Ex-Machina Research

• Released- April 10th 2015.
• Genre- Sci-Fi Thriller
• Producer- DNA films and Film4 productions.                                                           Film 4 owned by channel 4 founded by 1998
• Director- Alex Garland, he is English novelist, screenwriter, film producer and director, best known for his work as the screenwriter of 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Never Let Me Go and Dredd.
• Distributor- Universal studios.
  Founded: April 30, 1912, California, United States, Founders: William Swanson, Jules Brulatour. A24 in the USA
• Cast- Domhnall Gleeson as Cale starred in films such as The Revenant, About time and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.                                                               -Alicia Vikander as Ava.Alicia has stared in films such as The Danish Girl (which she won Acadamy Award for best supporting Actrees) and also starred in Jason Bourne.
  -Oscar Issac as Nathan.Starred in Star Wars the force awakens and X-Men Apocolypse.
• Budget- $15 million
• Locations- Norway and England.
• Technology- Used 4k resolution and had 15,000 mini- tungsren pea bulbs. This was because they didn't want it to look like most sci-fi films. They wanted to avoid florescent lighting.
• Number of screen - opening weekend- In the UK the film was shown on 1,255 screens and made $5,349,500. In the US it was shown on 4 screens and made $250,000. 
• Number of screens - peak number- The peak number of screens was 1255 in the UK and in the US it was 2,004.

The Seven Areas

• The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice; DNA films and Film4 were the production companies that made this film. Film 4 is a British Television company. Well known in the UK and owned by big company Channel 4. DNA Film is one of UK's most successful production companies. American production companies are always seen to be more successful than British due to having the big film studios and Hollywood etc. The film companies do well when producing films gaining high box office figures and gaining a profit. They filmed Ex-Machina in 6 weeks and shown that they don't need big companies like Disney or Universal Studios to be successful.

• The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing; The film was distributed by Universal Studios in the UK and by A24 in the USA. The companies are both based in the USA therefore the film could become available to a wider audience. Even though the film did better in the UK it was still known and seen by the USA. All the companies advertised the film to get the word out about the film this way more people would watch it and more money would then be made. 

• The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange; As technology has become so much more popular and films are available in so many different formats. More people want to watch films at home through watching it on DVD or streaming it straight on to their TV. Films are now available in so many different ways. more advertising therefore has to be done. Advertisement through trailers and posters gets the word out about the film. 

• The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences; More people stream films from online straight to the TV at ease and its cheaper than going to the cinema. Also people enjoy having a DVD or blu-ray this way they can watch the film multiple times in the comfort of their own homes. A lot more people stay at home rather than going out to the cinema. Film companies therefore ave to make sure their film is available in a variety of ways to meet all their audiences needs. 

• The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences; Technology has benefited the film industry as they are able to advertise their film in so many more ways meaning they make more money as they get a wider audience and more viewers. Previously advertisement would just consist of posters or newspaper advertisements, where as now film industry have websites, trailers, apps, TV adverts etc. 

• The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions; One way marketting was used globally was through the app Tinder. the film compnay created a tinder profile for Alicia Vikander character and programmed it to ask questions about human life and where would they like to meet Ava.This went viral and made the film a lot more heard of around the world.

• The ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behavior; 

Star Wars:The Force Awakens Research

Producers/ Production companies - 

• Kathleen Kennedy, 
• J. J. Abrams, 
• Bryan Burk.  
• Lucasfilms 
• Bad Robot Product productions.

Director- J. J. Abrams, born June 27th 1966. He is known for his work in drama, action and sci-fi films. He is a American film director, producer, screenwriter, and composer. 

Screen writer-

• J.J Abrams, 
• Michael Arndt, 
• Lawrence Kasdan. 

Actors- 

• Harrison Ford as Han Solo
• Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker
• Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia
• Adam Driver as Kylo Ren 
• Daisy Ridley as Ren
• John Boyega as Finn
• Oscar Isacc as Poe Dameron
• Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata
• Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke
• Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux
• Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
• Max Von Sydow as Lor San Tekka
• Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca

Budget- $306 million (gross)
               $245 million (net)

Locations- The Force Awakens has been filmed basically in England, Ireland, Iceland and the United Arab Emirates.
Greenlight date- October 30th 2012.                                                                                       

Screens shown on 

• In America it was shown on 4,134 screens and in cinemas for 4 months.
• In the UK it was shown on 670

Critical reaction
Rotten Tomatoes; A critic/review site rated the film a 92% and the audience rated it 89%. Anthony Lane a top critic for Rotten Tomatoes said 'The new movie, as an act of pure storytelling, streams by with fluency and zip.'                                                                           Box office figures: worldwide, US, China

• Worldwide opening weekend- gross was $529 million.
• US- $2.066 Billion
• China- 30.7 million

Music 
The composer of the famous Star wars theme tune is John Williams. The song is played in every star wars film
Marketing (teaser trailers, trailers, TV spots, posters, websites etc)
When the film came out in cinemas there was a lot of buzz for the new film. Lots of posters advertising the film were shown. Teaser trailers were released to get more viewers when the film was about to go into cinemas. There were magazine articles and TV adverts too. Star wars also have an official website. 

Tie-in products
A variety of tie-in products were made things such as: Toys, Clothing, Lunch boxes, Posters, accessories etc. Even household appliances such as toasters were made just for star wars fans. 
SFX (special effects - technology used)
There are a lot of special effects used in the film, this is one of the reasons the film is so popular. John Dykstra is the special effects designer on the Star Wars films. Most of the sounds in the film are special effects to make it seem more realistic. CGI played a big part in this film and is what made it look so spectacular and gave it the sci-fi element. Camera work is very important as this provides the viewer with the action aspect of the film and makes it more gripping.
Any issues
Many Star Wars fans were not happy with the little screen time Luke Skywalker got in the film.

5x5

    Film

• About time- 2013, A 21 year old man finds out the men in his family can time travel and uses his advantage to get the girl of his dreams.

• Finding Nemo- 2003, Nemo a clownfish gets taken by a human to be used in a fish tank and his dad Marvin goes on an adventure to save him.

• Catch me if you can- 2002, A man (Leonardo DiCaprio) becomes a con artist and creates identities all before his 18th birthday, during this he is being chased down by a detective (Tom Hanks)

• Now you see me- 2013, A mystery magician unites 4 illusionists into a group called the 4 horsemen. They then use their skills to take money from corrupt banks etc. 

• Me before you-2016, A woman becomes an assistant for a paralysed man and they fall in love.

    

         TV  Programmes

• Big Bang Theory- A comedy about a group of scientists facing the challenges of life

• Friends- A group of friends going through everyday life, comedic and relatable.

• Baby Daddy-  A man discovers he has a child when he opens the door and sees it at his doorstep, he has to face life now being a single dad.

• The Middle- An awkward dysfunctional middle class family goes through the ups and downs of life.

• Awkward- Teenagers grow up and deals with friends, family, school and relationships.

       Singles

• Bastille- Flaws: Indie Band, British. Released 4th July 2011. Written by Lead singer Dan Smith

• Razorlight- Somewhere else:  English indie rock band.  Released 11th April 2005. 

• Sia- Fire meets gasoline: Sia is an Australian singer/song writer. Song was released 19th June 2015.

• Vance Joy- Straight into your arms: Indie pop genre. Released February 2016.

• Catfish and the bottlemen- Homesick: British Indie Rock Band.                                                                                                                                             

Albums

• Bastille- Bad Blood: Bastille is Indie/alternative British band consisting of 4 members. This album was released 4th March 2013. It reached number one in the UK Album Chart. It was nominated for British Album of the Year at the 2014 BRIT Awards.

• Catfish and the bottlemen- The Balcony: Indie Rock band. 4 members formed in wales where they lived in 2007. Released September 15th, album reached number 10 in the UK official charts.

• Vance joy- Dream your life away: Australian singer/songwriter Vance joy released his album in Australia on the 5th September 2014. Genre is indie pop/folk.

• Hozier: Hozier (Andrew Hozier-Bryne) Irish artist. Genre is indie rock and blues. The Album was released 19th September 2014.

• Walking on cars- Everything this way:  Indie/pop band originated in Ireland. Active since 2010. 5 members, 4 men 1 woman. Album was released 29th January 2016.

                                             

                                              Social Media

• Instagram- Initial release October 6th 2010. Used to share pictures with followers (friends) 

• Snapchat- Send pictures to friends and have fun with different comedic filters.

• Facebook- Founded February 4th by Mark Zuckerberg and 4 others. Used to stay in touch with friends all over the world.

• Imessage- used on Iphone’s as an alternative to texting as its free.

• Pinterest-  Discover different things and create ideas for a variety of events or outfits etc.