Audience and Institutions – Film
You need to know what the exam board specification for this exam is (Exam Board Wording) and you need to understand what each of the
seven areas you are asked to focus on requires you to do (see Translation). You could be asked a question on one of the first six areas.
Candidates should be familiar with:
Exam Board Wording
1. The issues raised by media ownership in
contemporary media practice.
2. The importance of cross media convergence
and synergy in production, distribution and
marketing.
3. The technologies that have been produced in
recent years at the levels of production,
distribution, marketing and exchange.
4. The significance of the proliferation of
hardware and content for institutions and
audiences.
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Translation
How the ownership of the production,
distribution and exhibition companies
affects the type of films that are made.
Understand how all aspects of the
media (websites, newspapers,
television etc) are used to market a
film and show you understand how
companies work together to produce
and distribute films.
Show you are aware of how new
technology has been used to improve
the making, distributing, marketing
and exhibition on film.
Show you understand how the increase
and improvements made in technology
are affecting the ways that films are
made and distributed today. Also, be
able to assess how technological
improvements have impacted the
viewing experience, at home and in
the cinema.
Examples
Research independent and mainstream production
companies – as case studies, use Working Title (owned by
Universal) and Warp Film – compare the types of films that
these companies make and how they make sure they reach
their target audience.
Research independent and mainstream production
companies – Working Title (owned by Universal) and Warp
Film – compare how their films are marketed through other
aspects of the media. Find out who distributes their films.
Look at specific examples eg. ‘This is England’, ‘Le Donk
and Scour-Zay-Zee’ (Warp Film) and ‘The Boat That
Rocked’, ‘A Serious Man’ (Working Title)
Find out about filming in HD, SPFX and how they are added
at the editing stage of film production, how the internet
influences the ways films are marketed and distributed,
digital distribution of film (research DSN -Digital Screen
Network) and digital exhibition of film. Refer to case
study.
You need to be able to explore how the affordability of
new technology has impacted on the making, distribution
and exhibition of film. The DSN is relevant to this area too
– how has it improved our access to film? What about
Bluray and the affordability of DVDs? Piracy? Refer to case
study. Information researched for bullet point 3 is relevant
here too.
5. The importance of technological convergence
for institutions and audiences.
6. The issues raised in the targeting of national
and local audiences (specifically British) by
international or global institutions
7. The ways in which the candidates’ own
experience of media consumption illustrate
wider patterns and trends in audience
behaviour.
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Understand how new technologies can
combine to produce, market, distribute
and exhibit a film successfully.
Show you know how international and
global institutions target a national and
local British audience.
Include reference to how your own
experience of the media shows how an
audience may behave.
Information from bullet point 3 and 4 relevant here too but
you need to have specific examples of how technologies
can combine to reach a target audience (Eg, ‘The Boat that
Rocked’ – soundtrack was advertised on mp3.com. Vivendi
own Universal and mp3.com. ‘This is England’ - Greenroom
digital (marketing agency) approached Britfilm.tv to launch
a ‘site take-over’ to market the film to target audience. )
‘Working Title’ is owned by ‘Universal’, why is it in
Universal’s interest to have a subsidiary such as WT.
Compare WT’s films to ‘blockbusting’ movies such as
‘Avatar’. How do films, such as this, target such massive
audiences?
You will not be asked a question on this however you
will need to incorporate this element in each one of the
six potential areas above.
Key Terms – Understand and be able to apply these terms in your exam:

Vertical Integration
Above the line marketing
Below the line marketing Useful Websites
Synergy marketing
Merchandising UK Film Council - http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/
Viral marketing Internet Movie Database - http://www.imdb.com/
Budget (Low, mid range, big) Research cost of a variety of films British Film Council - http://www.britfilms.com/
Four quadrant movies (Age – young and old Gender – make and female) Marketing and distribution of film -
Conglomerate http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/distribution/distribution1.html
Subsidiary Warp Film - http://warp.net/films
DSN – Digital Screen Network Working Title - http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/
HD – High definition Avatar website - http://www.avatar-movie.co.uk/
Blu ray
St Trinians II - http://www.sttriniansmovie.co.uk/
i-pods
Digital Distribution
35mm reels Keep checking all of the Media department’s teacher blogs for
Independent cinema additional information relevant to your research.
Mainstream cinema
Piracy
‘Orange Wednesdays’
Niche audience
CGI

Useful Case studies

Warp Film (Production company) – Shane Meadows (Director)
Working Title (Production company)
‘St Trinians II’ – Ealing Studios (Production)/Entertainment film (Distributors)
‘Avatar’ – 20th Century Fox
‘Paranormal Activity’ – Amateur filmmaker/Paramount (Distributors)
Vue Cinema
‘The Phoneix’ Cinema Leicester
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As background for your research you must know the various stages of film production, distribution and exhibition.

Pre – production

Productio Production (Principal

n Photography)

Licensing

Marketing

Distributio Prints and Advertising

n
Logistics

Digital Distribution

Independent cinema

Exhibition Mainstream Cinema

DVD/Bluray

Internet downloading

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