General Comments on Question 2
The question provided suitable differentiation of candidate responses. The majority of candidates addressed the issue of digital distribution and marketing more than that of production or audience. The question provoked a range of responses from candidates, many of whom were able to discuss the relationship between production, distribution and marketing in ensuring the success of media products. The most able candidates were clear about the changes that digital
distribution and consumption were having upon the products that were produced.
The best answers were able to create a debate around the relative strengths of distribution practices and marketing strategies by institutions in engaging appropriate audiences through online media and incorporated technologies. Frequently, strong candidates were also able to draw contrasts between mainstream and independent producers, and/or mass audience/niche audience targeting. More candidates are able to show awareness of the trends and strategies that categorise the contemporary media landscape, which included the use of online technologies and distribution platforms. In this session, very few candidates attempted to answer the question without any kind of institutional knowledge or focussing exclusively on texts produced.
Strongest responses came from those candidates who had a wide range of relevant and
contemporary examples of marketing and distribution strategies in their chosen area and could discuss them with confidence. Those candidates that fared less well used a ‘saturation approach’, writing all they could remember, rather than addressing the set question.
On the whole the terminology used for question 2 was good, including candidates’ discussion of convergence, synergy, horizontal and vertical integration as key media concepts. It is advised that centres ensure the appropriate preparation for this section by covering audience in the
same depth as institutions.
Film Industry
The most common approach remains a comparison between major US studios with UK
production companies, often focusing on digital distribution and marketing strategies. There was often an assumption that UK cinema is failing because of low cinema attendance, which obviously underestimates the importance of home exhibition windows in making UK film viable.
There were some excellent answers that referred to the Working Title was the most frequently used case study, along with Warners, Fox and Paramount as American examples; Warp, Vertigo and Film Four were used a number of times as case studies. Newer UK productions such as Shifty, Monsters, Four Lions and Attack The Block were
used by candidates as contemporary case studies to good effect, with some candidates attempting to address specifically the use of You Tube as a potential distribution platform for the future media in discussion of Life In A Day.
Excellent answers engaged thoroughly with new media forms such as social networking sites, You Tube and blogging and how these relate to their chosen case studies. Other strong areas for discussion were in the consideration of audience consumption and distribution through digital technology such as iPhones, BluRay, downloading, iPads, and Sony PSP’s. Candidate discussion of this technology would be better supported with examples. Sometimes these technologies tend to be mentioned without reference to specific examples of products to exemplify how films are distributed and/or marketed using such technologies, which limits
access to higher mark bands.
The advantages of digital distribution and exhibition were discussed, but with varying effectiveness at times, in part because candidates see film as being freely available as a digital format online, which is often not the case. Many candidates accurately argued that digital distribution, marketing and digital practices were important for the frontloading of film marketing campaigns, for example, The Dark Knight, Avatar, Paul and The Kings Speech. Most candidates
are able to show awareness of the trends and strategies that categorise the contemporary media landscape.
There still remains a number of centres that are preparing candidates with inappropriate material. Potted histories of media companies or textual studies are unlikely to be useful for the kind of questions which this paper poses. Candidates should be encouraged to take a selective approach to their case study material, concentrating on what is most relevant to the question rather than trying to get their entire case studies down. Quite a few centres are relying on case
study material which is rapidly dating and there needs to be more emphasis on contemporary examples. Far too many candidates using Working Title as a case study institution are still writing about films which are at least 15 years out of date.
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