Section B past questions

On this post you will find OCR's statement regarding what candidates need to have knowledge of relating to their chosen case study material.

Remember that we have looked at the film industry with 'Skyfall' and 'The Woman In Black' as our case study films BUT other candidates may have looked at music, television, gaming, radio, newspapers or magazines.

This means that the question that you are given will be quite general as it has to be able to be answered by all candidates.

As a starting point:

1. Read through each of the past questions below and try to identify which of the bullet points below it relates to.
2. For each question, establish whether the question is asking specifically about production / distribution / marketing / exhibition / consumption / exchange OR all of these.

Film piracy in the UK

Film piracy is an issue that affects the film industry at the stages of exhibition and consumption.

There is a lot of information on the web for you to research yourself.

Here are a few things to get you started.

You can find information from The Guardian relating to film piracy by clicking here 

An interesting approach to trying to tackle film piracy related directly to 'Skyfall' can also be found by clicking here.

Film producer Stephen Follows give shis own opinions about whether or not piracy has harmed the UK film industry on his blog. The relevant post can be accessed by clicking here.

"skyfall" and "the woman in black" exhibition,consumption and exchange

Use the following to develop your awareness and knowledge of the UK film industry in 2012 - the year both 'Skyfall' and 'The Woman in Black' were released.

BFI Statistical Yearbook 2013 (covers 2012 figures for distribution and exhibition) 

CLICK HERE

BFI Statistical Yearbook 2014 (covers 2012 figures for exchange) 

CLICK HERE 

Exhibition = films being exhibited or 'shown'.

The number of screens in the UK continues to rise, although the number of screens per person and admissions per person vary considerably across the country. Complementing commercial cinema is a thriving voluntary sector in film exhibition, and film society admissions are highest in areas less well served by commercial cinemas.

EXHIBITION FACTS IN FOCUS:

• At the end of 2012, the UK had 3,817 screens, 50 more than 2011, in 769 cinemas.
• For the first time since 1984 the net increase in screens in traditional cinemas was greater than the net increase in multiplex screens.
• There were six screens for every 100,000 people, the same as in 2011, but lower than countries such as the USA (12.6), France (9.0), Australia (8.7), Spain (8.3) and Italy (6.4).
• Only 7% of screens were dedicated to specialised programming, with 0.2% dedicated mainly to South Asian films.
• More than 90% of all screens in the UK were equipped for digital projection.
• Membership of community cinemas
• and film societies continued to grow;
• the British Federation of Film Societies estimated a total membership of around 55,000 across all film societies, compared with 54,000 in the previous year.
• There were 584,000 admissions at more than 50 film festivals in the UK in 2012.
• The average ticket price at commercial cinemas was £6.37

Cinema screens by exhibitors with 20+ screens, 2012

  

Exhibitor                                                      Sites                Screens       % of total screens

Odeon	114	868	22.7
Cineworld	80	799	20.9
Vue	79	746	19.5
National Amusements	20	264	6.9
Empire Cinemas	16	150	3.9
Anderson	11	88	2.3
Reel Cinemas	16	63	1.7
Cineworld/City Screen	22	60	1.6
Movie House Cinemas	5	39	1.0
Merlin Cinemas	11	32	0.8
Others (21 major exhibitors and 329 independent single venue exhibitors)	395	708	18.5
Total	769	3,817	100.0

Technological change is transforming the shape of the creative industries at an extremely rapid pace. This presents both huge opportunities and challenges for the film sector. As John Adams, Professor of Film & Screen Media Practice at the University of Bristol, points out, “digital technologies create the possibility of a paradigm shift in the creative and commercial potential of film”. 

Films are already available on multiple platforms at users’ convenience. They carry an increasingly rich stream of metadata. Feature-length productions may still be the norm in cinemas but they are increasingly complemented by a wide array of other forms of moving images available via streaming sites. Transmedia storytelling, in which a narrative unfolds across different platforms, is becoming increasingly common. 

There is a strong public appetite to engage with film, not just as consumers, but as producers, curators and critics. The development of social media has been a powerful tool in this. Technological advances will allow faster access to audiences and more direct relationships between filmmakers and audiences; and analysts now believe that new devices that make it easier to watch internet video on television will accelerate the shift to on-demand movies. 

However, film needs to be able to compete with other content in the digital environment. According to the British Video Association, “the single biggest problem currently facing the film industry is falling revenues”. The challenge for the industry is to replace lost revenues from the collapsing DVD-based ownership model in a marketplace that is shifting away from physical media. Counterbalancing this is the huge opportunity presented by the digital revolution. The film industry is seeking revenue models to capitalise on what audiences are willing to pay for films (and related games, apps and other media).

Consumption = films being consumed ('watched') by an audience  

Exchange = how the audience then responds to these.

Understanding the audience is key to a vibrant film economy and culture. Surveys of the UK cinema audience provide us with an insight into one element of the film offer, but more research is needed on audience engagement with the full range of online experiences.

AUDIENCE FACTS IN FOCUS:

• In 2012, the proportion of over-45s in the UK cinema audience increased to 36% compared to 28% in 2011, while the 15-24 audience decreased from 31% to 25%.

Film on 'Physical' Video

Despite falling revenues, particularly in the rental market, physical video remains a crucial element of the film value chain. 

In 2013, feature film video sales and rentals in the UK generated just over £1.1 billion.

PHYSICAL VIDEO FACTS IN FOCUS:

• The combined sales and rental market for all categories of video on physical media in 2013 was more than £1.6 billion (over £1.4 billion in sales and £197 million from rentals); feature film on video accounted for just over £1.1 billion.
• There were 119 million sales of feature film on physical video
• (127 million in 2012) and 53 million rentals of film on video (78 million in 2012).
• Film accounted for 73% of the volume of the video sales market and 65% of the value. UK films accounted for around 24% of all films sold on video.
• The most popular purchase on both DVD and Blu-ray disc in 2013 was Skyfall.

Hardware

• According to the BVA, in 2013 some 3.3 million DVD players were sold in the UK. 
• Sales of DVD players have been decreasing each year since 2008 but over 60 million units have been sold in the UK in the last 10 years and, according to the BVA, over 90% of the population has access to a device that can play DVDs within the household. 
• Also, 1.2 million Blu-ray players were sold in 2013, one third of which were 3D players.
• Sales of Blu-ray players in 2013 were slightly lower than in 2012 (1.3 million units in 2012) but more than 5.5 million Blu-ray players have now been sold in the UK, and 21.2% of households own at least one player (compared with 17.6% in 2012).

Video on Demand 

Video on Demand (VoD) enables audiences to access films through a range of devices, anytime, anywhere. 

Revenues for online services were higher than television-based earnings for the second consecutive year in 2013, but our overall understanding of this market is hampered by a lack of robust data.

FACTS IN FOCUS:

• The total VoD film market was estimated to be worth £323 million in 2013, up 37% on 2012, and up over 400% since 2002
• Apple was the highest earning VoD provider in the UK, but YouTube is the most used provider to access feature film on VoD, with over 39% of online film viewers, followed by LOVEFiLM, with 25% of viewers and Netflix with 24%.
• 16% of online viewers access films on demand
• People can now watch film on demand wherever they are, as long as there is a 3G/4G hotspot or wireless router to connect their (mobile) devices to the web. 
• By the beginning of 2014, 84% of adults in the UK had access to the internet at home, and 53% of adults used a mobile phone to connect to the web. 
• In addition, 35% of households had a tablet or similar device, of which around half were 3G/4G enabled for mobile internet access.
• It is possible to gauge the potential audience for film on VoD content. In terms of television-based VoD providers, by the end of March 2014 approximately, 10.5 million Sky satellite subscribers, 3.8 million Virgin Media TV subscribers, 917,000 TalkTalk TV subscribers and 900,000 BT TV subscribers were able to access a range of on-demand services, including pay-per-view and catch up services. The potential audience for television-based VoD in the UK was estimated to be over 16 million.

Film on UK Television

In terms of viewer numbers, the single most important platform for film consumption is television. Viewers had a choice of almost 7,000 unique film titles across
all channels in 2013, and the cumulative film audience was just under 3.4 billion.

FACTS IN FOCUS:

• There were 6,941 unique film titles on television in 2013, including 1,800 on terrestrial channels, 1,324 on pay TV film channels and 3,817 on other digital channels.
• There were 1,990 film transmissions on terrestrial channels, down from 2,141 in 2012. Of these, 514 (26%) were UK films (up from 443 in 2012), 269 films (13%) were channel premieres and 47 (2%) were foreign language films (down from 71
• in 2012).
• There were over 57,000 film transmissions on multi-channel television, of which over 41,000 were on pay TV film channels.
• The top film at the UK box office in 2012, Skyfall, was the most popular film shown on pay TV channels in 2013, with a total audience of 4.9 million from 93 transmissions across the Sky Movies channels.

Lesson slides

marketing 'skyfall'

Lesson slides-audiences and institutions

Practice paper

Dr Who (Gender)

• Humans automatically stereotype as it is a way we control things around us 
• Media uses stereotypes to make things more believable
• We stereotype people in groups by the way they look, history of their religion or ethnicity and age
• In media stereotypes are used by the use of Mis-en-scene and dialogue 
• To make a characters stereotype stand out more they will put people around them that are seen as "normal" 
• The definition of stereotype is "a standardised, often simplified, mental picture or attitude that is held in common by members of a group"
• Our own stereotypes are built up by previous experiences with a certain person or influenced by the media such as that all gay people wear pink or most criminals are black people
• Throughout the years film producers have tried to change stereotypes such as the typical black man being seen bad by changing them in to a heroic character
• stereotypes can also be influenced by family and friends 
• stereotyping starts form a young age as we are told whats right and wrong and who we are aloud to be associated with. 

Representation of age- Assessment point

Discuss the ways in which the extract below constructs the representation of age using the following:

• camera shots, angle, movement and composition
• editing
• sound
• mise-en-scene

Here is an exemplar opening to this essay. Your task is to write the next section of the essay, focussing on the representation of age as constructed through the character of the maths teacher. 

Read my opening first before then continuing the essay. Begin with the sentence highlighted at the end of my opening and move forward from there. 

Exemplar Opening

This extract constructs representations of differing age groups.

At the very beginning of the extract a representation of middle-age is constructed through the character of the strict teacher. This representation is that of middle-age as possessing authority and power, with the character having control over other characters who are both teenaged and young adult.

A sense of enigma is created on this character's first appearance as we see a tracking shot of feet walking through tables from a low level. The absence of non-diegetic sound allows us to focus clearly on the noise of the character's footsteps. A cut to two teenage boys clearly shows them as behaving in a suspicious manner before we cut back to the feet steadily approaching. This juxtaposition constructs meaning for the audience as it becomes clear that the boys are keen to hide from the approaching adult, suggesting that he has authority over them. 

A series of quick cuts adds pace to the scene before we see the middle aged teacher's face for the first time in close-up. The use of a close-up allows us to see an expression that has connotations of enjoyment as he passes judgement over the boys. He puts the boys under pressure by asking where they were as everyone else was 'suffering the screening'. This dialogue, an aspect of diegetic sound, helps to further construct his character as being a somewhat disillusioned and cynical representation of middle age. The composition of the shot where he questions the boys gives him power as he is anchored in the centre of the shot with the boys either side of him. 

His character is developed through his use of sarcasm in the delivery of lines of dialogue such as when he finishes the first boy's sentence by saying 'holding his hair..' The actor's tone of voice, an element of mise en scene, is patronising and this character is developing into a very negative representation of his age group. His use of non-verbal commands, such as the clicking of fingers, and commands using the imperative tense, 'Give it!', ensure that the audience are aware of his authority, a fact supported through the character's costume with his suit, shirt and tie having connotations of power. Further interactions between the character and a young adult teacher reinforce his representation as middle aged authority.


A different representation of middle age can be seen at the end of the extract through the character of the maths teacher.

Compared to the strict teacher the maths teacher is influenced by what other people think. Just like the first time we see the strict teacher we see a low angle shot of the maths teachers shoes. we hear a non-diegetic sound of pop/rap music this shows that he is a teacher that has been influenced by the students or younger people around him.We see a long shot of the maths teacher and he looks uncomfortable we can also tell this by his use of dialogue asking a lot of questions letting us know that he is unsure about his new look.Two students make diegetic remarks towards what he is wearing "Sir tell us you robbed a year ten for that" and laughing at him from this we can tell that he doesn't have as much power and authority as the strict teacher does as the students were not scared to make fun of him. This remark also lets us know that he is at the age where he can understand a "joke" and has a friendly relationship with his students unlike the strict teacher who has a sarcastic, dry sense of humour and will take any jokes the students say about him the wrong way. We also find out that the maths teacher cares what other people think about him as there is a close-up shot of him looking worried and angry at the young girl that has made him dress the way he is. 

We then see a high angle tracking shot of the maths teacher running down the stairs to talk to the female teacher Miss Chowdri. From the way he approaches her we can tell that he is eager to talk to her and find out her opinion towards his new look she responds with that he "looks ridiculous" then walks away. The maths teacher looks on the ground and his facial expression looks disappointed in himself, from this we can tell that the maths teacher is still trying to find himself and fit in around the school amongst his colleagues unlike the strict teacher who is confident and belittles the younger teachers such as Miss Chowdri at the start. 

The maths teacher is then approached by the caretaker who laughs at him.There is a two-shot of the care -taker and maths teacher talking. The maths teacher looks annoyed and in a irritated tone repeats what Miss Chowdri just said to him agreeing with her statement "yes i know i look ridiculous". The care taker notices that the maths teacher is frustrated and it quickly turns in to a father and son like conversation with the care taker giving the maths teacher advice to '"concentrate on what he's good at" even though they are around the same age. Lastly we see a long shot of the maths teacher then walks off following after the care taker walking uncomfortably.