LO4 - Task 5: Ethical, legal and regulatory issues

LO4 Task 5 - Ethical, legal and regulatory issues:

A) Impact and effect on the audience

There are two types of audience that will watch a film like The Day After Tomorrow; they are the active and passive audiences. Active audiences take scenes from a film as fictional so for example in a scene with an innuendo, this audience would take it more seriously and dismay it or raise questions but the passive audience would accept it and not raise any questions. As my film is produced for a mass-audience, both of these kinds of audiences would be viewing. I can relate this to Theodore Adorno’s 1930 theory of ‘the hypodermic syringe’. In his theory, Adorno states that mass audiences believe everything they hear and that media has a negative impact on society. This could be due to the issues in films like The Day After Tomorrow of violence, sexual content or representations.

There are examples of where The Day After Tomorrow can have a negative impact on the audience. One example is when all the people of Los Angeles are scrambling to get into the public library; here people are selfishly scrambling over each other, pushing and shoving through the water to reach the land. The audience would feel uncomfortable as it is a position that they would not like to find themselves in. This would also be a negative impact on a passive audience to copy. A second example is when the wolf is shut out of the building so that the characters are safe and aren’t harmed; the audience would feel sorry for the wolf as it whimpers from the outside and inevitably freezes to death. 

However there are also examples of where The Day After Tomorrow can have a positive impact on the audience. One of the main characters, Sam played by Jake Gyllenhaal, could be seen as a role model for the younger audience as he is someone who they could aspire to be like. Sam is portrayed as a kind, heroic young adult who would do anything to help out others. The younger members of the audience can be related to Carl Roger’s 1980 theory of Ideal Self. The younger boys could either start speaking or acting like Sam and incorporate this into their daily lives. Another positive impact that the film could have on the audience is the wrapping up of the story at the end of the film where we learn that Sam, Laura and their friends survive the ordeal and are rescued.

B) Representation

In Stuart Hall’s 1980 theory of mediation, he talks about how all representations are ‘mediated’. He identified three positions from which we can respond to a media text; preferred meaning, the meaning that the maker intended the text to have and is the ‘preferred’ meaning for the audience to take. Oppositional meaning, the viewer disagrees and takes an oppositional stance to the preferred meaning of the text. Negotiated, the meaning where the viewer doesn’t accept the preferred reading but doesn’t fully oppose it either. This last meaning is otherwise known as ‘sitting on the fence’. The preferred reading is the battle of survival which has been exaggerated through the use of special effects and green screens to create a spectacle for the audience.

Stereotypes are also used in films like The Day After Tomorrow. In Tessa Perkins 1979 theory of stereotypes, she states that ‘not all stereotypes are false’. One prominent example that she highlights is that of the ‘dumb blonde’ stereotype. One positive stereotype in my film is that the male is the hero in the film; Sam saves Laura from the oncoming rush of waves that would’ve most certainly killed her. If Sam hadn’t been the hero then he and the audience would’ve lost a well-liked and loved character and person. However, the effect this could have on the female audience in particular is that they could feel less powerful than the males in the room. There are little to no negative stereotypes in The Day After Tomorrow but an instance where there is one is when the males are dominant over the females in the conversation in the weather monitoring building. The male interrupts the female during the talk and consequently attempts to take charge.

There is a countertype in my film, this is that an actor from an ethnic background is playing one of the lead roles; Arjay Smith plays Brian, one of Sam’s friends. He is a positive role model in the film as he looks out for the safety of others. An example of this is when Sam went back to help Laura get into the safety of the public library, Brain was shouting at Sam to stay for his own safety. This challenges of the stereotype of non-white people being dangerous. Normally in Hollywood Blockbusters the screens are dominated with mainly white actors and actresses so the fact that there is an actor like Arjay in one of the main parts in the film shows that films don’t have to be made up of predominantly white people.

C) Legal and ethical issues

Copyright infringement is where a piece of media or content is used in a project without permission from the owners. An example of what could be used in this situation is a piece of music in a scene. In The Day After Tomorrow, they would need to get permission for songs to be used in the film. An example of this is a song called ‘Do You Really Want to Hurt Me‘, written by Boy George and performed by the band Culture Club. The song itself is owned by Virgin Records but was licensed to be used in The Day After Tomorrow by EMI Film & Television Music. This would have been very expensive as to license a professional song requires a lot of investment and money. Throughout the film there are frequent shots of news broadcasts from FOX 5 TV, the producers would’ve had to ask for permission to use the station but as the producers, 20^th Century Fox and FOX are both owned by the same company, it is easy to share the rights and requires less expenditure.

In my film there are a few scenes with intimate sexual content, mild bad language and violence which earns the film an overall BBFC rating of a 12A. According to the BBFC, The Day After Tomorrow contains extended scenes of threat, images of blood, injury and dead bodies, mild sex references and mild language.  The film has not been censored in any way as it is not too extreme and has been approved for ‘appropriate audiences’ instead with the age rating it has been given.

There are examples of sensationalism in The Day After Tomorrow. The most notable examples are the CGI and Special FX that are over-exaggerated to give the audience the “sensation” of how climate change could impact the earth in the future, which could ethically change the audience.

D) Regulatory Bodies

There is one main body that classify films; they are the BBFC. The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification), are an independent company that rate films for cinema and DVD release; they give ratings ranging from U – R18. The age rating of my film is a 12A and this is the same in the UK as the US. The age rating has always been a 12A for the cinema and a 12 for DVD’s and this hasn’t been changed at any time. The Day After Tomorrow keeps to the BBFC’s regulations for a 12/12A by using the bad language only infrequently, keeping the sexual content to a minimum and only using enough gore and violence to maintain the 12/12A rating. This film could be inappropriate for younger audiences as there are situations of extreme danger and in some cases death, which could scare and potentially have a negative impact on this audience.

The second of these regulatory bodies is the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency), they are a company that “write and maintain the UK advertising codes”. There are 22 CAP Codes that regulate print material as listed on the ASA website. Before The Day After Tomorrow was released, there was a Billboard that promoted the film that changed the weather to produce rain or snow. On this board was fake snow, a 3D picture of the statue of liberty, the film title, a slogan, the directors other credits and the date that the film will be released. Some of the ways that the billboard sticks to the regulations of the ASA are that there are no children featured on the board (Number 5), there is no content that could harm or offend any viewers (Number 4) and there is no political advertising on any part of the board (Number 7).

Thanks for watching this video, I hope you enjoyed it and I shall see you next time for another one.

LO3 - Task 4: Distribution and advertising

LO3 Task 4:

Distribution:

Hello and welcome to another video. Today I will be discussing the advertising, distribution and promotion of the film that I am analysing, The Day After Tomorrow. I will also be talking about the technological convergence of the Internet and the films that we watch today.

Distribution is getting a product to an audience, in the case of The Day After Tomorrow this could be its DVD version. The aim of the distribution is to advertise and promote the main product; this could be in the form of an advert on a billboard, the trailer on TV or even one of the actors or actresses doing a TV or radio interview.

Technological convergence is where technologies come together and this provides new services for the audience, for example smartphones have ‘converged’ to have a phone, camera and the web all on one device. In terms of The Day After Tomorrow, its intended audience is mass-mainstream; this is an audience that can be found across the globe in international locations. The audience will be able to watch the films on various devices and services and thanks to our ever advancing technology, we can now use very few devices to access such a wide range of features. However, it hasn’t always been this easy; up until 2000 film reels had to be used in cinemas to display films but nowadays digital projectors are widely used in most cinemas across the world. The Day After Tomorrow was also sold on VHS back in 2004 when it was first released. Technology has converged to meet our growing needs for the latest form of entertainment.  

Online streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime have revolutionised the way in which we can watch our favourite films and TV shows, including The Day After Tomorrow, either at home or on the go. Cinemas still allow us to view the most current and up to date blockbusters hitting the screens, the experience still draws in many film goers on a daily basis. If a viewer wasn’t able to watch my film at the cinema then there is always the option of buying the DVD from the shops to watch whenever they like. If the film is shown on TV then people can either watch it there and then or it will be available on catch up services such as ’5 on demand’ but this will only be available for a certain amount of time, usually thirty days. Nowadays there are even online stores such as iTunes and Google Play that will allow you to download an electronic copy of the film for your device. In conclusion, this gives the audience more access to a wider range of options which means there will be more profit for the film production company.

The film would have been premiered in a location such as London and even perhaps at a film festival like London’s. This is because at premieres such as London’s, it’s where all the ‘blockbuster’ films; the ones with big budgets and effects are shown.

Technological convergence has had its benefits on society, for example having all these separate pieces of technology on one device makes it a lot easier to socialise and interact with family and friends, it’s cheaper overall as to own all of these separate pieces of technology would cost a lot more than the average smartphone and there is less need for multiple devices.

When The Day After Tomorrow was first released in cinemas in the US on 28^th May 2004, in its first month of sales it made just over $170,000,000, however four months after this, less than $10,000,000 was brought in.  This shows the decline for the urge to see the film at the cinemas after it was originally released.  

Overall I would say that technology in terms of The Day After Tomorrow has advanced. The film can now be accessed on a wider range of platforms and the fact that you can watch a film without a need for a DVD player anymore shows how far it’s come in such a short space of time.

Advertising:

The Day After Tomorrow was promoted across many different platforms. The ways in which the film was advertised was very creative and innovating. An example of this is the billboard that was put in the sea in India to highlight the dangers of climate change shown in the film to the audience there. On the billboard was a picture of New York, the name of the film and the release date. The skyscrapers of New York were obviously overwhelmed with the water from the sea which makes the advert hard to miss and eye-catching.

The trailer for the film also gives a dramatic insight into what the film would be like to watch, using actual clips from scenes in the film to give a brief synopsis on the film itself. Even though the trailer was made in 2004, it looks as good as the ones that are made for films of the present day.

The way in which these bits of media are produced are old media but are produced in the style of new media. Billboards are a classic way of advertising but The Day After Tomorrow added a realistic twist by submerging the board in the element that wipes out a lot of the people in the film. Again even though the trailer was made using old CGI effects it still looks realistic to the features used in 2015 trailers.

In terms of the marketing having an impact on the revenue of the film, if the adverts were put in the correct places for a mass audience to view like on a busy highway road, then more people of a variety of ages and audiences would be likely to visualise and perhaps go and watch the film.

20^th Century Fox could have used cross promotion/synergy to help promote their film, The Day After Tomorrow. An example of this could be Sky showing a trailer of the film during an advert break or as an ‘exclusive’. As Sky and 20^th Century Fox are both owned by the same company, this would be an easy, affordable way to promote the film.

The ways in which the audience members could contribute to the promotion of the film are on review sites such as Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB. They could also write these reviews in terms of social media. Fans could tweet their friends on Twitter for example telling them how good the film is. The final example is writing a wiki page. Fans can help other fans by providing more information about the film on websites such as Wikipedia. 

LO2 - Task 3: Audience

Introduction:

Hi, I’ve been asked to talk to you about the demographics of gender, age, lifestyle and spending power for the film The Day After Tomorrow. Producing the film for the correct audience is an important factor as producing a film for a specific audience may not bring in enough revenue but producing one for all audiences may let some part those people down. John Hartley (1987) and Ien Ang (1991) suggested that producers create invisible fiction or imaginary entities before creating a media product. This audience profile that I created shows the type of ‘ideal audience’ that the producers were aiming the film at. This imaginary entity also describes how an ideal viewer of The Day After Tomorrow might live. (Put in entry here).

Gender:

In the first section I’ll be talking about the gender representations in my chosen film, The Day After Tomorrow. There are many examples in the film but I have selected two that I will be talking about in particular. The first example I’ll be discussing is the scene where Sam, (played by Jake Gyllenhall), rescues Laura, (played by Emily Rossum) in the streets of Los Angeles when she goes to retrieve a handbag from a taxi just as the tsunami approaches. This is a typical representation as the male is rushing to save the female and is portrayed as the hero. This is influential for the audience as the male is an ‘ideal self’ for the male viewers in the audience.

The second example of gender representations is when at the after party of the competition; the well-built, good looking man flirts with and intimidates Laura (the main female character). This is a standard representation in films as the women in blockbuster films normally get together with big, “hunky” men; this stereotype has become widely used in other Hollywood franchises such as James Bond. This example could have a negative impact on the female audience, making them feel that they, their friends or their boyfriends are less worthy than the characters in these films like The Day After Tomorrow.

The third example that I will be talking about is at around forty two minutes into the film, where the males are leading the conversation over the computers. The lone female in the scene mainly just listens in and doesn’t get involved too deeply in the talk. It is stereotyped that males are the leaders and this scene supports this. However, I think there are more scenes in The Day After Tomorrow in which the males are dominant. For example when Sam is talking to his Dad over the phone in the library, he is constantly ignoring the claims of Laura to hang up and get to safety. This influences the audience by making them feel slightly uncomfortable while watching this certain scene as it is something they wouldn’t like to see or do personally.

Age:

Here I will be discussing why and how The Day After Tomorrow appeals to its ideal audience. I have found out that the median age for viewers watching this film is around 15 years old. One example of how it appeals is how the audience would like to be the like characters in the film. The actors and actresses could be seen as role models to the targeted younger audience. Jake Gyllenhall, who plays Sam, is an aspirational role model for teens whether it be males or females! An example of where this can be seen is in the scene where Sam makes a final phone call to his parents before the water cuts him off; this shows that he is dedicated to letting them know he is doing and signifies the close relationship that he has with them. This also indicates their busy city lifestyle and how much they rely on this kind of technology.

Another example of how the film appeals to the audience is its genre. Teenagers love lots of action and adventure and The Day After Tomorrow certainly doesn’t disappoint. Scenes of explosions, high risk decisions and 60 foot tsunamis are guaranteed to fulfil a teenager’s wish in this film.

The iconic cities in where the scenes are set would also appeal to teens as it’s where they would like to go when they’re older perhaps. Places like Los Angeles hold incredible feats of architecture like the Empire State Building and The Statue of Liberty. These monuments give inspiration to the younger audience and leave them in a hurry to visit them when they’re older.

Lifestyle:

The NRS stands for the National Readership Survey Ltd. They are a separate organisation that specialise in giving demographic information. They use different summary headings to describe the lifestyle types in the UK. In terms of my film, The Day After Tomorrow, I would place this audience under headings C – Settled Suburban’s (families with a semi-detached house perhaps, a nice lifestyle and are happy and comfortable with their lives), D – Nest Builders (families that are working towards he settled suburban’s stage) and E – Urban Ventures (outgoing teenagers living in big cities).

I can infer this for the Settled Suburban’s by using the example of when Sam, Laura and Brian take part in the school competition. I can imagine the settled suburban’s children going to school, having good knowledge and perhaps could even be taking part in similar competitions.

In terms of the Nest Builders, I believe that the group around the computers at around 28 minutes into the film represents the kind of people that could come under this heading. The nest builder audience members could relate to the characters and their jobs.

For the Urban Ventures heading I believe that the teenagers watching The Day After Tomorrow can take inspiration from the main characters Sam and Laura. Sam is an ideal older boy for the urban adventurers as they can relate to him as someone that they could imagine hanging out with, playing baseball down at the park or even going to the cinema. Laura is a role model for the urban adventure girls as she is a strong, gentle yet emotional character and it seems like she could get on with anybody.

I can relate all of this to McQuail’s 1972 theory of uses and gratifications. Dennis McQuail listed four reasons why people consume media products and the pleasures that they gain from them. These are ‘surveillance’, ‘escapism’, ‘building personal identity’ and ‘building personal relationships’.  I will now talk about these in terms of The Day After Tomorrow.

For surveillance, some audience members could gather news and information relating to climate change before they watch the film, so they are prepared with knowledge on why the tsunami is happening for example.

For escapism, it gives the audience the chance to forget about what they have been doing and relax after either a hard day’s work at school or at work. Watching films like The Day After Tomorrow allow them to be transported into completely different surroundings and unknown territory. This is good as it gives them the experience of leaving their lives and changing into the life of the characters from the film.

For building personal identity, it allows the audience to be taken to completely different locations and into the lives of completely different people. As some of the actors and actresses are also well-known, this gives the opportunity of looking into the life of a famous Hollywood ‘movie star’. I can relate this to Carl Roger’s theory of ideal self as the audience members would feel different after washing the film and could be inspired perhaps to either watch a film related to the one they’ve just watched or researching some of the actors or actresses in the film itself.

For building personal relationships, The Day After Tomorrow would allow the audience members to have something to talk about when they next either saw their families or friends. They could even recommend the film to others and encourage them to watch it too.

Spending Power:

The NRS also have a system for demographic profiling; this is often called social grade definitions. This system is well-established and widely used throughout the industry. For my film The Day After Tomorrow, I would grade the audience as B (middle class) and C1 (lower middle class). This is because the film is quite intellectual and requires understanding of current events to grasp the storyline. People described as in other classes like C2 (skilled working class) and D (working class) may not enjoy the film as it is very factual and complicated in places.

Some examples that I can back this up with to do with my film is that the middle and lower middle class would be able to buy the DVD of the film if they would like to watch it again in a family environment at home. The working class people may either download it online or watch on a streaming service like Netflix as it would be cheaper overall.

The middle class families could afford to buy and merchandise that would come onto the market following the film’s release. Toys like figures of the characters or posters that have been made available in the shops. These kind of families could also be moved deeply by the film so could donate some money to aid the research into climate change or help by adopting a polar bear.

I hope you enjoyed this video and I hope you learnt something that will be useful to you. See you next time for another video very soon!