Starter 12/12/14

Digital native is someone who was born post 1995.

Web 2.0 is the new web-second stage of the internet such as pictures and videos, it is interactive (David Gaulett, 2002)

LO1 Unit 1 Task 4 - Advertising and Distribution of "The Avatar" Script and Video

Script-

Welcome back, for our task 4 of unit 1 in education Vlogs, todays Vlog is about how 'The Avatar' was distributed and marketed (Advertised).

Let’s start off with some information and theories you will need to know before you watch my Vlog the first is of a theory that a British sociologist and media theorist known as David Gauntlett (2002) discussed the rise of Web 2.0, he said that Web 2.0 is the change of the internet being a static one way form of communication to a two way interactive medium and the second is that technological convergence is when two technologies come together to provide new service for the user.

Now let’s go on to the ways in which the term distribution is defined in media.

There are two ways in which distribution is defined in media the first is how the product reaches the audience and the second is the way in which the product is distributed and promoted.

Firstly there are two ways in which a media product is distributed, the first is analogue which is the old methods which are known as traditional and the second is digital which is the new method of distribution.

The Avatar can be viewed in two methods which are known as analogue (The old methods (which are becoming outdated) and digital (The new methods). 

The Avatar can be viewed in both digital and analogue methods in several different ways for example, for the traditional methods; ‘The Avatar’ could be viewed when it was showing at the cinema. But now you can view it with options varying from the immersive experience of IMAX to 3D, or just a standard digital cinema viewing which is a new method. There are several digital methods ‘The Avatar’ can be viewed, for example it can be streamed through several methods such as, from Netflix, Sky movies, Virgin Media, All using On Demand services/ capabilities. It can also be watched through the use of the internet which is also known as Web 2.0, The Avatar can be Streamed and downloaded off websites like Pirate bay, Watchseries.eu, Watchseries.to, Afdah, Put locker and many more. However the majority of these websites have been blocked by most broadband providers because of the Digital Economy Act of 2014.But even with this act in place the older methods of watching television and films are becoming outdated as the digital advancement of such services like web 2.0 in recent years are beyond the viewing experience of the cinema whether or not they are IMAX or a physical copy of the film, as digital technologies are more available than ever before, Especially since the digital advancement allows you to watch your favourite films and series such as ‘The Avatar’ on devices from smart TVs, tablets, smart phones and many more.

Now  ill start of will explaining the terminology you will need to know for this section of the Vlog, let’s start off with the definition of old media, old media is the traditional methods of marketing and advertising such as billboards and posters, and new media can’t exactly be defined as it is changing daily, but it is typically recognised as using the internet or a form of technology such as websites, multimedia through the internet i.e social media websites and much more.

The Avatar was marketed/ and or advertised in a variety of different methods that fall in too both old and new methods of media to prepare for the film’s release in the UK on December the 10^th 2009 and December the 11^th 2009 in the US. It made around $2.7 billion dollar box office and another $400 million dollars which is about £266 million pound on domestic sales such as DvD, digital download and Blu-ray.

One of the ways it was advertised and marketed was through panels and interviews with the production crew at several events like the 2009 San Diego comic-con event on July the 23^rd to promote the film by showing 25 minutes of the footage from the film which would be considered a type of old media and new media as they have had interviews before the rise of web 2.0 but because of the rise of web 2.0 the interviews and footage can be found on any device with internet connection. 

The films was also promoted using trailers and teasers with extended versions being released later to keep the hype up for the upcoming release, other Television series like ‘Bones’ heavily promoted the film as this series rights are owned by the same company (20^th Century Fox) as ‘The Avatar’  and as the trailers and television series in which it was promoted is available just about anywhere with internet connection this is again a form of new media and how the rise of web 2.0 affects advertisement. ‘The Avatar also uses old media methods such as using the magazine known as the Empire to promote the film by giving them exclusive images however the rise of web 2.0 would again mean the images are available on the internet through several methods.

Thanks for watching.

Feedback Sheet for Unit 1 Task 3

Improvements to be made are-

LO3 Technological Convergence

Technological convergence is when technologies come together and this provides new services for the audience (smartphone- phone, computer, web etc.)

David Gauntlett (2002) discussed the rise of web 2.0

This is the change in the internet being a static, one way form of communication to a two way interactive media.

Prosumer-
UGC (User Generated Comment).
For example Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and IMDB

LO3 How a Film is Marketed

Methods of marketing

Traditional-
Billboards
On public transport (Trams, buses and trains)
Posters
Magazine/newspaper (Guardian) i.e. the film reviews

Digital-
The trailers/teaser trailers on television i.e. the advertisements
Website banners
Talk shows (Jonathon Ross)
Social media
Other Films
Events
Digital billboard
Applications

Both-
Interviews
Events
Merchandising
Radio

Prosumer-
UGC (User Generated Comment).
For example Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and IMDB

LO3 Distribution

Technological convergence is when technologies come together and this provides new services for the audience (smartphone- phone, computer, web etc.)

There are two way in which distribution is defined in media;

The first is how the product reaches the audience

The second is the way in which it is distributed and promoted.


Distribution
 Analogue methods are the old media
Digital methods are the new media

Ways in which a media product get out to the public;
Physical (CD)
Streaming (Netflix, On demand I.e Sky and Virgin)
Downloads
Traditional way like the cinema (Digital, analogue and IMAX)
Televisions (Films in the schedule)
Internet-
YouTube
Websites such as Afdah, Pirate bay however they have been blocked the act of 2014


Prosumer-
UGC (User Generated Comment).
For example Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and IMDB

Reader Profile

Jonathan is the typical 13 year boy that loves playing video games, Playing with his friends online and watching anything sci-fi, he also hates his name so he has asked us to call him Johnny instead. This influences his lifestyle from how he dresses, to how he spends his leisure time, even his attitude as well as what his hobbies are.

But more than anything he loves gaming and sci-fi movies, as he can’t get enough of them. He is always either playing video games or watching a sci-fi movie. His favourite movie is ‘The Avatar’ as he likes to imagine himself as a Na’vi as this helps him to feel like he has more power in his life and this helps him to feel more masculine. Johnny and his friends often watch the new sci-fi releases in the cinematic at the premiere of it. Johnny also often dives into a game for hours on end playing as high levelled Elf-Lords and Warlords as he often sees himself as a strong, tall and powerful (masculine (Carl Rodgers ideal self).He goes to comic-con every year dressed as his favourite superhero Batman(escapism Quail, 1972).

Extra Theory

Psychologist Carl Rodgers, 1980 came up with two theories.

Ideal selves- the person we want to be like.

Ideal partners- who you want to be with

Richard Dyer (1975)
Star persona.

LO1 Unit 1 Task 3 - Audience for "The Avatar" Script and Video

Script-
Welcome back, for our task 3 of unit 1 of education Vlogs, todays Vlog is about the target audience The Avatar is aimed.

John Hartley (1987) and Ien Ang (1991) suggested that producers create invisible fictions or imaginary entries before creating a media product.

Age-
The age, the target demographic of this product is most likely aimed at is a younger audience between the ages of 12-18, however the age could vary as you could say I  t goes as far as 30 as it is such a diverse film for example it would entertain the 12-18 year olds through the use of the explosions and pyrotechnics via the genre action and the older group of people aged 19-30 might be entertained through the use of Computer Generated images and special effects as they are sci-fi fans and this appeals to them or even if they have been a fan of the genre from a younger age and they like to keep up to date with the new techniques available to see how it has developed and for this reason

'The Avatar' is amazing as it introduced several new way to go about using computer generated images, special effects and sound effects. The reason I said that the film aims at these ages are that the film is rated a 12 and is therefore deemed unsuitable for anyone under this age as the film uses violence and aggression throughout it to represent the narrative of mankind uses force to get what they want.(Throughout out this section there will be an example on screen) as shown on the BBFC website here http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/12a-and-12  

Gender-
The gender for the product I am analysing is most likely dominantly male as this is the stereotype for the genre action/adventure and fantasy/Sci-fi however it would appeal to both genders depending on what genre they like/what their lifestyle is like, 'The Avatar' has hundreds of different way to entertain both genders whether it’s the action that entertains you or the bit of romance used between Jake Sully and Neytiri or even just the CGI (Computer Generated Images) and colourful images that kept you glued to the screen. For example the colour blue, which is a stereotypical representation of the genre sci-fi, is used throughout the film to promote the film as futuristic as well as all the explosions and pyrotechnics used all connote the genre action and sci-fi. However like I said before the films gender is most likely 65% male and 35% female.

Lifestyle-
First let’s start off with explaining what is meant by the term lifestyle (Shown on screen as well) Lifestyle is a way of categorising how a person lives i.e. a target audience that a product is aiming at for example the classification A is affluent achievers, B is thriving greys , C is settled suburban's, D is nest builders, E is urban ventures, F is country life, G is senior citizens, H is producers, I is hard-pressed families, J is have-nots and K is unclassifiable~(People that are not targeted i.e. the unemployed, all of this is shown on screen).The NRS-National readership survey is a independent organisation which holds all the statistics of audience i.e. the age, gender, spending power and lifestyle.

The lifestyles that are attracted by this film are varied as you could say the film 'The Avatar' can target all of the sections as it’s a family film and families can’t be categorised as they are in all sections. However the film would have still been aimed at specific categories such as the category A-affluent achievers as they can afford it, C- settled suburbans for the family and teenagers aged 12-18 as they could use this film as a sort of escape from reality which relates to McQuails theory from 1972, D- nest builders as they are most likely parents, E-urban ventures for the young people in the city, F-country life as they might use this film to escape from reality this is a term know as escapism. H-producers as they are artistic and might be intrigued the computer generated images and special effects and finally I- hard pressed families, I picked these as the categories that 'The Avatar would aim at because these section are the most likely to watch this film as they most likely have families within them and therefore children/teenagers that would want to watch this film and escape from reality (McQuail, 1972).

Spending power;
Now let’s move on to spending power, now if your confused at this point don't worry because on screen is the explanation.

 Now that you know what spending power is we will move on to what section The Avatar is in, Yes sections there's sections now don't worry I felt the same, why complicate things but actually its quite simple all that it is section A, B, C1/2, D and E (Shown on screen what the different section mean) section A (Upper middle-class) is the group with the most spending power which therefore means they have well-paid jobs such as doctors and lawyers i.e. Higher managerial, administrative or professional careers. Section B is the Middle class section, which is the intermediate managerial, administrative or professional. C1 is lower middle class, which is supervisory or clerical, junior managerial, administrative or professional. C2 is skilled working class, which are skilled manual workers. D is working class, which is Semi and unskilled manual workers. And finally E, E is those of the lowest level of subsistence such as state pensioners or windows (no other earner). Casual/low grade workers. The Avatar falls into all these categories as it is aimed at children and teenagers between the ages of 9-18 and because of the young ages the film also aims at families and as families are in all sections of the spending power (A, B, C1/2, D and E), However James Cameron would have most likely aimed at the sections A, B and C as they have more spending power I.e. money to waist on watching the movie in the cinema and buying action figures (Merchandise) which means more money for him.


Users and gratifications
Dennis McQuails theory states that there are four reasons why people consume media, the first is for surveillance which is to find out information in this case 'The Avatar' uses this in a broader sense as you could interpreted the narrative of the avatar as showing surveillance in a broader sense for example when the humans on Pandora (Marines specifically) try to destroy wild life or anything that gets in their way to get what they want and that not everyone is accepted.

 The second is escapism which is where you are trying to get away from the stresses of the real world so you watch a film to relax, 'The Avatar' uses this by giving the audience somewhere to escape to whether its just from the stresses of life or even by just providing a topic of conversation which links to the fourth reason for why people watch media products, for building personal relationship.

The third is for building personal identities which is where people use media personalities, the star persona the people in the media use to relate to their audience (Richard Dyers, 1975) as role models which brings us back to Carl Rodgers theory on ideal self and partner from 1980.They do this by creating their 'Star persona' through what the audiences likes i.e. they create the persona based around the audiences interests and hobbies. In 'The Avatar' the produces follow John Hartley (1987) and Ien Ang (1991) theory that produces use imaginary entities. They do using Jake Sully and Neytiri characters to create an ideal self and partner (Carl Rodgers, 1980).

Work from Friday the 21st of November on Lifestyle and Spending Power/what 'The Avatar' fits into

Starter My Outcomes for Today Lesson

1.Today I am going to work on my Vlog by adding the required images/pictures and the screen recording to finish it.

2.I am also going to work on finishing my storyboard to finish Unit 1 Task 3.

3.Lastly I am going to start and finish an imaginary profile. 

Round Up-NRS

In this session I have learned what specific terminology (Gender, age, spending power and lifestyle)means to ensure that I know what I am doing when writing my script and adding stats to  my mood board, as well as what NSR means.

The Avatar Target Audience

The lifestyle grades are A, C, D, E, F, H and I as The Avatar




The spending power is A, B, C1/2, D and E as The Avatar can be associated with all of these group as the target audience is children to teenagers (9-18) and therefore families. And families are in all of these groups however it would be more suitable for the groups A, B and C as these families are more likely to be able to afford to see the movie and to buy the merchandise.

Task 3 NRS Data

NRS stands for National Readership Survey.
Lifestyle is statistic characteristics that make up your personality (Lifestyle).
Spending power is how much money you can throw away.

Demographic

Emo
Graphic
Drag
Graph
Demo
Rap
Rip
Pig
Dog
Crap
Chip
Chimp
Crag
Had
Pad
Head

Demographic Analysis; Gender and Age

The Avatar-
John Hartley (1987) and Ien Ang (1991) suggested that producers create invisible fictions or imaginary entries before creating a media product, the gender for the product I am analysing is  most likely dominantly male however it would appeal to both genders depending on what their lifestyle is like. The age of this product is most likely a younger audience between the ages of 13-18-24

LO2 Audience Theory

John Hartley (1987) and Ien Ang (1991) suggested that producers create invisible fictions or imaginary entries before creating a media product.

This is the starting point for creating the profile and the images that you will use in it.

Starter-Demographic

Demographic is a way in which we can categorize elements of the audience i.e. The type of  people they are, abc class (Disposable income), lifestyle, location, education, accessibility and ethnicity.

Basically everything that makes a person different.

Starter-Self Assessment

To complete Unit 1 Task 2 I need to finish of my video by adding pictures and ripping my dvd to get the required scene/examples used with my script/recording.
Using Adobe Premiere and Adobe Audition.

Peer Assessment for Unit 1 Task 2

Assessor- Will

Self assessment-
To achieve my distinction grade I need to complete the section on meaning.

Feedback Sheet 1 for Unit 1 Task 2

Theory Revision Starter

Todorov narrative theory, 1997
Andre Goodwin, 1995
Laura Mulvey male gaze
Bart's action code

Task 2 Script Peer Feedback

Peer assessment by Steven 

Lots of information about the film eg when & where it was released. And good interpretations of mise en scene.

Don't forget to include connotes & denotes/
Good start on mise en scene but make sure it is finished.

Based on Steven feedback I know I need to improve my work by finishing of mice en scene and to include Connotes & Denotes more often.

Narrative Codes

Barthes (1977) Narrative shots

Enigma-
(Problem/puzzle needed to be solved) used because it get the audience to ask questions.

Action code-
A sequence that suggests possible action can be linked to and insert shot edits and eye line matches.
Eye line match is where you see the character looking at something then you see what the character is looking at.

Shot Reverse Shot

Shot reverse shot that is a editing technique that is meant to appear invincible.

Typical shot sequence-
Medium shot to medium close-up.

Starter 17/10/14 Analysis Done on 'The Avatar'

Three camera angles used in the film trailer I'm analysing was ;

At the start of the video they use a close up to show the emotions the character is feeling as well as to show that he is significant(important).
They again use a tracking shot/ mid-shots throughout the film trailer to show what he is doing or to  show what happening as its a Dutch/canted angle which is often used to show that the enigma is about to close.

Three editing techniques used in the film trailer;

They use the editing technique known as dissolve several times throughout the video.
 They also use the editing technique fade in several times throughout the video.
And they also used most common editing technique cut.

Round up-Use of Sound

Today I have learnt about several things like diegetic sound which is sound that appears as though it is coming from within the story world of the film or TV programme. Non-diegetic sound which is sound that is clearly not coming from the within the story world. And finally that diegesis- is the 'story world'/world of the narrative. How real the diegesis appears is linked to the level of verisimilitude (Which means the appearance of being real)'.

LO1 Unit 1 Task 2 Research

           Diegesis- is the 'story world'/world of the narrative
How real the diegesis appears is linked to the level of verisimilitude (Which means the appearance of being real)'.

          Diegetic sound is sound that appears as though it is coming from within the story world of the film or TV programme.
-
For Example;
Dialogue and sound effects (includes Foley sound which is where a foley artist makes sound to use in a film or programme).
-
These are added during production and post production to create meaning, Sound effects and dialogue in particular are planned carefully during pre-production.

             Non-diegetic sound is sound that is clearly not coming from the within the story world.
-
For example:
-
Incidental music-is background music used to build up emotions like tension, suspense etc.
or another term for incidental music is called Soundtrack/kcore which is again used as background music.

Non-diegetic sound effects
-
These are added at the stage of post-production to create meaning for the audience.

            Examples of diegetic sound from my film the Avatar are;
For example

Explosions
Thud of people hitting the ground
Screaming/Yelling
struggling



            Examples of Non-diegetic sound from my film the Avatar are;
Incidental music. I.e. The violin used at a low pitch to suit the scene they're in and build the tension,
And the incidental music used when the scene is meant to be emotional.

Unit 1 Task 2 - Analysis of "The Avatar" Script and Video

Unit 1 Task 2- Analysis of the film The Avatar

Introduction
Hi, we're back again with me, Joseph Treacy for our task 2 of Unit 1 and in todays vlog we will be analysing 20th Century Fox's production 'The Avatar'.

Purpose
The purpose of the film Avatar is to entertain the viewer and sell products like most audio/audio-visual product but the difference is with this product is that does it can do it in so many different ways as it has hundreds of ways to do it from the special effects to how well presented the film is as this makes the film more appealing to the audience and therefore means it’s there to entertain this is proven to work as 'The Avatar' is the highest grossing film of all time.

Genre
The genre of the film Avatar is Science fiction and therefore the sub-genre of fantasy, the film also steps into the genre of action and therefore adventure however you could also say these two are again sub-genres of each other as they go hand in hand.

Form and Style
The film The Avatar is in the form of a feature film as it runs for a maximum time of 178 minutes (2 Hours 58 Minutes). It was distributed by 20th Century Fox in the UK (December 17th 2009) and the US (December 18th 2009) and the premiere was in London on December 10th 2009 It is also a feature film as it had a massive budget of 237 million dollars and relies heavily on CGI(Computer Generated Images).The Avatar is in the style of new age, animation and CGI which again enforces the idea of being on an alien planet in the future as well as the idea of the narrative being based around the idea of the humans searching for some kind of material or resource that's of value to them.

Narrative
The preferred reading of the film 'The Avatar' is in chronological order (linear), It's narrative structure follows the style of Tzventan Todorov's 5 stages of production; The 1st stage is the intro-equilibrium which is where Jake Sully one of the main characters is introduced to Pandora and the Na'vi, For the 2nd stage it's the disequilibrium (enigma) which is where Jake Sully started to care for the natives (question his loyalty) the Na'vi and when the marines started to attack and demolish the Na'vi homeland, The 3rd stage of Todorov’s narrative theory is the recognition of the enigma in this case it’s when Jake Sully unites the clans and the nature with each other. Then it’s the 4th stage of Todorov's narrative theory which is the action taken towards the enigma, which is to stop the attack on the home tree, and now for the fifth stage which is the restoration of the equilibrium, in this case it’s a cliff hanger where Jake Sully in now a Na'vi which leaves an open ending i.e. the ability to produce a new film. The Avatar also follow several of Kate Dominailles 8 narrative structures such as; Candite- The hero that can’t be put down this is shown in the story at the end where Jake Sully is fatally injured and then brought back to life in the avatar body. The film also follows the narrative structure Circe- the chase the good and the bad when Jake is stopping the marines from destroying the home tree, the film also follows the structure Romeo and Juliet-the love story when Jake falls in love with Neytiri (the other main character) and finally the film follows the narrative structure of Orpheus the loss of something personal which is probably the most important narrative structure of the film as he is offered the choice between his legs in the avatar body or his legs by destroying what he has begun to love.

In this section I will be talking about the features within mice en scene

The content and meaning applied to the film The Avatar
The content and meaning applied to the film 'The Avatar' is based upon several aspects of the film like the location/iconography, gestures, costume/make-up, props and lighting/colour and how these help the audience to understand and relate to the film to how he micro elements mise en scene camera work,editing and sound make up content and meaning.

Location
The iconography of the main location is that it suits the genre the film 'The Avatar' is based around as the film takes place on a planet known as ‘Pandora’, which is inhabited by a species called the Na’vi this also helps to connote the idea of the genre being science fiction as they are imaginary. However there are several other locations used on the planet 'Pandora' which is supposed to be perceived as part of the planet 'Pandora' such as the marine and scientist base, which again connotes the idea of the film being based in the future as the technology is advanced which represents the genre Science fiction.

Clothes/costume and make-up
The iconography of the clothes/costume and make up is that it plays a big part of all science fiction films/series as it helps to create verisimilitude this means that the special effects (Visual/sound effects) are crucial to the science fiction genre as it helps to create the aesthetics that makes them look realistic and futuristic, which is the typical representation of the science fiction genre. The representation of the genre is also used in the film ‘The Avatar’ as the clothes or more likely the costume they have been told to wear is again supposed to look realistic to connote the typical representation of the genre, for example if we take a look at the humans, specifically the scientists you see the stereotypical representation of a researcher i.e. the white lab coat at 7 minutes 49 seconds in the film to create verisimilitude, Then if we take a look at the marines the costume they wear is there again to create verisimilitude as they are wearing the standard uniform for marines (DCU, BDU or ACU show at 4 minutes 40 seconds in the film first) this again is shown to make the film seem realistic. They also do this by using the inhabitants of Pandora the Na’vi to represent the science fiction genre, the costume the Na’vi wear is mainly produced through CGI (Computer generated images), some of the costume was created using make-up and possibly silicone and other materials which is again used to create verisimilitude.

Props 
The iconography of the props used was that they all connote the genre of science fiction in some way for example the Turak (Giant Ikran/bird at the time of 1:12:23 to 1:12:40) and the gun Jake Sully is holding while in the avatar body (At the time of 26:47).The Turak is shown to be significant as its shown from a low angle chasing Jake sully which connotes it has dominance over Jake and therefore and obstacle he will have to overcome, The gun is denoted as significant as it is used in an insert shot at 26:47 to show that its important and to pose the question of whether or not some kind of violence is about to happen which connotes the genre of the film action.

Gestures
There are several gestures used within the film, but the most significant are the ones at the time of 1:06:46 as the scene connotes violence because they use an action code of Jake Sully in the avatar body hissing at the Ikran (bird) to pose the question of whether or not there is going to be violence which then connotes the genre action as it denotes aggression/violence.

Lighting and Colour
The film uses hundreds of different colours/shades and lighting, for example low key lighting denoted the scene at the 32nd minute 45 seconds to the 35th minute 5 second, when Jake Sully is in the avatar body at night trying to light a torch to use as a light source this suggests he feels threatened which then this poses the question of whether or not violence is about to occur(using an action code).High key lighting was then later used at the time of 1:39:40 -1:41:10 to denote the size of the home tree in comparison to the ships(Helicopters used) as this shows how significant the tree is to the natives, the 'Na'vi', the high key lighting is also used in the scene as it makes the special effects used,(Pyrotechinics etc.) more visible to the audience. The film uses several different lightning techniques throughout the film, the most important of which is the colour blue, it also however happens to be the most used in the film as they use it for the skin colour of the Na'vi (Aliens) they do this because the colour blue it considered a strong stereotype of the science fiction genre and by doing this it helps them to create verisimilitude and meaning throughout the film.


Camera and editing
The film, The Avatar, uses several different editing and camera techniques to create verisimilitude and to create your emotion towards the character/actors, For example they use a tracking show in shallow depth to connote the colonel (Miles Quaritch)significance at 6:18,they also use the editing technique known as jumpcutting at the same time to again connote the colonel (Miles Quaritch) importance in the film. The film again uses this combination later at 17:20 to track Jake Sully when he is first in his avatar body to connote the importance of this body and how it makes him feel having his legs back which brings us back to Kate Dominialles narrative structure, Orpheus this again works with the jumpcutting used to connote Jake Sully's importance in the film. This also relates to Claude Levi Strauss binary opposition as Jake Sully represents the good in the film whereas the colonel represent the bad. Another example of a editing technique used is the technique known as cut at the 6 minute 16th second 1to connote a change of the scene and location and therefore an ellipsis, and a camera technique was the reverse shot used at 11th minute Grace Augustine and Jake Sully to show that they are significant. 

Sound)
Sound is used in films to create verisimilitude, sound can be categorised into two groups diegetic and non-diegetic. Diegetic is sound that is on screen for example in the Avatar they use this in the scene at 2:40 to the 47th second.Non-diegetic sound is sound that isn't shown on screen for example in the Avatar they use this in the scene at the 25 second by using background music.However they can both be used together to create meaning for example in the scene where the home tree is being destroyed at 1st hour 39th minute as they play dramatic background music to enforce what the scene is supposed to represent as well as the explosion going off on screen to show what is happening.

Production process
The production process of the film The Avatar and every film is; pre-production, production and post-production. Pre-production involves the planning, scripting and story boarding. However there are a few things that happen before pre-production like figuring out the financial cost of everything from advertisement to the actual production of it, and screenplay. Then there’s the production, which is the actual shooting and recording of the film/series. And the final stage of the production process is post production which is everything between the pre-production and production stages such as the finishing touches of the product like the special effects (Visual effects and sound effects), distribution (getting it out to the public). However the different parts of the production process work together like pre-production and production will work together to get a reasonable budget, release date and planning. And then the pre-production with the production and post-production for the distribution date for the trailer and release date. For example the Avatar would have used the planning, storyboarding and the scripting i.e. adding the stage direction and saying what special effects went where such as the pyrotechnics. For the pre-production stage, and like every film they would have discussed the financial cost of it from the production to the distribution before the pre-production, then in the production stage they would have also recorded and shot the film for example when Jake Sully is talking too the two men at the start of the video (1st minute 41st second).Then there is the post production in which the Avatar would have used this stage to do the Computer generated aspects of the film which for the Avatar is most of it, as the Na’vi were computer generated as well as all the pyrotechnics used throughout the video for example the one at  1:39:40 To 1:41:10.

Lesson Starter 6/10/14

My aims for today lesson is to finish collecting my images to go with my video and to start my video.

Starter

That 20th Century Fox is a subsidiaries and a conglomerate of Newscorp.
Newscorp is owned by Rubert Murdock.
A subsidiaries is a smaller company that is owned by a larger company.
BBC is a public service broadcaster.

LO1 Script Feedback Sheet and Self Assessment

Vlog 1 Learning Objective

I am in the process of recording and uploading my vlog and then creating and adding the images to my video.

Investingating Audio Recorder (tascom)

This is a picture of the buttons that are required to operate a Tascam DR-07 MK2 and what they do.

LO1 Unit 1 Task 1 - Ownership of "The Avatar" Script and Video

LO1-

Hello my name is Joseph; I work for a company called MediaEd. In this Vlog I will be investigating the company 20th Century Fox. In this video I will be investigating specific aspects of the company like ownership, operating model, products, market position and its competitors.

                   

20th Century Fox is a film company and it operates as a cross-media company; Much like its parent company 21st Century Fox and former partner Newscorp do, however the structure of 20th Century Fox is in the style of a flat structure, this means that 20th Century Fox is a subsidiary and therefore a smaller company to a conglomerate known as 21st Century Fox (The parent company).20th Century Fox are not independent as they don't fund themselves, 21st Century Fox Fund them.20th Century Fox like many smaller company (subsidiaries) owned by larger company such as 21 Century Fox(conglomerate).20th Century Fox has worked with several well know company and some not so well know company such as BBC,CTV television network, Regency television, paramount network television, TV Studios they also did work with some less well-known companies like Glen A.Larson Productions, Gracie Films and many more you can look at the company they have been associated with at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_Century_Fox_Television

 20th Century Fox’s operating model is quite large as is works with other parts of the 21st Century Fox company and subsidiaries to promote and produce products by using a term known as Trans-industrial media conglomerates which means they use both vertical and horizontal integration which is where Conglomerates such as 21st Century Fox not only create their own media but have a way of distributing it (production process), As well as owns different kinds of media from Magazines to Movies. This means that the 21st Century Fox company works with and uses its resources at hand i.e. 20th and 21st Century Fox to help produce (create) produces as well as promote the company’s products across all of its media outlets. This means they can work together to create a film so one might have a research team to find the location/era other will organise the make-up, hair and costumers.

Other companies that would cross promote 20/21 Century Fox or Newscorp production would be their assets (subsidiaries) such as Sky which would promote across television and Fox music which would promote using their television/videos. There are several features that go into the production of a film for example the production process goes pre-production which involves the planning, scripting and storyboarding. However there are a few things that happen before pre-production like figuring out the financial cost of everything from advertisement to the actual production of it and screenplay. Then there’s the production which is the actual shooting and recording of the film/series. And the final stage of the production process is post production which is everything between he the production and the finishing touches like distribution (getting it out to the public).However the different parts of the production process work together like pre-production and production will work together to get a reasonable budget, release date and planning. And then the pre-production with the post-production for the distribution date for the trailer and release date.

20th Century Fox specialise in film and Television series production however I would say its better known for its long running television series such as The Simpsons etc. but I feel as though this is because they only produce Movies and Television series as it is subsidiary and it basically does as it’s told.

Some of its more well knows (successful ones) movie productions are things like the Avatar from 2009 which brought in a total of $2,787,965,087, The Titanic from 1997 which brought in a total of 2,186,772,302 and Planet of the apes from 2001 which brought in a total of $362,211,740.

 And many more for example;

 Ice Age (2002), X-Men (2000), Die Hard (1988) etc.

And know the Television series are below;

The beloved Simpsons(December 17h 1989),Bones(September 13th 2005),Family Guy, Futurama (March 28th 1999),New Girl(September 20th 2011),Glee(May 19th 2009),Buffy the Vampire Slayer(March 10th 1997) and Modern Family(September 23rd 2009) and these are just a very small amount of its successes.

Proof of success

1	Avatar	Fox	$2,788.0	$760.5	27.3%	$2,027.5	72.7%	2009^
2	Titanic	Par.	$2,186.8	$658.7	30.1%	$1,528.1	69.9%	1997^
3	Marvel's The Avengers	BV	$1,518.6	$623.4	41.0%	$895.2	59.0%	2012
4	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2	WB	$1,341.5	$381.0	28.4%	$960.5	71.6%	2011
5	Frozen	BV	$1,274.2	$400.7	31.4%	$873.5	68.6%	2013
6	Iron Man 3	BV	$1,215.4	$409.0	33.7%	$806.4	66.3%	2013
7	Transformers: Dark of the Moon	P/DW	$1,123.8	$352.4	31.4%	$771.4	68.6%	2011
8	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	NL	$1,119.9	$377.8	33.7%	$742.1	66.3%	2003^
9	Sky fall	Sony	$1,108.6	$304.4	27.5%	$804.2	72.5%	2012
10	The Dark Knight Rises	WB	$1,084.4	$448.1	41.3%	$636.3	58.7%	2012

Total Lifetime Grosses

Domestic:	$760,507,625	27.3%
+ Foreign:	$2,027,457,462	72.7%
= Worldwide:	$2,787,965,087

Domestic Summary

Opening Weekend:	$77,025,481
(#1 rank, 3,452 theatres, $22,313 average)
% of Total Gross:	10.3%
> View All 34 Weekends

Widest Release:

3,461 theatres

Close Date:

August 12, 2010

This is proof they are successful internationally as 72.7% of revenue earned from the avatar came from Foreign countries.

However because they are so well versed in the art of movie and television production as shown above will all their successes it’s hard to pinpoint a specific age-group/range or genre they prefer to produce as they cater for all types weather you’re a soppy romantic or an action packed kind of guy/women. For the age range it also just as hard to pin-point as it again cater for all ages. Like Ice age that is Universal (all ages) to something like Bones that’s at a 15' and family guy which shouldn't really be advised for any ages as it content might be quite disturbing for some viewers. But this is one way that 20th Century Fox may be seen as unique as it can cater for everyone while being able to produce well know products at the same time.

 20th Century Fox has been extremely successful nationally and internationally as it is has an annual revenue of $176.6 million but this isn't the only way you can measure success for example you could do it now by just thinking off films you watched previously and whether or not you liked that was produced by 20th century fox this is measuring a company’s success by how well know they are. Another way would be to compare them to their main competitors for example Walt Disney Studios, METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER-STUDIOS INC and Columbia Tristar Motion Picture Group this would be the best way to measure success as it compares the major six's to see which one is the best from money earned to brand reach.(Best because the major six are the best producers/distributors in the media industry and it would be unfair to compare them to a company like Warner Bros/paramount who are now considerably lower in standing to how well they perform in the industry)