Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc Overview Film Studies Essay

Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc Overview Film Studies Essay DreamWorks SKG was founded in 1994 by three entertainment enthusiasts, Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen (The Cornell Daily Sun). The SKG appended to the title is representative of the first letter of each of their last names. DreamWorks SKG is involved in a variety of entertainment segments such as film, music, and television. At the time of its creation, all three individuals were involved in film production. Jeffrey Katzenberg had been recently fired as a studio chairman at The Walt Disney Company, Steven Spielberg had temporarily suspended his lucrative directing career, and David Geffen was involved in film production as well as the record industry. Each of the individuals had something to offer, Spielberg with his experience in making live-action movies, Katzenbergs animation movies, and Geffen with his music background (Reference for Business). Financially, the company began with two billion dollars, supplemented with various high-tech partnerships. A portion of the initial money, $500 million, was contributed by a very interested Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft. Spielberg, Katzenberg, and Geffen also contributed roughly $33 million to the initial funds (Reference for Business). During the first few years in business, DreamWorks success was like a roller coaster. Its first film, The Peacemaker, was released in 1997, and only reached $12 million on opening weekend. In the years to follow, DreamWorks released several more successful films such as Mouse Hunt, Deep Impact, and Antz. In an attempt to delve into other entertainment segments, DreamWorks released two television shows High Incident and Champs, which were failures. However, in 1996 DreamWorks released Spin City for ABC, which turned out to be quite successful (Reference for Business). By the late 90s and early 2000s, DreamWorks was pumping out very successful films, many earning multiple awards such as American Beauty, which received Best Picture at the Oscars in 1999. In 2000, DreamWorks created a new division called DreamWorks Animation, which produced animated feature films. With the release of Shrek in 2001, DreamWorks started competing head-to-head with Disneys animated movies. In 2004, DreamWorks Animation became its own publicly traded company (Reference for Business). COMPETITIVE STRATEGY The revenue generated by the film industry is massive, with very few players responsible for the total. In 2008, the U.S. box office generated nearly ten billion dollars (Ars Technica). The eight major film companies responsible for most of the gross revenue include DreamWorks SKG, Fox Entertainment Group, MGM Holdings Inc., NBC Universal, Paramount Motion Pictures Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Time Warner, and Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group (Motion Picture Access). Most of the previously mentioned film companies are involved in a variety of film production methods including live action, digital animation, animation/live action, hand animation, and stop-motion animation. Live action films account for the majority of the gross revenue generated domestically, at $8.6 billion with a little over 87% of the share. Digital animation accounted for $1 billion and held over 10% of the share. The other film production methods accounted for the remaining 2.4% (The Numbers). Many of the eight major film companies have a subsidiary that produces animated movies. The companies include Fox Entertainment Group with Blue Sky Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment with Sony Pictures Animation, Time Warner with Warner Bros. Animation, MGM Holdings Inc. with MGM Animation, and Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group with Walt Disney Pictures (Motion Picture Access). DreamWorks Animation, on the other hand, is its own publicly traded company, strictly dedicated to animated film production (DreamWorks Animation SKG). With this advantage, DreamWorks Animation is attempting to outperform some of the broadly-oriented rivals in that segment. DreamWorks Animation has accomplished this by partnering with various high-tech companies such as Pacific Data Images (PDI) (Reference for Business). These partnerships allowed DreamWorks Animation access to advanced imaging technology without the costs of recreating the technology in-house. In addition, DreamWorks Animation uses a unique system to create its animations that allows for lower costs (Linux.com). Lastly, DreamWorks Animation can better serve the animation market because of its primary focus on animation. Therefore, DreamWorks Animation is using a Focus Differentiation strategy to penetrate the film production market. STRATEGY EXECUTION In order to be successful in the animated film segment, DreamWorks Animation has made several strategic actions. To begin with, in 1995, DreamWorks SKG purchased a portion of Pacific Data Images, and collectively the two companies created the movie Antz, which was released in 1998. With the success of the movie, in 2000, DreamWorks SKG acquired most of PDI. The partnership with PDI created competitive advantage for DreamWorks; because of the cutting-edge technology they had available for use. DreamWorks has continued to make use of this partnership, and the conglomerate is often referred to as PDI/DreamWorks (Reference for Business). Several years later DreamWorks Animation was spun-off from DreamWorks SKG to become a separate company with the sole purpose of creating animated movies (Reference for Business). This action was to focus on a segment in which the other, larger, film companies only had subsidiaries. By creating a entirely separate publicly traded company, DreamWorks Animation has a unique advantage in that it can focus on what it does best, animated movies. In the film industry, the target market for animated films varies greatly from that of live-action. This creates an environment where DreamWorks Animation can avoid being trampled by larger companies and focus on a smaller market. DreamWorks Animation has exploited this niche to become a leading player in film animation. DreamWorks Animation has cut costs by creating a unique system for generating its animations. After analyzing requirements, the company decided that it needed a system that was easily upgradeable, reliable, and had advanced capabilities. To accomplish this, it selected to use a Linux based platform, which is an alternative Microsoft Windows or Mac OSX operating systems. Because computer generated animation is such a demanding process, it can be quite time consuming to develop. This, in turn, creates huge costs for producers because of the time necessary to make minor changes. With DreamWorks advancements, it was able to reduce the time necessary to create one scene, from three hours to real-time. Therefore, when changes to the animation were required, they could be made nearly instantaneously (Linux.com). In recent years, an increasing number of film production companies are releasing 3D movies because of their popularity. In addition, many companies are beginning to realize that 3D movies are cash cows as a result of their high ticket prices. With this in mind, Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, stated that every film DreamWorks makes from now on will be made in 3D (CG Society). Katzenberg is betting that 3D films are here to stay this time around, unlike the 3D craze in the 1950s. One of the largest contributing factors to this renewed interest is the fact that 3D movies can now be produced in a more cost effective manner. This is largely due to the advancements in technology, which allows companies such as DreamWorks to use the latest stereoscopic 3D technology to build its movies from the ground up (CG Society). Katzenberg explains that 3D film production will be quite rewarding for DreamWorks Animation: I believe CG animation is in the best position to take advantage of the latest advancement in 3D technology, said Katzenberg. Since our films are made digitally, it presents numerous opportunities for our filmmakers. And by moving into this area now, DreamWorks Animation is developing expertise that will differentiate our films and provide a lasting competitive advantage (CG Society). FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE In spite of a tough economic climate the past few years, DreamWorks Animation has performed above and beyond expectations. In 2009, DreamWorks reported double-digit year-over-year growth in revenue and earnings per share (Market Watch). Revenue increased by 12% from 2008-2009, and earnings per share increased 10% (Market Watch). The following table demonstrates the performance of DreamWorks Animation for the past few years: Figure1. Adapted from DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. Morningstar Equity Research, p. 2. Copyright 2010 by Morningstar. In comparison to other film production companies, DreamWorks Animation is quite small in size. The following table compares DreamWorks Animation with the more broadly-oriented Walt Disney Company: Figure 2. Adapted from DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. Morningstar Equity Research, p. 2. Copyright 2010 by Morningstar. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE / VRIO FRAMEWORK When DreamWorks SKG spun off DreamWorks Animation, this did not create a true first-mover advantage, because it was not the first occupant in the segment. However, it can be thought of as a first-mover strategy in the sense that DreamWorks Animations was an entirely separate company dedicated to animation, unlike the other broadly-oriented film companies. DreamWorks did this to become a significant occupant in the animation segment of the film industry, which created a competitive advantage. DreamWorks Animation partnered with high-tech companies such as PDI, which allowed access to important technology. As a result, this created a competitive advantage for the company. The capabilities that DreamWorks Animation has at its disposal are costly to implement in-house, and may be costly and/or difficult to acquire. In addition, because it has majority interest in PDI, DreamWorks Animation can readily employ the capabilities. With the necessary technology in its grasp, DreamWorks Animation is able to grow within its segment. Another capability advantageous to DreamWorks Animation is its custom system used to generate the animated films. Because the system environment has been modified to better suit the specific needs of the company, this capability is difficult to match. By using this capability DreamWorks Animation can reduce time-related costs that other industry companies are faced with. This allows the producer to focus on animations, without having to worry about the time needed to edit a scene. STRATEGIC FIT / FUTURE PERFORMANCE As a focus differentiator, DreamWorks Animation has penetrated the animation segment of the film industry and has become a pivotal player in that market. With the many supportive capabilities available to the company, it has successfully expanded within its niche, and continues to grow. Strategically, DreamWorks Animation fits seamlessly within the film industry, because of its focus on a single, smaller segment. The arrival of more advanced 3D technologies, and the associated cost savings definitely provides a promising outlook for the company. Because of its advanced capabilities, DreamWorks Animation will be able to fully take advantage of this opportunity. Therefore, in the next few years, the performance of the company should meet and possibly exceed expectations.

saint Nicolas :: essays research papers

Ceremonial Speech SPS: To praise Saint Nicholas. CIS: We all know who Santa Claus is and Saint Nicholas the man responsible for all the wonderful things we know him for such as: selflessness, unsurpassed generosity, popularity we can all learn and apply his wonderful deeds to our own lives. Introduction: I. I know that all of you have heard of Santa Claus but how many of you actually know the history behind him? Saint Nicholas was the wonderful man that the legend of Santa Claus derived from. II. Saint Nicholas is known by many names such as: Kriss Kringle, Father Christmas, Santa Claus and the patron saint of young people to name a few. III. I would dare to say that most of you in here today do not know the true story behind the legend of Santa Claus but after today you should understand why Saint Nicholas is undoughtably worthy of praise. IV. We all know who Santa Claus is and Saint Nicholas the man responsible for all the wonderful things we know him for such as: selflessness, unsurpassed generosity and popularity we can all learn and apply his wonderful deeds to our own life. {Transition: Now that we know what Saint Nicholas is known as lets look at what made him worthy of praise.} Body I. Saint Nicholas had the most amazing trait of selflessness. A. Saint Nicholas often went out and distributed presents to the poverty stricken people especially children. B. Saint Nicholas wore a disguise so that no one would notice him because he did not want to receive credit for his good deeds. {Transition: In addition too selflessness Saint Nicholas also displayed unbelievable acts of generosity.} II. Saint Nicholas displayed true generosity in the story of the noblemen and his three daughters. A. The noblemen had no money for his daughter’s dowries; and in those days, a daughter with no dowry had little chance of marriage. 1. Saint Nicholas decided to remedy this by throwing a bag of gold through the window. (All About Christmas, pg.26) 2.Saint Nicholas did this again when the second daughter was to be married. (The Christmas Story, pg.43) B. When the third daughter was to be married Saint Nicholas had to crawl up on the roof and throw the gold down the chimney. {Transition: Now let us look at Saint Nicholas’ unique popularity.} III. Saint Nicholas has proven to be one of the most popular and influential people to have ever lived. A. Saint Nicholas was born hundreds and hundreds of years ago but is still popular today.

New Leadership in Indonesia and Singapure Essays -- International Gove

The emerging globalized world brings with it new global threats. Various forms of advancement have made the threat of terrorism a global threat. As a result, leaders of democratic states have been forced to work together to contain such threats. This paper examines the extent to which the Indonesian leadership transition from 2004 to 2009 affected security policy relations with Singapore. First, this paper takes a brief look at the new leadership transition of Indonesia and Singapore in 2004. Second, this paper examines whether the new leadership was able to strengthened regional security through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). New Leadership in Southeast Asia The year 2004 was of significant change not only for Indonesia, but also for Singapore. Both, Indonesia and Singapore, went trough a leadership change in 2004, which allowed them to realign their relationship and interest in the region. On August 12, Lee Hsien Loong was sworn in as Singapore’s third prime minister since independence. Lee Hsien Loong preceded Goh Chok Tong’s 14-year leadership. Lee had long been expected to have some sort of leadership because his father, Lee Kuan Yew, was Singapore’s first prime minister. More notably on October 20, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was sworn in as Indonesia’s sixth president since independence. Mr. Yudhoyono was the fourth president in six years, but was the first directly elected president since the fall of President Suharto in 1998. The leadership transition of 2004 is crucial to understanding foreign relations between Indonesia and SIngapore because it laid the platform from which they could renew, strengthen, and expand their regional ideals. In the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Singapo... ...nd Southeast Asia: Australia, the U.S., and ASEAN’s Counter-Terror Strategy.† Asian Survey 48, no. 4 (July/August 2008): 626-649. Chow, Jonathan T. â€Å"ASEAN Counterterrorism Cooperation since 9/11.† Asian Survey 45, no. 2 (March/April 2005): 302-321. Febrica, Senia. â€Å"Securitizing Terrorism in Southeast Asia: Accounting for the Varying Responses of Singapore and Indonesia.† Asian Survey 50, no. 3 (May/June 2010): 569-590. Kassim, Yang Razali. Transition Politics in Southeast Asia: Dynamics of Leadership Change and Succession in Indonesia and Malaysia. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2005. Lee, Kuan Yew. â€Å"The United States, Iraq, and the War on Terror: A Singaporean Perspective.† Foreign Affairs 86, no. 1 (January/February 2007): 2-7. Narine, Shaun. â€Å"ASEAN and the Management of Regional Security.† Pacific Affairs 71, no. 2 (Summer, 1998): 195-214.