Audience And Institution Essay

To what extent is digital distribution vital to the film industry?

The way that people receive information has always affected how important and impactful that information can become in their lives. In the case of films, accessibility has always been a major factor in that equation. At the height of cinema, going to the theatre was an activity mainly enjoyed by whole families but as we entered a more digital age the way that audiences received movies changed dramatically. At the turn of the 21st century, we were introduced to DVDs, and as time continued accessibility broaden the reach of audiences around the world. Now in our current world watching a movie can be done almost anywhere where one has internet access. Though some may disagree, digital distribution has become one of the most vital things within the film industry because it controls the kinds of audiences that a film can attract and the profits that the film can produce. 

A film is not made to cater to everyone, films are made with certain audiences in mind. The way that the film is distributed can be a clear indicator of what kind of narrative the film is planning to explore. While most blockbuster films get wide releases into theaters like AMC or Regal, films that are indie and obscure are usually released into specific film festivals or into specific streaming sites. A substantial amount of Blockbuster movies are released in theatres before anything else. For example, on the opening weekend of the latest Avengers movie, Avengers: Endgame, which was released in summer 2019, was shown in approximately 58,000 AMC theatres within the united states. The movie followed a well-known plot that was easily understood by the general public. As a result, when distributing the film the number of people that went to see it was more important than who came to see the film. The opposite can be said for the realist thriller The Lobster which a sundance release. Though both films gartered positive reviews the distribution played a key role in getting those reviews. Since the movie the lobster follows a lesser-known genre; the film was only distributed to people who would be familiar with not only the concept of realism but also comfortable with the unfamiliar and unnerving scenes that are portrayed in the film. While Avenger: Endgame gartered more money than The Lobster both films were successes to their respective audiences due to their distribution methods. 

While positive reviews are great, the film industry, like any other industry, runs on profits; digital distribution is a vital part of how much profit they will gain. As we progress forward there has been an increase in the proliferation of hardware and content. People now value comfort over experience and so streaming platforms are now more popular than movie theatres. As a result, more and more producers are releasing their films straight to streaming platforms because it provides a more direct and instant form of profit. An example of this is the 2018 sci-fi film Annihilation. This film was first released in theatres and did horribly in the box office. After some time, Netflix bought the movie and it was shown there. Surprisingly, the movie did very well on that platform. You would think that the movie was not interesting enough to grab the movie go’ ers attention but the different platforms that it was distributed to shows that the demographic that the movie was for was not reached originally.  When distributing the films, having knowledge about how films are being primarily viewed assists people in choosing low-risk options. An example of this that is seen is the influx of comedian specials being released to Netflix first. They have noticed that in order to gain the most profit from your film, distributing it to a place that will help your film succeed. 

The distribution of films plays an important role in how successful the movie is yet, that stage is extremely overlooked. A movie can have an amazing plot but without proper distribution to one’s intended audience, a great movie can instantly turn into a box office flop. With the proper digital distribution, a movie can get to it’s intended demographic and succeed while accumulating a great amount of profit.

Game of Thrones Extract Practice Essay

In this extract, I believe that the author's vision was for Lord Stannis and Sir Davos to be the underdogs and have a 'Never-say-never' spirit. The one boat filled with ragged men entering the city looks little compared to the big city that is shown. Throughout the extract, many, obvious, aspects lay out the idea that Lord Stannis needs the help of the Iron Bank and is in a not so lovely position. It is the not so obvious aspects of the extract that makes this into an underdog like theme.
When they are first introduced into the scene there are many aerial shots happening. These aerial shots made them and their ship look inferior in comparison to the city they were going into. That scene was full of ambient sounds and everyone seemed so busy and hectic, it seemed to have no structure. The massive Spartan statue and seemingly calm, beautiful city that is seen when the aerial shot happens further enforces that idea of them being two completely different environments. They have no power when compared to the city they are entering. After that, the setting changes to an empty hall with very dim lighting. This scene is also where the dialogue starts.
Dialogue is a way that the director can get their point of the scene across. This is one of the obvious aspects that I mentioned before. While the dialogue helps give the audience more context on what is happening it does not show the 'Never say never' attitude that the characters have explicitly. The first thing that is obvious about this new scene is dim lighting. I noticed that the places in which the lighting was especially dim, that character seemed to lack confidence or power in the situation. Sir Davos is barely seen when he is first introduced while Lord Stannis' face is seen clearly even though he is right next to him. This shows the importance of each character at the moment to the audience.
After a little bit of dialogue, three men walk into the scene. Unlike Lord Stannis and Sir Davos, their movements were followed, their footsteps were heard. This shows that they have some level of importance which requires them to receive that much attention in comparison to Stannis and Davos. Before those men walked into the scene there were many wide shots which made them seem smaller than they are, somewhat similar to the aerial shots from before. When they arrived suddenly the wide shots turned into mid shots and close-ups. These are the subtle details that show the power structure in the room. When they arrived suddenly both Stannis and Davos were nearly impossible to see because of the dim lighting while the three men of the Iron Bank were clearly seen.
As the scene continued with more dialogue you begin to notice the constant changes in camera position. You notice that there is a slight difference in the height of the people. The three men sitting in the throne-like chairs are, ever so slightly, looking down on Stannis and Davos, while it may not be drastic you can tell that this plays a major role in them maintaining their power. They seem more condescending to Sir Davos when he is sitting down under their gaze in comparison to when Davos approached them confidently while standing. At first, I thought that I was only looking into it too hard until I noticed something. When placed at a higher angle, that actor specifically was clearer to see. It could simply "just be the lighting from the windows" but it seemed more deliberate.
This theory was finally confirmed in the last part of the extract when Sir Davos started fighting back. When he stood up he suddenly was clear as day. He is in relatively the same place as when the scene started but the sudden confidence and 'shift in power' caused the director to have more light shined on him. The Iron Bank men who did not move at all since the extract started seemed to get darker, meaning that they were losing the power that they had before in this situation. If that was not proof enough for me, when the action match happened at the end, the first time it has happened for Sir Davos since the three Iron Bank men walked in, Lord Stannis, who was in front of a window, still did not have the same light on him as Sir Davos did.
The director's vision for these scenes was done in a way that was almost unnoticeable. They used subtle techniques to establish the power structure that was happening in that empty hall. It was not only the dialogue or the use of the throne-like chairs that established who had the most power. It was the use of the subtle high angles and the very precise lighting that would also let the audience know the constant changing of power that was happening within that scene. If I only looked at the dialogue and props used in this scene, I would not have been able to see the very present theme of 'Never say never.' Even when under the condescending eyes of the Iron Bank, who kept denying them, Sir Davos never succumbed to their power, he never gave up.

A Night OutCCR

This is the Creative Critical Reflection of my movie opening A Night Out.

A Night Out (Movie Opening)

This is the movie opening that my partner and I put together. The name of this movie is A Night Out. The genre of this film is Thriller. We took advantage of the ambient sounds that we had and interchanged it with the soundtrack that we used. In comparison to our commercial, this film included dialogue and handheld shots that gave the film more variety. 

Starbucks Commercial

This is the first commercial that my partner and I filmed. We filmed the voiceover from the computer speaker, that is why it is so scratchy. The voice-over will have a description of the tea and talk about the details, like the size and affordability. I play the actor in this commercial. 

Social Distancing = No Filming :(

We have been advised to participate in social distancing. Because of the coronavirus, it is unwise to leave your house unless you’re going to essential locations. My partner and I only had one little scene that we wanted to reshoot but unfortunately, we haven’t been able to. in this case we didn’t really know what to do. Because the coronavirus is affecting the whole world I wasn’t even sure if my project would even be accepted. luckily our whole movie is done, albeit not to our standards. We had some scenes we wanted to reshoot because it caused a bit of confusion when we showed it to others. Since we can’t do that, it’s best that we have a coherent movie at the moment. I edited the whole movie together so my partner is in charge of making the titles and inserting them. My partner went over what I edited together and asked for changes and at the moment I am waiting for the titles to be done.  After it’s done I can review it and make the final touches. By the time the final product comes out, the movie would have been reviewed three to four times by different people. In the meantime, I started on my CCR. I started by revisiting my previous projects, the commercial and music video. I looked at the CCR’s of those and searched for differences and similarities between what I did then and now. That helped refresh my memory and made it easier to write my CCR. Even though our Cambridge tests have been canceled it’s best to continue putting out work. I wouldn’t want all my hard work to go to waste. I’ve improved a lot when it came to editing my work so I would like to have it shown. While my teachers are not completely sure about what the end result of this will be I am going to continue working towards the original end goal to make this whole year worth it. 

Music = MANY Problems

For our film, having a song integrated into your opening sequence was mandatory. A couple of problems came with that though. Many songs that could be found on YouTube or that my partner and I were familiar with all were copyrighted. Copyright is the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same. This meant that we had to find a song to use that went with our genre. There were two ways that we could’ve gone about this: we could’ve contacted an artist that we knew and ask permission to use their music in our film or get royalty-free music. I preferred the latter. Since I did most of the editing I had to look for the music. The first thing I did was go on YouTube and try to find some royalty-free music that would go with our film. When I first started this we had not filmed yet. This made it harder to find a song that was not only royalty-free but would go with the scenes that were taking place. After searching for some time, I found a song called tense suspense alternative mix on Spotify. I found it on a playlist that solely had copyright free music. To double-check, I went through the description and even emailed the owner of that playlist to make sure that the song was royalty-free. After getting a confirmation I planned on putting it into the film after we edited. When it came time to insert it into the film I ran into some problems. The main problem was that I was unable to get the track from Spotify and into the film. While editing I found that I have very little patience and absolutely no idea how to get the intended track into the film therefore, I decided to find another song. In turn, I went right back to YouTube and look up more royalty-free music. I ended up finding a website named FesliyanStudios.com which, allowed me to download any track that I wanted from the website. The website made it very clear that it was safe and okay to use the music in my film, seeing as it’s not an ad or anything to gain money. I then downloaded the track dark fog onto my computer and then transferred it into my phone, where I was editing the film.  I decided to play the track throughout the whole film; for scenes where I wanted it to be more prominent, I lowered the ambient sounds of that scene. If I didn’t want it to be heard at all I would just cut the sound out for that specific section of the film. While the journey to getting the track was tedious, it was very easy to incorporate it into my film.