Friday 22 April 2016

To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of media products in the area of media you have studied? 


Digital distribution has a large effect on the marketing and consumption of movies. Distribution has become far cheaper because they no longer have to print out the standard 35mm film which is expensive and then needs to be transported to the location, digital distribution is far cheaper as you don't need to print it onto film, to distribute a non-digital film to 5000 cinemas would cost around $1.7 million where as a digital film would cost around 90% less, which makes it far cheaper and better for global releases such as large block busters as cinemas from around the world will be able to gain access to it at the same time. an example of this would be a new transformer movie being released, they can distribute it very cheaply as it would be shot in digital, the film would be available world wide in thousands of cinemas so distribution costs are much cheaper than if it was shot with film.


Although 35mm films are still watched, 9 out of 10 US cinemas have switched to digital projectors which are far more expensive costing around $60,00 to $150,000 which many smaller business simply cannot afford. Many people believe that using film is becoming outdated and unreliable, an example of this would be that during a screening of "titanic" the film fell apart and become unusable, if the film had been digital then this would not of happened because no matter how many times the film is shown it will not lose quality. Paramount pictures was the first large studio to announce that all of its future films will be shot digitally and no longer use film, the last film they shot on film was Anchor man 2 - the legend continues, this film was a success however the first film to be shot entirely on digital was star wars episode 2 - attack of the clones which was also a success, this tells me that the way in which the film is shot and distributed has little effect on the success of the film, however digital films are far cheaper to distribute so this might affect how much money the film makes, or smaller independent movies might benefit massively from using digital methods.


The number of films produced on film has decreased as they have become outdated, however digital isn't perfect either, as technology advances storing the films becomes more difficult as hard drives don't last nearly as long as digital film, this is because recordings can become corrupted or the hard drive could crash, film doesn't have these problems if it is stored correctly. As well as this, digital films need to be updated to newer formats which can be seriously expensive at about $10,000 to $20,000 per film. Another problem with using digital is that it can become corrupted or be deleted easily, because of this studios still make analogue copy's of the film even if the film will never be shown to the general public o a 35mm camera. Digital cameras are much cheaper to buy as the camera used to film parts of marvels avengers assemble was only £900 and fit into he palm of a hand.


The films I have studied are ExMachine and Madmax - fury roads which where both shot in digital.

Digital vs 35mm film questions

Why does Steve McQueen think digital is replacing film?
Steve McQueen thinks that digital is replacing 35mm film because people are making lots of money out of it.
Which studio was first to announce that it would no longer make films using 'film'?
Paramount pictures was the first big studio to announce that they will no longer release there films on film in the US.
What was the last 'film' to be shipped on 'film'?
Anchorman 2 - The legend continues was the last film to be released on film by paramount pictures.
What proportion of US cinemas have made the switch from 35mm to digital?
9 out of 10 US cinemas have made the switch from 35 mm film to digital.
What was the first 'major' film to be distributed in digital format only?
The wold of wall street was the first major film to be released in only a digital format.
What is the average cost of a digital projector?
The average cost of a digital projector is $60,000 to $150,000
Why has the switch to digital meant that small independent cinemas have struggled?
Many of the smaller independent businesses cannot afford expensive digital projectors
Which major Hollywood director has attempted to make a stand for digital film?
Tarantino, the major Hollywood director has attempted to defend digital film.
How much did the US box office make in 2014?
The US box office made $100 billion in 2014
How much did the home entertainment market (DVD, BluRay, Download etc) make in 2014?
The home entertainment market made $18 billion in 2014
What was the increase in home entertainment revenue due to?
Food and drink sales are behind the large increase in entertainment revenue
What was the first film to be shot entirely on digital?
Star wars episode 2- Attack of the clones
What would have been the cost of shooting that film on digital?
To shoot this film on digital it will have cost around $16,000
How much does it cost to produce and ship a film to a US cinema?
It will cost around $1.7 million to print 5000 prints and around $1,500 per print
What is the distribution benefit of digital?


What happened to 'film' prints of Titanic?


What has happened to the number of films made by Hollywood between 2006-2013?


Why, according to Jan-Christoph Horak, is digital NOT immortal?


Why is advancing technology also a problem for digital storage?


How much,  according to Jan-Christoph Horak, could transfering one form of digital to another cost the film industry?


How much did the camera used on The Avengers cost?


Apart from cost, what other benefits does digital offer to film makers?


How much has technicolour invested in digital post production?


What is a DCP?


What is the Electric Dusk drive-in?