The Domination of Global Institutions.

3. ‘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?

An institution is an established organisation which is embedded within society. It is easy to see how global institutions could be seen as dominating media production. These institutions hold a vast amount of money, which consequently gives them a large amount of power in the marketing and distribution area. An example of a global institution is Disney, who have produced over 158 different feature films since 1923. Because of their success they can afford to use both horizontal and vertical marketing to make their institutions’ name become recognised and by doing this it enhances their growth. However, it is possible for smaller businesses to sell their products successfully; for example Bedlam Productions and See-Saw Films with their box office success, ‘The King’s Speech.’

     It could be said that as Disney is seen as such a large and powerful institution, it can dominate others as it is such a wealthy organisation which has managed to weave its way into everyday society. For example, when juxtaposing a Disney film such as ‘Finding Nemo’ with the See-Saw Films and Bedlam Productions’ (both independent film companies) ‘The King’s Speech’ we see that ‘Finding Nemo’ grossed $867,894,287 worldwide and ‘The King’s Speech’ grossed $427,374,139.  It is to be expected that a Disney film immediately attracts a large and loyal audience who have come to expect a high standard of production. However, ‘The King’s Speech’ had grossed more than the Disney classic ‘Toy Story’ which grossed $361,948,825. Somehow this unlikely hit featuring a private story about the English monarchy captured the hearts and minds of a global audience.

     From the above figures we can see in some senses inclinations that even if you do not have a large production company or a widespread target audience, if your story is firm and filmed effectively, it can still be a huge success. The budget for ‘The King’s Speech’ was $15,000,000 whereas the budget for Disney’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ was $200,000,000 – a huge difference. And yet, ‘The King’s Speech’ has received a far more positive reception than ‘Alice in Wonderland’; ‘The social and political background, acutely observed and carefully woven into the film's fabric…’ (The Guardian – Review on ‘The King’s Speech’.) Indeed, ‘The King’s Speech’ made 30 times its investment in profit while ‘Alice in Wonderland’ made only five times its investment (‘Alice’ grossed just over $1,000,000,000).

          This kind of success from a small production company could be considered the exception rather than the rule. Large Institutional powers could be seen as dominating and casting a shadow over smaller and more independent film companies- Disney has been nominated for over 200 Oscars, just over fifty of which it has won. ‘The King’s Speech’ had been nominated for 12 Oscars, four of which it won. If anything, this shows a certain quality to ‘The King’s Speech’. Although created by the small independent film companies Bedlam Productions and See-Saw Films along with the help of the UK Film Council, ‘The King’s Speech’ has made huge success as its content was rich and appealing and held a strong message for its viewers. Tom Hooper’s ‘The King’s Speech’ offers a case study in how the independent film sector can harness opportunity in the global film business. The Australian and UK film company See-Saw Films put together the financing and produced the film by striking deals with two key distribution partners and hiring Filmnation to sell to the rest of the world. The key to See-Saw Film’s success is their links with the large distribution companies Momentum Pictures and Transmission Films along with investment from the UK Film Council. Institutions such as Disney are producing films on such a frequent basis that they are beginning to lose their meaning, and many people are beginning to hold the view that only their 15 animated feature classics were truly quality films.

     The target audience also dictates whether a film or institution will be received well or not. Disney is directed more towards children and the youth; however they have taken into account the fact that adults will be taking these children to see these films so have put lines into the films that hold double meanings so there is some subliminal adult humour in there too. By doing this, they have broadened their target audience by some degrees. Films such as ‘The King’s Speech’ have a more narrow target audience, the film appeals to a more mature audience and it is not a film which would necessarily hold a great deal of interest across a large number of cultures. Disney has worked hard to achieve a form of global dominance with its films, it is easier for them to spread their films globally as they are directed at children and the content is appealing for children of most cultures. An example of Disney’s distribution of a film is the feature film ‘Robin Hood’ which was translated into sixteen different languages.

      The uses of marketing and distribution also contribute hugely to an institution’s dominance over media production. Walt Disney uses a vast array of horizontal and vertical integration to promote its films and products. Disney has its own record labels, TV Channel, radio station, video games, shops, websites and clothing lines. Disneyland is a huge income producer for the institution itself; it is the largest single site employer in the whole of the United States. Small production companies simply do not have the funds to have this kind of influential power over the media and world on a global scale. It all seems to boil down to finance. The more money held by a company, the more dominance it can have over media production; for example in the UK ‘Alice in Wonderland’ products were sold in the UK chain store Claire’s Accessories; there were games, Facebook groups such as ‘The Loyal followers of the Red Queen.’, Mobile phone Apps, Ringtones and the soundtrack by Avril Lavigne.

      Viral marketing is also used to help increase a film’s awareness and popularity. Trailers on Youtube adverts and fanclubs on Facebook are just a few of the ways films and institutions can advertise online. These methods of drawing an audience’s attention to a product can cost very little in comparison to more conventional marketing methods, which could be helpful for smaller production companies.

      Another factor is that Disney distributes films in association with many different studios such as: Touchstone Pictures, Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures. It can be said that global institutions such as Disney dominate media production by selling their products and services to national audiences, but it can be seen that other smaller production companies still have successful products. Their success can be overshadowed sometimes by larger institutions that produce films on a large scale, but over time a good quality film will always last longer and continue to sell.

     In many cases the big institutions need to create films rapidly because they are aware that their success will not last as their content is becoming less valuable to their audiences. Global institutions are trusted by society for their quality of work, so the expectations of the public are high, but even the largest institutions had to start off small and overshadowed. Overall I believe to a large extent that media production is dominated by global institutions, but independent ones still have the power to become influential.

Youth Representation in TV Drama

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of youth using the following:

·         Camera shots, angles and movement.

·         Editing

·         Sound

·         Mise-en-scene

As the extract begins we are focused on a close-up shot of Tony’s face. As the camera slowly pans out we see Tony lying in bed, the spotless white covers are smoothed and neat as if he has hardly moved in his sleep. He opens his eyes to the sound of church bells as the camera continues to zoom out and we see the bodies of a naked man and woman printed on his sheet. The room is extremely tidy- unusually tidy for a teenage boy. Tony comes across as being almost robotic as when the scene continues we get an insight into what looks like a structured daily routine he has made for himself. We see this routine in extremely shot and fast shots of him doing morning exercises before we are shown a longer shot of Tony admiring himself in the mirror afterwards. Whilst Tony is doing these exercises to some upbeat music with the shots often change on the beat to the music, this could reflect through rhythm that he is a structured person and the music used also is a reflection of youth as young people have a reputation for liking upbeat and loud music. The fact that the screen time lasts for longer on Tony when he is admiring himself highlights a certain vanity about him. 

       The fact that he is wearing white shows us connotations of Tony’s calmer personality which can be juxtaposed with his father’s impatience and extremely angry personality as his father is wearing red. When looking at Tony in the opening scene, surrounded by pure crisp white and the sound of church bells we see a certain purity of his character, this is later juxtaposed as we see him watching a woman from over the street getting changed and tricking his father to let his sister sneak back into the house. We see two sides to the family in this extract. When Tony and Effy are later sitting at the table eating breakfast the scene looks like a perfectly normal family breakfast, however this acts as a mask of normality to shadow the darker secrets that the children seem to be hiding from their family.

      We can already see so far that youth is represented in a way that shows challenges between themselves and their parents. We see this from Tony and Effy working together behind their parent’s backs after she has obviously been out without any permission or the parent’s knowledge. There is a certain drift between the lives of the youth and parents. The teenagers seem to have an almost completely separate life when outside their homes, which we see when Tony is walking down the street calling all of his many different friends. The camera shot when Tony is walking down the street calling his friends is from a low angle, juxtaposed when shown with the high angled shot of his scruffier friend. These angles can reflect that perhaps Tony is more in control than his friend.

      When Tony is calling his friends we see many different representations of youth. When he calls his first friend who is still in bed under the covers we see a filthy cluttered and messy room. This is a somewhat typical stereotype of teenagers and youth, laziness and a lack of tidiness. The shot on this friend begins with a close up of their mobile ringing on a dirty plate of food, once again highlighting the lazy attitude of this person as he seems too lazy to clear up after himself. These realistic portrayals of different types of youth show a certain verisimilitude. Another one of Tony’s friends is seen as practising the clarinet, showing that some teenagers are focussed and do use their time constructively to improve on their skills. We then see another of his friends, wrapped in a towel and moisturising her legs. The shot runs slowly up her leg, which hints at us that she must be attractive and possibly quite vain, when hearing the phone call we also hear that Tony is trying to get her to sleep with somebody, showing the common stereotype of teenagers having many intimate relationships and perhaps because of this undermining what a relationship is or landing in awkward situations from their actions.

      When Tony is walking down the street we hear a great deal on non-digetic sound such as drills and cars, this ambient sound creates a feeling of verisimilitude. We also see Tony walk past some graffiti on his way, another subtle symbol of youth and the impact which is often negative that they leave on society. As Effy is sneaking into the house we are shown cross-cutting between her sneaking inside and Tony distracting their father, this created a certain paranoia for the audience as we wonder whether Effy will get caught, showing us that teenagers are perhaps scared of their parents despite the fact that they do not seem to be scared of situations that are far more dangerous. It highlights a certain irrationality of the views and things that young people are afraid of.