Wednesday 15 December 2010
And There's No End in Sight - The Best of 2010
This, my friends, does in no way do justice to Arcade Fire's performance in Glasgow last night. Seriously, there are no words. Just saying "awesome" won't cut it at all. It was far and away the best gig I've ever been to in my life. I've seen Pearl Jam, Metallica, Biffy Clyro, Bruce Springsteen and Rage Against the Machine, and Arcade Fire were better than them all. Yes, even Bruce. They just put so much into the show, making every single song even better than it is on the albums, and by God, the songs are tremendous on the album! That video's the best quality I could find, but that's from Madison Square Garden a couple of months ago, and I know for a fact they sound awesome there, but they were so much better to hear them actually live.
This comparison might seem a bit weird, but I think it makes sense. Well, to me, at least. Seeing Arcade Fire live was like seeing Toy Story 3 for the first time. It was something I'd waited such a long time to see. Also, it was one of those things where the hype surrounding the event didn't even come close to how amazing the thing actually was. There have been so many bands and films fallen by the wayside, due to not living up to the hype, examples being the vast majority of bands championed by the NME, who rarely fail to disappoint me.
Most of all, what brings me to the comparison of Arcade Fire's live performance with that first viewing of Toy Story 3 is that after I saw Toy Story, it brought a tear to my eye, knowing that the trilogy had ended on the best way possible, and that if Disney have any sense whatsoever, they'll leave it the hell alone, and never make another. Toy Story 3 was among the best films of the year (I'll get to that later,) and one of the best of all time. Arcade Fire brought a tear to my eye, not because I'll never see them again, because I most definitely will, but I can categorically state that I will never see a better band live for the rest of my life. It was such a good feeling, but terrible at the same time for that very reason. Of course, I'll still enjoy seeing many, many more bands live, but not one will ever stand up to Arcade Fire.
Now that I've informed you all of the life-changing experience that is Arcade Fire live, I'll move on to the obligatory Best Stuff That Came Out This Year List, my Best of 2010. It's got games, films, CDs and gigs I've been to, but you can guess the winner of the last one...
GAMES
Honourable Mentions:
Angry Birds (Android)
NBA 2K11 (PS3)
5. Scott Pilgrim vs the World - The Game (PS3)
One of the best movie tie-in games I've played of all time, and definitely the best downloadable game, by a mile. With Anamanaguchi's amazing chip-tune soundtrack (which is nearly as good as the film's,) four different playable characters, delightful 8-bit-esque graphics. The lack of online multiplayer means it's not higher up the list, but an update allowing you to play as Knives Chau might rectify that problem (I haven't got it yet).
4. Call of Duty: Black Ops (PS3)
The eagerly awaited follow-up in the series had high expectations after the record-breaking success of Modern Warfare 2, but manages to surpass them with a story that actually makes sense compared to MW2's, and fantastic multiplayer. Throwing a tomahawk straight at someone's face never gets old.
3. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PSP)
It shows there's still life in the PSP, and that big blockbuster-style games aren't only for the PS3. It'll keep me busy until MGS: Rising eventually gets released. Expect it in the list for next year!
2. FIFA 11 (PS3)
Of course, these games are rarely seen as little more than a squad update that you're paying forty quid for, but the improvements brought to this year's edition are noticable and greatly improve the gameplay of what is now the clear leader of the football game pack. Pro Evo has a lot of catching up to do.
1. Red Dead Redemption (PS3)
Grand Theft Auto with horses? No. Better than that. You get bored of GTA after the third playthrough, there's only so many times a six-star wanted level car chase is fun. With Red Dead, there's so many side missions and minigames to play, you're kept occupied for ages. Online is great too. Getting Paul to find me on the map to have a race, only to shoot his horse as I ride away was worth buying the game alone.
Now that you've seen my favourite games, here, my friends, are my films of the year!
FILMS
Honourable Mentions:
The A-Team (Joe Carnahan)
Kick-Ass (Matthew Vaughn)
How to Train Your Dragon (Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois)
5. The Social Network (David Fincher)
Andrew Garfield's performance in this film is bound to be at the very least Oscar-nominated. But you knew that already.
4. A Prophet (Jacques Audiard)
Don't watch foreign films? Start. This French prison/crime story is gripping from start to finish, and puts you in the odd position of sympathising with a guy who murders someone in prison. If Scarface was set in prison, it'd be like A Prophet. But A Prophet would still be better.
3. Inception (Christopher Nolan)
This is why Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the vest actors in Hollywood at the minute. Christopher Nolan more than made up for the disappointment of The Dark Knight with this film, his first entirely original work since his first feature in 1998.
2. Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich)
I've mentioned why Toy Story was such a good film, and so I don't cry, I won't mention it again!
1. Scott Pilgrim vs the World (Edgar Wright)
There's a reason I've seen this film three times, you know. Michael Cera almost shakes off his awkward character traits completely, the soundtrack, well, I'll get mentioned in a minute, and you'll never look at vegans in the same way again. It's out on Blu-Ray on the 27th. Get buying. What else are you going to do with your Christmas cash? Save it?
ALBUMS/SOUNDTRACKS
Honourable Mentions:
Deftones - Diamond Eyes (Best Track - Rocket Skates)
Vampire Weekend - Contra (Best Track - Cousins)
Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown (Best Track - Pyro)
5. Anamanaguchi - Scott Pilgrim vs the World - The Game Soundtrack
I would never have chosen to listen to this kind of music. Hacking Super Nintendos and Game Boys would seem a lot of hassle, but it works here, and fits in perfectly with the game, bringing me back to the good old days of playing Streets of Rage. Good times.
Key Track - The Dark One
4. Various Artists - Scott Pilgrim vs the World - The Soundtrack
Edgar Wright and Nigel Godrich compiled one hell of a CD for this film, with a great mix of old and new, with quite a fitting focus on Canadian bands, like Broken Social Scene, Metric and Plumtree.
Key Track - The Bluetones - Sleazy Bed Track
3. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
James Murphy's last album under the LCD Soundsystem song is a great farewell, and I still credit him with bringing my love for Daft Punk and Justice back, after being away for such a long time.
Best Tracks - Dance Yrself Clean or All I Want
2. The Black Keys - Brothers
Pat Carney and Dan Auerbach finally hit it big with Brothers, an album that completely deserves the amount of praise it's been given. It's more of the same from The Black Keys, but in the best possible way.
Best Track - Tighten Up
1. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
No contest, nothing comes close. The best band of the 2000's carry on that mantle into the next decade with their third masterpiece, bringing their A-game once again and knocking it out of the park on every track.
Best Tracks - Ready to Start, or Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
GIGS
Honourable mentions:
Joshua Radin - ABC, Glasgow 15/10/2010
The Gaslight Anthem - Hyde Park, London 24/6/2010
Manic Street Preachers - Corn Exchange, Edinburgh 2/10/2010
Yet to attend: Biffy Clyro - Concert in the Gardens, Edinburgh 31/12/2010
5. Devendra Banhart and the Grogs - SECC, Glasgow 12/12/2010
By far, the best support band I've ever seen. Think if the Strokes were a folk band, and you're not far off from Banhart's sound. Well worth a listen. Very strong live as well, which impressed me, given that I'd only heard the guy's name before, and never listened to a thing he'd recorded. Fit in rather well as support for Arcade Fire.
4. Biffy Clyro - Concert Hall, Perth 29/4/2010
Awesome. I'm glad I managed to see them in a smaller venue before they started playing in places like the SECC. Some might complain they're headlining Sonisphere next year, but it's deserved. Looking forward to Hogmanay.
3. Rage Against the Machine - Finsbury Park, London 6/12/2010
It helps that the gig was free, but the atmosphere in the park was fantastic as Rage got the crowd going by taking the piss out of the X Factor. Fantastic live band, great show, even though I could barely move for the first few songs of the set, and was at one point elbowed square in the face. Their cover of The Clash's White Riot was a nice surprise, as well.
2. Pearl Jam - Hyde Park, London 24/6/2010
I'd waited 4 years for this, and it was totally worth it. Best birthday present ever. With a combination of their hits, with a few less frequently played tracks, and even a brand new song or two, Pearl Jam fucking rocked.
1. Arcade Fire - SECC, Glasgow 12/12/2010
Arcade Fire are the world's best live band for a reason. The setlist was perfect, with a good mix of old and new, but what does it really matter, since every song's as close to perfect as you'll ever get! For only having a seating ticket, the atmosphere in the place was far beyond what I'd expected, with near enough everyone in the seating area standing up. After the gig had finished, hearing hundreds singing Wake Up outside was all kinds of awesome...
I've missed writing, it's been too long. I should get back into the swing of things. At least uni's over for 2 months, I can't say I don't have the time!
Darren out, saying if I was scared, I would...
Tuesday 14 December 2010
Media Essay, Part 2
So here's the second essay of the module, and the one that I actually had an interest in writing. I could have chosen the UK Film Council, but there hadn't been a final decision at the time as to whether it was closing or not, so I just stuck with 6Music. Here it is, in all it's fiery (WTF?) glory, although fonts, etc are a mess for some reason, and it'd take too long to fix. At least it's up...
The Guardian.co.uk - Tory culture spokesman joins 6 Music fanclub with U-turn over closure [Internet]
1812186 FMS9X1 Assignment 2
Q3a) Discuss the significance of the proposed closure of BBC 6 Music.
BBC 6 Music is a national digital radio station launched by the British Broadcasting Corporation on 11th March 2002, and was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years (BBC 6 Music pre-release website, 2002). As a digital radio station, 6 Music is not available on analogue radio, so does not have an FM/AM wavelength, therefore is only available through a digital medium, such as a DAB digital radio receiver, the Internet, through the 6 Music website or BBC’s iPlayer service, or on digital television. The current controller of 6 Music - and Radio 2 - is Bob Shennan, who took the position in January 2009 as the replacement of Lesley Douglas, the previous controller who resigned after the fallout from the Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross affair (Holmwood and Plunkett, 2009). 6 Music has a number of shows, catering to a wide range of musical taste, often with well-known presenters, with past and present hosts including Jarvis Cocker, Phill Jupitus (who also hosted the station’s very first show), Suggs, Lauren Laverne, Steve Lamacq, Huey Morgan, Bruce Dickinson, Craig Charles, Guy Garvey and Richard Bacon. (6 Music Programmes A-Z, 2010) (Website list of presenters in 2002, 2002)
In early February 2010, plans were announced to “shake up” the BBC, an aspect of which included the closure of two of the BBC’s digital radio stations, 6 Music, and Asian Network. With Asian Network costing 6.9 pence per user hour, compared to 6 Music’s 3.4 pence and Radio 2’s much smaller cost of 0.5 pence per user hour (BBC News, 2010), meaning that running these two radio stations is expensive, due to its smaller listener base in comparison to Radio 2, which as of September 2010, has a 15.6% listening share, the largest for a British radio station (RAJAR, 2010), making it much more financially viable. Despite 6 Music and Asian Network’s large per user cost, their budgets are smaller than that of Radio 2, which spends £40 million on content (BBC News – Strategy Review, 2010).
While the BBC’s strategic review did not explicitly state that 6 Music should be closed down, it however stated that only one in five of all UK residents were aware of 6 Music’s existence, and that more presenters with credibility in regards to music knowledge (Dee, 2010). Following the announcement, a large campaign was undertaken to attempt to reverse the decision, with protest groups forming on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. Jon and Tracy Morter, the founders of the successful campaign to get the band Rage against the Machine to Number One in the charts in Christmas 2009, which, as of 28th November, has 883,753 members (Facebook, 2010), set up a similar group on Facebook, in order to help save 6 Music from closure, and also as of 28th November, 2010, the group has 175,030 members. (Facebook - Saved 6 Music, 2010). Twitter was also used in the campaign, in conjunction with the website www.love6music.com, with the Twitter account “@love6music,” which has 4,232 followers as of 28th November (Twitter, 2010). In addition to the large amount of support the station received from the British public, the BBC Trust opened the subject to consultation, in order to gauge public opinion with regard to the Strategic Review. Of the 47,933 responses the Trust received online, 78% of these focused on the proposed closure of 6 Music, in addition to 25,054 separate emails and 242 letters, with the “great majority of responses oppose any plans for closure” (BBC Trust, 2010), therefore showing that public response was a major factor in ensuring the survival of the station.
While 6 Music enjoyed large amounts of public support in the effort to keep it broadcasting, the station is not without its critics. George Lamb, a former presenter on the station, attracted criticism for endorsing Boris Johnson’s bid to become Mayor of London, a breach in the BBC’s editorial guidelines regarding impartiality, meaning that presenters cannot endorse a specific party or political candidate while on air. (6Music’s Lamb warned over Boris gaffe, 2008) Lamb’s tenure at 6 Music was also criticised for being very different from the majority of the other station’s presenters, in that his style of presenting did not appeal to many of the station’s listeners, and was more fitting with Radio 1’s audience, leading to the creation of a website that stated the appointment of George Lamb was “against what we believed 6 Music stood for” (George Lamb to leave 6Music daytime slot, 2009), and was also the focus of an online petition featuring over 4000 signatures (Plunkett, 2008), which may have been a deciding factor in Lamb’s decision to leave the station.
The station was also criticised after a producer of The Liz Kershaw Show was dismissed in September 2007, after she claimed responsibility for using researchers as competition winners on the show (Daily Telegraph, 2007), which later led to the resignation of 6 Music’s Head of Programmes, Ric Blaxill (Daily Mail, 2007).
Another criticism aimed at BBC 6 Music is that it was not well promoted, as according to the BBC’s service review of 6 Music, only 20% of the adult population were aware of the station’s existence, with only 1% of the population actually listening to 6 Music (BBC 6 Music Service Review, 2010). Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish, presenters on 6 Music, referred to it as the BBC’s “secret station,” as it rarely appeared in schedule listings, was not promoted at all by the BBC and was “under-promoted across the BBC network” (Dee, 2010).
The Service Review also stated that “6 Music has been criticised for costing too much money in comparison to commercial radio stations,” implying that there are similar stations which provide a similar service to 6 Music’s audience. When interviewed for BBC News, Mark Thompson, the Director General of the BBC said “It’s not a station that makes sense on a value for money point of view,” which may be interpreted as one of the main reasons for the station’s proposed closure in February 2010. Thompson also went on to say in that interview: “If we build that audience up, the danger is… you run headlong into mainstream commercial radio in this country.” (BBC News, 2010) By making this statement, Mark Thompson may have been stating that instead of spending money improving awareness of 6 Music, its listeners may be better off listening to its commercial competitors aimed at a similar market, and therefore placing itself in direct competition with the commercial stations, such as Absolute Radio. This in itself is very significant, some media figures claim that the BBC is too large, and should reduce its presence in the media. James Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch, founder of News International, the company which owns four national British newspapers and has a 39% stake in BSkyB, the country’s largest satellite TV provider, used the 2009 MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival to attack the BBC, stating that BBC News is “throttling the market,” and preventing competitiors from improving, increasing or introducing their own services, and in particular online (Robinson, 2009). In 2010, Mark Thompson, the BBC’s Director General, spoke at the same event in defence of the BBC, and other public service broadcasters (Robinson and Martinson, 2010). James Murdoch’s, and others’, calls for the BBC to reduce its presence are a point of interest, as Sky has an even larger annual budget than that of the BBC, with the figure of around £5.9 billion taken in subscriber revenue from 2009/10 (Key facts and figures, 2010), while the BBC’s total income for 2009/10 was £4.79 billion (Consolidated income statement, 2010). Another reason the proposed closure of 6 Music may be seen as significant is that at the time, the Conservative Party, and Ed Vaizey, the Shadow Culture Minister in particular, welcomed the proposed cuts as “intelligent and sensible” (Martinson and Deans, 2010). Despite Vaizey’s statements welcoming the cuts, he later “claimed he had become an avid fan over the weekend,” and “strongly suspected” that 6 Music would be saved from closure. (Sweney, 2010) While such U-turns are rare for politicians to make, Vaizey’s change of opinion could be seen as having given the campaign another public figure to help support the effort to save 6 Music. The station also enjoyed support of many other public figures and celebrities, including Gordon Brown, David Bowie, Lily Allen and Damon Albarn. With high-profile fans of the station, and tens of thousands of responses received during public consultation, there was an overwhelming majority of support for 6 Music, which the BBC Trust could not ignore, and it is likely that the mass support was a major factor in keeping the station on air.In July 2010, when the BBC Trust released its initial conclusions of the Strategy Review which recommended the closure of 6 Music and Asian Network, it did not accept the BBC Executive’s plans for closing 6 Music. It would also not consider any other proposals regarding the closure of 6 Music unless Radio 1 and 2 underwent changes outlined by the trust, and more importantly, “reassurance that there would be long-term protection for the type of distinctive content currently available uniquely on 6 Music” (Interim conclusions, 2010). This is very significant, as the BBC Trust views the station as being one which caters to a very specific type of audience, and its content is not similar to any other station currently available (Interim conclusions, 2010).With 6 Music’s budget of around £9 million per year, the Trust was “not convinced that allocating its budget to spend on other aspects of digital radio will make a decisive difference to digital take-up.” (BBC Trust, 2010) In comparison to other radio station’s budgets, 6 Music’s budget of £9 million is a miniscule amount of the total spent by the BBC each year, which in the 2009/10 Annual Report was stated as £4.79 billion (Annual Report 09/10, 2010), results in 6 Music taking up 0.187% of the BBC’s total budget for 09/10, making the relatively low financial cost in comparison to other BBC stations a case for saving the station.
After the announcement of the planned closure, 6 Music’s weekly audience doubled to 1.194 million for the end of June, a record for the station, and an increase in its audience for the second quarter running. (RAJAR, 2010) (Busfield, 2010). With the 50% rise in audience, and the decision not to close the station confirmed, The Guardian’s Organ Grinder blog saw the proposal to be “the best marketing BBC 6 Music has ever had” (Busfield, 2010), as 6 Music’s audience has risen sharply and had been in the public eye for a number of weeks.
Overall, the proposed closure of 6 Music was significant, as it enabled the public to use social media in an effective protest against the decision. Also, with the large number of responses received by the BBC, a valid case for opening up decisions to public consultation has been made, as the increase in public support for the station resulted in the closure plans to be scrapped. Another point of significance is the difference in opinion between the BBC Trust and the BBC Executive, and whether a governing body is good or bad for the BBC. To conclude, BBC 6 Music is a radio station which caters to a unique audience of British radio listeners, with content that cannot be found elsewhere, and for this reason, it has been saved from closure.
Total word count excluding references and further reading material: 1,936 words.
References and further reading material used in preparation for the assignment
BBC 6 Music - Pre-release Website (Archive) [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 25 November 2010]
Holmwood, L and Plunkett, J (2009) “Bob Shennan named Radio 2 controller,” The Guardian, 27th January.
BBC 6 Music – Website list of presenters in 2002 [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 25 November 2010]
BBC 6 Music – Programmes A-Z [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 25 November 2010]
BBC News – At a glance: BBC Strategy Review [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 25 November 2010]
Compare My Radio – BBC 6 Music [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 25 November 2010]
Love 6 Music – Home [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 25 November 2010]
Facebook – Saved 6 Music [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 25 November 2010]
RAJAR – Quarterly Listening Figures [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 25 November 2010]
BBC News – BBC 6 Music and Asian Network face axe in shake-up [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 25 November 2010]
The Guardian – BBC 6 Music’s audience rises again [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 25 November 2010]
BBC Trust Strategic Review – Interim Commissions [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 25 November 2010]
The Guardian.co.uk – BBC 6 Music: is its reprieve a triumph for social media? [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 25 November 2010]
The Guardian.co.uk – 6Music’s Lamb warned over Boris gaffe [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 25 November 2010]
The Guardian.co.uk - Tory culture spokesman joins 6 Music fanclub with U-turn over closure [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 25 November 2010]
Media UK – BBC 6 Music [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 25 November 2010]
BBC - Service Review of Radio 2 and 6 Music [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 27 November 2010]
BBC – Strategy Review [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 27 November 2010]
The Guardian.co.uk – BBC 6 Music Protest [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 27 November 2010]
The Guardian.co.uk – Organ Grinder blog [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 27 November 2010]
Brooks, R (2010), “Axed radio station BBC 6 Music returns to life,” The Sunday Times, 11th April.
Channel 4 News: Interview with Mark Thompson, Adam Buxton and Bobby Friction (2010) London, Channel Four, March 2nd 2010. [Originally broadcast on TV, but can be found online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLbkeAHyU7I]
[Accessed 28 November 2010]
Channel 4 News: BBC Saves Radio 6 Music (2010) London, Channel Four, July 5th, 2010. [Originally broadcast on TV, but can be found online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chJirgRx4WA&feature=related]
[Accessed 28 November 2010]
Facebook – Rage against the Machine for Christmas No. 1 [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 28 November 2010]
Twitter – Love 6 Music [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 28 November 2010]
BBC News – BBC Trust rejects 6 Music closure plan [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 28th November 2010]
BBC Executive – Annual Report 2009/10 [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 28th November 2010]
The Guardian.co.uk – George Lamb to leave 6 Music daytime slot [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 28 November 2010]
The Guardian.co.uk – George Lamb to leave BBC 6 Music [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 28 November 2010]
Plunkett, J (2008) “’I don’t feel I have betrayed anyone,’” The Guardian, 22nd December, MediaGuardian, p5.
The Daily Telegraph – BBC staff face sack in cheat inquiry [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 28 November 2010]
The Daily Mail – BBC 6 Music head resigns following “serious” editorial breaches [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 28 November 2010]
The Guardian.co.uk – James Murdoch hits out at BBC and regulators at Edinburgh TV festival [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 29th November 2010]
Sky Corporate – Key Facts and Figures [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 29th November 2010]
BBC – Summary Consolidated Income Statement [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 29th November 2010]
The Guardian.co.uk – Shadow culture minister Ed Vaizey welcomes proposals for BBC cuts [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 29th November 2010]
Media Essay, Part 1
For my media module this semester, I had to write a couple of essays, and I kept meaning to post them, but maybe thought that waiting until they'd actually been submitted might be a bit less suspicious, and would keep Turnitin from hunting me down and saying this:
(Made that myself)
Now that they're both done and dusted, in the bag, over and done with, in the can and many other ways to basically just say I handed them both in, I can post them! They might not be of interest to anyone, but fuck it, I'll put them up anyway. I'm putting a gun to your head, but she is:
UK Film Council - Films in production and development awarded funding from the UK Film Council [Internet]
Available from:
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/article/16489/Films-in-production-and-development-awarded-funding-from-the-UK-Film-Council
[Accessed 7 November 2010]
UK Film Council – About Us [Internet]
Available from:
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/about
[Accessed 7 November 2010]
UK Film Council – Abolition of UK Film Council [Internet]
Available from:
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/article/16909/Abolition-of-UK-Film-Council
[Accessed 7 November 2010]
Footprint Films Ltd – Projects [Internet]
Available from:
http://www.footprintfilms.co.uk/projects/projects.htm
[Accessed 9 November 2010]
Internet Movie Database – BBC Films [Internet]
Available from:
http://www.imdb.com/company/co0103694/
[Accessed 8 November 2010]
Yahoo! Movies – Africa United – Distributors [Internet]
Available from:
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810146701/cast#Distributors
[Accessed 8 November 2010]
Africa United – Behind the Scenes – Execs United: Neil Fox [Internet]
Available from:
http://africaunitedmovie.com
[Accessed 8 November 2010]
Africa United – Cast & Crew – Emmanuel Jal [Internet]
Available from:
http://africaunitedmovie.com
[Accessed 8 November 2010]
Branston, G. and Stafford, R. (2010). The Media Student’s Book (5th edition). Oxon, Routledge.
CNN – Pro-piracy parties gain foothold across Europe [Internet]
Available from:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/22/pirate.party.christian.engstrom/
[Accessed 9 November 2010]
ITProPortal – Lovefilm Debuts on PS3 Gaming Console [Internet]
Available from:
http://www.itproportal.com/2010/11/9/lovefilm-debuts-sony-ps3-gaming-console/
[Accessed 9 November 2010]
Rose, D (2006) “David Rose on The Road to Guantanamo,” The Observer, 26th February, p5.
Now that they're both done and dusted, in the bag, over and done with, in the can and many other ways to basically just say I handed them both in, I can post them! They might not be of interest to anyone, but fuck it, I'll put them up anyway. I'm putting a gun to your head, but she is:
 |
| Yes, I know, this is a drill, but the idea's there. Shut up. There's still an element of menace involved though, right? |
Well, here's the first essay, and it's about Africa United, a film I didn't ever go to see, but only wrote about because profits from it go to Comic Relief, and because Dr Fox, former Pop Idol judge is executive producer. Not because I like him, it's just a random fact. The second essay I'll put in another post straight after this one, there'd be FAR too much reading for one post. Anyway, I liked what I'd written, so here's essay number one! I'll put the references in too, so in the unlikely event you want to read on further, or dispute everything I've said, feel free...
1812186 FMS9X1 Assessment 1 Week 5 Task (Film Funding and Exhibition)
1) Select one current cinema release. Research its sources of funding and prepare a critically informed report of your findings to the group.
Africa United, a film released in the United Kingdom on October 22nd, 2010, is the feature film directing debut of Deborah Gardner-Paterson, featuring a predominantly young cast of many first-time actors. The story of the film (Africa United, 2010) focuses on three Rwandan children, who upon missing an audition to be part of the opening ceremony for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, decide to travel 3000 miles to Johannesburg to attend the ceremony anyway, meeting other African children along the way. The film is also contributing to charity, as 25% of the total profits made from the movie will be donated to Comic Relief, as Comic Relief provides aid to countries in which Africa United is filmed. (Comic Relief, 2010)
In a feature in the Observer newspaper (McVeigh and Thorpe, 2010) it is stated that the film was produced in three countries in Africa, Burundi, Rwanda and South Africa, representing the seven countries that the characters make their way through during the course of the film, including the Congo.
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb, 2010) shows the companies involved in the production of Africa United are Pathé Productions, Footprint Films, Link Media Productions and BBC Films. The film was also produced in association with South African service company Out of Africa, “who provided most of the film’s crew.” (Screen International, 2010)
It is also reported in Screen International, a trade publication for the film industry (Screen International, 2010), that in regards to the film’s funding, Pathé contributed 50% of the film’s $6 million dollar budget, BBC Films put up $768,000, as did the UK Film Council (UK Film Council, 2010), a “Government-backed lead agency for film in the UK ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad.” In 2010, plans were announced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government to abolish the UK Film Council (UK Film Council, 2010).
Africa United also received funds of $768,000 from Rwanda’s Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sports, one of the countries where the film was produced. The country’s government is also currently establishing an official Rwandan film commission, in order to attract foreign films to be produced there (Screen International, 2010). This would help to improve Rwanda’s standing in the film industry and move on from the frequent film portrayals of the genocide in 1994.
Footprint Films, the company which produced Africa United, has made 12 productions, four of which have been produced in conjunction with the UK Film Council. Seven of the films produced by Footprint Films are short features. (Footprint Films, 2010)
BBC Films has produced 189 features for film and television, including the Academy Award-nominated An Education, In the Loop, and StreetDance 3D, Britain’s first 3D film production. BBC Films also has 22 projects in development. (IMDb, 2010)
Africa United is distributed by a number of companies. Pathé International is distributing the film in France; Warner Bros. International is responsible for distribution in the United Kingdom; with Hopscotch Films distributing in Australia; E1 Entertainment Benelux in Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg; Central Partnership in Eastern Europe; Teleview in Lebanon and the Middle East; and Svensk Filmindustri (SF) in Scandinavia (Yahoo! Movies, 2010).
It is difficult to determine a country of origin for Africa United, as the film was produced in three separate African countries, with a cast and crew from Britain and many African countries, while Pathé, the company that provided major funding for the production, is French. However, the director of Africa United, Deborah Gardner-Paterson, has a Rwandan mother, and the premise for the film’s story came from Eric Kabera, a Rwandan who also runs Link Media, one of the companies involved in the production of Africa United (McVeigh and Thorpe, 2010). Therefore, Africa United does not have a set country of origin, as it is a multi-national production with multiple sources of funding and a cast and crew with a variety of nationalities and backgrounds. Former Pop Idol judge Neil Fox is Executive Producer (Africa United, 2010), while Emmanuel Jal, a former child soldier from Sudan, appears in the film in his acting debut (Africa United, 2010). These differences show that the production of Africa United has brought together people from many backgrounds.
When considering funding issues, and whether they impact on cinema as an institution, the market in which a film is to be released must be taken into consideration. Branston, G. and Stafford, R. (2010) believe that film industries without a large market benefit from public support, i.e. governmental bodies such as the UK Film Council providing funding towards production costs, which are often referred to as “soft money” schemes. Even Hollywood productions are often made in Canada, such as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which was mostly filmed in Toronto, as Telefilm Canada often provides indirect support through these so-called soft money schemes.
Another funding issue may be that of investors making a return on their investments. As £500 million is lost to internet piracy in the United Kingdom alone, (Woldt, CNN, 2009) investors will look to ensure a return on their investment. Video on demand services, such as Lovefilm (42% owned by Amazon) (Athow, 2010), are a way for viewers to stream films directly to their computers (for a monthly fee) without downloading them illegally.
Another possible course of action is to release a film at cinemas, on DVD and through internet download simultaneously (Rose, Observer, 2006), as seen in Michael Winterbottom’s The Road to Guantanamo.
In conclusion, there are many factors to be considered when funding films, many of which can affect cinema as an institution.
Word count excluding title and question: 932 words.
References and Bibliography
Africa United – The Story [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 8 November 2010]
Comic Relief – Partners with Africa United movie [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 9 November 2010]
McVeigh, T. and Thorpe, V. (2010) “Africa United reveals the other side of a continent” The Observer, 3rd October, p.23.
Internet Movie Database – Africa United [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 8 November 2010]
(As the Screen International journal website was unavailable while compiling the bibliography, an alternate website has been used to show the same article):
Screen International – Africa United [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 9 November 2010]
UK Film Council - Films in production and development awarded funding from the UK Film Council [Internet]
Available from:
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/article/16489/Films-in-production-and-development-awarded-funding-from-the-UK-Film-Council
[Accessed 7 November 2010]
UK Film Council – About Us [Internet]
Available from:
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/about
[Accessed 7 November 2010]
UK Film Council – Abolition of UK Film Council [Internet]
Available from:
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/article/16909/Abolition-of-UK-Film-Council
[Accessed 7 November 2010]
Footprint Films Ltd – Projects [Internet]
Available from:
http://www.footprintfilms.co.uk/projects/projects.htm
[Accessed 9 November 2010]
Internet Movie Database – BBC Films [Internet]
Available from:
http://www.imdb.com/company/co0103694/
[Accessed 8 November 2010]
Yahoo! Movies – Africa United – Distributors [Internet]
Available from:
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810146701/cast#Distributors
[Accessed 8 November 2010]
Africa United – Behind the Scenes – Execs United: Neil Fox [Internet]
Available from:
http://africaunitedmovie.com
[Accessed 8 November 2010]
Africa United – Cast & Crew – Emmanuel Jal [Internet]
Available from:
http://africaunitedmovie.com
[Accessed 8 November 2010]
Branston, G. and Stafford, R. (2010). The Media Student’s Book (5th edition). Oxon, Routledge.
CNN – Pro-piracy parties gain foothold across Europe [Internet]
Available from:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/22/pirate.party.christian.engstrom/
[Accessed 9 November 2010]
ITProPortal – Lovefilm Debuts on PS3 Gaming Console [Internet]
Available from:
http://www.itproportal.com/2010/11/9/lovefilm-debuts-sony-ps3-gaming-console/
[Accessed 9 November 2010]
Rose, D (2006) “David Rose on The Road to Guantanamo,” The Observer, 26th February, p5.
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