Transcript Working title films - Miss Casman's Blog | Media and film

Working title films
British film
Audiences and institutions
Section B
L.O-to understand working title films
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Starter- What British films have you seen
recently?
If yes how do you know it was a British
film?
Is there a British aesthetic (look/style)
How does a British film reflect dominant
ideologies and ideas?
Key areas to understand
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Production – is there synergy between the producer and distributor? Or is
it produced and then a distributor needed. Where is the funding coming
from? USA funding?
Distribution- how effective is the distributors marketing campaign/ how
much is being spent on distribution?
Exhibition- release date/season/type of release- Main stream or
independent/how long was the film on release
Consumption- How was the film consumed in the UK? (Think opening
weekend)
Convergence and new media technologies – what impact have they had
on any of the above areas? Production, has it made it easier to film using
new technologies? Editing makes production easier and more accessible to
independent film companies, making it cheaper to film. Do they have an
impact on they way they are distributed? What impact does that have on
the marketing techniques and choices?
Key terms
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Vertical integration- one business entity controls or owns all
stages of the production and distribution of goods or services.
Allows the business to collect profits from all aspects related
to the media content
Synergy- the promotion and sale of a product and all of its
versions throughout the various subsidiaries of a media
conglomerate. E.g Mickey Mouse, Spider man spin offs
Technological convergence- different technological systems
coming together e.g I phone
What are the key issues for British
cinema?
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Ownership- Conglomerates; synergy
Globalisation- Convergence and new technology
Cultural imperialism- Dominance of Hollywood
style and values
Distribution, Exhibition, and digitalisation
Competition with other forms (television/internet
etc)
Status of film in Britain as low/high
Why is British film important?
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Economic- profit and re-investment;
employment; expertise
Cultural- engaging with issues and
representing ourselves on screen; British
creative identity
Why does British film struggle?
Why Hollywood dominance?
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Investment from bankers in the
US
The large domestic market
Vertical integration-production,
distribution, exhibition followed by
horizontal exhibition across
industries
Established Hollywood studio
system
Support from the American
government
Large distribution networks
provide profit built on a large
home market
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Low levels of investment
Lack of government support
Audiences not seeing film as an
art form therefore not supporting it
Lack of funding for distribution
Controlling censorship
Television with strong PSB- public
service broadcasting- money
goes into that
Convergence of film companies
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Working title films-UK
In 1999 signed a deal with
universal studios meaning
that had a budget of up to
£35 m without consulting
Links with Universal
provides funding for the
films that may have
previously struggled with
budget
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Universal studios –USA
Is the parent company of
Working title film
20% Vivendi (French
international
conglomerate)
80% NBC (brought from
Vivendi in 2004)
Universal studies have
access to several other
companies through
affiliations with companies
such as NBC
Working title films
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Four weddings and a funeral
Bridget Jones
Notting hill
The boat that rocked
How successful have they been?
In terms of production
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A film like Bridget Jones had input from
Miramax
Universal
Working titles
Studio canal
Therefore, this is a film that targets a British
audience rather than a British film
Financially it is therefore easier to produce and
distribute if one of the companies has vertical
integration
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Slumdog millionaire- Film four +Celador
Distributors of Slumdog-Fox searchlight and
Pathe
Searchlight backed the film when it stumbled
between production and distribution
They searched for studio backing originally but it
could not be found
Fox searchlight then agreed to fund the
distribution in the USA and pathe for the
distribution in the Uk (Approx 8.5 M)
Synergy 
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A number of processes working together
within a system for greater benefit than
they could achieve individually
The benefit of synergy in the film industry is
………
Homework-Due Thursday
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Research one film company either
American or UK
Think about how they deal with the key
areas
Who are their target audience/what films do
they produce
How are they funded
Be prepared to share