Inception - 7 Key Concepts

1.

The issues raised in media ownership in contemporary media practise;

Who owns a media company influences the type of film made and its potential success. This is because the bigger film companies are more likely to produce bigger films that are generally more successful. These films are more likely to be successful because most of the films made follow the rules that Mark Kermode said would make a film impossible to lose money. These rules are a newsworthy budget, spectacular budgets, not a comedy and to include an ‘A’ list actor. The big movie companies have a lot of money meaning that they have big budgets on films that they produce. This means that they have money to spend on different aspects of the film that will most likely lead the film to become very successful.

An example of a big movie company is Warner Bros. They own several subsidiary companies, including Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, Castle Rock Entertainment, and DC Entertainment. Warner Bros. are one of the biggest movie companies in the world, therefore they are very iconic and are easily recognisable.

2.

The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

Inception is a 2010 action film which was produced by Warner Bros, and Legendary Films. Inception is synergised in different ways, for example: the film is released on DVD and Blu-ray, the soundtrack music is released on a CD. If there was to be a game, it would be released on a games console like Xbox or PS.

3.

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

3D (3 Dimensional)

This is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception. The most common approach to the production of 3D films is derived from stereoscopic photography. In it, a regular motion picture camera system is used to record the images as seen from two perspectives (or computer-generated imagery generates the two perspectives in post-production), and special projection hardware and/or eyewear are used to provide the illusion of depth when viewing the film. Some methods of producing 3D films do not require the use of two images. It has been around since 1915 but only became successful in the 21st century.

Blu Ray

This is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was designed to supersede the DVD format, in that it is capable of storing high-definition video resolution (1080p). The name "Blu-ray" refers to the blue laser (specifically, a violet laser) used to read the disc, which allows information to be stored at a greater density than is possible with the longer-wavelength red laser used for DVDs.

Internet Streaming

This is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a provider. The verb "to stream" refers to the process of delivering media in this manner; the term refers to the delivery method of the medium, rather than the medium itself, and is an alternative to downloading.

Downloadable Content

This is additional content for video games and films, such as film soundtracks and character accessories on specific games. This could be on iTunes or Google Play Store or any other downloadable content provider.

How they affected the distribution of Inception

All these types of multimedia distributors had a large effect on the success of Inception. It was re-released in 3D after the release of the actual film. The movie is still making money today through the amount of DVD’s and CD’s that are bought

and also through internet streaming.

4.

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

Since films were first released, film companies have had to alter the ways that the audiences are able to watch their films significantly. Common ways of viewing films now are things such as video on demand, DVD’s/Blu-Ray from a shop, online streams, and downloading films as well as visiting the cinema. These ways generally tend to be cheap which is important as many families don’t have the money to go to the cinema so for a considerably lower price they can rent a film via websites such as Netflix or Lovefilm or they could purchase the DVD/Blu-ray from a shop. Inception was released in cinemas in 2D. It was then released on DVD and Blu-ray. As it was a big budget film, it wasn’t released on VOD websites like Netflix or Lovefilm. After five years passing, the film has been released on sites like Netflix. This is a good way for a big film company to continue making profit on an older film.

5.

The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences

The importance of cross media convergence is vital to film production as it’s all the small companies working together to produce posters, soundtracks etc. and larger global companies to work together and produce together which gets a larger audience due to the size and popularity of the big six.

6.

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

Film promotion is the practise of promotion specifically in the film industry, and usually occurs in coordination with the process of film distribution. Sometimes called the press junket or film junket, film promotion generally includes press releases, advertising campaigns, merchandising and media, and interviews with the key people involved with the making of the film, like actors and directors. As with all business it is an important part of any release because of the inherent high financial risk: film studios will invest in expensive marketing campaigns to maximize revenue early in the release cycle. Marketing budgets tend to equal about half the production budget. Publicity is generally handled by the distributor and exhibitors.

7.

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

Firstly I think that the influence big companies have on the types of film made and its success is huge, a prime example of this is if you compare Ex-Machina to Inception it is clear that due to the sizes of the companies producing these films their success potential differed. Inception for example was released on 16th July 2010 (USA) but marketing however started when the film was promoted earlier in the year. Inception went on to earn $292,568,851 at the box office. When compared to Ex-Machina (produced by smaller companies), which only made $25,440,971. In these figures you can clearly see the fact that Inception was produced by bigger companies. I think that the main advantage that being made by a big company brings is their ability to invest a large amount in the budget. In my opinion the big companies only have to follow a few guidelines to make a film a success (Mark Kermode believes that big budget films only need to comply with: having a newsworthy budget, spectacular visuals, not be a comedy and has to include an ‘A list’ star). Whilst lower budget films have to do more things to ensure success.