Unit one feedback (Overall)

Final Vlog- Tyrannosaur

An improvement on this video, in comparison to the last vlog is that the sound quality is far greater than that of the previous. Another improvement that I have done in comparison to the previous vlog is that there are more images and they change in a more interesting fashion (it is not even). 

I disided to upload the video without any cool transitions because it made it harder to line up the images to the narration.

If i were to improve this vlog, I would include some transitions and special effects.

LO4 Task 5- Tutor Feedback

LO3 Task 4-Tutor Feedback

LO2 Task 3- Tutor Feedback

LO4, Task 5: Legal, ethical and regulatory issues

Hi, it’s Lauren again from Education Wise and in this last installment we will be talking about the Legal, Ethical and Regulatory issues that this film (Tyrannosaur) will have to overcome in order to be released.

A) The products impact and effect on the audience:

An audience is either shown as a passive or active audience.

A passive audience is defined as a school of thought Hypodermic syringe (Theodore Adorno, 1930's) The media has a negative impact on the on the audience (they copy everything they see).

In my film this is true because of the violence that is very prominent in the film and this issue could affect the audience and this is a negative impact on the audience. This is true even though the audience is a small (niche audience). 

Another reason why a passive audience may be negatively impacted by the content of my film is that it may increase the likeliness of domestic violence. This is because it is a strong theme in the film and this may in turn because the audience to feel that is ok for them to partake in this action.

An active audience is an audience that does not copy everything that they see in media and question the things they see (Gauntlett). An active audience adapts the media to suit their own needs.

An example of a positive impact on the audience is the fact that the female protagonist overcomes the abuse dealt to her by her partner during their relationship. This is because it can be used to show that others who are suffering from domestic violence can overcome it and that they (whether male or female) do not have to deal with it.

Another example of a positive impact on the audience is the male protagonist and the way the audience can understand the reason for his violence, which are put down to him being a male (with alpha male tendencies) and living in a rough, lower class area. Another reason for this is because of the way this character is able to become soft and comforting to the female protagonist. This would create a feeling of understanding for his actions and be sympathetic toward him for having to act a certain way in front of other males just to fit in with them.

B) Relevant issues of representation:

Representation in the film Tyrannosaur links with the audience because it would be mainly viewed by females. This is because the main actress Olivia Coleman is well known and plays the part of the female protagonist empowerment from assault well. This affects the audience because it causes the female audience (some of whom may have been assaulted in the past) to feel empowered and to show them that they do not have to conform to the female stereotype.

Stuart Hall (1980) stated that all representation is media (constructed on purpose). 

In my film there are stereotypes woven throughout. This is because the female protagonist is shown as submissive, which in the respect of fighting back against her abusive partner, she is. 

This is also true because the stereotype that males are violent. This is supported because in the film, the males are all showing violent tendencies. An example of this is when the male protagonist is arguing with another unnamed male character with a dog. This is like they are trying to intimidate each other.

Another stereotype that can be seen in this film is about class and how the lower class population are more 'rough' (violent) and that they are 'money grabbing scroungers who need to get a job'. This is shown by not only the prevalence of the violence but also in the setting (that is in a lower class, council run estate). To counter this stereotype we also se the main antagonist (who looks to from a higher class than the male protagonist) also using violence, which shows that all classes of people use violence it is just associated with lower class people because it is seen more often. 

In my film stereotypes are also challenged throughout the film. This is true because after the male protagonist finds the female protagonist he seems to become more emotionally open towards her. He also seems to be more nurturing. This challenges the view that men are more often than not emotionally unavailable  when it comes to caring for another person (especially when they are female) when in emotional turmoil.

This is also true with the female protagonist because even though her partner abuses her, she stays cheery (even if it is just on the outside) and carries on with life. This challenges the stereotype of an abused female because commonly they are seen as weak and unable to carry on normally. This shows great strength for the character and circumstances she has to live through and not become bitter.

Another theorist this film supports is Perkins (1979) not all stereotypes are false.

This is because often, stereotypes are correct to a certain extent, but exaggerated.

This is especially true for the male antagonist. This is because of the domestic violence against the female protagonist and he uses this abuse to control her actions. This links in with the theorists Earp and Katz (1999) Equation of masculinity with pathological control of violence.

C) Relevant legal and ethical issues:

The first example of legal issues this film has to overcome is copyright of products/soundtracks:

When making a film one thing the film company would look out for is anything that may cause copyright infringement. This is because if they break a copyright law they (the film company) could either taken to court and sued or the person responsible may be taken into prison. To avoid this, the company would have to contact the copyright holder and seek to gain permission to use the idea through a fee or royalties.

When it came to the film Tyrannosaur, Warp Films did not need to gain copyright for the soundtracks seen in the film trailer. This is because the songs were produced by their parent company Warp Records. Because of this it shows cross promotion (to find out more about cross promotion see the first video).

The lack of brands in the film may be because the film company (Warp Films) may have not have had the sufficient funds to pay for copyright access to show the brand logos. 

D)  Role of relevant regulatory bodies (BBFC and ASA)

The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is a regulatory body that sets guidelines that a film has to comply with in order to be suitable for an audience of a certain age range. An example of this is that our film (Tyrannosaur) was made to comply with the BBFC rating 18.  

The film Tyrannosaur is produces for an audience aged 18 and above. This is because the film has Violence throughout the film, strong language and mentions of abuse and scenes of sexual violence. This complies with the BBFC 18 rating because a film that is rated as 15 cannot contain strong blood and gore (which my film shows at points) and very strong violence (which is also shown in abundance in this film.)

The age range of this film has not been changed since its production. This may be because they had a good grasp of who their target audience was and built their film up accordingly, based on their lifestyle and income (as mentioned in a previous video.) Another reason the age rating of this film has not changed is because of the explicit violence and language. This is only appropriate for people at the age of 18 because they are able to understand the films theme and mentally deal with it. If a younger person were to view the film they may be influenced as they may be more of a passive audience.    

In the US, the age range for the film is the same as in the UK (18). This may be because the film is produced by an independent company, because of this the film was not marketed for that audience and it adheres to the US film rating for 18 and they are out of their target (niche) audience.  

The ASA (Advertising Standard Authority) is a company which regulates the advertisements in what is/ is not acceptable to be viewed on a larger audience. This is legally binding and is often followed closely as a code of conduct when it comes to distributing advertisements for a product (in this case a film). 

The CAP codes are a set of rules that regulated the print material for the film Tyrannosaur are: Misleading advertising and advertising rules for on-demand services regulated by statute.

The film poster used to advertise the film adhered to the regulations of misleading advertisement because it does not make out the film to be a happy, idealistic film when in actual fact it is dark, grungy and realistic in the way the characters react to the negative environment they live in (thus not misleading the as of the tone of the film).  Another way the film poster adheres to this is because the reviews that relate to the film and are all genuine (if they were not they wouldn't be allowed to be printed on the promotional poster.). 

The film poster adhered to the regulations to the CAP codes Misleading advertising and Advertising rules for on-demand services regulated by statute. This is because the film poster does not degrade anyone no matter the gender, age, race or religion and it is recognizably an advertisement for a film. This CAP links in with the previous. 

Based on the poster, I know that this piece follows the above mentioned CAP codes. This is because the colour scheme of this poster is black and white. This connotes the battle between dark and light (good and bad) within a person/ character.

The font on the poster also complies with the CAP codes because it is easy to read and the quotations from reviewers are not false. This denotes that the film is successful and is worth watching. 

This promotional poster would be seen outside an independent cinema. This would have been seen to attract attention and help to promote the film.

Thank you all for staying with us through this mini- series on the film Tyrannosaur and hope it helps everyone with their media exam. Goodbye.

LO3, Task 4: Distribution and Advertising

Hi everyone, it’s Lauren again from Education Wise and in this episode we will be talking about distribution, promotion and technological convergence.
Let’s begin...

Distribution:

Distribution is the making a product available to the public/ target audience. Distribution is also advertising/ promoting a product to the public/ target audience. 

Because of this it persuades people to view the film, which in turn earns a higher profit.
The distribution of my product has been impacted by technological convergence because it allows Warp Films (an independent company) to get their films (like Tyrannosaur) to their audience for cheaper than if they were to use old media methods (like the film reel), which was very expensive. 

Technological Convergence:

This is made possible by web 2.0.

Web 1.0 use by scholars only ad was used as the read, write web. This is different now because of websites and enables for people to communicate. Web 2.0 is referred to as the interactive web.

Technologies come together and this provides new services for the audience (smartphone- phone, computer and web). Also it allows more users to gain access to products like my film.

The first example of this is piracy. This happens on websites that allow people to view a film without paying the fee that you would normally have to and this is an example of new media. An example of a website that allows piracy is putlocker.

The audience can go on piracy websites such as putlocker to watch or download Tyrannosaur. This is not beneficial to Warp Films because the company will not generate profit from people viewing/ downloading the film, which could create financial ruin. A negative to this for the audience is because often, the quality of the film is not as good as purchasing it or viewing the film legally.

The second example of this is to view the film in an Independent cinema like Showroom Cinema. This is a way for independent companies to distribute the product to the audience cheaper than in a cinema that is part of a conglomerate (an example of this is Cineworld). This digital method of distribution is classed as new media.

This way of distributing the film Tyrannosaur is commonly used by Independent Companies such as Warp films. This is because it is generally cheaper to show the film in this type of small (this is generally true as with Showroom cinema) cinema. This also makes the film cheaper for the audience to view as well as it makes it cheaper for the company to produce (in comparison to distributing the film in a cinema that is part of a conglomerate as they are generally more expensive).

 The third example of this is streaming films legally, on websites such as Amazon. This digital method would be categorised as new media.

The ways that will most be used by the company Warp Films would be streaming online legally. This is because it is cheap to do and it allows the company to generate profit from the film. It also helps to gain a wider audience (nationally) and helps to gain a wider profile for the company.

 The fourth example of this is  downloading the film (legally)and this can be done n websites such as Amazon. This digital method would be categorised as  new media.

Downloading the film (legally) will benefit the film company because by legally downloading the film, they are exchanging money for the ability to view the finished product, which in this case is the film Tyrannosaur. This will benefit the company because they are able to generate profit from the film.

 The final example of this is viewing the film on television on  Channel Four (as a part of their joint venture).

Joint Ventures are used between Warp films and Channel Four/Film Four. This is because the companies often work together to promote films this is also done for the film ‘This is England’ by the same company). This benefits Warp Films because it promotes both the film and the company. This is beneficial because it allows them  to gain a larger audience and gain a larger profit.

The impact of Technological convergence on an independent company (such as Warp Films), is quite positive. This is because advertisement has been made easier to access (on mobile devices such as mobile phones) and cheaper. This helps to make the cost of creating the product cheaper, which in turn helps to generate a larger profit.

The marketing for the film Tyrannosaur was beneficial for the company after its release. This is because the initial budget was £750,000 and the profit generated was £243,252 in the UK as of 1^st of January 2012. This shows that the promotion of this film was worth it because it generated a large profit.

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Other forms of advertisement for the film actually comes from the audience through social media and such as Facebook and Twitter. This is done where a member of the audience has seen the film and say that it is good and recommend that people watch it. This is a good form of advertisement because it is free for the company and a wider audience will be more likely to view the film because it is a unbiased opinion made by another audience member.

Another form of advertisement that allows the audience to make comments about its appeal is on the film trailer (that has bee posted on websites such as YouTube). This would be beneficial to the company because it costs them nothing for impartial opinions of the film (which are mostly positive in the case of tyrannosaur).

This benefits the audience because these opinions on the film may persuade the to watch the film if they were not sure about if they would enjoy the film. From this, the comments would encourage them to view the film and this ay cause them to post an honest opinion on this.

An example of a positive audience review was found on YouTube under the official trailer for our film:

Reviews on this were made possible because of technological convergence and web 2.0. This is because it allows the audience to connect with each other and influence each other about a product (in this case a film).  This has also been impacted because it allows a mass audience to be heard by producers so that they can get a better idea of he films hey enjoy.

An example of old media used for advertisement used for the film Tyrannosaur is a promotional posters that would be seen around the local area such as Leeds (where Tyrannosaur was filmed) or Sheffield, where many independent films are shown. This would be beneficial for the company because it allows people to see the film in the street and may cause the audience to be intrigued and want to see the film.

The promotional poster was often put up in public places, where may people would see them. An example of this is that in Sheffield it was displayed in the Showroom cinema window.

Olivia Coleman, who is a well know actress, played the part of the films female protagonist and did several interviews to promote the film. Many of these  interviews were done to be distributed online on websites like YouTube where it can be seen by a large proportion of the films target audience.

A example of an interview by Olivia Coleman and the film producer Diamard Scrimshaw can be seen on You Tube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt6yabUzaSc . This interview was based around making the film and about being happy about the film winning a BIFA (Best Independent Film Award) in 2011.

Peter Mullan is an actor who plays the male protagonist in the film Tyrannosaur and did a few interviews to promote the film. Many of these interviews can be found online on videos such as You Tube. This is because it has been seen by a large portion of their target audience.

An example of an interview by Peter Mullan and Paddy Considine for sundance in 2011. This can be seen on the You Tube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTnjGUekFYo. This interview is about Peer Mullan talking abut his character and the transformation he undertakes throughout the film.

That's all for today.
Thanks for joining today. Next time we will be looking into Legal and ethical issues.