What is Media Ownership?
Concentration of media ownership (also known as media consolidation or media convergence) is a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media.
Globally, large media conglomerates include Viacom, CBS Corporation, Time Warner, 21st Century Fox and News Corp, Bertelsmann AG, Sony, Comcast, Vivendi, Televise, The Walt Disney Company, Hearst Corporation, Globe and Lagardère Group.
As of 2015, Comcast Corporation is the largest media conglomerate in the US, with The Walt Disney Company, Twenty-First Century Fox and Time Warner ranking second, third and fourth respectively.
Global conglomerates can at times have a progressive impact on culture, especially when they enter nations that had been tightly controlled by corrupt crony media systems or nations that had significant state censorship over media The global commercial-media system is radical in that it will respect no tradition or custom, on balance, if it stands in the way of profits. But ultimately it is politically conservative, because the media giants are significant beneficiaries of the current social structure around the world, and any upheaval in property or social relations particularly to the extent that it reduces the power of business is not in their interest.
Production in Relation of Media Ownership
Massive Media ownership companies are also the producers and owners of :
TV Stations
Film Studios
Record Labels
Magazines
Newspapers
Books
Internet Platform
Internet Platform
There are also some Independent companies that work outside the major studies.Often British Productions are done by smaller outfits like Warp Films that take help from BBC for extra funding for production and dostrobution
Financing:
Film finance is an aspect of film production that occurs during the development stage prior to pre-production, and is concerned with determining the potential value of a proposed film. In the United States, the value is typically based on a forecast of revenues (generally 10 years for films and 20 years for television shows), beginning with theatrical release, and including DVD sales, and release to cable broadcast television networks both domestic and international and in flight airline licensing
The nearly $550 million the film has brought in in the U.S., and the additional $550 million from overseas theaters, does not translate directly to revenue to Disney; the studio has to split those ticket sales with theaters. But because "The Force Awakens" was so highly anticipated, Disney had massive leverage when it came to negotiating its deals with the theater chains which are generally negotiated on a per movie basis.
Pre-Sales:
re-sales is, based on the script and cast, selling the right to distribute a film in different territories before the film is completed. When the deal is made, the distributor will insist the producers deliver on certain elements of content and cast; if a material alteration is made, financing may collapse. In order to gain the “marquee names” essential for drawing in an international audience, distributors and sale agents will often make casting suggestions.Pre-sales contracts with big name actors or directors will often (at the insistence of the buyer) have an "essential element" clause that (as per the example above) allows the buyer to get out of the contract if the star or director falls out of the picture and a marquee equivalent cannot be procured.
The reliance on pre-sales explains the film industry's dependence on movie stars, directors and/or certain film genres
CASTING
The casting process involves a series of auditions before a casting panel, composed of individuals such as the producer, director and/or choreographer. In the early stages of the process, performers often may present prepared audition pieces such as monologues or songs. These audition pieces are usually video taped, attached with resumes, and head shots and then shared with producers, directors and studio representatives
Cast Of Star Wars
John Boyega
Harrison Ford
Adam Driver
Oscar Isaac
Mark Hamill
Marketing:
On November 28, 2014, Lucasfilm released a 90-second teaser trailer to promote The Force Awakens. It was screened in selected cinemas across the United States and Canada and in theaters worldwide in December 2014. It was also released on YouTube and the iTunes Store, generating a record 58.2 million views on YouTube in its first week.[230] Critics compared the brief footage favorably to the production values of the original trilogy. The Hollywood Reporter called the trailer "perfectly potent nostalgia", praising its mix of old and new. Empire was impressed by the continuity with the first films "the feel of classic Star Wars" but noted the absence of Hamill, Ford, and Fisher and speculated about the significance of the new characters. The Guardian wrote that the use of the Star Wars fanfare by John Williams reinforced brand loyalty among fans
On December 11, 2014, Abrams and Kennedy released a series of eight mock Tops trading cards revealing the names of several characters. On April 16, 2015, a second teaser trailer, this one lasting two minutes, was shown at the opening panel at the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said the reaction to the trailer was "staggering... the entire room of almost eight thousand people just leapt to their feet and roared, I mean I can't think of anything I've ever been to – other than a rock concert – that felt quite like that." The trailer was viewed over 88 million times within the first 24 hours of release, breaking the record According to the Guinness World Records, the second teaser trailer amassed 30.65 million in 24 hours, setting a new world record for the "most viewed movie trailer on YouTube in 24 hours."
On November 23, a partnership with Google was announced, in which Google users could choose to affiliate themselves with either the Dark or Light Side, which would change the appearance of their Google websites. Additionally, Disney teamed up with Verizon to create a virtual-reality experience for Google Cardboard
Distribution;
Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered in Los Angeles at the TCL Chinese Theatre, El Capitan Theatre and Dolby Theatre on December 14, 2015.
As of March 24, 2016, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has grossed $932.9 million in North America and $1.127 billion in other territories for a worldwide total of $2.06 billion. The Force Awakens earned 8.6% of the total 2015 releases in North America, which is second only to the 8.8% of 1997 box office earned by Titanic in 1997. The film is the highest-grossing release of 2015, the highest-grossing film in the franchise , the highest-grossing film released by Walt Disney Studios, the highest-ever grossing film in North America, and the third-highest-grossing film of all time. It was the 24th film in cinematic history to surpass $1 billion worldwide, standing as the fastest film to surpass the mark, doing so in 12 days
Piracy:
What is Piracy?
Film Piracy is the copying and distribtuion of a movie which is done illegally without the producers, directors, or the writers consent
The official Blu-Ray release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is scheduled to be released in two weeks time but an early copy leaked on various pirate sites and hundreds and thousands have already downloaded the movie.
There are currently dozens of copies posted on torrent, hosting and streaming sites, including The Pirate Bay and KickassTorrents where it leads the lists of most shared files.
