Developing Technologies In The TV And Film Industry

3DTV Current developments: 

3DTV: A 3D television is a television set that employs techniques of 3D presentation, such as stereoscopic capture, multi-view capture, or 2D-plus-depth, and a 3D display a special viewing device to project a television program into a realistic three-dimensional field.
There are several techniques to produce and display 3D moving pictures. The basic requirement is to display offset images that are filtered separately to the left and right eye. The viewer wears eyeglasses to filter the separately offset images to each eye, or have the light source split the images directionally into the viewer's eyes that means no glasses are required.
Some 3DTV's are:

With lenses:

• Anaglyphic 3D
• Polarization 3D
• Alternate-frame sequencing
• Head-mounted display
• Without lenses: Autostereoscopic displays, sometimes referred to commercially as Auto 3D.

In my opinion i wouldn't buy a 3DTV as i prefer to watch 3D films at the cinema. Also there isnt that much programme and film in 3D at the moment so it would be a waste of money if i were to buy it.

Satellite: Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna. In many areas of the world satellite television provides a wide range of channels and services. The UK satellite provider is SKY.  

Cable: Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency. The UK cable provider is virgin.

Analogue: Analogue television is the analog transmission that involves the broadcasting of encoded analog audio and analog video signal, one in which the message conveyed by the broadcast signal is a function of deliberate variations in the amplitude and or frequency of the signal. In the UK all the tv used to be analogue but then they had the digital switch over.

Digital: Digital television is where you transmit  audio and video by digital signals. Many countries are now replacing broadcast analog television with digital television to allow other uses of the television radio spectrum.

Film-based:
CGI: Computer-generated imagery is computer graphics or more specifically 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programmes, commerical and printed media. The visual scenes maybe dynamic or static.

Interactive: Interactive television has a number of techniques which allows the viewer to interact with television as they watch it. 

Internet: Internet television is the digital distribution of television content via Internet. Internet television is a general term that covers the delivery of television shows and other video content over the Internet. Internet television allows the viewer to choose the content or the television show they want to watch or a channel directory. Two forms of viewing Internet television are streaming the content directly to a media player or downloading the media to the viewers computer. You can watch 4OD and BBC Iplayer online. iplayer and 4OD is good for me as if i miss a programme i can watch it on my laptop a different time or a different day, and catch up on the programmes ive missed.

High definition: High definition television is the video that has resolution substantially higher then that of traditional television systems. Earlier HDTV broadcasting used analog techniques, but today HDTV is digitally broadcast using video compression. In my opinion paying £10 a month to watch a programme in Hd is a waste of money as its just been filmed in HD to be put in normal tv.

Streaming content: Streaming content means to deliver media.

On-demand viewing: Video on demand allows users to select watch and listen to video and audio content on demand. Television video on demand systems either stream content through a set-top box, computer allowing viewing in real time or download it to a computer or a digital video recorder.

Programmes that have on demand viewing are BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

Digital recorders: Digital recorders is a device or application software that records digital format to a disk drive or any other storage device.  

Pay per view: Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via Private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it. Viewers in the UK can access pay-per-view via satellite, cable and over the Internet services, with services such as Sky Box Office.

Regulation Of The Media Sector

Regulatory and professional bodies:

British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)

The BBFC stands for the British Board of Film Classification. They classify different films depending on the content in them. They categorise film in the following way U, PG,12,12A,15,18 R18

British Video Association

The British Video Association is the trade body that represents the interests of publishers and rights owners of video entertainment.

Film Distributors Association

Film Distributors' Association Ltd. (FDA) is the trade body for theatrical film distributors in the UK the companies that release films for UK  cinema audiences.

 

Video Standards Council (VSC)

Promotes high standards in the video and game industry.

Television, Radio and Telecommunications Office for Communication (Ofcom)
Ofcom is an independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries.  They deal with licenses in Radio communications, broadcasters and TV broadcasts. They also consumers from what might be considered as harmful or offensive material, they also make sure programmes should be on at the right times.

Trading Standards Central
The Trading Standards Institute is a professional membership association formed in 1881. It represents trading standards professionals in the UK and overseas in local authorities, the business and consumer sectors and in central government.

Trading Standards Nets
Training standards make sure what the consumer gets it legitimate.

Press Complaints Commission (PCC)
The PCC is an independent self-regulatory body which deals with complaints about
the editorial content of newspapers and magazines.

Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)
The ASA is here to make sure all advertisements are legal, decent, honest and truthful 

The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF)
MEF provides an impartial, consistent and powerful voice for the foremost companies and entrepreneurs from across the mobile content and commerce value chain

The Independent Games Developers Association (IGDA)
Represents the business and the commerical interests and video industry

British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)
BAFTA is the leading independent charity supporting, developing and promoting the art forms of the moving image in the UK - from Film and Television to Video Games and Interactive Media.

Radio Academy
It represents commerical radio to government and other organisations concerned with commerical radio.


The International Visual Communication Association (IVCA)

IVCA is the independent not for profit membership organisation representing the creators and commissioners of film, video, digital and live events for the corporate and public sectors.


Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C)
This is an international community where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards.


British Web Design and Marketing Association
To encourage and promote industry standards within the British web design and new media sector.


British Interactive Multimedia Association (BIMA)

It supports the digital industry encouraging the next generation to understand the industry.

 

Regulatory issues:

Ownership: An example of ownership in the media. Ofcom the government and the media regulations had to decide whether Rupert Murdoch could buy 60% of sky.
Monopoly: Media monopoly is where people cant own too much of something, or have to much power in one media sector.
Access: People who are not allowed to access peoples personal imformation.
Consumer choice: Is where costumers try to save money on products, they use price compare adverts.
Freedom of information:Freedom of information legislation comprises laws that guarantee access to data held by the state. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions.
Censorship:Censorship is the suppression of speech or other public communication which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the general body of people as determined by a government, media outlet, or other controlling body.
Taste and Decency:Taste and decency are other areas in which questions are often raised regarding self-censorship. Art or journalism involving images or footage of murder, terrorism, war and massacres may cause complaints as to the purpose to which they are put. Curators and editors will frequently censor these images to avoid charges of prurience, shock tactics or invasion of privacy

Ethical And Legal Constraints Within The Media Sector

Ethical:

Code Of Practice: A set of written rules which explains how people working in a particular profession should behave.  A set of guidelines and regulations to be followed by members of some profession, trade, occupation and organization it does not normally have the force or law.



Legal:

People working in the media industry have too be aware of the following; 

Broadcasting Act 1990- Is a law of the British parliament, the aim of the act was to reform the entire structure of British broadcasting.
Example: If you were to show explicit images on TV or in the media this would be breaching the broadcasting act.

Official Secrets Act 1989- Is an act of parliament of the United Kingdom, It is said to have removed the public interest defense created by that section.
Example: If you was given the whereabouts of a certain person which was a secret and other people found out this would be an offence.

Obscene Publications Act 1959- Is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom parliament that significantly reformed the law related to obscenity. Prior to the passage of the Act, the law on publishing obscene materials was governed by the common law case, which had no exceptions for artistic merit or the public good.
Example: If you showed graphic material to a certain age group you would be breaking the obscene publication act.

Films Act 1985- Laws concerning film fiance and defining British films.

Video Recordings Act 1984- It states that commercial video recordings offered for sale or for hire within the UK must carry a classification that has been agreed upon by an authority designated by the Home Office.
Example: Owning a video store and you allow for rental a film that hasn't been properly classified.

Race Relations Act 1976- Eestablished by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race.
Example: If someone discriminates a certain race of people in the media.

Human Rights Act 1998-An Act to give further effect to rights and freedoms guaranteed under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Example: If someone takes away your freedom or rights to speech this is breaching the human rights act.

Licensing Act 2003- The Act establishes a single integrated scheme for licensing premises which are used for the sale or supply of alcohol, to provide regulated entertainment, or to provide late night refreshment.
Example: If a shop were to sell alcohol to underage people this would be a licensing act.

Privacy law- Refers to the laws which deal with the regulation of personal information about individuals which can be collected by governments and other public as well as private organizations and its storage and use.The laws are designed to regulate specific types of information like; Health privacy laws, financial privacy laws, online privacy laws, communications privacy laws, information privacy laws and privacy in one’s home.
Example: If someone goes into your private things without your permission this is breaching the privacy law.

Copyright and intellectual property law- An owner of a creation or product has the right to keep that idea form themselves and no one else can use it. The property can not be used without the owners permission.
Example: If someone stole your idea without your permission then this is copyright.

 Libel law- Libel is defined as defamation by written or printed words, pictures of in any form other than by spoken words or gestures.
Example: If you were to be slanderous towards someone on a publication that was not true then that would be breaching the libal law.


A recent example of a high profile legal case;
The news of the world phone hacking scandal took place in july 2011.
It emerged in July that Milly Dowler's mobile phone had been hacked after her death. Voicemailselatives of Milly Dowler sued the news of the world because Lots of personal details were leaked this was upsetting for her family because she had been murdered. This breached the human rights of the victim's family and also breached the privacy law. As a result of this case the News of the World was shutdown by News International in July after it emerged that Milly's voicemail had been accessed. The family were awarded a £2m payout from News International in compensation.


BBFC


The BBFC stands for the British Board of Film Classification. They classify different films depending on the content in them. They categorise film in the following way U, PG,12,12A,15,18 R18.


OFCOM

Ofcom is an independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries.  They deal with licenses in Radio communications, broadcasters and TV broadcasts. They also consumers from what might be considered as harmful or offensive material, they also make sure programmes should be on at the right times.

Editors Code Of Practice: 
 This is a newspaper and magazine industry Code of Practice. The Press Complaints Commission which has a majority of members, is charged with enforcing the Code, using the adjudicate complaints. It was ratified by the PCC in September 2009. Clauses marked are covered by expectations relating to the public interests.
 All members of the press have a duty to maintain the highest professional standards. The Code, which includes this preamble and the public interest exceptions below, sets the benchmark for those ethical standards, protecting both the rights of the individual and the public right to know.The cornerstone of the system of self-regulation to which the industry has made a binding commitment.


Representation:

Representation refers to the construction in any medium of aspects of reality such as people,places, objects, events cultural identities and other abstract concepts. In relation to the key markers of identity are Class,Age,Gender and Ethnicity.

TV Funding

There are many types in the TV industry which funding can take place for instance. Public service broadcasting, one type of this is the BBC. The BBC make there money by the license fee, a TV license costs £145.50 per household. Syndication is another way they make money, this is where a production company or a distribution company attempts to sell a show to one station in each media market or area, in the country or around the world. They also have competitions, these are normally A, B or C answer questions that are easy to get so more people phone in having the chance of getting it right, which they make money off the phone calls. They also have merchandising. 


Commercial Broadcasters for example ITV is funded by advertisement, this is where a company will pay for there advertisement to be shown inbetween breaks on a channel. They also have competitions which they make money off and merchandising.


Public service and part commercial broadcasters are funded by the license fee, advertising, selling shows to other production companies, competitions and they also sell merchandising.


Subscriber broadcasters like sky are funded through subscription which is where someone will pay for certain channels like movie channels, sporting events and more.  The price of these channels are various amounts which you pay monthly. Sky also have advertisement where a company will pay for there advertisement to be shown on there channels, competitions and merchandising.

Film Financing

Government Grant


Government Grants are funds disturbs by one party, which is often a Government Department, corporation, foundation or trust. Often a a non profit entity, educational institute a business or a institute. In order to receive a grant an application is usually required.


Tax Schemes


Tax schemes are created which effectively sell the enhanced tax deductions to wealthy individuals who have large tax liabilities. The individual will often become the legal owner of the film. To avoid tax deductions people will put money into films.


Debt Financing


In debt financing the pre sales are when the film company will sell the script and cast in advance so they have the money to create the film. Pre sale works by the film companies purchasing well known actors so that more people will go and see it, this will almost grantee a consumer that they will get the money back in the interest. 


Equity Financing


In equity financing requires the film maker to sell interest in either the film or the film company in exchange for funding.This serves to distribute the risk of the project because the investor only receives this money back if the film shows a return.  If a film maker sells 50% of the corporate interest to a investor then the investor will lose his entire investment if the film is complete failure.  

BBC

 The BBC (The British Broadcasting Corporation) is a public service broadcaster. It is the largest broadcaster in the world with around 23,000 staff. The BBC main responsibility is to provide public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, Channel Island and the Isle Of Man. The BBC is an autonomous public service broadcaster that operates under the Royal Charter and a Licence and Agreement from the Home Secretary. Outside the UK, the BBC Word Station has provided  by direct broadcasting and re-transmission contracts by sound radio since the inauguration of the BBC Empire Service in December 1932, and more recently television and online.

  The Privately owned BBC was the world’s first national broadcasting organization. The first transmission was on 14 November of that year. To represent its purpose and values, the corporation adopted the coat of arms including the motto 'Nation shall speak peace unto nation’. The motto is generally attributed to Montague John Rendall, who was former headmaster of Winchester College and also a member of the first BBC board of Governors.

Experimental television broadcasting was started in 1932 using an electromechanical 30 line system developed my John Logie Baired. Limited regular broadcasting began using this system in 1934 and expanded service from Alexander Palace in 1936 (now named the BBC Television Service).

Competition to the BBC was introduced in 1995 was the commercial and independently operated television network of the ITV. However the BBC monopoly on radio service would persist into the 1970's. As a result of Pilkington Committee report of 1962, in which the BBC was praised for the quality and range of its output, and ITV was heavily criticised. Starting in 1964 a series of pirate radio stations came on air, and forced the British Government to regulate radio station permits nationally based advertising-financed service. In response the BBC organised and renamed their radio channels. The light programme spilt making more radio stations for various listeners.

  The BBC run channels like BBC one, BBC two BBC three, BBC four, BBC HD, CBBC ect. They have so many channels that go out to a wide range of people who are different ages.These shows have various shows that go out to different people, that's why they have a number of different channels with various types of programmes on them.

Getting to Grips with the Industry: Miramax Films

Miramax Films is an American entertainment company owned by Disney. For the first 14 years Miramax Films was privately owned by its founders, bob and Harvey Weinstein. The companys name was named by combining the first names of there parents max and miriam.The company was orginally created to distribute independent films that were deemed commerically unfeasible by the major studios. In 1993 the company was acquired by The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1979 by Bob and Harvey, headquartered in New York City, Miramax was a leading independent film motion picture distributed and Production Company before Walt Disney acquired it, until 2005 when they decided to leave the company and founded The Weinstein Company. Miramax was then sold to Filmyard Holdings by Disney in 2010. This ended Disney’s involvement with the studio for the first time in 17 years

  The company's first major success came when the Weinstein's teamed up with the British producer Martin Lewis and aquired the U.S rights to two concept films Lewis had produced of benifts show's for human right's organization Amnesty International. There resulting film was called The Secret Policeman's Other Ball. It was a successful release for the miramax in the summer of 1980's. Among the company's other breakthrough films as distributors in the late 1980's and early 1990's were The Crying Game and Clerks.

   Miramax aquired and produced many films that did extraordinarily well finacially. Miramax produced and distrubited seven films with box office grossing totalling more than $1 million. Its most successful title Chicago earned more than $300 million worldwide. The company was also exceptionally successful in securing Academy Award nominations for its release, many of which resulted in oscar wins. The company has been critized for delaying or withholding release of Asian films to which acquires distribution rights.

 After researching Miramax i found out that they started off as a small company then Disney took over them. They are just a film production they dont have anything else in the media.