LO4 -Task 5 Ethical, legal and regulatory issues

Welcome to another video today we will be talking about the Ethical, legal and regulatory issues that are associated with my chosen film, X-Men Days of Future Past.

A. Impact and effect
Firstly I will be talking about impact and effect that these issues can have on a films final product. We can explore this further by looking at a theory put forward by Theodore adorno who said "media has a negative impact. mass audience believe everything they see/hear. This could also be known as a passive audience who are referred to as "copycats" these are people who will watch a film and take something from it such as violence or a certain scene and will then try to rein act it in real-life. This shows the effect media can have on a audience. The other type of audience are known as active audience these are people who are more likely to sit down and watch a film and then critic and question things put forward by it. A way in which my film could have a negative impact on a audience could be that it promotes a lot of violence so people may be influenced by it to cause violence. Another negative impact on the audience would be the use of strong language against a character, this comes as quite a surprise as it is said by a character you wouldn't expect to be aggressive, this would be negative towards a passive audience as they may take from this that it is ok to use that kind of language. A positive impact of the film could be the role model of wolverine as he represents things such as heroism and bravery this could impact the audience by making them want these traits. Another positive thing represented by the film would be the conclusion to the film where wolverine is reunited with his friends, this would have a positive effect because it would show the audience just how important friends can be too a person.

B. Representation
Representation is when the actions of a character are viewed by the audience whether it be from a good or bad perspective. Stuart Hall (1980) stated that all stereotypes are mediated meaning they are done on purpose. A reason for doing this in media is that it makes characters identifiable as they relate to a certain stereotype and can then be seen for what that stereotype represents. Tessa Perkins said that not all stereotypes are false. This can be supported by a few stereotypes in my film one being that most of the dominant characters in the film are males the effect on the audience could be that they realise that men would appear to be the dominant gender in this film. This could then be seen as a negative stereotype as it does not show diversity within the dominance of the characters. A positive stereotype would be the role model of wolverine, as stereotypically all role models are strong, brave characters this applies perfectly to wolverine as he is relatable with these characteristics. Within my film there are also examples of countertypes. One such example is the character of mystique as she goes against the stereotype of all women being subordinate to men, she goes against this as in many scenes she is dominant to the males and can overpower them with her strength. I believe that the reason for this inclusion of a counter type is too give the dominant males a direct opposition as she commands a lot of authority when she's in a scene and also i believe it is to give the female viewers and role model.

C. Legal and/or ethical
Copyright infringement is when someone creating a piece of media content uses something such as a piece of music or a video in there content but they did not get the permission from the original content creator who owns that piece of content. The way in which a person can avoid this happening would be either contacting the person or company who owns the content if you can use this in your own project, you would then need some form of proof or give credit to the original content owners. An example of something which would need to have copyright permission would be the song "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" this song is performed by Roberta flack. In order for 20th Century Fox to have permission for this piece of music they would have had to arrange a deal with Atlantic Recording Corp. in order to avoid any legal issues. They would have had to pay a vast amount of money in order to get the rights to the song.  Another example of content in X-Men Days of Future Past that would need to have copyright permissions would be the song "Time in a Bottle" performed by Jim Croce. In order for 20th Century Fox to get the rights to use this in X-Men they will have needed to contact Lastrada Entertainment to gain the legal rights to use it. In X-Men Days of Future Past there is content that could be seen as offensive. One such example is the violence that is seen throughout the film this could be seen as offensive as it could have bad influences on a audience, specifically a passive audience. The BBFC gave the film a 12A this is an appropriate age rating as the violence does not contain any gore, bloody scenes or any sexual content. In the US X-Men Days of Future Past got a PG-13 rating, this is an appropriate age rating as it comes under the same guidelines as a 12 or 12A in the UK. It got this rating because it does contain scenes of violence and adult humour but it doesn't have scenes of gore or nudity.

D. Regulation
The ASA is the Advertising Standards Authority. This organization are the UK's independent regulator of advertising across a wide variety of media. They set boundaries for the advertising for media products such as films, they state that it must be responsible, must not mislead or offend a viewer. My film poster complies with ASA for example it complies with section 16 gambling if they had featured this on there poster the film would have been given an 18 age rating which could have resulted in a lower profit when the film was released. Another way in which my film complies with the ASA code of conduct in another aspect as there are no graphic scenes of violence.

Thanks for watching hope you enjoyed bye

LO4 -Task 5 Ethical, legal and regulatory issues notes

Ethical - representations I.e. Gender, age, ethnicity

Legal - copyright, music/soundtrack
  +         - certification (age rating)
Regulation                 BBFC/ASA ( British board film classification)/(advertising standards authority)

Active audience - question what they see in the media (audience pleasure)

Passive audience - "copycats"


A) impact and effect
 Hypodermic syringe (Theodore adorno, 1930s) -  media has a negative impact. Mass audience believe everything they see/hear
issues about violence?
issues about sexual content?
issues about representation?

Positive impacts/role models?

we are able to filter and adapt to content in media (David gauntlet)



B) representation
    who is being represented?
    all representations are mediated(Stewart hall, 1980) on purpose

is there use of stereotypes (negative)/countertypes (challenged stereotypes) (Tessa Perkins, 1979). not all stereotypes are false
men: stronger (physically)
women: cant drive

Alvarado (1987) - ethnicity 'exotic(clothes, accent), dangerous(different to masses) humorous, pitied.


C) legal/ethical issues
copyright infringement - when you use content that you don't have the rights/permission to use.
prevent it by getting permission for the content
Consequences - sued by the owner, arrested, banned from distributing content you make

ethical
offensive material- racism, sexual content, strong language, violence, use of drugs - refers to a passive audience
inappropriate depending on the age certificate of the film
sensationalism- making something bad/dangerous is made to look good
censorship- removing/re editing the content that is not appropriate






D) relevant regulatory bodies

LO3 Task 4 Feedback sheet

LO3 - Task 4 Distribution and advertising

Hello again and welcome to another video, today I will be talking about how films are distributed in correlation to my chosen company 20th Century Fox.



Distribution channels
Firstly distribution is the way a company gets the product to its viewers or audience. The way in which a product is distributed in recent years has changed dramatically. This is due to technological convergence, this is where technologies come together and this provides new services to the audience an example of this is a smartphone as in the past phones could only ring people but know you can watch films, use the internet and play games on them. The intended audience for my product is mass mainstream this means people internationally will see my product. There are many ways in which a viewer can watch my product for example they can buy it on DVD as 20th Century Fox are there own distributers so they can put there film onto DVD. Another example is on TV this is prominent for my company in general as both 20th Century Fox and Sky are owned by 21st century fox so they can show films on Sky made by 20th Century Fox this is what's known as synergy. Another way in which you can watch my film is on a mobile device this is possible as you can buy the film from places such as iTunes and Google play and then you download it onto your device and watch it in a variety of places. This is a form of converged technology as this downloading service has been integrated into the mobile platform, about ten years ago this would not have been available to this outlet but with the use of web 2.0 where everyone has access to the web so they can integrate this service into a mobile device. Web 2.0 has also been integrated into the cinema as previously the cinema would receive a film reel from the company who produced the film, this would cost the company a lot of money to develop the film on the reels, but with the introduction of web 2.0 the cinema is sent the film over the internet and then they can download the film which is much easier for the cinema to receive and costs the film company less to develop the film in this format.

X-men Days of Future Past

Theoretical performance
Production budget - $200,000,000
Domestic earnings - $233,921,534
Foreign earnings - $514,200,000
Worldwide earnings - $748,121,534

Home market performance

Domestic DVD sales - $23,304,489 Domestic Blu-ray sales - $47,992,182 Total domestic video sales - $71,296,671 From this we can see that based on the budget of X-men Days of Future Past ($200,000,000) it was indeed a successful film as it made $748,121,534 worldwide. Therefore it yielded a profit of $548,121,534. Therefore using a range of distribution channels was successful as the audience had more access and choice to how they watched the film. Marketing One way in which X-Men Days of Future Past was advertised was through the use of a trailer, this will show scenes of the film to the viewer this will create interest for the viewer and may make them want to see the film when it comes out. This a form of new media as the video is being shown online to a mass audience and utilises web 2.0,  this is a good use of advertising as it is targeted to the mass audience as it can then be shared onto social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter and people can then comment on it and share it again.  These websites in particular have had a major impact on the marketing for films as they attract a vast amount of people from around the world because they offer a way to communicate with friends and share opinions on topics and media such as film trailers that companies such as 20th Century Fox can pay to have their film trailers shown on these websites or they can make a page dedicated to a specific film.  Another way in which it was advertised was through merchandise this is things such as toys, posters and clothing. This is a form of old media as toys and clothes have been around for a while and do not incorporate web2.0. Posters are another good method of marketing as these can be very eye catching to a viewer and can be viewed by a mass audience if they are placed in places like a city centre or at a cinema.   Another way in which the film was advertised was through events such as comic con. This is a form of old media as events such as comic con have been around for many years, this is an effective form of advertising as fans of existing franchises can go see actors from a new instalment of a film franchise such as X-Men. The rise of web 2.0 has been a drastic change in the way films can be marketed as the new features incorporated into it make it much easier for films to be shared around the internet. Audiences have also influenced the way films are marketed through social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter as this allows people to share trailers or images off a new film this can then let people comment on them giving opinions on the film and then the cycle repeats itself and it can be shared again.

LO3 - Task 4 Advertising and promotion notes

Advertising and promotion - means marketing the film to create maximum awareness to a specific target audience.

Bus posters
Trailers (online and in cinema)
Adverts on TV
Merchandise
Website banners
Events
Social media
Radio adverts
Magazines and newspapers
Billboards (mass audience)

David gauntlet(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 medium .

You should try and apply ideas about how audiences now also contribute to the marketing of your film.

LO2 - Task 3 Audience

LO2 Task 3

Hello and welcome to another Vlog, in this video we will be looking at the age, gender, lifestyle and spending power of the audience of my chosen film, which is X-men Days of Future Past.

John Hartley (1987) and Ien Ang (1991) suggested that producers create invisible fiction or imaginary entities before creating a media product. This is important as it allows the producers to target their product or film to a specific audience and then suite that audiences needs. In my film I believe that the audience would be more male dominant than female and intended for 20 year olds. We can see this in a audience profile for X-men Days of Future Past.

James, 20, loves the sci-fi genre of films this very thing has influenced his choice of friends, hobbies, personality, fashion sense and lifestyle.
He LITERALLY dreams of nothing other than sci-fi, 24/7 his life is full of sci-fi elements whether it be his fashion sense to the decorative items littered about his house. He is a very sociable person as he will attend conventions such as Comic Con with his friends who are also obsessed with the genre. Its the very thing that drives a conversation between himself and his closest friends.
He is very focused on personality as this is what sets himself apart from the crowd and allows him to be himself in all aspects of his life. He is a fanatic for comics, especially MARVEL comics. He is quick witted and active dedicating a vast amount of time to keeping himself fit and healthy but he loves to make space for a lovely Chicago Town pizza. All of these things are integral to making James able to commune his love of the sci-fi genre.

Gender
In X-men Days of Future Past we can see many examples that enforce the dominant gender in the audience profile, which is Male 60% / Female 40%. One such example is when there is a fight scene in Paris between Beast and Eric (Magneto), this agrees with the audience profile as this scene is very action heavy which males tend to find more enjoyment from also it agrees with the stereotype of men being the dominant gender as the scene is dominated by two characters exclusively who are males.
Another example that agrees with the audience profile is the character of Wolverine. Throughout the film he is a dominant character but is also shown as an "ideal self" (Carl rogers,1980) as he is a character that is represented to the Male audience as being a role model. He's  shown as being strong and authoritative, but in contrast is also a kind and caring person which I believe most males would strive to gain these traits and be just like Wolverine. We can see the dominant gender being shown again in a certain scene where the mutants are hiding from the sentinels. The reason this reinforces the dominant gender as it co-insides with john Berger's theory of "men act, women appear" as the women in this scene do not contribute as much as the males reinforcing that they are the dominant gender. In contrast to this, in a earlier scene we see the roles reversed as the female is the one in control contradicting the audience profile and making the film in some select scenes more appealing to the female audience as any women watching the film may feel that the film is more relevant to them. Another scene that appeals more to the female audience is an action scene, but the difference here is its very emotional as it shows the x-men losing there final battle and has a lot more focus on the characters than the action, making a female audience appreciate and enjoy the scene.

Age
Also we can see in the film many examples that reinforce the projected age group who would watch this film (20yrs +). One such example is the action scenes in the film, this is because the action is very fast paced and is projected as more of a spectacle rather than just pointless action, also the audience may enjoy the action as there hobbies may include things such as video games and sports. Another example would be the comedy within the film as it aimed at a more mature audience who would understand the suggestive themes represented within the jokes and the audience may relate to this type of humour as something they have with there friends or family. The relationships within the film are also an example as they are mainly of friends going through hard times and making the right choice, this easily relates to the projected target audience as people of this age group will be facing many tough decisions at this point in there life. Another example is the story of the film as it has many plot points that viewers of this age group would find interesting compared to a younger or older audience which will help keep an audience enveloped within the films story. The final example would be the actors within the film, these actors such as Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Laurence and Michael Fasbender are very popular towards this age group as they are interesting and to some are attractive so having these in the film would entice this age group to go watch the film and see their favourite actors.

Lifestyle
NRS (national readership service LTD) is a separate organisation specialising in demographic information.

The audience that are most likely to go see my chosen film would be D- nest builders this lifestyle is finding a home in the city and I would put this category of people in my audience profile as the film showcases many popular cities that an audience may want to see. Because my film is a science fiction I believe it would appeal to "nest builders" as these people are established with a house but are working there way towards family life so they maybe more likely to own things related to the science fiction genre such as a video game console, PC or comic books. They may also attend events such as Comic con and E3 and may also dress up in cosplay. I believe this links to nest builders as they may go to events such as comic con and may then form relationships with others who love sci-fi and may ultimately lead to them starting a family. This also links to the theory put forward by Denis Mcquail that people consume media for four reasons (surveillance, escapism, building personnel identity and building personnel relationships) we can link escapism to our audience as the world in the film is very interesting and cool so a viewer after watching the film may then feel like they want to be apart of that world. A further extension of this could be that they escape to that world through cosplay and video games, these can make the viewer be apart of the world in a different media format. Another one of these features is building personnel identity this is where the viewer relates to actors/characters in the film so this relates to what we previously stated about there interest in cosplay and through this have built themselves a personnel identity because of the films impact on them.

Spending power
For my chosen film (X-men Days of Future Past)  I chose the NRS social grade for spending power as being B,C1,C2. I believe this to be because in the film the characters have very ordinary jobs and are on a basic salary so when seeing the film advertised they could relate to that lifestyle and would want to see a film with characters that they can relate to as they themselves would be semi professionals or would be aspiring to be like the role models that are represented within the film. Another reason why I chose these specific social grades is because as previously mentioned people in these social grades are on a salary and because of this will be able to afford the film on Blu-ray and DVD but they may also be able to access the film online through streaming websites. I also believe this to be as people in this class are more likely to be able to afford to go watch the film and then after watching this my then be able to buy things such as posters and merchandise linked to the film also as nest builders they could also be able to afford to cosplay.

 

LO2 - Audience profile for X-Men Days of Future Past (LO2 Task 3)

James, 20, loves the sci-fi genre of films this very thing has influenced his choice of friends, hobbies, personality, fashion sense and lifestyle.

He LITERALLY dreams of nothing other than sci-fi, 24/7 his life is full of sci-fi elements whether it be his fashion sense to the decorative items littered about his house. He is a very sociable person as he will attend conventions such as comic con with his friends who are also obsessed with the genre. Its the very thing that drives a conversation between himself and his closest friends.

He is very focused on personality as this is what sets himself apart from the crowd and allows him to be himself in all aspects of his life. He is a fanatic for comics, especially MARVEL comics. He is quick witted and active dedicating a vast amount of time to keeping himself fit and healthy but he loves to make space for a lovely Chicago town pizza. All of these things are integral to making James able to commune his love of the sci-fi genre.