Seven Key Areas of Audience and Intitutions

• The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice; (how does who owns a media company influence the type of film made and its potential success? For example do BIG companies make BIG films and therefore make all the money? Is it possible for small companies to succeed?)
• The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing; (how do companies work together to produce, distribute and publicize a film? How can Disney use their size to promote and publicise a film? How can small companies work together to promote their business' when making and promoting a film?)
• The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange; (how has the introduction of digital film, 3D, DVD, Blue Ray, internet streaming, downloadable content, home cinema influenced the types of films made, the way we watch them and the way we 'buy' them?)
• The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences; (how and why have film companies had to alter the way they work now everyone has web enabled phones, PC's, consoles etc? How have audiences changed their viewing habits now we no longer need to go to the cinema to watch a film)
• The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences; (can you think of examples of how different technologies have come together to help the film industry?) 
• The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions; (how do film companies try and attract their audience? Do they do different things in different countries?)
• The ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour. (what is your opinion on the above? Do you see the developments as a good or bad thing?)

Dredd Research

Producer: 

The producers for Dredd were Alex Garland, Andrew MacDonald and Allon Reich. Alex Garland is a novelist and screenwriter and had also wrote the screenplay for Danny Boyle's '28 Days Later'. Andrew MacDonald is a Scottish film producer and is best known for his collaborations with director Danny Boyle and screenwriter John Hodge in the films '28 Days Later', 'Trainspotting' and 'Shallow Grave'. The green light for this film was in 2008.

Distributor:

It was distributed by Entertainment Film, Lionsgate.

Script Writer:

The writer for this film was Alex Garland, an English novelist, film producer and screenwriter. He published his first novel, 'The Beach' in 1996 which was then later created into a film by Danny Boyle staring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Budget:

The estimated budget was $45,000,000

Box office gross:

The box office gross was $36,000,000

Director & Cast

The director for this film production was Pete Travis who has directed films such as 'Vanage Point', 'Endgame' and 'Omaghe' 

The cast included stars such as

Karl Urban who played Dredd who is famous for his roles in 'Star Trek Into Darkness' and 'The Bourne Supremacy.' 

Olivia Thirlby, Anderson, is well known for roles in 'Juno' and 'No Stings Attached'

Lena Headey who plays 'Ma-Ma' who has stared in films such as 'The Purge' and '300'

Jason Cope, Zwirner who is known for his role in 'Doomsday' and 'District 9.' 

Marketing:

The film had a website ( http://www.dreddreport.com/ ) which was good for marketing as it was interactive but could have possibly been hard to find for those wanting to look at it. There were teaser trailers but due to the 18 certificate given they were not widely shown but were mainly found on 'youtube' and the website (above) The last strategy used were still and motion posters to give the last push for promotion.

(http://www.judgmentiscoming.net/motionposter/dreddposter.swf)

Critical Reception:

Fueled by bombastic violence and impressive special effects rooted in self satire and deadpan humor Dredd 3D is a rare example of a remake that actually works.

Dredd was awarded 78% or 7/10 according to review website 'Rotten Tomatoes.'

Reasons for lack of success:

Although the advertising won an award for best thriller TV spot the advertisement wasn't enough. Due to the fact Dredd was highly rated, 18, the trailer could not be shown within a certain time without risk of the younger audience seeing it. This in it's self restricted the viewing audience as people under 18 could not view it. I believe that television advertisement would have been perfect to use if the certificate was appropriate to do so.

Screening options was another issue as Dredd was first originally only shot in 3D and not all cinemas are equipped with such screening necessities narrowing down the viewing opportunities.  

As the film is based on the comic book 'Judge Dredd' only those familiar with the comic would understand the background to the story. Also as the film included various gore and violence scenes only those who enjoy watching such films would go and see it which again limits the audience available. 

Awards: 

Won:

Golden Trailer Award for Best thriller TV spot

Nominated:

• Most original TV spot
• Best action TV spot
• Best graphics in a TV spot
• Best music TV spot
• Best action poster
• Most original poster

Technology used: 

The film was shot digitally and primarily in 3D using SI2K, RED MX and Phantom Flex high-speed cameras and multiple camera rigs were used. Also, some 2D elements were converted to 3D in post-production. 

Tie-Ins: 

Dredd was released on DVD,Blue-Ray and Digital download on 14th January 2013 in the UK. No toys from this film were made because of the high certification rating (18) meaning that its not suitable for a younger audience. A tie in comic book was published on the 5th September 2012 by the Judge Dredd Magazine editor Matt Smith and drawn by 2000AD artist Henry Flint. The comics plot contains a prequel to the films narrative and follows Ma-Ma's life as a prostitute.

Dredd Film Review

I really enjoyed watching Dredd. It had an easy story line to follow and was full of action meaning that the film grabbed my attention straight away. Dredd is an original film based on the comic book character Judge Dredd.  I wasn't entirely sure on what the film was about when it first started and beforehand as I had never heard of the film or character Dredd. I was pleasantly surprised as the film developed, I found the action and violence positively thrilling to watch and I thought all scenes were well directed and all fight scenes were choreographed perfectly. I wouldn’t recommend this film, to those that are squeamish at the sight of blood but for people that love the thrilling adrenaline packed action/sci-fi films, Dredd is perfect. As the film was an action/thriller it included very graphic scenes of blood and violence, if the film was without such scenes I believe that it would be nowhere near as gripping and exciting as I found it. Slow motion shots were used to bring a more elegant and artistic feel to the film which contrasted the gore ridden scenes, which again I feel that if these scenes weren’t included the film would lose the interest of its viewers very quickly. We were informed before the film that Dredd actually lost money at the box office which I was very surprised by as I thoroughly enjoyed the film and thought the balance between the gory scenes and scenes of less intense fighting were just right. One thing I was confused by was when the second group of judges entered the locked down block as it wasn't made clear why they were there and who had called them, I also found a minority of “mind reading” scenes unnecessary and somewhat disturbing. That in itself was very confusing. The initial idea of reading someone’s mind is not exactly challenging but I feel as if it was over complicated as there were several layers to these scenes which weren’t thoroughly explained, resulting in the confusion. One thing that did really interest me about this film is that the villain “mama” was a women, not something you see very often in films like this, I believe that this added to the excitement of the film and her background story we are given makes her appear much more menacing and evil then we initially think. She has a very violent character which is something we wouldn’t expect to see in a film like this which again, makes the film that little more exhilarating. All in all I believe that this is a very well produced film which unfortunately didn't sell as expected but for me as a viewer I thoroughly enjoyed the gripping and tense story line and will most defiantly be recommending it to others and watching it again myself.

Tony

Tony is a character from the hit tv series skins, he is 17 and lives with his parents and younger sister Effy, 14.

Tony comes across as not your "normal teen." 

His room is clean and tidy, everything is in the right order and nothing is out of place.

He has a set routine, he has an alarm set so that he can spy on a women across the road and another for covering for his sister Effy after she comes back from a night out. 

He has various posters around his room from films released in the 60's such as 8 1/2, an italian film classified as "arty." The typical teen may have posters of cars or naked women where as Tony is perceived as "different."
Apart from the odd poster tonys room is very sparse, everything is set out in a designated spot and there are no dirty clothes on the floor (things you would fine in a typical teenage boys room)
He seems to care about the way he looks as he gets up and does some exercises then checks himself out in the mirror.
Tony doesn't have a good relationship with his dad, his dad swears a lot and has a very short temper, he is made out to look like a mug so that teens can relate to the programme.
Tony is shown reading a book called "nausea" by John Paul Sartre who is a french existentialist. Having Tony read this shows that he is intellectual.
Tony sleeps in the middle of the bed and his bed clothes look untouched which indicates that he may not have slept, he may be an insomniac. He may have OCD as everything he does and everything he owns has to be in a certain order.
His clothes are neat but not what the typical teen would call "fashionable." He wears a red round neck t shirt covered in a navy jumper with kharki coloured chinos and white trainers, Tony isn't fashionable but has his own distinct style.
Tonys room is a complete contrast to Effys, her room is dark, messy and full of stuff. Her room is what we would look at as a typical teenagers room where as tonys is the complete opposite.
The typical teenagers are interested in drugs, sex, drinking and music. From what we can first gather of Tony he isn't into any of these things where as his younger sister Effy is.

The producers of this well known programme wanted to present Tony in this way so that we would be intrigued by how different he is and so that we would want to watch the programme and interested to find out what happens with Tony and his family.

Clip Anaysis

The clip I watched was taken from the TV drama, Luther. 

It features a man in a casual suit running through what looks like an abandoned building. The man was show through a high angle to make him appear diminished and unpowerful. There was a close up on his face to show that he was in a state of panic. 

The man in the suit was very aware of his surroundings, looking behind him several times, the music was of a slow pace with loud bangs and noises to support the tension and seriousness of the scene. As the man began to run the camera panned from left to right following him. 

The man following him is presented as shady, wearing dark clothes covered by a dark long coat and walking with a quick pace. We are never shown his face which gives the audience the idea that this man is bad news. 

Film Presentation

Trailer

Pirates of The Caribbean - On Strangers Tides

Pre-Production - The Pirates of The Caribbean are a series of films and "On Strangers Tides" is the latest of them to be released. There have been 4 released in total and the 5th film is in undergoing production. Writer Ted Elliott came across a novel written by Tim Powers called "On Strangers Tides" and concluded that it would be a good foundation to start, using it as inspiration to create the latest film. The first 3 films were all original ideas whereas this one is an adaptation. The Director for this film Was Rob Marshall as apposed to the previous director Gore Verbinski. Rob Marshall has directed films such as the Emmy-Award Winning film "Annie" and "Nine" staring the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis and Nicole Kidman.The budget for the film was an estimated $250 million. Actors such as Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz were casted for the roles of Captain Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny in all 4 films) and Angelica. It was rumoured that Depp was paid an estimated $55.5 million for his role as they realized that he is an iconic character and that the franchise would be "dead and buried" without him.The studios behind the production were Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films. I couldn't find any information on when the film was given the green light as there were issues with filming which I will explain.

Production -  The filming began on June 10th 2010 in Hawaii but was shortly moved  to California, due to strong tides. The joint total for "Dead Man's Chest" and "At Worlds End" was an estimated $300 million which resulted in the fourth installment for "On Strangers Tides" to be cut, resulting in moving primary production to Hawaii and London as the Tax Credits are much more favourable. The shooting schedule was cut down to 22 weeks as apposed to the original 40. The film was released in 2D, 3D and IMAX. 
The total amount of computer generated shots for On Strangers Tides was an estimated 1,112 which were created by 10 different visual effect companies. Cinesite visual effects supervisor Simon Stanley-Clamp claimed that the most difficult part was doing them in 3D. The lead companies, with over 300 shots each were Industrial Light & Magic and Moving Pictures Company. They were responsible for the majority of underwater shots, mermaid scenes, digital ships and designing cliffs and waterfalls. Filming the Mermaids involved 8 model actresses who portrayed them outside the water, 22 synchronized swimming athletes and a group of stunt women, all of which wore motion capture suits to be later replaced by digital mermaids. To make the mermaids look more menacing underwater the faces of the actresses had some digital touch-ups on the underwater scenes, making the teeth appear sharper and the skin more scaly. As the supervisor of visual effects stated, the film was shot in 3D during the production process and not afterwards. I believe that the reason why I cant find information on the green light is because of the problems due to the financial cut. The filming locations had to be changed and the shots were all very complicated meaning that production stopped and started many times. As far as I am aware there were no reshoots.

Post Production - Although there were a large number of special effects used, the director and production team said that the good story line is relied upon more. They said that without the likes of Johnny Depp the film wouldn't be a success meaning that they relied upon him and the screenplay to make the film successful, the effects are just a bonus. As I said in the Production the film was produced in both 2D and 3D and used a heavy amount of CGI.

Marketing and Promotion -  The first teaser poster of the film followed the pattern of the previous few, showing a skull wearing a red bandanna and crossed swords in the background. The teaser trailer shows snippets of Captain Jack Sparrows classic whit and various special effect scenes. The promoting website included short snippets of scenes and a Story Synopsis. Social Media was also used to promote and market the film, creating "like" pages that showed various videos and behind the scene photographs and film footage. A LEGO version of the characters and famous Black Pearl Ship was created shortly after the film was released. 

On January 6, 2010, Disney announced that the film would be released in the United States and Canada on May 20, 2011. The world premiere of On Stranger Tides was on May 7, 2011, at a premium ticket screening at Disneyland in California, home of the original Pirates of the Caribbean ride that inspired the film series. Many of the film's stars were in attendance and two other early screenings followed, one in Moscow on May 11, and another during the Cannes International Film Festival on May 14.

The 5th Film "Dead Men Tell No Tales" is due to be released in June 2015 but as production has come to a halt it is said that it is more likely to be released in 2016. The production of this film is back to back following the last one and Johnny Depp has been confirmed to return as his quick witted, beloved character Captain Jack Sparrow.