SMART Targets

Now that our final major project is coming together, we have to assign each other goals that need to be completed. To help keep motivated these goals should be SMART or even SMARTER. The acronym stands for:

S - Specific: This refers to how precise the goal is. A good SMART/SMARTER goal answers the questions of what, who, why, when and where. In our animation our main target was make sure it was inspiration and give people the chance to realise that they need to follow their dream, however unreachable it may seem. To do this, our storyline was an ideal account of how life is, only focusing on the good parts and not the bad. The music also made it fun, and kept the audience interested in watching.
M - Measurable: This refers to tracking the progress of the goals that are created. A date needs to be set, and you need to ask, is it realistic I will reach this goal by the deadline? In our final major project, me and Jack created a detailed shooting schedule. During production, due to slacking and absences from the other half of the group, we were soon behind schedule. To catch up, and stick to our goal, me and Jack stayed extra hours, and worked through breaks in order to catch up.
A - Agreed: This refers to the goal being agreed by all participants of the group. An example of this is when we all agreed to split up into pairs. We had a group meeting and realised that we were behind in our pre-production work. To catch up, we thought we would be able to work much faster if we split into pairs, and got on with separate work.
R - Realistic: This goal is self explanatory. The goal needs to be realistic, and also relevant. Will it be achievable? What actions need to be taken to to achieve the goal, and be as controlled as possible. For example, when we created our shooting schedule we under-estimated how long it was going to take to shoot. As we were delayed shooting, and members of our schedule were absent, it forced our schedule behind anyway, which taking everything into account let to an extra full day of shooting. The shooting scheduled was detailed, but now I know how long an animation takes to shoot, in the future the schedule will be changed accordingly.
T - Time-bound: Goals must have a deadline. If a goal doesn't have a deadline, it's easy to but it off, either to the last minute or not get it done at all. It is good to set short-term targets in-between a deadline, to show the steps required to achieve the goal. During the process of filming, me and Jack had to work even harder to get as close to our schedule as much as possible, due to the other half of the group's lack of punctuality and attendance.
E - Ethical: The goals that are set are meant to fit in-between your moral compass. Goals need to be set into place to ensure people don't get insulted. For example, in our animation we had a scene where our two main characters had sex. This could easily offend some viewers, but as our animation targeted people between in the ages of 15-25 we felt this age group wouldn't be offended as a whole.
R - Resourced: This means the support that needs to be done for the goals to be achieved. Even if sacrifices need to be made. During filming we were delayed in our filming. To rectify this, me and Jack and stayed many hours after scheduled, and through lunch breaks to catch up.

Focus Group

A focus group is a form of research in which a group of people are asked questions about a particular idea. In this case I will be getting a group of people with our target audience and they will be looking at our animation Carpe Diem, and giving their perception, opinions and attitudes towards it. Our target audience is both genders aging between 15-25. We played them our animation and asked them to write down their feedback.

The first thing that the majority of the focus group enjoyed was the music. They thought it was very upbeat, exciting and related well with the storyline. This is good as it keeps the audience interested, and gives off an enjoyable atmosphere which is exactly what effect we wanted to achieve. Comments on how to improve included the props and sets. As the majority of the group can't draw, apart from Sam who did a magnificent job, I think we did incredibly well with the materials we had.

If I was make an animation again, I would have a more consistent frame rate, by adding or subtracting frames to make the movement more fluid. In my opinion, I feel like our animation conveyed our storyline well, and we achieved the feeling of happiness, and inspiration after watching it.

Carpe Diem

Here is the finalised animation - Carpe Diem.

Production and Post-Production

After weeks and weeks of preparation it was finally time to shoot our final major project. A week prior to this we realised how behind we were. As discussed in a previous post me and Jack completed all the production work while Kelly and Sam continued to create the props and sets. As a group we thought this was fair as both Kelly and Sam done art at GCSE whilst me and Jack had excelled in English and Media.

On the Wednesday before scheduling to shoot, Kelly and Sam thought they would be able to work better from home as they had the necessary materials there. We agreed that all of this would be completed by Monday, which is when we were scheduled to start.

Again on Thursday, Kelly and Sam continued working from home whilst me and Jack spent hours working together with Paschal to find music for our animation, along with completing the animatic. Later on in the day, Kelly and Sam shared concerns that they didn't think they would be done in time, and asked me and Jack to create the characters. However as we didn't have the materials to do so, we gave them the weekend complete everything.

On Sunday we were informed that Kelly would not be able to attend the first day of shooting. She also informed us that the rest of the characters still hadn't been done, and she said it she would be completing it later in the day. As she was the one who had all the props and sets, we unable to start shooting and was already a day behind schedule. As a result of this we agreed to stay outside of college hours to try and catch up.

On Tuesday we all met at college at 9am. Me and Jack gathered up all the required equipment from our equipment list, whilst Kelly and Sam continued with the sets, props, and characters which still hadn't been completed. As all the equipment was in place, and the sets and props were ready for scene one, me and Jack thought it was best start shooting, following the detailed storyboard that Sam had created. As I was directing, I decided it was appropriate for me to be one animated the card whilst Jack operated the computer taking many frames per movement. As a pair we worked in chronological order but due to the other half of the group slacking with their given task, we were delayed in our schedule even further as we were unable to carry on without certain props. Kelly and Sam went for lunch at 12.30 and informed us they would be returning within the hour, and staying until 7pm to make sure we were sticking to schedule and making up for lost time. Me and Jack decided to work through lunch but as props were not yet completed we were delayed even further whilst we took on the role of completing them. Me and Jack carried on filming until approximately 4pm, which at that time they had still not returned. Me and Jack pleased with the amount we accomplished after being delayed so much, so we decided to leave out all the equipment for them to carry on when they returned. Nothing further was completed.

On Wednesday we returned to the room at 10am to discover that nothing had even been touched. They informed us they were 'confused' so they thought it was best wait until the following day, even though they both have our numbers if they had any queries. As the heat was getting too much for us me and Jack thought it was appropriate to take a quick break for a breath of fresh air, so at 1pm we decided to go for 10 minute break, which Kelly and Sam were adamant about not taking. When we returned Kelly and Sam informed us they would be going home, leaving us to carry on with shooting whilst creating props as we were going along as still they had not been completed. We worked until 5pm and managed to get over half away through filming.

On Thursday, me, Jack and Sam carried on with shooting, alternating roles as the heat was making me delirious. Kelly was again unable to attend, which is disappointing as she had already missed a previous day of shooting.We stayed as long as possible a got a considerable amount of scenes completed.

The following Tuesday, everyone was present as we continued with shooting, and what felt like forever, it was finally completed. As Kelly and Sam left early, it was up to me and Jack to proceed in checking the animation through, duplicating or removing frames where necessary to make sure the animation was running fluidly. On Wednesday, me and Jack came in early to edit the animation, whilst Sam and Kelly finished off work from other units. We then asked them to finish off the editing so that, so that me and Jack could make the finishing touches on website. Before we left to go home, me and Jack checked the progress of editing and made adjustments to make it look more professional and relatable. The music we decided on using in the end was:
- The Squirrel Nut Zippers - The Ghost of Stephen Foster
-Manu Chao - Me gustas tu
We then exported the animation and transported onto my memory stick.

Overall it took me and Jack approximately 2 weeks to completely shoot the animation, with the occasional check-in from Kelly and Sam. I am very disappointed on the lack of commitment and effort by some members of the group. However, me and Jack worked tirelessly, even working extra hours, to make up for the slacking of the other half of the group. I am happy with the result.

Understanding the Creative Media Sector - Part 4

Regulations

Now our final major project is complete, like any film, TV programme or video game, our animation needs to be given a certificate. The British Board of Film Classification is currently under stable care of president Quentin Thomas. This is an organisation that what classification each film, TV programme or video game requires.

The following acts help determine the film classification and censorship:

Public order act 1986 - This is an act to abolish the common law offences of riot, unlawful behavior and other offences relating to public order. The film Casino Royale was classified as a 12/12a despite scenes of strong violence and torture.

Sexual offences act 2003 - This is an act to make new provision about sexual offences, their prevention and the protection of children from harm from other sexual acts. This act replace the previous sexual offences laws with more specific wording, and creating new offences such as assault through penetration, non-consensual voyeurism though a child, and penetration of a corpse.

Tobacco advertising and promotions act 2002 - This is simply an act to control the advertising and promotion of tobacco products. As health risks have become more apparent through tobacco, laws have been put into place, so that everyone is aware of the dangers of it, and so they have limited access. Due to this it is now illegal to advertise and promote these products.

The licensing act 2003 - This act simply states that a license needs to be held for the sale or supply of alcohol and to provide regulated entertainment. This act define the following licensable activities as; the retail of alcohol, the supply of alcohol in clubs, provision of late night refreshment and entertainment, exhibitions of plays, films, live music or any playing of recorded music, etc.

Obscene publications act 1984 - An act to amend the law relating to the publication of obscenity, to provide for the protection of literature and to strengthen the law concerning pornography. This in terms of film, can allow it to be judged as a whole rather than single scenes being judged as indecent. Today films that contain nudity or penetration are primarily classified as an 18.

A film is classified by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) which decides what age certificate is appropriate from a "U" to "R18". There are many ways that can distinguish between the two. Examples of these are:

- Discrimination - This means it can potentially have offensive content, relating to race, gander, religion, disability, sexuality, etc. Generally if a film contains sections of racism, it is going to get into trouble. But in White Chicks, the black male leads are racist towards themselves and that is deemed ok.

- Drugs - If there is drug use within a film, and it is being promoted and glamorised may be cut, whereas if there is drug use which is emphasising the dangers will receive less restrictive classification. Alcohol abuse will be carefully considered as to ensure that children won't get the wrong impression. Cigarette use is also the same due to health dangers, and brand names will be cut out completely. The film Pineapple Express contains strong drug use of cannabis even glamorising it, it was classified a '15' as it had some bits cut including a scene where it was dealt to school children.

-Horror - Older audiences often pay to see horror films due to the suspense and shock elements. Children however, are young and vulnerable and could well and truly scare or unsettle them. Horror doesn't have to include blood or guts for it to be scary, the music and suspense can have the same effect and have a lower classification. For example, the remake of Woman In Black starring Daniel Radcliffe, was classified as a 12A as it included no gore or even bad language.

- Imitable behaviour and violence - Classification decisions will be taken into account of any detailed portrayal of criminal and violent techniques or and glamorisation of easily accessible weapons such as knives. Also portrayal of anti-social behaviour such as bullying is also likely to receive a more restrictive classification, along with dangerous behaviour such as suicide and self-harming as young people can get ideas and likely to copy. Violence has always been classed as entertainment for both children and adults. Classification will be decided by the degree and nature. However strict policy is applied when dealing with sexual violence and rape.

- Language - Many people are offended by bad language. The extent of offense varies according to age, gender, race, background and religious beliefs. The film London Boulevard was classified an '18' even though the violence was not shown, there was one reference to the word c*** so the classification went up.

- Sex and nudity - To classify this depends on the portrayal of sexual content. This can range from kissing to details of real sex. Even references can classify a film a '15'. Nudity is roughly the same, depending on the extent of it.

- Theme - This refers to to subjects than people was see as offensive and will be classified accordingly. Such as; drug abuse, sexual violence, paedophilia, racial and domestic violence, etc. These subjected films are usually classified as an '18' or sometimes even '15'.

Video games are also classified under the same rules.

It is the BBFC's to classify a film or video game into one of the seven categories. These are the following:

- U - A 'U' is short for universal, which generally means suitable for all. Every child is different, and its impossible to predict what might upset a young child. A 'U' film should be suitable for young children aged four years and over, but children below that age are allowed to watch it, even at the cinema. These films contain mild scary sequences and violence, and mild sexual behaviour (kissing) and nudity. They usually contain elements of fantasy and often animated (primarily Disney).

- PG - This is an abbreviation of parental guidance. These films are aimed at children about 8 years and older, but can be watched by younger. Parents are advised to make this decision as some of the content can upset certain children. The Toy Story trilogy are rated a PG because it is suitable for young children, but also contains jokes and innuendos that adults can understand and appreciate too. It also contains mild scenes of horror, including a creepy doll that many people can be offended by.

- 12 - This means that the content is suitable for people 12 years and older. The content usually include mild language and light sex references, and also moderate violence.

- 12A - This refers to being suitable for 12 years and over. This classification is very similar to '12' but is for cinema use only, which means that children under 12 can watch it if they are accompanied by an adult (someone over 18). Some films are questioned under this category such as the horror film Woman In Black.

- 15 - This means the film is only suitable for people 15 years and over. No-one under the age of 15 can see this film at the cinema or rent or buy it with this rating. Films with this classification can contain adult themes such as drug use, frequent strong language or limited strong language, strong violence and sex references, and nudity without graphic detail. This is a fairly big jump from a '12', and most successful comedies fall under this classification.

- 18 - These films only adults can see, which means that it is only suitable for people of 18 years and older. No-one under 18 can view this film at the cinema or rent or purchase it. This classification doesn't have many restriction, so content such as strong language, strong sex and nudity, strong drug abuse, and strong violence is allowed. Many films containing violence and gang references are classified as an 18 including The Expendables.

- R18 - This classification is similar to an '18'. However it is only allowed to be shown in specially licensed cinema or supplied in licensed sex shops. Films under this category can very easily offend. The material is usually hard-core pornography, and contain detailed penetration (often involving 3 people), strong fetish material, references to underage sex, paedophilia, incest, rape. It could also contain elements of non-sexual pain, including self-harm.

Another factor to look at when looking at classification is to see how films are different on DVD than they are at the cinema. For example, certain scenes of the film Trainspotting were cut out in the cinema version to make the classification lower. these scenes were then available when it was released to DVD.

After looking at all of the British film classifications I would say that our animation was a '12'. The majority of the scenes would be classified as a '12', but one scene in particular contains a light sex reference. However there is no detail or even any sound which would be deemed inappropriate. The scene was necessary due to the previous scenes building up to it, which focuses on the two main characters as their love for each other progresses. It is a part of nature, and as our target audience is aged 15-25 it seemed more than appropriate not cut that scene out.

Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Order_Act_1986
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_Offences_Act_2003
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obscene_Publications_Act_1959
www.sbbfc.co.uk

Understanding the Creative Media Sector - Task 3

Why do we need legal and ethical constraints?

In our final major project, we also have to take a look at the legal and ethical considerations in the media sector, especially within animation. As our target audience is quite young, it is exceptionally important that we don't offend anyone, or as many people as possible. This is to avoid court cases, bad press, and a decrease in the audience number.

Social issues and sensitivities: This refers to issues that are occurring in the social world when media item is released. The item is then cancelled or postponed in order not to offend people. For example, due to the 9/11, the film Die Hard 4 had to completely re-write their script, as the original one contained terrorists exploding a building in New York City. Many other films, including this one, had to be changed around that time, as the main subject is terrorism and could offend so many people.

Media stereotypes are inevitable, especially in the media. They are ideas that groups of people have about other people who are different from them. It can embedded in a single word or phrase (for example, nerd), an image, or a combination of the tow. For example, when watching the TV show One Tree Hill, they all attend a high school named Tree Hill High. This programme especially highlights the stereotypes (often known as cliques) in schools today, even having a whole episode focusing on it. Nathan and Lucas are the "jocks", Brooke and Peyton are the "prom queens", Mouth is the "nerd", Glenda who plays the "goth", etc.

These stereotypes can be broken down even more in examples of gender and religious beliefs.

 

-Representation of gender: Stereotypes can be positive ("black men are good at long distant running") or negative ("women are bad drivers"). In the media industry, especially in the advertising and entertainment world, representations of gender is more prone. In a fragrance advert for women, the woman is portrayed as 'perfect', sexy, feminine, has an ideal body, and almost always has a man included within the advert. This is to relay the idea that this will happen to them if they purchase the product. An example when this rule is broken is in the TV comedy Big Bang Theory. In this comedy, the blonde (who is usually stereotyped as stupid) is the bright one, whereas as the nerds are the stupid ones. All comedies in fact break stereotype representation rules.

In our animation, our one and only character is a male. This might lead to people thinking the producing team is sexist. In order not to offend anyone, we had a discussion and introduced a love interest, which also made our animation more relatable to our target audience.

-Representation of religious beliefs: In today’s society, religion is very neutral, in other words people are non-committal and don’t believe in any religion. The representation of it in the media however, is rather anti-religion. In a man films involving violence, religion is often the cause. For example, in The Devil’s Double, a biographical film about an Iraq soldier that is forced to become a body double for Saddam Hussein’s son, and in the Passion of the Christ. In the Passion of the Christ, the extreme amounts of violence upset many viewers and questioned the historical and biblical accuracy.

Like many of the films and today’s culture people are neutral in their religious beliefs, the same can be said with our animations, which features no mention or visuals of religion.

Linguistic usages: Language in the media can be described as many things, including slang, accents, subtitles, etc. All of these are apparent in the media, especially in film and television. For example, on X Factor USA, Geordie girl Cheryl Cole got the sack because the American audience and contestants couldn’t understand her accent. The same goes with the Film Snatch, where Brad Pitt plays a pikey with an extremely strong accent that is barely audible. Slag is often used in the TV programme Only Fools and Horses. The main character Del often uses Cockney Slang daily and also has a go at foreign languages – wrongly of course! Subtitles are used in films, when there is a conversation happening in a foreign language for the benefits of the deaf.

This doesn’t really apply to our animation, as it has no speech or narration.

Accessibility: This refers to the disability access in screening the films. In most cinemas there are accessible to the disable. For visually impaired customers, audio descriptive performances are available at most cinemas, headsets are available, and guide dogs are welcome in at all times. For hearing impaired guests special screenings with subtitles are available, hearing loops can be installed (either infra red or induction).

Accessibility doesn’t really apply to our animation, as it will not be played at a cinema, or be watched by anyone that is disabled.

Professional body codes of practise: The BBC's Producers' Guidelines -
"Audiences rightly expect the highest editorial and ethical standards from the BBC. The BBC's Producers' Guidelines are a public statement of those values and standards and how we expect our programme-makers to achieve them. They detail the BBC's approach to the most difficult editorial issues and provide guidance which programme makers at all levels need to be aware of and follow."

Inside BBC Journalism features over 40 reports by journalists who reflect on the many challenges they face when aiming to apply the BBC's Producer's Guidelines to reporting and programme making. In each of the five sections of this website – Impartiality, Accuracy and truth, Fairness and privacy, Respect, and Independence - BBC journalists explore the art of reporting. They use concrete examples and real-life situations to explain the difficulties they have encountered; in some cases they offer solutions. The aim of the Producers' Guidelines is to equip journalists and programme-makers to take risks but within the parameters that protect the BBC's global reputation. The Producer's Guidelines apply to all BBC broadcasting, both in Britain and internationally - whatever the medium, be it television, radio or the Internet. (Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1715_reporters/page2.shtml)

Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) accessibility standards: This is the main international standards organization for the Internet (World Wide Web or WWW). Their aim is to develop protocols and guidelines to ensure long-term growth for the web. Its motto is “leading the Web to its full potential”. In 1999 they published the accessibility guidelines, which are a set of guidelines for making content accessible, primarily for disabled users, but also for all user agents, including highly limited devices, such as mobile phones.

Broadcasting Act 1990: These are rules introduced on a cross-media holding to prevent ownership being concentrated in too few hands. Newspaper owners are prevented from holding more than a 20% stake in TV companies. The effect was that the regulator became the broadcaster, which was the case in 1950s-60s when it had fewer regulatory powers that it would later assume.

Official Secrets Act 1989: This is an act created to replace section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 by provisions protecting more limited classes of official information. The Act is a legislation that provides for the protection of the state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security. However is not a defense under the Act to disclose information that is in the national or public interest.

Obscene Publications Act 1959: An Act to amend the law relating to the publication of obscene matter; to provide for the protection of literature; and to strengthen the law concerning pornography. For example the film ‘Deep Throat’ sparked heated debate and precedent-setting court cases that made allegations of obscenity. It was shot in only a week and contained graphic enactments of oral, vaginal and anal sex, group sex, and masturbation in most of the scenes.  This was subsequently banned from 23 US states. Years after the film was released, the leading actress criticized the film, claiming that she was drugged, coerced and raped during filming and even claimed that she had a gun to her head the entire time of filming.

During our animation there is sex scene, which some viewers may find offensive. However, as the characters are silhouettes there is no detail, and due to the previous scenes us as producers can justify the reason behind it. It is part of a group scenes that show how the male character’ s relationship is blossoming with the female character.

Video Recordings Act 1984: This is the act of the parliament in the UK that states that all video recordings offered for sale or higher within the UK must carry a classification that has been agreed upon by an authority designated by the home office.

Race Relations Act 1976: This Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against anyone on grounds of race, colour, nationality (including citizenship), or ethnic national origin.

Human Rights Act 1998: The long title for this act is the act that gives further effect and freedoms guaranteed under the European Convention on Human Rights; to make provision with respect to holders of certain judicial offices who become judges of the European Court of Human Rights; and for connected purposes.

Licensing Act 2003: This act requires permission to provide regulated entertainment. This means that to play a film at a local cinema or event, permission is required from the license. However if you wanted to watch or upload a film off of the Internet, you don’t need a licence.

Privacy Law: This refers to the laws that deal with the regulation of personal information about individuals that can be collected by governments and other public as well as private organisations and its storage use. For example, the Leveson Inquiry is currently an on-going public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the press, following the News International phone hacking scandal. News international, owned by Rupert Murdoch, was under investigation, after employees were accused of engaging with phone hacking and police bribery in the pursuit of writing stories. Many people, including celebrities and Politian’s were victims of this invasion of privacy.

Copyright and intellectual property law: copyright is a legal concept, giving the creator of an original piece of work exclusive rights to it. This is used when the creator of the original piece of work, doesn’t want it to be copied by other people without permission. To get permission, copies can be sold. By law, if you personally create an original piece of work, it is automatically copyright. This however can't be proved.

Many films have been banned for one reason or another, mainly due to sex and violence. Cannibal Holocaust was banned due to animal cruelty, I Spit On Your Grave was banned because of extreme rape scenes, etc. It is mainly horror films that are banned, as they are the ones that's aim is to shock and scare.

Bibliography

http://www.godnose.co.uk/downloads/alevel/key%20concepts/%20Media%20regulation.pdf

http://www.mediaknowall.com/as_alevel/alevkeyconcepts/alevelkeycon.php?pageID=gender

http://www.cineworld.co.uk/accessibility

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Content_Accessibility_Guidelines

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2000/nov/20/broadcasting.mondaymediasection2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_Secrets_Act_1989

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obscene_Publications_Act_1959

Understanding the Creative Media Sector - Task 1 & 2

Structure and Ownership of the Media Industry

The Structure and ownership of a media company determine the types of products and services the company will provide. In 1983, 90% of American media was owned by 50 companies. In 2011 the same 90% is controlled by six companies known as the Big Six Media Giants. These six companies and their notable properties are:

• GE - Comcast, NBC, Universal Pictures, Focus Features
• News Corporations - Fox, Wall Street Journal, New York Post
• Disney - ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Miramax, Marvel Studios
• Viacom - MTV, Nick jr, BET, CMT, Paramount Pictures
• Time Warner - CNN, HBO, Time, Warner Bros
• CBS - Showtime, Smithsonian Channel, NFL.com, Jeopardy, 60 Minutes

Within these six companies are 232 media executives that control the information diet of 277 million Americans. This means that their is one media executive to every 850,000 subscribers. This may sound unreasonable, but when a highly successful company gets a hugh enough profit, they can invest in buy other companies to variate their brand even more. For example, Disney bought Pixar in 2006 just before Cars was released. They could see that the unique company was on the rise, and it would be a good investment for them. In 2010 the total revenue for the Big Sixwas $275.9 billion, which is enough to buy every NFL team 12 times!!!

News Corporations is founded by Rupert Murdoch. It is the world's second largest media corporation which also owns The Sun and The Times in the UK. The ownership of the media reflects on the content within. Freedom of the press or media is the freedom of the communication and expression through vehicles including various mediums. Questions relating to this freedom of press have been raised in the Leveson inquiry. The Leveson inquiry is an ongoing public inquiry into the ethics of the British Press following the News International phone hacking scandal. The prime minister appointed Leveson to look into claims about phone hacking at the news and the world, which hacked phones including celebrities, police and members of parliament. 


The sector that I have chosen to do for my final major project is film. The "Big Six" box office sales hit $7 billion in 2010 which is twice the box office sales of the next 140 studios. As I sad before this is because the more successful companies can invest in other rising companies to expand their business. In 2001, AOL bought Time Warner for $124 billion. All these succesful businesses are multi-national, which means they have interests and smaller companies in many countries around the world. An examples of this is News Corporations. Rupert Murdoch is the chairman and CEO and owns many companies in America and in other countries around the world, including here in England. He owns the British Sky Broadcasting (also known as Sky), which is one of the world's largest multi-media corporations. This company alone produces; books, magazines, newspapers, music, radio and films and is one of the biggest broadcasters of satellite and cable television.
The BBC is the oldest broadcasting company in the UK. It is an organization that is completely publicly funded, and is an example of cross-media ownership. The company began on the radio before moving into television, on numerous channels. Their aim is to enrich people's lives with the programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain. 

The sector I will be exploring in this case study is film. In our final major project we decided to do a stop motion animation, which is a type of film. A stop motion animation, is a series of frames put together with an item or character changed slightly between each frame. When played together rapidly, there is a fluid motion between each each frame, giving the illusion of movement.

Structure is a vital part in film-making. By utilizing numerous structural techniques, filmmakers induce different feelings and give more depth to content, it gives a deeper understanding of the content in scenes. For example, in Harry Potter there is over 100,000 props and sets. In the fourth film at the Quidditch World Cup, they were all holding rolled up programmes. These programmes were shown for about a second, but the creaters of them had actually made proper programme, filled from front to back. Especially in Harry Potter, but with just about any film, the art department is very under praised. Everything we see on the big screen, has been carefully thought over and designed to every tiny detail. These are also the people that make the films come to life, after the script is written it is all down to them. When the scenes and props are created and the script is learnt by the casted actors, the director needs to create the scene. This is done through colouring, lighting and the camera angle/position to induce the required feeling/effect. For example, a lower camera angle, makes characters look more superior. When the filming of each scene is complete the post-production team can start their work of putting all the scenes into place, cutting out mistakes and editing necessary clips. Editing is crucial, as nowadays you can do absolutely everything; create monsters using CGI, explosions, and anything you can possibly think of. In the process of cutting scenes, all depends on the type of film that is being made. If it is an emotional/dramatic film it will have fewer cuts than an action film, as it has a much faster pace.


The majority of films are filmed in America, primarily in New York and California. There are two different types of films; major and independent. A major film is a movie production and distribution company that releases a considerable amount of films per year, and consistently has box office revenues. The major film studios today (the "Big Six") focus more the developing, financing, marketing and merchandising, rather than the production side of things. For a film to be successful, it has to be marketed well, as well as being widely distributed so that the biggest audience possible can go see the film. The other type of film is called an independent film. This type of film is filmed primarily or completely outside the major film studio system. These films usually distinguishable due to their content and artistic style. These are also made with much lower budget than a major film, and are usually on a limited release at the cinema, or sometimes only certain cinemas. This isn't that great as it can be difficult to see these types of films, whereas a major film you can see pretty much anywhere.

In both the UK and America media is a major factor in our lives and industry itself is extremely competitive. Most employees have to work long hour shifts with very little pay, but as it's their dream to become successful in the industry many people stick it out. The media covers an extremely wide range of areas to work in. Some of these include; Film, TV, Radio, Publishing, Video gaming, retail, advertising, fashion, makeup, special effects, visual effects, etc.

Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leveson_Inquiry