how has a media conglomerate used synergy successfully?

In the film industry, how has one media conglomerate used synergy successfully?

The media conglomerate 'The Walt Disney Company', successfully used synergy to produce the franchise of films  'Pirates Of The Caribbean'. This include the following;

The Curse Of The Black Pearl:

Elizabeth Swann, the daughter of Governor Swann is kidnapped by a group of pirates led by Captain Barbossa and taken aboard their ship, The Black Pearl, Will Turner, the young man who loves Elizabeth despite the fact that she is promised to another, sets out to rescue her. But he can't do it alone, so he enlists the help of swashbuckling ship captain Jack Sparrow. Together the two chase after The Black Pearl, but they soon discover that the captain and crew aren't your average pirates. Cursed to remain between the living and the dead, Barbossa and his men look like skeletons when basked in the moonlight. When it is revealed that the only thing that can break the curse is Elizabeth's blood, Jack and Will are faced with a race against time and a battle against the undead to save the Governor's daughter. The worldwide box office returns totaled: $654, 264, 015

Dead Man's Chest:
Captain Jack Sparrowreturns to the screen for another round of supernatural adventures on the high seas in this spirited sequel to the 2003 Disney hit. As Will and Elizabeth prepare to exchange vows at the altar, their wedding plans hit rough waters with the arrival of sea-bound scallywag Jack Sparrow. It seems that Sparrow owes a substantial blood debt to half-octopus sea captain Davy Jones, and that the only way for the flamboyant sea rover to elude the wrath of his otherworldly pursuer is to seek the aid of mysterious and powerful voodoo priestess Tia Dalma, whose ability to resurrect the dead and gaze into the future may provide just the advantage needed to avoid a waterlogged fate in the locker of his legendary nemesis. This sequeln encountered the highest box office returns hitting the sum of $1, 066, 179, 725 worldwide.

At Worlds End:
Captain Jack Sparrow is hopelessly trapped in Davy Jones' locker after a harrowing encounter with the dreaded Kracken, and now Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann must align themselves with the nefarious Captain Barbossa if they hold out any hope of saving their old friend from a fate worse than death. The East India Trading Company and its fearsome leader, Lord Cutler Beckett, have taken control of the ghostly Flying Dutchman and its captain, Davy Jones, and now the baleful Admiral Norrington has taken the helm in a relentless bid to destroy every pirate ship in his path and bring the Age of Piracy to a violent close. Meanwhile, Will, Elizabeth, and Captain Barbossa navigate treacherous waters and face bitter betrayal as they set sail to gather the only army that can stand up to Beckett -- The Nine Lords of the Brethren Court. But Captain Jack Sparrow is one of the lords, and as long as he's stuck in Davy Jones' locker, Beckett and his nefarious armada are sure to emerge victorious. There's still hope, however, if the heroic team that includes Tia Dalma, Pintel, and Ragetti can reach exotic Singapore and convince vulpine pirate Sao Feng to provide them with charts and a ship. But even the powerful Brethren Court may need a bit of help from volatile sea goddess Calypso in order to weather the coming storm. With the entire future of the pirate way at stake, everyone will be forced to choose sides while drifting precariously to the edge of the earth for one final, spectacular battle. The third chapter, managed to return $963,420,425 to the box office worldwide.

On Stranger Tides:
In the most recent of sequels, flamboyant seafarer Jack Sparrow lands himself in a bit of a bind after being lured onto Blackbeard's ship by enigmatic siren Angelica, and forced to seek out the Fountain of Youth. Trapped on the Queen Anne's Revenge with the most nefarious pirate in history, Captain Jack reflects on his past with the elusive Angelica while embarking on his wildest adventure to date. With shambling zombies on deck and gorgeous mermaids beckoning sailors into the icy waters below, this time Jack Sparrow has his work cut out for him. This again, successfully received high box office retuns worldwide, to the sum of    $1, 043, 871, 802


Games:
This media franchise has realised the related game; Lego Pirates Of The Caribbean, avaliable on Xbox 360, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, PS3, PSP and Wii. This allows the audience to experience all the memorable scenes from the first four films. In addition, with the key characters the audience can encounter action adventure gameplay, engaging in puzzles from their favourite scenes. Not only this but, the game also lets you interact with others, making it socailly benefical. Personally, if it wasn't for the franchise film, I don't think this game would be so benefical because the creators are marketing this to the fan based audience of Pirates of the Caribbean and therefore, trying to extend their profit margains in the industry.

Attractions:
In 1967, Walt Disney World opened the attraction of Pirates of the Caribbean in the Magic Kingdom in New Orleans Square. This included building an elaborate western river expedition costing the $8 million to create. Since then, the attraction has inspired the film and now, the movies have inspired the atrraction, having being rebuilt in 2006. Now, the magic kingdom theme park includes a 14 foot drop waterfall ride, including famous scenes from the film and its own Pirate of the caribbean town.

Soundtracks:
Each film in the frachise to partes of the Caribbean has its own soundtrack. This are mainly composed either by; Hans Zimmer or Klaus Badelt. These soundtracks also contain additional music by Lorne Balfe. Tom Gire, Nick Glennie- Smith, Henry Jackman, Atli Örvarsson, John Sponsler and Geoff Zanelli. The soundtrack can be purchased on Amazon, itunes and sites such as cduniverse. The soundtrack is owned by The Walt Disney Company, a big-six conglomerate.

Toys:
The film franchise has also inspired a variety of toys and physical products. Some of these include, Revenge ships, basic figures as well as Lego minitures and scenes, such as The Mill and Whitecap Bay from scenes within the film.

Crowd Funding:The Future of the Industry?

How might crowd funding affect the 'big six'? 
The Big Six, comprising of Sony, Time Warner, The Walt Disney Company, Comcast, General Electric, News Corporation and Viacom control 84% of the domestic film market. Some big Hollywood names like Bill Johnson, Charlie Kaufman and David Fincher have used crowd funding to raise money for their films, recognising that it's not only about gaining financially, it's about the small-time investors being people who are going to watch the films. Crowd funding may affect the big six by opening up new opportunities for smaller institutions. This will allow collaborations with larger studios and production companies meaning that these new improved collaborated companies may establish success in the consumer market, reducing the percentage of control within the market of the Big Six.

Do you think this method of film financing will allow creativity to flourish or will it reduce the overall quality of film making as an art form? 
Film financing creates low budgets for films along with the affordability of technology. Although, low budget costs mean that the saturation of quality of the film is saturated and therefore reduces the overall quality of the film as an art form. Though, film financing may allow creativity to flourish due to smaller independent companies having the opportunity to release their films to a wider audience, allowing them to be dominant and recognisable in the film industry. 

 For example, the Bond franchise is notable for its lucrative product placements deals (a form of audiovisual commercial communication including a reference to a certain product), bringing in millions of dollars. Lexus, Bulgari and American Express reportedly paid a combined $20 million for product placement. 

How can a crowd funded film appeal to global and local audiences? 
A crowd funded film can appeal to global and local audiences by making the opening credits the crowd. This involves the audience, by funding, allowing your face to be pictured upon a square to the opening credits of a film. This does not limit any person, appearing within any country and any nation. In addition, anyone around the world can feel free to join in. It also provides a blog of the production process in a journal form so that the audience can track how their donation is being spent and how the filming is going.

An example of a crowd funded film:
From the Indiegogo website, an example of a crowd funded film is 'Joan'. This film had a donation target of $500 although, this film has exceeded this target by 201% hitting a donation sum of $1,005.
A break down of the budget is as followed:

• Props and decorations
• Rented gallery space
• Food/transportation for the cast
• Equipment rental

The audience is kept encouraged to donate by offering gifts to contributors. The more you donate, the better the gift, inspiring the audience to contribute a larger sum.

Perks include:

• $25 - DVD package (a DVD with a signed letter from the director)
• $50 - Poster/DVD (a DVD with a signed letter from the director, as well as a small poster for the film, signed)

Working Title Trip to London

Working Title Films is a British film company based in London. The company was originally founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. The company usually produces 5 - 7 films over the time period of a year. On our class trip to London we had the opportunity to speak to a variety of different department role members, explaining their own input in Working Title.

Firstly, we received a speech from the Action intern team. Action intern is a salaried year long scheme in which 3 individuals are chosen to comprise the aspects of development, production and runners room. The development intern, Charlotte, has the job of seeing an idea or process through until the first draft of the script is completed. Currently, she is managing 70 projects at one individual time helping with both creative and commercial aspects of film. After this is completed, the scripts will be past to the production executive where the budget will be set and a search will begin for the availability of cast and location. The production intern, Tilly, has the job of 'building an office'. She organises the preparation. This includes the distribution of scripts and effectively bringing all the departments together through linguistics. Finally, Tristen has the participation of assistant director. The AD works on set with the cast, being the efficiency aid of the team. Here, the voice communicates what is happening, noting especially the importance of time on the entire process. The overall job of the runners is to help across the entire building through every separate department.

Our trip to Working Title Film as specific to the film Anna Karenina. The majority of this film was set in a theatre. This idea was thought up by the director, Joe Wright. Initially, the film was going to be made in Russia, engaging the authenticity of the original book. Although, difficulties occurred due to the expense of this. Also with Russia acting as a 'third world' when considering the film industry and many of these locations have been used previously. Here, the realisation was dull and therefore, Joe Wright used his theatrical background to influence the idea of setting the film within a theatre 48 hours later. Although the majority was set in the theatre, one scene was shot in Russia just off the mainland of St. Petersburg on Kizhi island. Though, this encountered technical difficulties for the crew and cast due to the extreme temperatures. Camera lens froze and performance issues occurred due to freezing body parts of the cast.

Anna Karenina was only a short term development, taking only 8 weeks for the first draft of the script. This idea came from the original book although, this was copyrighted due to the author having been dead for 70 years. The book of Anna Karenina was an economical large text and so, the best scenes had to be selected to represent a love story due to the adaptation being focused on love. The director for this film was Tom Stoppard, when finally being reached through his manager Anthony Jones. The shooting for this film took 12 weeks and cost $36.7 million.

The person behind production puts together the initial schedules and budget. The expected budget for a film is usually £750,000 - £1,000,000 a week. Period films are always more expensive than contemporary films, costing £3000 per shot for visual effects. Although, when shooting for Anna Karenina, a dior shocking was placed over the lens. Currently, a crash in the visual effects world has been witnessed. This has noticed a famine in overheads and companies such as Fox and Universal have been funded to carry on. This has resulted in down scaling and unemployment, moving many houses to  Montreal due to their 45% tax break. A script board is later put together using the software application Movie Magic. This allows the number of shooting weeks to be established.

When looking at the position of Film Development, this is where the break through ideas are seen. This are usually gathered from reading magazines and books. This team meet with the directors and cast the film after 10-12 drafts of the script. The team, later puts together the first cut and assembles the first screening of the film. The first screening for Les Misérables was 4.5 hours long.

Finally, we spoke to the head of Working title about three dimensional filming. 3D uses 48 screens per second in comparison to the ordinary 24 screens per second. Though 3D extends the usual home experience, the increased number of frames per second drives up the cost of production. Therefore, when considering whether to produce a film in 3D this has to be determined by the budget value. In the eyes of bosses in Working Title, 3D convergenes are seen to be a waste of time.

Notes

• 'Lock picture' is when the screening witnesses no more changes
• Films used to be held on 3.5mm projectors until 3-4 years ago. These used to cost £2000 to deliver and were liable to damage.
• Films now, are held on a 500GB server and cost only £30 to deliver also being much more secure.
• The scale of film is fixed to the scale of audience
• A larger film allows a larger scale of interupptions

Media Synergy

A great deal can be learnt by Contemporary marketers and brand managers from the media synergy strategies developed by Hollywood studio executives, where in various media products are constructed to promote one another. Theme park rides, soundtracks, novel tie-ins and videogames are all profitable convergent media forms.

Since the success of Star Wars (1977), Hollywood has focused more attention on developing greenlighting, marketing mega franchise films. Mark Crispin Miller (1990) is one of the first academics to analyse Hollywood's move from vertical integration (where 2 companies of the same industry but different stages of production come together) to horizontal integration (where a company develops by buying up competitors in the market) and films that are positioned across multiple media platforms for their core value along with "sequelizability" and ability to be cross-promoted with other media texts. Constant media synergy is where everything within a franchise promotes everything else. 

In Hollywood, any film title that is itself a sequel, or a title that has one or more sequels that follow is known as a Franchise film. Therefore, sequels are seen to be the core that contribute to film franchise. David Bordwell, noticed that sequels began to account for over 25% of the domestic box office in 2003. He refers to the sequel generated revenue only and therefore couldn't factor in the revenue generated by would become the first title in a franchise later. In 2003, the top ten performing films included Bruce Almighty, later sequencing Evan Almighty and also Cheaper by the Dozen sequencing Cheaper by the Dozen 2.
Sequels are also known to drive revenues beyond the raw box office. The raw box office revenue is regarded as the single best predictor of all follow-on ancillary revenue by media industry scholars. The 6 media conglomerates market (The Walt Disney Company,Time Warner,Sony,Viacom,Comcast and News Corporation) and distribute virtually all blockbuster products. Though, recently this have become reliant on the increasing extent on sequelized fare. With the increasing diversity on media conglomerates, sequelized block-busters compromise the nucleus that is surrounded by the large media conglomerates Andex-brands such as; Coke and Nike. 
In roughly three decades since Jaws - the block buster tipping point, there have been well over 100 new Hollywood film franchises, with some low performing sequelised film franchises such as Shiloh and some dominating film franchises such as Star Wars.

The 4-S Hollywood Megafranchise model consists of 4 sections these being; Synergy, Spectacle, Sequelization and Story. Megafranchise such as star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Shrek, Lord of the Rings, Spider Man, and Pirates of the Caribbean generally deploy these four elements to establish their success. In terms of media synergy, all of the above have theme park rides, videogames and soundtracks, these conglomerates can therefore, no be underestimated. However, the 4 S's won't ensure success by themselves. The economic logic that dominates Hollywood is a specific type which is found in music and fashion.

Hollyoaks sequence

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/hollyoaks/4od#3486163
2:17 - 4:35

Camera
When looking at the camera shots and angles within these two opposing storylines, it is seem that these differentiate replicating the mood of the each scene. Within the sequence that I have chosen, the more serious aspect is seen first followed by the bridge into the lighter aspect.
In chronological order, a close up shot is first used to show the emotions upon the less dominant males face. This shows the character is scared or worried, establishing the overall status of each figure. Next a long, wide shot is used to establish the setting, also seeing the characters from a full length perceptive. This therefore enables the audience to assume the characteristics of the characters from aesthetic features such as the way they dress. Following, a low angled shot in used so that the audience are able to see perspective from the hooded figures point of view. With the camera looking up, this suggests that the standing character holds a higher stance in hierarchy over the perching man. A mid shot is then used when the hooded character is against the wall. This allows the audience to see the character from head, down to shoulders. These two shots are after, simultaneously switched, showing alternate perspectives from the two characters during their transactional talk. Over the shoulder shots are also seen during this period, allowing the audience to witness opposing points of views from each character. These camera angles are all taken from a close up so that the the audience are able to create connections with both figures due to the personalised sense of the shot. Finally the camera zooms into the facially free man, establishing the deep thoughts of which the character is seen to be containing.
In the bridge to the next scene, a long, wide shot is again used to establish the scene. Both mid shots and low angled shots then follow simultaneously likewise to that in the first scene, during transactional talk between the two characters. Another long shot is then used to introduce a third character. Mid shots are then used for the remainder of the scene, capturing each character from head to shoulders.

Editing
When looking at the editing in the sequence, only jump cuts are used. These are mainly seen during the alternate speaking of the characters and used also as the bridge from one scene to another. The speed of these vary, having the paste of these increase within the first scene as the conversation becomes more tense, representing the increasing rate of heartbeat.

Sound
The sound used within this sequence is all diegetic, meaning that it is all natural. In the first scene, the diegetic sound is that of the outside environment. Sound heard includes that of wind, birds, barking dogs and the rustling of each characters clothing. The lack of background sound adds to the intensity of the conversational subject matter. The dialogue of this, surrounds the subject of murder. This therefore, observes a serious tone throughout the conversational period. In contrast to this after the bridge, the diegetic sound is that of people talking. This is due to the environment being heavily socialised based. The lighter materialised dialogue witnesses the subject matter of friends and engagements. This material is mixed with the more serious subject matter, appearing at the start of the sequence so that the audience are easily able to relate to the conversational ritual.

Mise en Scene
Finally. when looking at the technical element of the Mise en Scene, this changes between the two scenes. In the first half, the location is set outside in a bleak looking back alley. This immediately strikes me to replicate the rough appearance of the perched man. In addition, the two male characters are the only form of life within the frame. Apart from these, the location is quiet, replicating the secret or hidden aspect within the dialogue. Considering the composition of the scene, the characters are usually pictured in the middle third of the frame, ensuring that they are the dominant focus. If this is not apparent then, the figure is usually placed just off centre to the middle third. This is used to show equality in the balance of the scene. The use of colour is also seen to be quite bleak. This would suggest the depressive tone of the dialogue. Instantly, after bridging into the next scene, the Mise en Scene appears completely different. The prompt difference is that the scene is busy. This suggests a more social and friendly atmosphere in comparison to the previous. The composition of the opening scene arranges both of the female characters just off centre to either side of the middle third. This is an effective technique because this draws the eye of the audience to the entire frame. The colours in this section are also bright and warm suggesting vibrant moods.

Media Ownership questions

What is horizontal and vertical integration in the media industry and can you provide an example?
Horizontal integration: Where an organisation develops by buying up competitors in the same section of the market. This allows media corporations to reach a wider audience.  
For example The Walt Disney Company owns film studios, theme parks, Disney Stores
s and televisions networks, such as ABC.  
Vertical integration: This is where an institution has shares or owns each part of the production and distribution process. This allows media organisations to make profit at every stage in the production chain. 
For example, The Warner Bros Entertainment calls itself a fully integrated broad based entertainment company which owns film studios and the means to distribute the films as well as some of the cinemas in which they are shown. Warner Bros in itself is part of an even bigger conglomerate called Time Warner which is a huge media conglomerate institution which uses horizontal Integration to consolidate its power and profits. 
  
What does Melody (1978) believe happens to the 'media market'?
According to William Melody, the greatest threat to freedom of expression is the possibility that private entrepreneurs will always tend to monopolise the marketplace of ideas in the name of economic efficiency and private profit. For entrepreneurs to monopolise this means that only ideas of entrepreneurs will appear in the marketplace. This impacts some institutions with problems upon entering the market place.

What does Neuman (1991) believe happens to media content? Why is this a problem for the audience?
Neuman believes that the result is that of which most people hear and see in the mass media is remarkably uniform in content and world-view. The media content becomes standardized  and therefore meaning that the same content is boring for the audience.

What does Sterling think about the level of research?
Sterling observes, 'surprisingly little research has been done - only marginally more than we could draw on two decades ago. Too much is assumed or anecdotal, merely suggesting results from ownership changes'. This suggests Sterling thinks too much is being assumed in contrast to the lack of research being done.

What does the media reproduce according to Gomery (2000)?
According to Gomery, the media reproduce reliable information, knowledge, ideology and propaganda in contemporary Capitalist societies. This establishes general everyday values, reproducing class inequalities and therefore, using media in a way that does not benefit certain individuals.

The media industry and corporate power form a powerful cartel. What does it do to local cultures (Meier)?
The powerful cartel encourages the spread of certain values (like individualism, egoism and shareholder value). The public sphere is displaced with commercial infotainment, reality shows and trivialised news programmes due to the strong incentives. Local cultures and communities are eroding and a conservative 'common sense' view of the world is strengthening.

How have media corporations influenced the law? What impact does this have on new businesses entering the market?
Media conglomerates have gained economic strength, which increased their position in society in order for them to become powerful institutions with a great political power. Large media giants have achieved success in writing media laws and regulations to favour the interests of their corporations rather than the interests of the general public (Bagdikian 2000).

What issue does convergence pose for media ownership?
Numerous cross-media ownership rules have been relaxed or disposed with a rise of laissez-faire ideology in European and US parliaments, governments and regulatory bodies. This means that ownership worsens, making it harder for small companies to reach wider audiences.

What does the FCC believe about programme diversity?
FCC (Federal Communications Commission) believes the programme diversity was neccessary to maximise public service. This means that the greater the number of independent broadcasters, the greater the chances for achieving the desired diversity. Rules were adopted that restrict common ownership of broadcast stations and broadcast stations in combination with other media forms.

Media Ownership

What are the problems with 'big media' according to Free Press?

Free Press claims that government officials and corporations have made "corrupt media policy behind closed doors". They state that this has led to "corporate control" over our media, which can only be changed if the public are allowed a say when media policies are made. They have 4 goals to achieve internet freedom:
- to work for "true net Neutrality"
- strong protection for phone users
- public use of public airwaves
- universal access to high-speed internet
Therefore, they have identified these things as problems and are aiming to combat them to ensure freedom for all. Not only this but, they claim that it's easy for broadcast companies to use more free airspace while doing less to serve the public with the aid of lobbyists therefore, not fulfilling the programming needs of the community even though the broadcasters make billions in profit and use the broadcasting airwaves for free.

Summarising 'Is British Film dead?' :

The UK Film Council boasted about the amazing success of British films although, none of these allegedly successful films were British; instead they were made by foreign studios. 
What is Hollywood Accountancy?
This is where Roosevelt launched a propaganda campaign to encourage the American people to call for a war, after he couldn't get the Congress to support him in helping Britain in WW2. Studio moguls agreed to produce anti-German films in return for financial control exemptions.
Some say work is provided for UK film-makers because foreign film distributors assign productions to the UK. Conversely, it has been stated by John Peters that American films are produced here because the British are more obedient and it's 30% cheaper.
Today the Hollywood Six being; Sony, Time Warner, The Walt Disney Company, Comcast/ General Electric, News Corporation and Viacom control 84% of our domestic market; with this and the fact that the French company Pathé controls around 12%, the UK industry is left with about 4% market share. A national film industry doesn't exist until it has at least 20% of its home market therefore, meaning that it's not a national industry in the UK. When JK Rowling was approached to sell the rights to her Harry Potter books she wanted them to go to a British studio but there wasn't one so she sold them to Warner Bros. So they weren't even made by a British studio despite what the UK Film Council says about it's success.
People say that Britain cannot afford to produce such movies like Harry Potter however, this is not the case because banks are investing billions everyday into different things.
There is a law that if a foreign production company wants an American star they must pay a tariff. This is the star's price multiplied by 3. This is formally known as the Working Title rate because Working Title was the first to pay this tariff, giving it the title.