The Lego Movie

1) A film is produced, distributed, marketed and exhibited by:

Produced:

Film producers fill a variety of roles depending upon the type of producer. Either employed by a production company or independent, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting script, coordinating writing, directing and editing, and arranging financing.

Distributed:

Film distribution is the process of making a movie available for viewing by an audience. ... For commercial projects, film distribution is usually accompanied by film promotion. When a film is initially produced, a feature film is often shown to audiences in a movie theatre.

Marketed:

Film marketing is crucial in targeting an audience to come see your film. Here are the steps in how to identify, engage and build your audience. You will learn how to increase your fan base, create a buzz online and get media exposure.

Exhibited:

Exhibition is the retail branch of the film industry. It involves not the production or the distribution of motion pictures, but their public screening, usually for paying customers in a site devoted to such screenings, the movie theatre.

2) What is Conglomerate?

A conglomerate is the combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate group, usually involving a parent company and many subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company.

3) Who are the 'Big Six' hollywood film studios?

• Warner Bros. Pictures. Warner Bros. Pictures stands at the forefront of the entertainment industry. ... 
• 20th Century Fox.
• Paramount Pictures. Paramount Pictures is the longest operating major studio in Hollywood. ... 
• Universal Pictures.
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (earlier known as Columbia-Tristar Pictures)
• Walt Disney Studios.

4)Who Regulates films in the UK?

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), previously the British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organization, founded by the film industry in 1913 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works (such as television programmes, trailers, adverts, public information/campaigning films, menus, bonus content etc.) released on physical media within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify videos, DVDs and, to a lesser extent, some video games under the video recordings act 1984.

5/6) Which two main companies produced the lego movie (2014)?

7) Who directed the lego movie (2014)?

Chris Miller & Phil Lord

8) How was the lego movie (2014) funded?

Box office performance. The Lego Movie grossed $257.8 million in the U.S. and Canada, and $210.3 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $469.2 million. Calculating in all expenses, Deadline.com estimated that the film made a profit of $229 million.

9) Who distributed the lego movie (2014)?

Warner Bros. Pictures (Worldwide) Roadshow Films (Australia)

26/04/18

The Lego Movie: Intertextuality

LO: To explore the intertextuality of The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie is about Emmet, an ordinary LEGO figurine who always follows the rules, is mistakenly identified as the Special -- an extraordinary being and the key to saving the world. He finds himself drafted into a fellowship of strangers who are on a mission to stop an evil tyrant'splans to conquer the world. Unfortunately for Emmet, he is hopelessly -- and hilariously -- unprepared for such a task, but he'll give it his all nonetheless.

The main characters in the lego movie are:

• Batman
• Superman
• Emmet
• Lucy
• President business
• MetalBeard
• Good cop/Bad cop
• Unikitty

The message we see behind the lego movie is about being creative and working together as a team. People use lego to build and be creative with their ideas.

Warner Bros Characters:

• Batman
• Green lantern
• Wonder woman
• Superman
• Dumbledore

Thursday 3rd April 2018

The Lego Movie: Intersexuality

LO: To explore the intersexuality of The Lego Movie.

Postmodernism
Postmodern films often contain the following characteristics:

• Challenges genre conventions:might be a mixture of many genres; challenge typical character roles etc.
• Pastiche: imitates other texts, humorous take on society/culture.
• Hyper-Reality: Makes the audience aware that they are matching a movie.

The Lego Movie is postmodern because they make it Hyper-Reality. It uses intersexuality; By bringing those characters in, they draw on iconic personalities that we already know to propel the story forward. We don’t need any explanation of who Batman is and why he behaves the way he does. We know Batman, so we can skip the backstory and get into the action. The Lego Movie also has a lot of pastiche, The people who wrote the movie make it seem it was written by a 5 year old, because of this its able to let us relax and enjoy ourselves. The Lego Movie also imitates the main narrative in the matrix. It also mentions comments about society; Overpriced Coffee, Believing in yourself and also having a big business which links to being powerful.

Propp's Spheres Of Action



Thursday 10th May

The Lego Movie: Target Audience

LO:

• To identify the target audience using demographics & psychographics 

Target Audience:

• 4-8 year olds who like lego/play with.
• Parents who used to play lego when they was younger.
• Young Adult cinema-goers.

The movie targets a FAMILY AUDIENCE.

The movie appeals to YOUNG KIDS who like lego as they can somewhat relate to the story, knowing what its like to make up little stories.

It appeals to ADULTS because of the nostalgia they will feel watching it, as they would have played with them when they was young. The fact that the movie imitates the Matrix, so alot of parents would recognise it.

It also appeals to YOUNG ADULT CINEMA-GOERS as they will be able to recognise a bunch of the characters in it, and may also have played with lego.

Characters and Voice Actors

Emmet - Chris Pratt



Lord Business - Will Ferrell



Good Cop/Bad Cop - Liam Neeson



Wyldstyle - Elizabeth Banks



Batman - Will Arnett



Unikitty - Alison Brie



Metal beard - Nick Offerman






Monday 21st May

Learning Objective:

• To explore the intertextuality for The Lego Movie

Similarities between The Lego Movie and The Matrix:

The Location:

• There are 2 realities in both The Lego Movie and The Matrix.
• As a main location they both use big cites and buildings. 
• Computer Generated worlds and the main world in both of them.

The Characters:

• In both The Lego Movie they have the 'special ones'. E.g Neo And Emmet. 
• Theres also similarities between Lord Business and the big computer program who both try to have power. 
• In the lego movie Wyldstyle is almost like the sidekick but also helps Emmet along the way, she is very similar to Trinity from the Matrix. 
• Also in The Lego Movie Vitruvius is 'the helper' which also links to Morpheus.
• In the ending of The Lego Movie the little boy Finn helps Emmet retrieve the piece of resistance, he's also the one controlling Emmet. This links to Tank from the matrix who helps Neo.

The Themes/ Messages:

• Both movies are telling everyone to believe in themselves and to not give up no matter how hard everything is.
• The importance of imagination and creativity.
• Freedom.
• Power of the mind.

The Narrative:

In both The Lego Movie and The Matrix They're both set in different world which are different to real life. The both feature heroic journeys and also 2 normal guys who are claimed as the 'special ones' E.g Emmet and Neo. They both go on quests and they both feature Lord Business and the big computer program who try to take over and destroy them.

Evaluate the advantages and the disadvantages of the intersexual relationship between The Matrix and The Lego Movie.

Advantages of linking The Lego Movie and The Matrix is that a lot of parents would understand the references, making them enjoy it more. This is also a disadvantage as younger people and children wouldn't understand the references or the meanings, but young adults would understand the meanings.

Another disadvantage would be for young adults would be that the movie has been softened up to be made suitable for children, which would make it a bit boring for people my age. (14). This can also be good as young adults can be dragged along for their younger siblings.

Thursday 25th May

Learning Objective:

• To explore marketing & promotion of The Lego Movie; to link the methods to the target audience

The Lego Movie: Marketing

Ways To Advertise:

• Adverts (Tv Adverts)
• Posters (News Papers and Magazines)
• Trailers (Teaser Trailer- Don't give any clues, keep you waiting for the whole theatrical trailer)
• Leaflets
• Social Media (Blogs, Ask people with followers to promote, Big stars in movie, Hashtags)
• Radio
• Television
• Flyers (Letters and Flyers through the post)
• Public Speaking
• Merchandise (Clothes, Lanyards, Bags)
• Brand PartnerShips (To get money, Product Placements)

Synergy

Lego released some tie-in merchandise to go alongside the movie, They was the following;

• 17 Lego World Sets
• 16 Collectable Mini Figures
• The Lego Movie Video Game
• Range Of School Supplies (Books, Pens, Pencils)
• Sticker & Activity Books

Promotion - Research

Website:



Events:



The Lego Movie Premier:
Warners took over a block of Broxton Avenue, creating an enclosed world with where young and old could play with Legos, get tattoos, and play video games, all while surrounded by Lego walls and giant-sized Lego statues of the characters from the movie. In-N-Out Burger was the food of choice and one of the dessert stations served up block of chocolate fudge with small Lego candy pieces as the topping.


Posters:



Horizontal and Vertical Integration:

Often a single parent company will own multiple companies in the film industry.

Contrary to horizontal integration, which is a consolidation of many firms that handle the same part of the production process, vertical integration is typified by one firm engaged in different parts of production (e.g., growing raw materials, manufacturing, transporting, marketing, and/or retailing).

For Example:

• Warner Bros Studios (Production)
• Warner Bros (Distribution)
• Used to own Warner Bros Cinemas in the UK (Exhibition)

The Lego Movie teamed up with McDonalds to promote them.


Why was the TV advert special and how was it successful?
It was successful because it was the first time something like that had ever happened, and it was a big promotion for The Lego Movie.

Thursday 7th June

Integration 

Building blocks of success:

• As a product, Lego is for kids, so the Lego marketing team's main challenge is to make their products appealing to children; however, it is the parents, aunties, uncles, grandparents and godparents who hold the purse strings.
• This is where the joy – and the genius – comes in: The Lego Movie is a ripping adventure for kids, but is also great fun for adults.
• Making the product appeal to as many target audiences as possible.
  
  What Lego did right:

• The company brought in Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (of 21 Jump Street and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs fame) to create a genuinely funny and clever movie.
• There is a twist in the tale that completely fits with the spirit of Lego without looking contrived, but even without that, the zany and inventive way the story zips along is like an advert for playing with these toys. There are no rules. The limit of the story is the limit of your imagination.
• It is a huge coup to persuade adults essentially to be indoctrinated with the Lego spirit of adventure.

How has it laid the foundations for future success?

• Lego's profits rose strongly in the first half of 2014, helped by the success of its Lego Movie which has stormed box offices in the US and UK.
• They have made a film that was highly anticipated, and that can be watched several times over without it getting boring. Also, because of how clever the movie is, it will stay in many DVD collections for a while.
  
  How has it got heart?

• They go to laugh, to cry, to get angry, sad, elated and experience the millions of shades of emotion that lie in between these broad categories. In short, people watch films to feel.
• if it’s a film, it needs to make people feel. And to this end, with an emotive storyline that explores the meaning of love, partnership and humanity, The Lego Movie does what it needs to do.

How is it all about ‘you’?

• The difference between those who create and those who build, the difference between those who lead and who follow, and the difference between those who choose to be themselves or a part of something bigger.
• As humans, we’re constantly questioning which of those categories we fit into – and the underlying discourse within The Lego Movie forces us to ask questions not only of the characters and the storyline, but of ourselves.
• The result is a resonance that drills the brand into a deep level of our psyche that’s rarely visited by commercial content.

How does it show that it knows its audience?

• The Lego Movie has a very clear idea of who it’s speaking to – or, in harsher terms, its target market – as it bids to increase its standing among kids (the players), parents (the buyers) and other adults (the nostalgists).
• In marketing, we have content pillars – a drinks brand, for instance, might divvy up the focus of their content between product, sponsorship, cultural tie-ins and responsible drinking, apportioning each a percentage based on their objective and their audience.
• Film critics laud this movie’s ability to offer ‘something for everyone’, with a healthy dose of slapstick for the kids, cultural savvy for the teens, and scathing yet hilarious social commentary for the grown-ups. In other words, it’s nailed its content pillars.

The Lego Movie exploits a range of platforms to promote themselves to the target audience but the most exciting part of the campaign was creating a world first which was a commercial break in lego and this was so unique that it even got free press because journalists wanted to write about it in national newspapers.

The Lego Movie used posters and magazines to promote themselves.