The World's end Notes

The Basics

• The World's End (Cornetto Trilogy)
• Director: Edgar Wright
• Producer: Working Title (Tim Bevan)
• Distributor: Universal (Big Six)
• Budget: $25 million
• Box Office: $46 million

'Cornetto Trilogy' - repeatability for DVD and BluRay

The Audience

• The target Audience is male 28-40 (who like sci-fi and comedy and indie music/britpop)
• Links to soundtrack which is full of late 80s early 90s hits by bands such as: The Housemartins, Blur, Primal Scream, Pulp, James, Happy Mondays, Suede, The Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets.

All star 'British' cast

• Simon Pegg (Gary King): Star Trek, Mission Impossible, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Paul - mainstream and niche appeal.
• Nick Frost (Andy Knightley) : Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Paul - mainstream and niche appeal.
• Martin Freeman (Oliver Chamberlain) : The Hobbit, Love Actually, The Office (TV), Sherlock (TV)
• Paddy Considine (Steven Prince) : Dead Man's Shoes, Submarine, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher (TV) - multiple acting award nominations. Target audience of film buffs/ aficionados
• Eddie Marsan (Peter Page) : Tyrannosaur, Miami Vice, Happy-Go-Lucky, Sherlock Holmes (Inspector Lestrade). Target audience of film buffs/ aficionados.
• Rosamund Pike (Sam Chamberlain) : Die Another Day, An Education, Made In Dagenham, Wrath Of The Titans, Jack Reacher

Other  notable cast members

• Pierce Brosnan (Guy Shepherd): James Bond (1995-2004), The Thomas Crown Affair, The Ghost, Mama Mia
• Bill Nighy (The Network-voice only): Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Love Actually, Pirates of the Caribbean
• Rafe Spall (Young Man): Grindhouse, Kidulthood, Prometheus, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Life of Pi, I Give It A Year

The Director

 

Edgar Wright: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, The Adventures of Tin Tin (co writer), Spaced (TV)

 

Theme

 

The film focuses on uniquely British concerns: pubs, 'lad' culture, British nightlife, loss of British identity, the homogenization of the high street, American influence, school, sleepy market towns. The film is also about growing up, the potential of youth and the disappointment of adult life.
The film was a niche product globally and a mass market product nationally.

 

Figures

• Only 7% of British films make a profit.
• Of films costing less than £2 million only 45 make a profit.
• Of films costing £10 million or more 17% make a profit

Reception

• Rotten Tomatoes 89% approval rating
• Metacritic 81 out of 100

30 Questions

What % of global box office was the British film industry responsible for?
15.3%

What was this % in 2009?
6.8%

What might this change indicate about British film?

This indicates that the percentage almost doubled

What films have been responsible for this change?

Slumdog millionaire, Dark Knight Rises, James Bond

What % of the British film industry makes a profit?
7%

What % of Hollywood films make a profit?
17%

How does that % differ between £2m and £10m budget British films?
4%

What might we infer from this difference?
This indicates that film production at box office dropped

Which age group makes up the largest % of UK cinema goers?
18-24 year olds are the most likely to go to the cinema and make up the largest percentage

Why do you think this might be?
As people at this age will be wanting to go and have a good time with friends or as they have free time they want to socialize with friends

Which 'type' of film has seen an 18% drop in attendance?
3D films have made a 18% drop in the media

Within that 'type' which genre has seen the biggest fall?
The family films that don’t involve a lot of action/horror have also seen a fall

What did Charles Grant put this decline down to?
Charles Grant say's that 3D films are too expensive

Who is Paul Greengrass?
An English film director

How did he describe the British film industry?

Greengrass told the BBC on Sunday night the 17% figure for higher budget films was approximately the same rate of profitability as Hollywood.

What did a BFI spokesperson say was the point of less profitable low budget British films?
"tiny budget films that, while commercial success is always hoped for, are successful and beneficial to the industry for other reasons like skills and training development and for artistic and cultural importance"

What was the budget for Filth and how much money did it take?

BUDGET: $5,000,000 (estimated)

BOX OFFICE: £247,860 (UK) (29 September 2013) (38 Screens)

What advantage did James McAvoy feel £100m films have over low budget films?

"An independent film managed to get people to come and see it without a studio and without hundreds of millions of dollars of advertising money. That's remarkable - it means British film can do it on its own." "He said $100m (£61m) movies that "sometimes aren't very good" had an advantage over smaller films because they had a massive budget to sell the film."

What is VOD?

Video on Demand

What % increase did VOD see last year?

50% Increase

What impact might VOD have on distributors and Studios?

"Maybe VOD [video-on-demand] is going to change everything because the distributor and the studio might become less important."

What impact has it had on Blockbuster rental stores?

It has forced the company to go bust because everybody nowadays uses VOD which means that nobody uses the video shops anymore.

What was unique about Ben Wheatleys 'A Field In England'?

In July this year, Ben Wheatley's film A Field in England was the first UK film to be released simultaneously in cinemas, on DVD, on TV and through video-on-demand. Wheatley's "psychedelic trip", set during the English Civil War, took more than £21,000 at the box office on the same weekend it was available free of charge on Film 4. It also sold more then 2,000 copies on DVD over the same period. The film was made on a modest budget of £300,000.

What does director of The Machine Caradog James think is the toughest part of film making?

"The toughest thing is you make a good film but can you get it to reach an audience? It's events like this and individuals who champion independent cinema that give us a profile and any chance of a mass audience."

Why have rules been relaxed on what makes a film 'British'?

Anna Mansi (the BFI's head of certification) told the BBC "This puts us on a level playing field with our creative content tests and other European culture tests, the increase in visual effects points will also be very beneficial to the effects industry."

How has the use of visual effects in films been encouraged?

Alex Hope of visual effects company Double Negative said he was "delighted" with the tax changes, hoping foreign productions filming in the UK would hire British effects companies rather than taking the work back overseas. "Today's measures target productions that would not otherwise qualify for tax relief and incentive them to bring VFX or production business to the UK," he said.

Name five of these rules and link them to The Kings Speech, Kill List, The World's End

Film set in the UK - all threes films are set in different parts of the UK.

Lead characters British citizens or residents - the main characters are all of British descent (Colin Firth - The King's Speech, Simon Pegg - The World's End, Neil Maskell -  Kill List)

Film based on British subject matter or underlying material - The King's Speech is about our English monarchy, The World's End is about traditional English pubs in a traditional English town (with a twist), and Kill List is about two hitmen in the North, traditionally this can be seen as quite an American subject matter however the strong dialect and British twist to the film makes it qualify as this. 

Original dialogue recorded mainly in English language - all the films were filmed in English.

Represents/reflects diverse British culture, heritage or creativity - The King's Speech is more upper class society, The World's End is more middle class and Kill List is working class.

What rules has chancellor George Osbourne announced for tax on British films?

"George Osborne also announced tax relief would be increased from 20% to 25% on the first £20m of qualifying production expenditure. Productions will also only have to spend 10% of their budgets on UK expenditure to qualify - down from 25% - to help more independent production companies and make the UK a more attractive co-production partner. Mr Osborne will also announced a £5m investment in the National Film and Television School's Digital Village, to create a training centre for the UK's digital and creative industries."

What is the highest grossing film in UK box office history?

Skyfall (To date, the 23rd Bond adventure has earned £94.3m in the UK, beating the previous record holder, Avatar, which grossed £94m in 11 months.)

How much has it taken and how many screens was it available on?

£20,180,369 (UK) (28 October 2012) (587 Screens)

The Seven Areas Of Representation (ETHNICITY)

DEFINITION OF ETHNICITY- Relating to or characteristic of a human group having racial, religious, linguistic, and certain other traitsin common

STEREOTYPES ASSOCIATED WITH ETHNICITY- An ethnic stereotype is a simplified and often misleading representation of an ethnic group, composed of what are thought to be typical characteristics of members of a given ethnic group. These images of a particular group are used to communicate underlying messages about status, society and cultural norms.

A SELECTION OF TV DRAMAS THAT INCLUDE THE STEREOTYPE, ETHNICITY- There are many different kinds of shows on television today and these are able to present different kinds of images. Some shows present news and current affairs stories, trying to report on actual events in a realistic way. Other shows will create fictional drama or comedy situations that are designed to reflect real life. Commercials are made to sell products to specific groups or target audiences in society.

All of these types of television can use stereotypes as part of their presentation. Some of the main kinds of stereotypes used on television include:

• Gender 
• Age 
• Ethnicity 
• Disability

Stereotypes can be used in positive or constructive ways, however there has been research that shows many people base real life opinions on how different groups are shown on television.

ANALYSIS OF HOW THE STEREOTYPE'S ARE REPRESENTED- Many sociologists believe that media representations of ethnic minority groups are problematic because they contribute to the reinforcement of negative racist stereotypes. Media representations of ethnic minorities may be undermining the concept of a tolerant multicultural society and perpetuating social divisions based on colour, ethnicity and religion.

Evidence suggests that, despite some progress, ethnic minorities are generally under-represented or are represented in stereotyped and negative ways across a range of media content. In particular, newspapers and television news have a tendency to present ethnic minorities as a problem or to associate Black people with physical rather than intellectual activities and to neglect, and even ignore, racism and the inequalities that result from it.

IMAGES FROM THE TV DRAMAS YOU USE TO ILLUSTRATE YOUR POINTS-

ISSUES OR PROBLEMS THAT ARISE FROM THE REPRESENTATION OR THE STEREOTYPE INVOLVED- The reading and study of ethnic minority writing repeatedly confront the problem of representation, and raise many questions in the debate between essentialism and social construction and implications for the issues of appropriation of voice and agency. Using examples from Italian-Canadian writers and other minority groups in Canada this paper explores these questions and implications referring to the critical work of Sneja Gunew, Edward Said, Francesco Loriggio, Linda Hutcheon and Frank Lentricchia.

The King's Speech Case Study

The kings speech is a very  British film, the film tells the story of a man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stammer and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country through war.

Britishness...  
The director of the film was Tom Hooper, he was born and brought up in London. Most people to the modern day would define a British film to be a ‘British’ film with reference to obvious cultural elements such as a setting in the UK or a focus on British people abroad. A predominantly British cast, a story-line about some aspect of British life. However, there's are two ways that a film is able to qualify, either under Schedule 1 to the films Act 1985, examples include the Bond and Harry Potter films, or by satisfying the terms of an international co-production agreement to which the UK is a party.2 Under the Films Act, for a film to be certified as ‘British’ by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, a number of tests must be met:3

• The maker test: the film must be made by a company that is registered and centrally managed and controlled in the UK, in another state of the European Union/European Economic Area or in a country with which the European Community has signed an Association Agreement;4
• The production cost test: 70% of the production cost of the film must be spent on film making activity in the UK.

Exhibition...

The box office in the UK doesn't really pay attention to mainstream medias cinema box office. However, The King's Speech made £3.52 million on the films opening weekend. The films reception of the film was a range of different views.

 "The King's Speech takes a rather different view of Britain and the 1930's, though it's not entirely inconsistent with Auden's judgment and isn't in any sense what is sneeringly called heritage cinema. It is the work of a highly talented group of artists who might be regarded as British realists – Tom Hooper directed the soccer epic The Damned United; Eve Stewart was production designer on Mike Leigh's Topsy-Turvy and Vera Drake; Jenny Beavan was responsible for the costumes worn in Gosford Park and The Remains of the Day; the cinematographer Danny Cohen lit Shane Meadows's This is England and Dead Man's Shoes; Tariq Anwar's editing credits range from The Madness of King George to American Beauty; and the screenplay is by the British writer David Seidler, who co-wrote Coppola's Tucker: The Man and His Dream."

 The kings speech is a very British film as its about the royal family at the begging of the second world war. 

Production Issues...
The film had a budget of 15 million. it was marketed extremely well due to the fact that the marketing campaign was spread by word of mouth that had been generated by the press, A few other techniques were used to keep the conversation going. The three production companies were:

• UK Film Council
• See-Saw Films
• Bedlam Productions
• Momentum pictures
• The UK film council was an income of money from the national lottery which was shortly closed down after a few weeks of it's release date. 

Essay Plan

Paragraph 1; Saying weather i agree or disagree, then looking at the question and briefly explaining key areas of the question. Show understanding of the text question and clear understanding and knowledge. Develop on my side of the argument, find a reference to back your evidence up.

Paragraph 2; look at the areas of media the question effects;
-Film
find case study material on each of these examples and go into detail about how each one has influenced the media, keep gong back to the question and stay on task.

Paragraph 3; Talking about the money, and the effect it has had on the global institutions. Talk about the box office and how it influences films and helps films do well. Find examples that are most relevant to the question set.

Paragraph 4; Look at the different companies, Disney, Paramount and look how successful they have been with the film industry referring each time to the question.

NOTES...
Examples of global institution are Major Film Studios, A major film studio is a film producer and production company that releases a substantial number of films annually.

The Big Six film studios are:

1. Warner Bros. Pictures. Comprising a whopping 19.7 per cent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Warner Bros. Pictures is the biggest player in the film industry. Securing the rights to major films like Harry Potter, Superman, Batman, The Matrix and Star Wars have made Warner Bros. the No. 1 name in the business.

2. Paramount Pictures. With 15.5 per cent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Paramount Pictures continues to be one of the most successful film production companies in the world. Star Trek, War of the Worlds, the Mission Impossible series, Transformers and Tropic Thunder are just a few of the popular films produced by Paramount Pictures.

3. Walt Disney. One of the most renowned film production companies in the history of the business, Walt Disney now holds 15.3 per cent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures). With highly successful movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure, Meet the Robinson and Enchanted, there's no doubt that Disney will continue to play a key role in the industry for years to come.

4. Columbia Pictures. Comprising 12.9 per cent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures), Columbia Pictures remains a big player in the business. Some of this company's recent successes include Casino Royal, The DA Vince Code, the Spider-Man series and Step Brothers.

5. Universal Studios. 12.2 per cent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures) belongs to Universal Studios, which continues to make millions for the film industry. With major hits like the Borne series (Borne Identity, Borne Supremacy and Borne Ultimatum), The American Pie series, Knocked Up, American Gangster and The Incredible Hulk, it's very clear that Universal Studios knows what it takes to make money in this industry.

6. 20th Century Fox. Also known as "Twentieth Century Fox," this highly successful movie production company makes up 11.9 per cent of the US/Canadian market share (2007 figures). Some of the biggest and most successful movies from this empire include the X-Men series, Mr. and Mrs Smith, Star Wars Episodes II and III, and the Fantastic Four.

Roughly 9/10 films in the UK are seen as a result of these distributes.

USEFUL TERMINOLOGY.

Convergence - is the tendency for different technological systems to evolve toward
performing similar tasks. e.g. ability to watch video on your phone, tablet, console etc

Synergy – The interaction of two or more institutions/companies to ensure a larger effect than
if they acted independently. This is beneficial for each company through efficiencies in expertise and costs.

Exchange – How we access films

Proliferation - the spread of something

Hardware – the physical equipment used to either record, watch or distribute films

Content – the ‘things’ put in a film (SFX, 3D etc)

MARK SCHEME.

“Media production is dominated by global institutions, which sell their products and services to national audiences”. To what extent do you agree with this statement? 

Candidate focus on one of the following media areas, though they may make reference to other media areas, which they have studied:
Film

Candidates will be assessed on their ability to illustrate patterns of production, distribution, exchange and consumption through relevant case study examples and their own experiences as . Candidates may cover the following material in their responses to the question:
Production practices which allow texts to be constructed for specific audiences
Distribution and marketing strategies to raise audience awareness of specific products or types of products

General Mark scheme

Explanation/analysis/argument
20 marks Use of examples
20 marks Use of terminology
10 marks.

Level 1

Explanation/analysis/argument (0-7 marks) Shows minimal understanding of the task Minimal knowledge and understanding of institutional/audience practices, general opinions or assertions predominate Minimal argument evident, with little reference to case study material Of minimal relevance to set question or a brief response (under one and a half sides of answer booklet). Use of examples (0-7 marks) Offers minimal use of case study material Offers a limited range of (or inappropriate) examples Offers examples of minimal relevance to set question. Use of terminology (0-3 marks) Minimal or frequently inaccurate use of appropriate terminology. Some simple ideas have been expressed. There will be some errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar, which will be noticeable and intrusive. Writing may also lack legibility.

Level 2

Explanation/analysis/argument (8-11 marks) Shows basic understanding of the task Basic knowledge and understanding of institutional/audience practices, Factual knowledge will have some accuracy Basic argument evident, with some reference to case study material Some relevance to set question. Use of examples (8-11 marks) Offers some evidence from case study material Offers a partial range of examples from case study and/or own experience Offers examples of some relevance to the set question. Use of terminology (4-5 marks) Some terminology used, although there may be some inaccuracies. Some simple ideas have been expressed in an appropriate context. There are likely to be some errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar of which some may be noticeable and intrusive.

Level 3

Explanation/analysis/argument (12-15 marks) Shows proficient understanding of the task Proficient knowledge and understanding of institutional/audience practices, factual knowledge is mostly accurate Some developed argument, supported by reference to case study material Mostly relevant to set question. Use of examples (12-15 marks) Offers consistent evidence from case study material Offers a range of examples from case study and/or own experience Offers examples which are mostly relevant to the set question. Use of terminology (6-7 marks) Use of terminology is mostly accurate. Straightforward ideas have been expressed with some clarity and fluency. Arguments are generally relevant, though may stray from the point of the question. There will be some errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar, but these are unlikely to be intrusive or obscure meaning.

Level 4

Explanation/analysis/argument (16-20 marks) Shows excellent understanding of the task Excellent knowledge and understanding of institutional/audience practices,  factual knowledge is relevant and accurate  A clear and developed argument, substantiated by detailed reference to case study material Clearly relevant to set question. Use of examples (16-20 marks) Offers frequent evidence from case study material, award marks to reflect the range and appropriateness of examples from case study and/or own experience Offers examples which are clearly relevant to the set question. Use of terminology 8-10 marks) Use of terminology is relevant and accurate. Complex issues have been expressed clearly and fluently. Sentences and paragraphs, consistently relevant, have been well structured, using appropriate technical terminology. There may be few, if any, errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar.

The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing

Paramount was the distributor and Production Company for Star Trek Into Darkness.

To co-inside with the film’s release and to generate more money and profit it means that Paramount had to work to get Star Trek more into the public eye (more so than it already was). It means that they had to make content that was all around the public eye, for example they made a video game and also an iPhone and Android app. Also because they were in charge of making sure the film was publicised and distributed enough to make sure that they got back all the money that they had spent creating the film in the first place, it was crucial that they decided to create the right media to ensure that the public interest was influenced by the marketing to actually decide to see the film in the cinema.

Paramount essentially took the lead in marketing the film; however they did also have a part in creating the film as well.

 

A game was created during the making of the film star trek, it was a single player action game with a co-operative gameplay option, and this allowed players to connect and either play Spock or Kirk. The person who created this game was named Steve Sinclair delivered his E3 pitch, and others described it as “bro-op”. Disadvantages about this game are that it doesn’t allow players to switch characters between the different chapters; it also doesn’t allow fellow players to “drop-in” and play alongside co-operatively.

Paramount would have created the app for I phones and devices as it would have been a good marketing point for the film, also it would have attracted a wide age range audience which then could encourage users to go ahead and watch the film.

Kill List Research

WARP X

Year	Film	Director	Notes
2008	A Complete History of My Sexual Failures	Chris Waitt	Winner, Festival Prize: Spirit of Darklight, Darklight Film Festival[6]
	Donkey Punch	Olly Blackburn	Filmed on a £1 million budget,[7][8] over 24 days,[9][10] in South Africa[11]
2009	Bunny and the Bull	Paul King	Winner, Best Achievement in Production, British Independent Film Awards[12]
	She, a Chinese	Xiaolu Guo	Winner, Golden Leopard, Locarno International Film Festival[13]
			Winner, Screenplay Award, Hamburg Film Festival[14][15]
	All Tomorrow's Parties	All Tomorrow's People & Jonathan Caouette	Covers several years of the music festival, All Tomorrow's Parties, which began in 2002[16]
	Hush	Mark Tonderai	Nominated, Best Achievement in Production, British Independent Film Awards[17]
2011	Tyrannosaur	Paddy Considine	Winner, Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, BAFTA[18]
			Winner, The World Cinema Award for Directing: Dramatic, Sundance Film Festival[19]
			Winner, Best British Independent Film, British Independent Film Awards[19]
			Winner, Best Director, British Independent Film Awards[19]
	Kill List	Ben Wheatley	Nominated, Best Achievement in Production, British Independent Film Awards[20]
			Nominated, Best Director, British Independent Film Awards[20]
			Winner, Best Horror, Empire Awards[21][22]
2012	Berberian Sound Studio	Peter Strickland	Previewed at London FrightFest Film Festival in August 2012,[23] and at the 2012 Edinburgh International Film Festival[24]
2013	For Those in Peril	Paul Wright	First feature film for director Paul Wright;[25] with debut at 2013 Cannes Film Festival[26]

STUDIO CANAL

StudioCanal acquired film libraries from studios that either went defunct or had merged with it over the years. As a result, the company's library is the third-largest in the world.
StudioCanal's library includes the film libraries of:

• Carolco Pictures (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Basic Instinct, Total Recall, etc.)
• De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (King Kong Lives, Tai-Pan, 3 Days of the Condor, Evil Dead II, international rights to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, etc.)
• Embassy Pictures (The Graduate, This Is Spinal Tap, The Producers, The Emerald Forest, The Sure Thing, etc.)
• the Alexander Salkind pictures not owned by Warner Bros. (including The Trial and Santa Claus: The Movie)
• British Lion Films (The Wicker Man, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Don't Look Now, The Third Man, etc.)
• the films of Anglo-Amalgamated (Peeping Tom, the Carry On series (1958-66 only), etc.)
• the Ealing Studios library (The Ladykillers, The Cruel Sea, etc.)
• the EMI Films library (Highlander, Death on the Nile, The Go-Between, etc.; also including the ABPC back catalogue, but not including US rights to certain co-productions—said rights to such films as Close Encounters of the Third Kind [whose worldwide rights are with Sony Pictures] and The Deer Hunter [whose worldwide rights are with Universal Studios] are owned by other major studios, usually the original releasing studio) - coincidentally, StudioCanal sister company Universal Music Group acquired EMI in 2012
• and the Lumiere Pictures and Television output (including The Avengers)

FILM FOUR

Film4 did not originally focus on broadcasting blockbusters, but nowadays broadcasts many mainstream Hollywood films. The channel frequently has themed nights or seasons in which a number of films centred around one genre, director or actor are shown. As Channel 4 also owns a film production company, Film4 Productions, it shows many of its in-house productions.

UK FILM COUNCIL

1. Cross My Mind (2014) ... Production Company
2. How I Live Now (2013) ... Production Company
3. Under the Skin (2013/I) ... Production Company
4. Last Passenger (2013) ... Production Company (developed with the support of)
5. The Spirit of '45 (2013) ... Production Company (support)
6. Now Is Good (2012) ... Production Company (in association with)
7. The Woman in Black (2012) ... Production Company (presents)
8. Up There (2012) ... Production Company (presents)
9. The Iron Lady (2011) ... Production Company (presents) (as UK Film Council [Awarding funds from The National Lottery®])
10. My Week with Marilyn (2011) ... Production Company (made with the support of