1. Media Ownership
Institutions and Audiences

3. Media Ownership
• It’s essential that you are able to debate and explore the
advantages and disadvantages of large conglomerates and
smaller independent film companies.
• Film London Microwave , Film London’s micro-budget feature film-
BBC Films produced Ill Manors. What are the
advantages/disadvantages of this independence?
• Sony and MGM produced ‘Skyfall’, and Sony is a large
international conglomerate. What are the
advantages/disadvantages of this ownership?

4. KEY POINT
• The film industry is dominated by major Hollywood studios
• They are 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Paramount,
Columbia, Universal, and Walt Disney Studios.
• This is known as an oligopoly.
• A major film studio is a movie production and distribution
company that releases a substantial number of films annually
and consistently commands a significant share of box-office
revenues in a given market.•
• They command approximately 90 percent of the U.S. box
office.

5. • What is an oligopoly?
• Who are the 6 majors?
• What is a major?

6. Advantages of a big conglomerate
in production and distribution
• PRODUCTION
• Will be able to take risks when making films
• Wont need to collaborate to secure funding
• Can be more ambitious with film get bigger stars, have more
special effects, travel to better locations
• DISTRIBUTION
• Sheer size and power in the industry - more money and better
links to related companies ie Sony Pictures Entertainment
(production company) and Sony Pictures (distributors) and
Sony platforms to exhibit film,
• Can use synergy and cross promote via games, music, toys etc

7. Advantages of conglomerates
(big companies)
• These humongous-sized mammoths are able to use their size and
ownership of a wide range of media to cross promote their films
(games, toys, CDs) across their wide media empires.
• The success of Skyfall was ensured when the film achieved critical
acclaim, since it had the backing of a company that was able to use
cross media convergence as it owns companies within a range of
industries.
• The synergies of cross-promotion that can be created by
these media organisations is mind-boggling.
• For Sony’s Skyfall it resulted in a huge amount of 'word-of-mouth' for a
big budget film and helped the film become a blockbuster. Such are the
benefits of cross-media ownership by these giant institutions.

8. DISADVANTAGES - production and
exhibition
• Films often have to satisfy a mass market
and creatively film makers cannot take as
many risks as so many large companies to
satisfy and revenue to achieve.
• The film has to do well at the box office

9. What are....
• the advantages and disadvantages of a
conglomerate in producing, distributing and
exhibiting a film?

10. How do smaller companies market
smaller films like ‘Ill Manors’ in
distribution?
• There are difficulties faced by smaller companies
with relatively small marketing budgets and few easy
opportunities for synergy
• Ill Manors has received largely positive reviews from
critics and fans alike, with a current 80% "fresh"
rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on twenty-five
different reviews.
• Its budget was £100,000. It’s made £453,570 at the
UK Box office.
• at the

11. Advantages and disadvantages
of an independent company
• PRODUCTION
• Less budget so film will be less ambitious, with smaller
scale cast, locations and special effects.
• Often have to secure extra funding and finance
• DISTRIBUTION
• Has to be targeted as less money to spend on
distribution campaign.
• The film is expected to make less revenue at the box
office
• Cant withstand losses with box office returns

12. Independent companies
• In the film industry it is difficult to make progress and create films that get
attention and in turn get exhibited in cinemas unless you are already a large
company.
• Smaller companies and the majority of British Film are given a back seat
because of the vast amount of American Blockbusters.
• Ill Manors is an example of a film that tried to push the boundaries though
and received relative success, compared to its budget.
• It was made through a micro-budget feature film-making scheme. Aimed at
commissioning the next generation of film-making talent in the capital,
• Because it wasnt part of a huge conglomerate it could take more risks in
terms of subject matter. A bigger company may not be able to do this.

13. What are....
• the advantages and disadvantages of a British
independent film company in producing,
distributing and exhibiting a film?

14. How do Independent
companies compete?
• Viral Marketing helped Ill manors make money, overcoming the
mass American film industry; for example their website gave the
audience easy access to information about the film, was packed
with Video clips, trailers, pictures and downloads which make the
audience feel more involved in the film.
• http://www.illmanors.com/#scene-0
• The downloads are a way of free advertising, for example if
someone has the background on their phone or a ringtone
friends might ask where it was from and it would help spread
information about the film through word of mouth.

15. Ill Manors and media
ownership
• It had a small budget of £100,000 but made nearly 5 times this at
the UK Box Ofice
• The challenge was to attract a core niche audience, with such a low
budget, unknown stars, and low production values.
• Its not a big conglomerate so cannot withstand losses
• It had to be financed by the Film London, BBC Films and supported
by Skillset, the UK Film Council and the Mayor of London
• Its advertising (distribution) campaign had to be targetted at
specific niche audiences: check whether adverts appeared on
digital radio station Kiss FM, digital satellite channel Dave, and
Comedy Central, and the Sun / News of the World.

16. Attack the Block and
media ownership
• How do low budget film making schemes
like Film London’s Microwave and BBC Films,
AND distributors like Revolver
Entertainment compete with conglomerates,
in relation to production and distribution?
• What key terminology can you use to
answer this?
• What kind of company is Big Talk Pictures?

17. Sony Pictures
• With distribution, Sony can use its status as
a conglomerate. It had a very broad
appeal and blanket advertising and
publicity were used.
• It can use synergy -Tom Ford clothes, CD,
Omega watches, Aston Martin cars, Coca-
cola,• jewellry from Swarovski.•

18. Sony
• http://www.skyfall-movie.com/site/
• A big conglomerate such as Sony has much more power than
a small independent and it can use viral marketing (digital
marketing) in a bigger way - with its online website. It was
more far reaching and not as targetted in a niche way like Ill
Manors.
• It had story plots,
• “videos” with trailers of the film,
• extended film clips and exclusive video featurettes that go
into the movie’s plot and locations.
• There were wallpapers, facebook cover photos, Twitter skins
• Stills from the film can be found in the “Gallery”

19. Sony and distribution
• http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/skyfall/part
ners/
• Advertising and cross media promotion was used
featuring all the partners to Skyfall.
• Targeted a primary male audience and a
secondary female audience with a broad 15-55
age - across a broad demographic of classes

20. Sony and distribution
• Publicity- started early because the company could afford to do this.
• The publicity hype started well before the film was released - even a
year beforehand• Official photos of the characters were released - Tie
ins were announced
• Sony can afford huge publicity• It used synergy. Sony can utilise this as it
is such a huge conglomerate - it can use synergy to promote the film
with other institutions•
• What other company can provide this vast scale of publicity? - it is
because Sony is such a huge company - one of the 6 majors.• the
premiere generated a huge amount of TV, press and online interest.

21. Skyfall and media
ownership
• What are the benefits of having Sony
involved in production and distribution?
• What key terminology can you use to
answer this?
• What kind of company is Sony?