• Hidden Figures is a co-production between independent production companies and a major Hollywood conglomerate through its film subdivision Fox 2000
• Case study of industry context would include Fox as a conglomerate with an exploration of the role of low budget film making in its wider strategy.
• With a budget of $25m Hidden Figures is a low to medium budget Hollywood film, an industry category which has recently been recognised for its profit potential.
• Distribution techniques – focus on traditional distribution and exhibition linked to targeted audience.
• Students do not need to watch the film but will need to be familiar with the production context and distribution materials to support advertising and marketing including the official website, trailers, posters, social media presence (twitter, facebook etc). A useful overview of the campaign can be found at:
  https://christhilk.com/2016/12/29/movie-marketing-madness-hidden-figures/
• The concept of “risk-taking” in terms of subject matter which might not be tackled by big budget productions.
• Ideas and debates about ownership and control, for example the idea of conglomerates using vertical and horizontal integration to ensure global market dominance.

• Gatekeepers – 6 major conglomerates can control and decide on what information or message they want conveyed.

• Fox as a conglomerate with diverse cross-media elements including facilities for media production, distribution and circulation means they have the structures and the means to get films with an independent ‘feel’/consciousness/aesthetic to a mainstream audience. – The film is also targeted at an audience often ignored by Hollywood due to age, gender and race – invites a new audience.
• 25 million to create and an extra 6.88 million to advertise though a profit of $169.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $66.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $236 million.
• Newer audience
• Medium or low budget = more profit overall in comparison to one larger film.

This movie is about 3 Black women who are working for NASA set in the 1930’s. The movie revolves around their rights as black women and how they are separated from the rest of the white workers. The movie focuses on how they try to move up in their job and to prove that they are capable of being better than everyone else.

The budget for this film $25 million meaning it is a medium budget film.

• Media concentration / Conglomerates – Combination of multiple business entities in completely different industries under one corporate group
• Globalisation (in terms of media ownership) – Worldwide integration of media through cross-cultural exchange of ideas
• Vertical Integration – The combination in one firm of two or more stages of production usually operated by separate firms
• Horizontal Integration – The acquisition of a business at the same level of the value chain in a similar or different industry
• Gatekeepers – Process where information is filtered for dissemination, whether for publication, broadcasting, internet or some other mode of communication
• Regulation – The action or process of regulating or being regulated. Rules enforced by the jurisdiction of law. Principle targets in media are the press, radio and television but could include film, the internet etc
• Deregulation – A process in which a government removes controls and rules about how newspapers, television channels and so on are owned and controlled
• Free market – Economic system based on supply and demand with little or no government control
• Monopolies & Mergers –
• Neo-liberalism – Generally used to refer to market-oriented reform policies such as ‘eliminating price controls, deregulating capital markets, lowering trade barriers’ and reducing state influence in the economy, especially through privatisation and austerity
• Surveillance / Privacy / Security / GDPR –

• Media concentration / Conglomerates – one big company that owns loads more companies
• Globalisation (in terms of media ownership) – the process by which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected as a result of massively increased trade and cultural exchange.
• Vertical Integration & Horizontal Integration – vertical integration is when one media company owns loads of other smaller companies with the same distribution, horizontal integration is where one media company owns and expands into different areas of one industry
• Gatekeepers – someone who controls access to something
• Regulation / Deregulation deregulation is the reduction/ elimination of government power in an industry to create more competition within the industry. regulation- guidelines/ laws for media use across the world
• Free market vs Monopolies & Mergers free market – little or no government control. monopolies & mergers – a monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular thing. a merger is a combination of two things such as companies into one.
• Neo-liberalism – the 20th-century resurgence of 19th-century ideas associated with laissez-faire economic liberalism and free market capitalism
• Surveillance / Privacy / Security / GDPR

Production company; -Fox2000 Pictures – Chernin Entertainment – Levantine Films

Distributed by; 20th Century Fox

Budget; $25 million

Directed by; Theodore Melfi

Produced by; Donna Gigliotti, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Pharrell Williams, Theodore Melfi

Hidden figures  

Hidden figures is a Hollywood low to medium budget film which combines serious (potentially controversial) themes about race in the US with an accessible film style  

Institutions  

The budget for this film was around $25 million. This is very low for a modern film especially when dealing with the subject matter it does. 

Hidden figures was co-produced. Leventine films produced the film with the help of another small company that is part of the fox conglomerate. This gave fox the rights to production but also invested the much-needed capital to create the film in the first place 

There is some concern over the levels of concentration and media ownership by giants such as fox because they limit a more diverse media. This can be seen in the small production sum for this film 

Website 

The website exists as a smaller part of the larger fox website. It provides a basic overview of the film as well as videos  

The featured content of the website shows the synergy involved in marketing the film with options guiding the audience to supplementary products. 

Charity screenings 

After it was released on 25^th December 2016 certain charities, institutions and independent businesses who regarded the film as relevant to improving youth awareness in education and careers in science (STEM) fields organized free screenings to spread the message of its subject matter. Research indicates that by 2020 there will be 2.4 million unfilled STEM jobs. 

In 2017 AMC theatres and 21^st century fox announced free screenings for black history month. 

Other 

Principal actors include Octavia Spencer, Dorothy Vaughan, Kirsten Dunst, Janelle Monae, Mary Jackson, Kevin Costner, Jim Parsons  

Grossed $236 million worldwide 

3 Oscar nominations  

Directed by: Theodore Melfi 

• Media concentration / Conglomerates – a large corporation that owns many sub-mass media enterprises. For example, marvel is owned by disney
• Globalisation (in terms of media ownership) – the integration of media through the cross cultural exchange of ideas
• Vertical Integration & Horizontal Integration
• Gatekeepers – people who assess and defend is something is in a certain category
• Regulation / Deregulation – the placing and the watching of a system
• Free market vs Monopolies & Mergers
• Neo-liberalism
• Surveillance / Privacy / Security / GDPR

PSB – Public Service Broadcast

The missing used Twitter to advertise

(quotes, evidence in photo)

through verified twitter accounts, paid to promote tweets

• Media concentration / Conglomerates – A huge business or media institution that own multiple companies who are involved in aspects media eg. tv and film.
• Globalisation (in terms of media ownership) – The worldwide integration of media through the cross-cultural exchange of ideas.
• Vertical Integration & Horizontal Integration – vertical integration is an arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is owned by that company & the process of a company increasing production of goods or services at the same part of the supply chain.
• Gatekeepers – The process through which information is filtered for dissemination.
• Regulation / Deregulation – rules enforced by the jurisdiction of law guidelines for media use differ across the world / refers to the process of removing or loosening government restrictions on the ownership of media outlets.
• Free market VS Monopolies & Mergers – an economic system based on supply and demand with little or no government control VS
• Neoliberalism – Deals with economic ideas about free markets.
• Surveillance / Privacy / Security / GDPR – all used to protect or watch the public