Question 2

9610 - candidate number

Using Disney as a good example, do a post about synergy and how it is easier for a media conglomerate than a smaller independent British company.

Synergy is the benefit that results when two or more agents work together to achieve something either one couldn't have achieved on its own. Examples of synergy from Disney would be their High School Musical CD, High School Musical game, High School Musical DVD and High School Musical outlets.

Disney uses synergy across markets, many relating to the films they release, as the company's feature length films are its cornerstone products. They are marketed before launch through partners, agencies, competitors and subsidiaries, often promoting the films through advertisements on the television channels that Disney owns. When the film is launched, the company continues to gain marketing synergies, often by franchising consumer products to other companies, further promoting the product and generating more profit. More popular films are often used in the Disney theme parks as attractions for visitors, where the names and features of the attractions relate to the films content. Disney also advertises all of its products on web 2.0, where information is available to a worldwide audience, as well as fans and critics creating their own publications about Disney's products. 

Walt Disney pioneered synergistic marketing techniques in the 1930s by granting dozens of firms the right to use his Mickey Mouse character in products and advertisements, and continued to market Disney media through licensing arrangements. These products can help advertise the film itself and thus help to increase the film's sales.

Further examples

• The Walt Disney company allows some other corporations to use their characters, such as Mickey Mouse.
• The use of soundtracks, i.e. Daft Punk working on Tron Legacy.
• Merchandise - Toy Story franchise, Marvel entertainment.
• Special Deals inside the DVD/Blu-Ray boxes.
• Pre-Movie Adverts on the DVD, as well as in cinema.

Synergy and 'Toy Story 3'

- Digital 3D re-release of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 - teaser trailers for Toy Story 3.

- Blu Ray/DVD combo release of the films included 'The Making of Toy Story 3' feature.

- Disney Interactive Studios released 'Toy Story 3: The Video Game' prior to the release of the film.

- ABC's 'Dancing With the Stars' featured a performance from the film.

- Sneak peeks of the film shown on the Disney Channel.

- Prior to the release the Disney Channel held a 'Toy Story' day, showing the first two films and sneak peeks of the third one.

The Disney stores promote the consumer products which promote the theme parks which promote the television shows. The television shows promote the company. This could also be described as constant media synergy, wherein everything within a franchise promotes everything else. Toy Story 2 toys were sold in McDonald's happy meal boxes and advertised on the packaging. This is a fun way of advertising a movie because every child who goes to McDonald's gets a happy meal. This type of synergy is successful because those who have seen the movie will then be interested in the McDonald toys, and those who have the toys may be interested in viewing the media content in a cinema.

The distributors of Ill Manors (Revolver Entertainment - a smaller independent company) cannot use synergy in the same way as Disney can, and this is a major disadvantage. It's an uneven playing field between conglomerates and small independent companies. Ill Manors used synergy through Plan B releasing a CD with the soundtrack of the movie before the film was ready to be consumed. Having a CD out first means that the audience may be interested in the themes explored in his music and therefore feel intrigued to view the movie. The campaign combine both traditional and digital media and was kicked off by the release of a tweet-to-unlock campaign that was promoted via digital media and physical posters that included the hashtag illmanorsalbum. Plan B released this music video as a protest video to create awareness. His Ill Manors album went straight to number one in the Official UK Album Charts upon release in July 2012. SkyFall didn't need the CD by Adele to do well as much as Ill Manors did. The Ill Manors website is also an example of synergy because there are links on this website which take the viewer to the page where they can purchase the normal DVD and the Blu-Ray version. This encourages the promotion of Ill Manors. T-Shirts were also designed with the logo of Ill Manors printed on the front of the material. If people walk around with this shirt on, it also promotes the movie which is a further example of synergy. 

However, Ill Manors were not able to bring out as many merchandise products as Disney because their audience are for people aged 18 and over. Plan B wanted to attract 15-25 year olds, but done the film no favours by presenting a title which the BBFC deemed worthy of an '18' certificate. This risks it losing under 28 audiences which means the film may not have made as much money. Disney attracts children as well as teenagers as well as adults, which gives them an advantage when it comes to merchandise and box office profits. You wouldn't be able to advertise Ill Manors pencil cases and teddies for example like Disney can with the characters featured in their movies. 

The union between Pixar and Disney have been an incredibly successful business strategy played out by Disney, and financially a hugely profitable move. Below are some more examples of Disney's subsidiaries which enable this media conglomerate to dominate the market. With all of these subsidiaries comes the opportunities for successful synergy because they can all work together and promote each other. 

Revolver Entertainment does not have this luxury because they only have their own company to work with. Without subsidiaries, it makes synergy a lot more challenging, hence this is so easy for Disney because they own a ridiculous amount of other companies.

Ultimately, it is by far much easier for media conglomerates than a smaller independent British company to use synergy in promoting their media product. 

Question 2

To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of media products in the media area you have studied?

Digital distribution is the delivery of media content, such as video, over an online delivery medium such as the Internet, thus bypassing physical distribution methods such as compact discs, DVDs and paper. It has affected the marketing and consumption of media products in a variety of positive and negative ways.

Firstly, digital films are large computer files which can be written to DVD-ROM, sent via broadband, transmitted via satellite, with virtually no shipping costs and isn't much more expensive to show in 100 cinemas as 1. These are major positives for distribution companies because it saves them having to worry if their physical film is delivered in time to the cinema's playing their movie. Film prints are very expensive (£1500-£3000 per print) and are also expensive to ship and collect when the film finishes its run. They run and run until the quality of the footage eventually becomes of less good quality than it was in the first showing. By using digital copies of a media product, the twentieth show will be just as good as the first, with no worry of the footage eroding and becoming unprofessional. Also, unless where the film is being played will be a guaranteed hit, it is risky to send film to a lot of cinemas, whereas digital films can be opened and played simultaneously around the world. 

Furthermore, an extensive viral marketing campaign was created in order to promote Disney's Frozen which contributed to it's massive success. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment were the distribution companies behind most of Frozen's releases. To begin with the promotion of an upcoming movie, a trailer is released and shown on television, YouTube ads and pop ups etc, which is a way in which digital distribution affects the marketing of media products. YouTube requires web 2.0 which is where the Frozen trailer was uploaded, currently viewed by 28,554,570 people. The teaser trailer was first published to attract their audience. Disney also released a second trailer onto YouTube, currently viewed by 17,963,990 people, and this is where further footage from the movie can be seen before being viewed in a cinema. Therefore, three trailers were aired on television and on Web 2.0 before the release of this Disney phenomenon. On YouTube, the Frozen trailer would often be advertised at the beginning of any video someone clicked on; they would have the option to 'Skip The Ad' after 5 seconds, however the 5 seconds is a clever tool on YouTube that gives people the chance to see if they're interested in watching the whole trailer. After the movie was released, Disney continued to make smart marketing decisions. They created a sing-along version to extend theatre life and keep their screen in the cinema busy. They also announced an upcoming Broadway musical based on the film, and pounced on the opportunity for Indina Menzel to sing at the Oscars; the singer behind Let It Go which is one of Frozen's most popular songs. Disney also released a CD of all of the songs featured in Frozen which further encourages audience to watch the movie as they may be interested in the songs they're listening to. Frozen also has their own website, where unique videos of the film can be found, Let It Go sung in 25 different languages, a variety of games for all of the children to be entertained. There's a Frozen gallery found on their website of stills from the film, a 'products' page which takes the viewer to their DVD and Blu-Ray section etc. A wide range of Disney merchandise is also advertised on Disney's store online; another marketing device which increases the number of Frozen fans. Due to Disney being part of The Big Six, it is expected that their marketing of Frozen was so successful, digital distribution encouraging this success.

On Frozen's opening weekend, it grossed $67,391,326 (USA) and £4,704,940 (UK). Four months and two Academy Awards after its release, Frozen officially surpassed Toy Story 3 as the top-grossing animated film to date, which makes it the first billion-dollar movie to come out of Disney Animation Studios. Even if someone hasn't seen the movie, they've no doubt heard about it somewhere online. Between the official Disney promos, the YouTube video of a dad and daughter singing along in the car to Let It Go (nearly 15 million views) or the couple Sam and Nia miming and acting "Love Is An Open Door" in a car with their baby in the backseat (20 million views), Frozen is inescapable, which was exactly Disney's plan. Frozen is now out on DVD and Blu-Ray, and also available on Netflix and LOVEFiLM, in order to reach a wider audience. However, institutions may not always look upon digital distribution as such a positive thing, as many websites can allow the consumers to view films illegally online and for free, which means that the film will not be making its money back from the budget, which means the companies who worked on a film will lose profit. This was not such a huge problem for a massive film like Frozen, but for a smaller, low budget film such as Ill Manors, it can be.

Ill Manors could not afford to create such a large marketing campaign as Frozen's, yet online methods still successfully promoted the movie. Their trailer uploaded to YouTube currently has 740,990 views which is a dramatic difference to Frozen. Ben Drew was able to advertise Ill Manors through his album which he brought out prior to the film's release date. He was the one who directed the making of the movie. An Ill Manors website was also created to encourage the marketing of the movie. People are able to access the trailer from this website, view stills from the movie, a synopsis and the album based on the film. A Facebook account was also created in trying to promote this low budget movie by independant distributing company Revolver Entertainment. These methods of marekting all required Web 2.0 which helped the instituion to get their media product to reach their target audience of 18 and 18+ year olds. Those on the higher side of teenage years all use the internet, which is why using social media is an effective way to market a movie. In order for this media product to reach a wider audience however, the distribution company would need to consider more methods of digital distribution. This would of course mean more money needed for the production company, however is something that would boost their income from Ill Manors. Ill Manors grossed a figure of £256,288 at Box Office on its opening weekend, which is more than double of it's budget of just £100,000. It's a small amount of money at Box Office, however their profit was definitely successful.

The consumption of media products is affected by digital distribution in mainly a positive way. Those who are interested in a movie that has been advertised but do not wish to pay the extortionate prices of cinema tickets and food, are able to at some point access a film in the cinema, on the internet. Usually uploads of new movies have been put on the internet illegally, nevertheless this doesn't stop a consumer from viewing the content for free in the comfort of their own home. In some cases, viruses are then found on people's laptops and computers from viewing this illegal content which causes the consumers problems. Illegal downloads are all fun and games until your piece of kit pays the price.

Ultimately, digital distribtion holds the potential to affect the marketing and the consumption of media products quite significantly. The internet's popularity is continously escalating over the years, which has an impact on the must to go and see movies in a cinema because of the continuing development of technology.

Technical language

Representation of ethnicity

Slow tracking shot establishing location of smart wear character bumping into an old friend.

Over the shoulder shot of Tel and Benjamin, names made clear through sound - dialogue.

Shot reverse shot conveying the clothing of the two characters.

Tel wearing a necklace, with dreadlocks (mise-en-scene).

Benjamin in a slick suit (mise-en-scene).

Dialogue - "Bro" "Man" "Ganja" stereotypical 'black talk'.

Continuity within their conversation.

Benjamin's body language (mise-en-scene) is uncomfortable, tries to interpret 'black man' body language.

Location (mise-en-scene) - Plush hotel

Zoom into Ben's face when Tel says "that's the old Benjamin right there man" - he's uncomfortable, tension rises, absence of fact.

Question 2

Question 2

What is the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences?

Technological convergence is the tendency that as technology changes, different technological systems sometimes evolve toward performing similar tasks; they come together in one object. An example of technological convergence would be a smart phone such as an iPhone or Android. These devices perform an assortment of tasks all in one piece of kit. You are able to use a camera, access the internet, download movies and apps, use voice recorders, text and phone people, use social networking sites and film videos. Some iPhones have Siri which is a voice in the device that you can speak to and ask questions to, it replies to your question no matter what it is, almost like a friendly robot. It's almost inevitable that with progress, technologies become more complex and are most certainly able to handle more tasks. Digital Convergence has allowed Technological Convergence to happen; it's where you're able to previously separate technologies such as voice data video sharing resources and interacting with each other. A mobile phone will soon become a device that caters for all of your needs. 

The importance of technological convergence for audiences is that they have access to everything in one product, and for institutions it's that the audience are tied to only one product. The main positive of technological convergence that stands out is the fact that people have a more broad access to films; there's many more ways to watch a movie than in just the cinema. New technologies have affected film because when it comes to the consumption stage, there is an increase in Blu-Ray discs where the quality is in higher definition for the consumer, home cinema, online streaming, DVD and PVR's. Skyfall is an example of a movie that can be viewed on online video streaming sites such as Netflix and Putlocker. Exhibitors have responded to this by making the cinematic experience more unique for the audience to try and keep an audience visiting the cinema. Ways they have done this is through creating premium seats which are a lot bigger and more comfortable, along with D-Box seats which offer chairs with motion; your cinema chair is synchronised to the film and mimics movements and vibrations on screen - immersive cinema at its very best. It is also accessible through a disc on an xbox. The title of the movie is the title of the main song featured in this film, Skyfall by Adele. Her song was released before the film was brought out to advertise it. The official music video for this song contains footage from the movie, and the effects in the movie are the effects behind the lyrics in the lyric video as well. which is accessible on a smartphone. Media industries are diversifying so that they produce and distribute across several media - for example, a newspaper with an online version and audio podcasts or the coming together of video games with films e.g. Quantum of Solace and Avatar. Skyfall also has a game version on the xbox which helps to promote awareness of the movie and allow the audience to interact with the storyline and characters. Those who are interested in the game, would perhaps also be interested in viewing the movie and vice versa; this would not usually be the case if it wasn't for technological convergence. 

The internet acts as a hub and brings together many aspects of the film making process, such as the film itself, the trailer on YouTube, film poster, news, interviews, official film sites and blogs, fan sites and blogs. The downfall of this however would be the overall price of the cost for all of this. It's miles more expensive to bring out a game copy, work with a famous artist, advertise on tele and youtube and Facebook etc. 

The question is asked though how mobile phones are affecting film making at the production, marketing and exhibition stages? 

Question 2

Write an illustrated essay outlining all the ways possible to consume and produce films, with advantages and disadvantages.

The ways in which a film is consumed and produced is consistently increasing with technology, and an example of this would be Technological convergence. This is the merging of different technologies giving audiences access to media content (e.g. TV and films) from a variety of platforms in one system. Profliferation of hardware has changed audience consumption of film because in previous years you would usually have to wait until a film came out at the cinema to watch it, and there would be no access to online movie streaming unlike there is currently. Online, many people can access movies for free from sites like Putlocker and Megashare which would mean that the cinema would lose out on these profits. Therefore, it can be seen as a negative for the production company behind the movie, however a positive for those who cannot afford to go to the cinema. In the old days, only being able to watch a movie in the cinema puts pressure on the production company because it results in them having to compete against other films available in a highly saturated market, as audiences can consume films from numerous platforms. A positive with the proliferation of hardware however, for the distribution company, is that majors like 20th Century Fox would be able to spend more on advertising on areas such as the TV, radio stations and billboards where everyone would be likely to notice it. They'd also be able to develop more advanced web interactivity and print more copies of a film, whereas smaller companies such as Revolver Entertainment may not be able to take this risk without unknown box office returns.

Some positives of technological convergence would be that more people would have access to films from different platforms such as the cinema, online downloads, dvds and blu ray, iPhones and tablets whilst on the go. This would also mean that the audience would be able to watch any film that they fancy whenever they want to. Technological convergence also creates new opportunities for distribution and exhibition. The negatives of this however would be that the problem of piracy and lost revenue would grow which could effect production companies, and there would be less control on audiences by film distributors and exhibitors. This therefore means that if someone was to stream a movie online and they were only 12 years of age perhaps, they would have access to any movie regardless of it's certification. This results in young children watching movies that are extremely grown up for them and what should not be allowed to be watched by anyone younger than the classification number. 

Expanding on the topic of the cinema, this is an excellent way to consume a movie. You can go with friends which increases the profits and sometimes a bundle of people just go to spend time out together. A cinema offers a greater viewing experience than that of your home because the movie will be screened in high definition and sometimes 3D movies are created for the benefit of an audience. At the cinema you can buy snacks and relax whilst watching the movie, as every cinema room is large and has plenty of comfortbale room for everyone situated in there. Cinema's tend to make more money with food and drink than they do with the actual cinema ticket, without the food and drink sales cinemas would make an extreme lack of money and therefore there would be nowhere for new movies to be screened.

The television is a great way to consume movies, because channels like movies4men, moviemix and Film4 exist on freeview where movies are often aired to an audience. You can also use Netflix as a way to consume movies. Netflix has reported profits of $53m (£32m) during the first quarter of 2014, and revealed plans for a subscription price increase. The internet video streaming firm said it added 2.25 million new members during the period,  bringing its total global membership to 48 million. It also announced that a potential "one or two dollar increase" in monthly rates for new members later that year. This would be the downfall of streaming movies like this; the rate will always be increasing. The more successfull a company like Netflix becomes, the more they will charge for people to use their services.

Overall, there are many ways that an audience can consume films and many ways that production companies can produce films as the film industry will always continue to grow and develop the more technology that begins to evolve, along with the future ways to consume movies that will at some point develop also.