Paper 2 assessment

1.      Explain how changes in production and/or distribution methods have affected the film industry. Refer to Disney’s 1967 and 2016 versions of The Jungle Book to support your answer.

·       In your answer you must consider how historical and economic contexts influence the production and/or distribution of mainstream films. [15]

Changes in the film industry have been caused by advances and changes in both the production and distribution methods of mainstream films. These changes can be clearly seen in The Jungle Book films, and its very recognisable if we compare the 1967 version to the 2016 one. The film industry now is more successful than ever, with a big market of films and up-to-date technology, we can see how far changes in production and distribution method have affected the film industry.

As in 1967, Disney produced films at their own studios and then distributed them via their own through their Buena Vista Distribution Company. This was how it was distributed in the US, and then it was distributed by Buena Vista International for global countries, which were also owned by Walt Disney Studios. It handled theatre distribution, marketing and promotion for films produced and released by Walt Disney. Walt Disney Home Entertainment released the film on VHS in 1991 and on DVD in 2007. It was re-released several times on DVD and on Blu- ray, which they added extras or different packaging in order to attract new audience members. The original vinyl soundtrack for the Jungle Book was also the first record to achieve gold status in the USA from an animated feature film. However, Jungle Book has been released by Disney as digital downloads via iTunes, Disney Movies anywhere, Disney Life, Amazon Video, Google Play etc, this has been released more recently as a method of a more modern way of distribution.

Whereas, in regards to the 2016 adaptation of the Jungle Book Film, they began by showcasing the film at Disney’s annual convention in California which draws hard core Disney fans and families from around the world. This is done by showing the crowd images from the film, bringing out the director and cast for discussion, and handing out free posters of the film. This method of promotion was greatly successful. As this then prompted the discussion of the new film, so more promotion was created through the buzz of word of mouth before any official marketing had really started.

The production of the Jungle Book 1967 was produced by Walt Disney studios and cost $4 million to make. At that time and still today, Walt Disney studios has been considered the best animation company in film production. Disney is seen as a principal in developing and creating new techniques and concepts that had become the standard by the 1960’s. For example, they used the multi-plane camera, cels and many more creative techniques to create such high quality films in that era. The 1967 film is considered a magical landmark film that is among the best ever written for Disney, and the film is based on Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, however Walt Disney altered it to make it more family friendly, since the original was too dark for a U audience. This film ended up grossing $205 million worldwide, emphasising the advancement of its new technology techniques etc.

In comparison, The Jungle Book 2016 was produced by Walt Disney pictures and directed by Jon Favreau, who had previously worked on the Iron man movies. The JB 2016 is a fantasy adventure movie with a darker and more sinister adaptation of Kipling’s stories, so it’s a shift from the light-hearted 1967 version. This movie cost around $175 million to make, since it used 30 starts for the voices of the characters, such as Scarlett Johansson and Ben Kingsley, as well as using modern technology such as CGI and it combines live action and animated animals interacting on screen. These were created by the British digital effects house MPC, to make it seem more realistic. It was important for Disney to create a  reboot, so that they could use their new technology to make it fresh, attract new audiences and stimulate revenue. They ended up grossing $966 million worldwide, again emphasising the successful change in production and distribution methods on the film industry, especially Disney.

2.       Explain how popular music radio programmes target, reach and maintain a variety of audiences. Refer to The BBC Radio One Breakfast Show to support your answer. [15]

The UK radio industry is dominated by both private and public radio stations. The private radio stations are owned by Global which includes stations like Capital FM etc, and the public sector is BBC who have 11 national radio stations. These public radio stations don’t need to rely on listening figures to receive an income, because its funded by the BBC license fee, usually around £52 for every person. However, on top of this, the BBC need to reflect OFCOM’s remit of showing UK talent, addressing social issues and educating their audience. As well as this, they need to follow the Rethain values of inform, educate and entertain. These values are important to the BBC, as its what will maintain their audiences.

The radio industry as a whole has been declining over recent years, due to the rivalry with Spotify and apple music etc which younger listeners are more interested in, meaning radio has been receiving less recognition. Therefore, its important for them to carefully target, reach and maintain their audiences in order to keep up listening figures etc so they are still popular and successful.

Radio 1 breakfast show’s target demographic are 15-29 year olds, however this is a challenge for radio 1 because they make up 29% of the radios listening audience. This is primarily down to the generation Z using social media platforms to listen to music, like Spotify, Apple music and Deezer, as you can choose whatever music you want to listen to on there. Radio 1 has tried to diverse their platform by introducing the BBC sounds app on phones, so that the audience can listen to it on their phones, and also the ‘best bits’ from the breakfast show with Greg James. In addition to this, they used over-the-line marketing where the audience can participate in the TV adverts for BBC radio 1 breakfast show.

The Radio 1 breakfast show does have a large following across social media, with a total of 3 million followers. When Greg James took over Nick Grimshaw in August 2018, the listening figures increased by 500,000 and the most recent RAJAR report shows that the BBC R1 breakfast show was the only show to see an increase at the start of this year, emphasising its success of maintaining and growing its audience. Greg James has been able to exploit this by inviting popular celebrities on the show who are relevant, like Sam Fender and Kevin Hart, and doing interviews and playing games etc to interest the audience.

Because the breakfast show doesn’t depend on listening figures to gain revenue, it has been criticised significantly as its similar to a lot of private radio stations such as Capital FM who have to constantly depend on their figures to receive revenue and keep going. However, recent research has found that 10% of radio 1’s content is shown on global’s radio stations, showing that radio 1 maintains their audience by providing new and exciting content.

To conclude, Radio 1 is able to target, reach and maintain their audience through exclusive advertising, new and popular content, celebrity features, apps for phones etc but also through James’ personality who is able to connect with young audiences and provide them with content which he knows they will prefer, rather than Nick Grimshaw, and through his presence on social media, which is clearly successful due to his millions of followers he communicates with In order to improve the radio station.