Monday 31 October 2016

Ex_Machina Research

Producer

Andrew McDonald and Allon Reich

Director

Alex Garland

Distributor

Universal Pictures

Cast

Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac and Sonoya Mizuno

Budget

$15 million

Locations

Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire and Valldalen, Norway

Technology

Filmed in digital at 4K resolution. There were no green screens, special effects or tracking markers used in filming - all of the effects were added post-production. In order to create the background behind Alicia Vikander's character they filmed the scenes both with and without her there. After doing this they then rotoscoped her face and her hands, had the rest of her body was digitally painted and they restored the background behind her. They used the camera and body tracking systems to transfer to the CGI robot's movements. Some visual effects were used including the transparent areas of her body, Nathan's blood when he was stabbed and the interior of the artificial brains.

Number of screens - opening weekend

4

Number of screens - peak number

2,055

Box Office Figures

$36.9 million


Issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice

Film4 and DNA Films were responsible for the making of the film. Both of them are small companies especially when compared to other film companies e.g. 20th Century Fox. This can impact on the quality and number of resources and technology the companies have access to. Film4 is a British company owned by Channel 4 Television Corporation . DNA Films is also a British company and one of the most successful production companies located in the UK. Both of the companies are successful in their own way and have been behind some big and successful films e.g. DNA Films was involved with the production of the 2003 film Love Actually. Neither of them are global companies or successful worldwide which makes them a smaller company but they are good at what they do. The film only had a small budget as well, it makes more sense to have smaller production companies who are more used to working with a lower budget as it's more likely they would be able to manage it effectively and cover what they need. Sometimes people prefer working with smaller production companies if they have a certain vision for the film, as sometimes the work of bigger companies can affect the overall look of the film.

The importance of cross media convergence for institutions and audiences

The film was distributed by Universal Pictures, they are able to use their name and power to get the word out there about the film and get it on as many screens as possible. They were behind the advertising for the film and released the trailers for the film in order to spread the word and get their audience interested. Both Film4 and DNA Films are small production companies, if they worked with a small distributor then the film wouldn't get anywhere and it wouldn't be as successful as it was. By working with a big distributor like Universal Pictures it is more likely that the film will be more widespread and generate a bigger audience than it would with a small distributor. Universal Pictures have an advanced understanding about the film industry and what audiences like and don't like. In order to minimise the risk of a loss, they will be careful with how many screens they choose to show the film on. Universal helped finance the film in exchange for worldwide sale rights. However, after the film was finished, Universal decided that the film was too quirky for a big studio release. They knew that it wouldn't work in the way they thought it would so tried to sell the rights to somebody else. Eventually the distributor A24, known for working with indie films, picked it up and put it in cinemas in the US. Initially the film was only shown on 4 screens but just a week later that number had raised to 2,050. This is a clear example of how successful the film was in the US box office as it made such a significant jump.

The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange

Ex-Machina only had a small budget so they couldn't spend a lot of money on special effects and green screens during production. Also, they were working with small production companies who just didn't have the access to high quality technology like some other bigger production companies would. All of the special effects were added in post-production. This meant that they had to prepare for this during production knowing that they would have to edit it later to create the effect they wanted. An example of this is the appearance of Alicia Vikander's character who is a robot with a transparent middle section. In order to add in this transparent effect later on the production team filmed the scenes both with and without her to capture the background behind her. When it got to the stage of post-production they rotoscoped her hands and face, the main features they wanted to keep, then digitally painted the rest of her body and restored the background. This then completed the final look of her with features of both the scenes with her, without her and the post-production effects that digitally painted the rest of her body on. They didn't use any tracking markers during filming, they just relied on camera and body tracking systems to transfer to the robot's CGI movements. The entire film was filmed in digital, which is a cheaper way to film especially for distribution of the film because most cinemas have the technology for digital films instead as that is the format most companies film on. 

The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences

To make the film available further after the film has been released in the cinema the distributors have to work to find ways for the film to be released that fit in with what modern audiences want. Modern audiences are more likely to stream a film online or through an app with an online subscription than actually going out and buying the film. Films are still released on DVD as there are still audiences that buy them in this format and there are some people who won't use streaming services. If they don't use services and formats that fit nearly everyone then they are at risk of losing a chunk of their market. The film is available on Blu-Ray, DVD, Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play, Playstation Video and Youtube. They have ensured that the film is available on a number of different services so that nearly anyone could go access to the film if they wanted to. 

The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences 


The main marketing campaign that the promotional team ran was on Tinder. They created a profile for Ava, the robot in the film, using pictures of Alicia Vikander. The campaign was launched at the South by Southwest Festival where the film was screened. Ava was matched with other Tinder users who could get to the festival. In the conversation she would send them to the Instagram handle that they thought was hers but was actually promoting the film. The idea behind this was to engage with a younger audience by using an app they may have and interacting with them directly. It was important for the team to reach out to their audience with a medium that suited their target audience.

The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions

The promotion team had an issue with the big marketing campaign they launched on Tinder. The campaign was met with mixed responses, it did well and proved to be effective but most people had more negative views of it. Many people described it as being 'counter-productive', 'an invasion of privacy', 'trolling' and 'trickery'. Even though it was effective it didn't get the best response from the audience they were targeting which doesn't make it a very successful campaign on the whole. Another issue with this is that it only targets audience members who were in that area, which is only a small area, so even though the campaign may have been successful in general it wouldn't have targeted a large audience on a national basis.

The ways in which the candidates' own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour 

I think it's a definite fact that audiences, specifically younger audiences, are more likely to watch a film streamed online than they are to go and see it at the cinema. Often there are a lot of films that we may be interested in but not enough to pay to go and see it at the cinema or maybe it isn't on at a cinema near us and we don't want to travel. The thing that audiences like most about streaming services is having the ability to watch on the go or from the comfort of their own home, they are able to watch it on their phone/laptop without having to use their TV. I think it's important to ensure films are readily available online, as this is where modern audiences are more likely to watch it especially if the film is shown on a limited number of screens.

 

Tuesday 4 October 2016

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Who owns Lucasfilm?

The Walt Disney Company and Walt Disney Studios

Who formed Lucasfilm?

George Lucas

What year was Lucasfilm formed?

1971

Who is the president of Lucasfilm?

Kathleen Kennedy





What other major films have they worked on?

Indiana Jones and all of the other Star Wars films

How much was Lucasfilm sold for?

$4.05 billion

Who wrote Star Wars: The Force Awakens?

Lawrence Kasdan, J.J Abrams and Michael Arndt

Who directed Star Wars: The Force Awakens?

J.J. Abrams

What other major films is the director responsible for?

Star Trek

How many Star Wars films have there been so far (list them)?

There have been seven Star Wars films so far.
Original Trilogy
  • IV - A New Hope
  • V - The Empire Strikes Back
  • VI - Return of the Jedi
Prequel Trilogy
  • I - The Phantom Menace
  • II - Attack of the Clones
  • III - Revenge of the Sith
Sequel Trilogy
  • VII - The Force Awakens

How much money have they all made at the global box office?

$6,479,600,000

When was the first Star Wars film released?

1977

What does ILM stand for?

Industrial Light and Magic

What do ILM do?

Create computer graphics for film. They are sent scenes from studios for CG.

Who created ILM?

George Lucas

Why did they create ILM?

Lucas created it when production began on the first Star Wars film. He wanted the film to have visual effects that had never been seen before so he created a company that could do that for him.

What do casting directors do?

Casting Directors organise and select the cast for a film. They will host interviews and auditions with actors narrowing down the numbers as they go along and issuing call-backs to people that stand out until they find the people perfect for the roles. After this they will negotiate money and contracts with the actors they have chosen.

Where were the first scenes for Star Wars: The Force Awakens filmed?

Abu Dhabi

What format was Star Wars: The Force Awakens shot on?

IMAX

What types of camera were used to film Star Wars: The Force Awakens?

35mm standard stock and 65mm IMAX cameras

What studio was used to film a large portion of the film?

Pinewood Studios

Where is the studio?

Buckinghamshire, England

What major franchise is famously filmed at this studio?

James Bond

How does said franchise link to Star Wars: The Force Awakens?

Both of them are a series of films that have been around for years and years developing a huge fan base. As a result of this they both have certain qualities that they have to live up to in order to keep fans interested. Both films also switch out characters and actors however unlike James Bond, the Star Wars franchise always keep the original actors in the in their previous roles only adding new actors to new roles. In the same way that boys wanted to be Luke Skywalker or Han Solo and now they possibly want to be Finn or girls that wanted to be Princess Leia now want to be Rey, boys want to be like James Bond. Both franchises have managed to create characters that the audience look up to and want to be like, they continue watching the films because they have grown up with the characters and the storyline and want to see what will happen next. They are both the same in the fact that even if you have never seen a James Bond film or a Star Wars film you have heard of it, just proving how successful both of the franchises are. Daniel Craig also had a cameo in The Force Awakens as one of the storm troopers.

Who was the inspiration for the character Maz Kanata?

J.J. Abrams High School English teacher Rose Gilbert.

What technology was used to create Maz Kanata?

They decided to go for a CG (Computer Graphics) approach for the character as a way of allowing Lupita Nyong'o's performance and small facial expressions and gestures to come through in her character. For her character they used the Medusa facial capture rig capturing facial details and movements in really intricate detail. This allowed them to also capture the facial movement she made when moving into a certain expression, tracking movement of individual pores and wrinkles in the skin. Nyong'o had to have tracking dots all over her face and had a lightweight four-camera head rig as a way of fully capturing her performance on set.

Who played Maz Kanata & what other roles is she famous for?

Lupita Nyong'o. Possibly her most famous role was in '12 Years a Slave' as Patsey winning an Academy Award for her acting. She has also been in 'The Jungle Book' as Raksha and in the action film 'Non-Stop' alongside Liam Neeson playing the character Gwen.

Who played General Snoke?

Andy Serkis

What is he renowned for in the movie business?

He has acted in 'The Lord of the Rings', 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey', 'The Jungle Book', 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'.

Where was the final scene filmed?

Filmed at Skellig Michel, an island located off the coast of Ireland.

Who composed the film score?

John Williams

How many Star wars films has he composed the music for?

All of the seven films and is set to do the same for the next two films in the sequel trilogy.

What other famous films has he created the music for?

Spiderman, Harry Potter, ET, Indiana Jones, Jaws

How many times did John Boyega audition for the film (according to JJ Abrams)?

9

Over what period of time did these auditions occur?

7 months

How many people operated B-B8?

One person operated him when using the puppetry technique but two people when controlling him with a remote.

What type of technology was the main version of B-B8?

The body of BB-8 is a sphere with a wheeled mechanism inside it . The floating head is achieved using magnets, some of them repel and some of them attract. The magnetic attraction keeps the head and the body close together while the repulsion prevents the head from being in direct contact with the body.In the terms of controlling him they used puppetry for some of the scenes and remote controls for others. 

What colour suit did the B-B8 operator wear?

Green

What did he have to wear such a suit?

To create the same effect that a green screen would have, it would be easier to edit him out and to project the background image on to where he was to make it appear as though the droid was operating by itself.

What type of special effects (SFX) were employed on Star Wars: The Force Awakens?

Abrams wanted to stay authentic to the original Star Wars trilogy as he thought the prequels were flawed as a result of their over-usage of CG. He shot as much of the film as possible in camera, building extensive set and large models to minimise the use of CG. They used matte paintings instead of green screen technology and created flat force perspective paintings to make corridors and hallways appear longer. They were practical and physical whenever possible meaning that not an extensive amount of special effects were used in the film, especially compared to the prequels. There is still a lot of CGI used as it is impossible to avoid because of the setting and genre of the film, with the visual effects supervisor confirming that about 2,100 f the 2,500 shots contained some form of CGI. These were either used for explosions, droids, space battles, characters or the galaxy itself. 

How many people were behind the monitor watching the scene when Han and Chewie returned to the Millennium Falcon?

About 200

Why was Simon Pegg thanked in the credits for Star Wars: The Force Awakens?

He played the part of Unkar Plutt, the junk dealer in Jakku. However, he was in costume so his face is never seen in the film. 

J.J. Abrams shot part of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in IMAX. What is IMAX?

A technique of cinematography which produces an image that is about ten
times bigger than standard 35mm film.

How many IMAX screens was the film available on?

29

What was the age rating of the film in the UK?

12A

How much money did the UK government contribute to the production of Star Wars: The Force Awakens?

They covered 15% of all production costs, contributing about £31.6 million. 

How much was Harrison Ford paid to reprise his role of Han Solo?

$20 million 

How much were Daisy Ridley and John Boyega paid?

Between $100,000 -$300,000