples attention and see if they're interested in something new.

NEGOTIATED: The negotiated reading for the McDonalds image is, many others want to try and put there thoughts and opinions on new things. As this goes on they decide to invent something new.

OPPOSITIONAL: The oppositional reading for the McDonalds image is people dont want the same exact thing that's already been created in other fast food stores.