•Producer- Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich
•Director- Alex Garland
•Distributor- Universal Pictures
•Cast- Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Sonoya
Mizuno
•Budget- $15 million
•Locations- Shot over four weeks at Pinewood Studios and two
weeks at Juvet Landscape Hotel in Valldalen, Norway
•Technology- It was filmed in digital at 4K resolution.
•Number Of Screen - Opening Weekend- 4 in the USA
•Number Of Screens - Peak Number- 1279 is the overall peak
of the film screenings
•Box Office Figures- $36.9 million
The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice: Ex Machina had a well rounded, well known production team of three well known, popular teams, DNA films who brought both 28 days and weeks later films that were wildly successful in both UK and US box offices with 28 Days Later on a budget of $8,000,000 and grossed up to $45,063,889, Film 4, who pride themselves on the fact they release new and original films (usually on a small budget) such as FRANK and The Lobster, and Scott Ruddin, who are well known of for making successful films worldwide. So with production companies with this much of a reputation the production teams for Ex Machina were able to build up a budget of $15,000,000 approx. this allowed the film to have good looking, convincing special effects which wouldn't normally be seen in a film with a budget of this size, which in the end allowed the film to gross up to $25,440,971 in the US alone.
The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing: As stated previously in question one because of the combination of all three of these successful production companies they were able to create a bigger, better looking film, if not for the cross media between Film 4 and DNA films the film wouldn’t have been created to as high of a standard or even created at all.
The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange: Marketing a film has become far more easy in recent years with the introduction and rising popularity of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, it’s become free and easy to market your film to the demographic who is on your site. TV advert breaks are usually advertising some sort of new release either coming to cinema or the production teams are in post-production and is now marketing for the DVD and BLU-RAY sales, to advertise a film in an ad break it’ll usually cost the production company up to £50,000 on ITV at primetime.
The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences: In today’s society with audience’s attitudes of film watching changing and more and more, especially younger people who are one of cinemas larger demographics, streaming films off sites from the internet. When a film is released it can take up to a couple of days before it is on popular streaming sites on the internet, with some big budget films available to be viewed in 4K, a camera quality only available on IMAX and Blu-Rays. However, studios also do decide to release DVDs and Blu-Rays because many people still buy and view the films on this format with people not using streaming sites and services. Although DVD sales are huge chunk of their market, streaming is still the way many view films and TV with services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and ITunes being vastly popular and common today with Netflix having up to 29.4 million customers by January 2013, and production companies recognise that this is the bigger demographic today, the more services they provide for the more audiences they attract and there should be an increase in profit.
The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences: When creating a film with a smaller budget than the films they are competing with the production companies had to invest in areas of the film making that would allow the film to stand out. Linking it back to the film Ex_Machina, apart from the films lead (Alicia Vikander) costume being created completely out of computer generated effects and CGI becoming more and more popular with mainstream audiences the rest of the effects in the film being practically made to save money but to also give the film a realistic feel and atmosphere such as costumes of the other characters, the birds eye views in the film and the camera work and the locations used. The effects used were similar to motion capture, which in later years have influenced and shaped the way films are made, actress Alicia Vikander was required to wear a skin suit to edit the effects on to.
The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice: Ex Machina had a well rounded, well known production team of three well known, popular teams, DNA films who brought both 28 days and weeks later films that were wildly successful in both UK and US box offices with 28 Days Later on a budget of $8,000,000 and grossed up to $45,063,889, Film 4, who pride themselves on the fact they release new and original films (usually on a small budget) such as FRANK and The Lobster, and Scott Ruddin, who are well known of for making successful films worldwide. So with production companies with this much of a reputation the production teams for Ex Machina were able to build up a budget of $15,000,000 approx. this allowed the film to have good looking, convincing special effects which wouldn't normally be seen in a film with a budget of this size, which in the end allowed the film to gross up to $25,440,971 in the US alone.
The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing: As stated previously in question one because of the combination of all three of these successful production companies they were able to create a bigger, better looking film, if not for the cross media between Film 4 and DNA films the film wouldn’t have been created to as high of a standard or even created at all.
The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange: Marketing a film has become far more easy in recent years with the introduction and rising popularity of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, it’s become free and easy to market your film to the demographic who is on your site. TV advert breaks are usually advertising some sort of new release either coming to cinema or the production teams are in post-production and is now marketing for the DVD and BLU-RAY sales, to advertise a film in an ad break it’ll usually cost the production company up to £50,000 on ITV at primetime.
The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences: In today’s society with audience’s attitudes of film watching changing and more and more, especially younger people who are one of cinemas larger demographics, streaming films off sites from the internet. When a film is released it can take up to a couple of days before it is on popular streaming sites on the internet, with some big budget films available to be viewed in 4K, a camera quality only available on IMAX and Blu-Rays. However, studios also do decide to release DVDs and Blu-Rays because many people still buy and view the films on this format with people not using streaming sites and services. Although DVD sales are huge chunk of their market, streaming is still the way many view films and TV with services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and ITunes being vastly popular and common today with Netflix having up to 29.4 million customers by January 2013, and production companies recognise that this is the bigger demographic today, the more services they provide for the more audiences they attract and there should be an increase in profit.
The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences: When creating a film with a smaller budget than the films they are competing with the production companies had to invest in areas of the film making that would allow the film to stand out. Linking it back to the film Ex_Machina, apart from the films lead (Alicia Vikander) costume being created completely out of computer generated effects and CGI becoming more and more popular with mainstream audiences the rest of the effects in the film being practically made to save money but to also give the film a realistic feel and atmosphere such as costumes of the other characters, the birds eye views in the film and the camera work and the locations used. The effects used were similar to motion capture, which in later years have influenced and shaped the way films are made, actress Alicia Vikander was required to wear a skin suit to edit the effects on to.
The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions: In the case of Ex_Machina and its budget of only $15,000,000 the production companies may be unable to afford marketing that’ll create a big enough ‘buzz’ for the film, this could create some potential audiences being unaware of the film’s release. Another issue is the fact that even thought the film will be marketed and advertised they may not get enough encouragement to their main target audiences, and only taking a smaller audience instead of a wider one. However, with the convergence of companies such as DNA Films and Film 4, they were able to release their film in formats such as IMAX and 3D which is a way to market the film for people to want to go and see it. The cast of the film will probably go on late night talk shows to promote their new release, this is a good way to promote the film but only gets to the audience watching the show, who may not be the teenage audiences that the film is aimed at.
The ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour: As a member of the audience I agree and have my options on a film and how it is made. When discussing media ownership in contemporary media practice when developing Ex_Machina I see it as a positive to have the main production companies be, although not as well known as companies such as 20th Century Fox or Warner Bros., but instead have two production companies who are familiar with the certain style of a film with a smaller budget. As a member of the audience the importance of cross media convergence is important, especially in the case of Ex_Machina that without the financial and marketing backing of studios such as DNA Films and Film 4 wouldn't be able to raise as big of a budget as it was able to. With the studio backing this picture marketing became much easier with the experience of these titles who create films that aren't blockbusters. The technologies that have been introduced in recent years has really effected the levels of production, distribution, marketing a film like this is able to make an impact with viewers. The film had a budget of $15,000,000, which is out of the ordinary with so many big budget films out every year, but with the convergence of the production companies and the technology they were able to use, they were able to create a well looking, realistic look at the sci-fi source material. One of the most recognisable benefits of having a convergence between two production companies is the fact that marketing becomes a lot easier for them and the film becomes a lot more noticeable to us as the audience, this is very important because marketing a film is nearly as important as the end product, no 'buzz' for the film will result in their being no audience so money will be lost. trailers, posters and adverts are all important for the audience to get up and view the film.
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