Film Industry: Assessment learner response

 1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

Score = 13/18

Grade = B

WWW - A strong assessment, partially Q3

Excellent Knowledge of the CSP shown 

EBI - Q2 , perhaps a "reading of the question" issue. You needed reasons for each strategy  - see mark scheme for examples 

2) Read the mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Write down the number of marks you achieved for the three questions: _/3; _/6; _/9. If you didn't achieve full marks in a question, write a bullet point on what you may have missed.

Q1) Full marks

Q2) 3/6 

● Social media promotion inexpensive or free; creates word-of-mouth marketing; effective in

reaching educated, digitally-literate younger audience.

● Premieres and director/star interviews generate media coverage from newspapers,

magazines and online publications that generate interest and awareness of the film’s release.

Q3)7/9

● New technology is opening new ways to distribute films and Blinded By The Light now has an extended slot on Amazon Prime which will bring in some of the money it has lost. However,

it remains the perfect example of why the cultural industries are a “risky business” as

Hesmondhalgh says.

● Blinded By The Light generated great excitement at the Sundance Film Festival which

resulted in an all-night auction that saw New Line Cinema pay $15m to distribute the film.

3) For Question 2 on the promotion of Blinded By The Light, use the mark scheme to identify at least one strategy used to promote the film that you didn't mention in your answer and why it was used. The key lesson from this question was to make specific reference to the CSP in your answer and ensure each explanation was different.

● Traditional marketing: film poster, trailer, review quotes etc.

-  It  required to meet conventions of film promotion – trailer, film poster

etc. Construction of poster and trailer emphasises music of Bruce Springsteen and director

Gurinder Chadha’s previous success with Bend It Like Beckham – attracting existing fans of

both. As on the movie poster reviews from critics described it as  - "The feel good movie of the year"

● Music / existing fans of Bruce Springsteen

- Link to Springsteen’s music may attract fans of his music – he has sold more than 150 million albums worldwide. With the use of the musical numbers in the movie and the characters realisation of who he really is or who he wants to be is all thanks to Springsteen's music. This may make people who like his music feel relation to the story. 

4) Now look at Question 3 - focusing on Hesmondhalgh's point that making media products is a 'risky business'. Write three bullet points from the mark scheme that you could have added to your answer. Try and include a specific reference to the CSP where you can and ensure you understand the key contexts to Hesmondhalgh's quote. Additional reference to Hesmondhalgh's ideas would help here too - you may want to look back at our work on Hesmondhalgh and the Cultural Industries.

● New technology is opening new ways to distribute films and Blinded By The Light now has an extended slot on Amazon Prime which will bring in some of the money it has lost. However,

it remains the perfect example of why the cultural industries are a “risky business” as

Hesmondhalgh says. He also says "There is no guarantee a creative product will be a success." and in the case of BBLT this is entirely true, it is unfortunate that it fell victim to the "risky business" of the film industry, but it happens and is always bound to at some point.