I need to show my understanding and knowledge, through case studies, of production, distribution, exhibition and consumption of audience. use the Avengers and The Woman in Black.
The Set Question
- The characteristics of cross media convergence and synergy
- How successful is the marketing of products and services in the media area studies
- The success and failures of marketing strategies used by media companies
- How key promotional strategies sell a product/service to an audience
- The significance of cross media and marketing in relation to the media area they have studied
- Change in technology
- Media ownership-who owns who?
- -my own experiences
Cross media convergence- everything on one device including mobile phone, pager, handheld game console, camera, e-mail, video camera, music player, dvd player, internet browser, backup storage.
If one company owns everything this can lead to problems...
They need you to become loyal to one media brand because they don't want you shopping around.
The Avengers has converged many different films into one film.
We could then watch the film on their phone, play the game on the phone, listen to the soundtrack on the phone, browse the web about the film on the phone etc.
Synergy- two or more things working together to make one thing better.
The film, Tv programmes, soundtrack, computer games, toys, promotional merchandise all in the same month. They use synergy to promote their film and products. For example by getting a toy about the Avengers the film is promoted, and by watching the film the toy gets promoted.
Globalisation-making the world one market place.
The internet has no national boundaries and is free. It is almost like telephones and books being free.
Q. How has the media convergence and synergy played a part in the media area that you have studied
Institution
More money- sell a number of products like film, soundtrack, toys and blu ray/dvd
Gives them control. If they control the convergence and synergy they can then control the production, exhibition and distribution because all products can be released at the same time.
Audience
Can get access to the film in a number of ways- focus audience-enjoy it more
Set answer
Always Institution in control, selling more products more effectively. Always Audience more access, more convenience, more involvement with the product.
Production
Avengers
The film came from other films made by the same company
The characters are played by the same actors
This film came from the Avengers comics
Disney/ Marvel
Woman in Black
Harry Potter effect- using Daniel Radcliff
Only have the book, so there is very little convergence and synergy
Distribution
Avengers
TV, radio, magazines and star profile
Internet pop ups, teaser trailers
Woman in Black
The trailer was originally played at the beginning of the last Harry Potter film
Teaser trailers
Posters minus Daniel Radcliff
Exhibition
Avengers
Cinema- box office
Dvd/ Blu Ray
Audience
Avengers
Young, Old
Play the game, merchandise, website
Woman in Black
Harry Potter Fns
Downtown Crowd- period dramas
Website, no game.
Practice Essay
I will be looking at The Avengers, which was made by Marvel and Disney, and The Woman in Black, which was made by Cross Creek and Hammer Films, to show how the film companies have used convergence and synergy to play a part in both British and American films. Convergence is where everything is put onto one device and synergy is where two things work together to make one thing better. In my opinion Marvel and Disney used convergence and synergy more effectively that Cross Creek and Hammer films because of the success of the films compared to the other.
Marvel and Disney used a kind of synergy in the production of their film. This is because they have used many Marvel film characters and put them into the one film to make that one film better and appeal to a wider audience as any fans of one of these heroes will go and see The Avengers to see them. They have used synergy in the production of the film as the comics that The Avengers film is based on will promote the film and the film will promote these comics. Also the same actors were used in The Avengers that played the heroes in their individual films, so this convergence of actors will attract a wider audience as fans of these actors will choose to go and see this film because it includes their favourite actors . The production budget for The Avengers was $220 million which allowed them to use this convergence and synergy to great effect.
However the Woman in Black used synergy to promote their film through the choice of their protagonist actor. This is because they chose to use Daniel Radcliff the lead role in the extremely popular Harry Potter series of film, which had just finished before the release of The Woman in Black. This means that any fans of the Harry Potter series or any fans of Daniel Radcliff would go and see The Woman in Black just to see him. There is no convergence with the production of the film as there is only a book previous to The Woman in Black film unlike The Avengers which already had comics and merchandise of it's own.
The Avengers used synergy during their exhibition by using a staggered release of the film across the world. This means that the release of the film in one country will advertise the release of the film in another because people will hear about the film and how well it is doing in other countries and will then choose to go and see the film when it arrives in their country. The way in which they made the film release so well known is by holding a premier which will may be covered on the news or on film websites. This helped the film become so successful.
The Avengers also used convergence during the exhibition of the film because they released the film in 3D, 2D and Imax which allows everyone to see the film as not all cinemas have the capability of showing 3D or Imax films so if there wasn't a 2D version of the film fewer people would have been able to see the film. Also not everyone likes a 3D film so the fact that they showed 3 different versions of the same film, often in the same place, allowed the film to appeal to a wider audience.
I will be looking at The Avengers, which was made by Marvel and Disney, and The Woman in Black, which was made by Cross Creek and Hammer Films, to show how the film companies have used convergence and synergy to play a part in both British and American films. Convergence is where everything is put onto one device and synergy is where two things work together to make one thing better. In my opinion Marvel and Disney used convergence and synergy more effectively that Cross Creek and Hammer films because of the success of the films compared to the other.
Marvel and Disney used a kind of synergy in the production of their film. This is because they have used many Marvel film characters and put them into the one film to make that one film better and appeal to a wider audience as any fans of one of these heroes will go and see The Avengers to see them. They have used synergy in the production of the film as the comics that The Avengers film is based on will promote the film and the film will promote these comics. Also the same actors were used in The Avengers that played the heroes in their individual films, so this convergence of actors will attract a wider audience as fans of these actors will choose to go and see this film because it includes their favourite actors . The production budget for The Avengers was $220 million which allowed them to use this convergence and synergy to great effect.
However the Woman in Black used synergy to promote their film through the choice of their protagonist actor. This is because they chose to use Daniel Radcliff the lead role in the extremely popular Harry Potter series of film, which had just finished before the release of The Woman in Black. This means that any fans of the Harry Potter series or any fans of Daniel Radcliff would go and see The Woman in Black just to see him. There is no convergence with the production of the film as there is only a book previous to The Woman in Black film unlike The Avengers which already had comics and merchandise of it's own.
The Avengers used synergy during their exhibition by using a staggered release of the film across the world. This means that the release of the film in one country will advertise the release of the film in another because people will hear about the film and how well it is doing in other countries and will then choose to go and see the film when it arrives in their country. The way in which they made the film release so well known is by holding a premier which will may be covered on the news or on film websites. This helped the film become so successful.
The Avengers also used convergence during the exhibition of the film because they released the film in 3D, 2D and Imax which allows everyone to see the film as not all cinemas have the capability of showing 3D or Imax films so if there wasn't a 2D version of the film fewer people would have been able to see the film. Also not everyone likes a 3D film so the fact that they showed 3 different versions of the same film, often in the same place, allowed the film to appeal to a wider audience.
When the Avengers was released in the UK it had to be renamed and altered slightly because there was a previous film in the UK that was named "The Avengers". They used synergy to promote this film in the UK because they could use the American version of the film "The Avengers" to promote the British version "Avengers Assemble".
During the exhibition of The Woman in Black they still used the synergy of Daniel Radcliff to promote their film by using the same actor of the popular Harry Potter series of films fans who had just finished watching the final Harry Potter film had the option to go and see one of their favourite actors in another film which brought in another target audience. This explains why the cut parts of the original film so that they could reduce the age rating to a 12a from a rating of 15 which allowed more Harry Potter fans to go and see the Woman in Black. They deliberately made the film too scary for twelve year olds and released news stories about this too attract many twelve year olds to the film because they would appear "cool" by going to see the film. Then they cut these parts out so that it could be given the 12a certificate so these children could go and see the film. This kind of synergy was used to promote the film to this audience.
The exhibition of the Woman in Black was promoted in other countries by using a sort of synergy similarly to The Avengers they had a large release in the UK with a large premier which advertised the film to the other parts of the world which the film was exhibited which attracted more people to see the film. This is what made the film such a success for a British film.
The Avengers used media convergence to distribute the film because people could watch the film on their phone either through a download or by streaming it through sites and apps such as Netflix, look at the website on their phone, see the adverts for the films DVD and Blu Ray release and play the game. This also uses synergy to promote all of these products and other non-digital products like merchandise. Other devices such a Smart TV's can be used to do the same activities as previously described with the smart phone.
The release of the Avengers products was staggered as the film was displayed in the cinema and then around 3 months later the DVD was released. This will mean that the film company will make more money from the than if they released the film in the cinema at the same time as they released the film on DVD because people would just purchase the DVD so they can see the film numerous times rather than just once. The wait between the cinema release and the DVD will help promote the DVD because people will be eager to buy the DVD so they can see the film or see the film again. Also now more commonly the DVD comes with a free digital copy which will allow people to view these films on their smart phones, tablets and other devices which is a way in which they can do all the activities outlined in the paragraph above all on the same device.
After the DVD release there is a short period of time before the film is put onto streaming sites such as Netflix or Love Film Instant because people who are desperate to see the film will purchase the DVD because they don't want to wait until the film goes onto these sites and then when the film is released on these sites the people who haven't bought the DVD will watch the film on them.
Finally after about a year or two after the original cinema release the film company will let a TV company buy the rights to show their film which is another way of getting money from the exhibition of the film.
The Woman in Black also used a staggered release to make the most money out of the exhibition of the film as possible and they did this in a similar way to the Avengers with the timing of the release. They also used cross-media convergence to distribute their film as they could do activities related to the film all on the same device such as a Smart TV or a smartphone. However it did this on a smaller scale compared to the Avengers. They similarly used synergy to promote their other products such as an online game and a small amount of merchandise as the film promoted these products and these products promoted the film.
There are too many companies to get a fully successful media convergence as all of these companies are owned by different people and they are all competing for the same business and until one company owns it all there will not be a complete media convergence. Companies include Netflix, Apple, Android, Sky, Amazon. These are all working to allow people to see the film on one device but all of these companies use different hardware to distribute a film.
During the exhibition of The Woman in Black they still used the synergy of Daniel Radcliff to promote their film by using the same actor of the popular Harry Potter series of films fans who had just finished watching the final Harry Potter film had the option to go and see one of their favourite actors in another film which brought in another target audience. This explains why the cut parts of the original film so that they could reduce the age rating to a 12a from a rating of 15 which allowed more Harry Potter fans to go and see the Woman in Black. They deliberately made the film too scary for twelve year olds and released news stories about this too attract many twelve year olds to the film because they would appear "cool" by going to see the film. Then they cut these parts out so that it could be given the 12a certificate so these children could go and see the film. This kind of synergy was used to promote the film to this audience.
The exhibition of the Woman in Black was promoted in other countries by using a sort of synergy similarly to The Avengers they had a large release in the UK with a large premier which advertised the film to the other parts of the world which the film was exhibited which attracted more people to see the film. This is what made the film such a success for a British film.
The Avengers used media convergence to distribute the film because people could watch the film on their phone either through a download or by streaming it through sites and apps such as Netflix, look at the website on their phone, see the adverts for the films DVD and Blu Ray release and play the game. This also uses synergy to promote all of these products and other non-digital products like merchandise. Other devices such a Smart TV's can be used to do the same activities as previously described with the smart phone.
The release of the Avengers products was staggered as the film was displayed in the cinema and then around 3 months later the DVD was released. This will mean that the film company will make more money from the than if they released the film in the cinema at the same time as they released the film on DVD because people would just purchase the DVD so they can see the film numerous times rather than just once. The wait between the cinema release and the DVD will help promote the DVD because people will be eager to buy the DVD so they can see the film or see the film again. Also now more commonly the DVD comes with a free digital copy which will allow people to view these films on their smart phones, tablets and other devices which is a way in which they can do all the activities outlined in the paragraph above all on the same device.
After the DVD release there is a short period of time before the film is put onto streaming sites such as Netflix or Love Film Instant because people who are desperate to see the film will purchase the DVD because they don't want to wait until the film goes onto these sites and then when the film is released on these sites the people who haven't bought the DVD will watch the film on them.
Finally after about a year or two after the original cinema release the film company will let a TV company buy the rights to show their film which is another way of getting money from the exhibition of the film.
The Woman in Black also used a staggered release to make the most money out of the exhibition of the film as possible and they did this in a similar way to the Avengers with the timing of the release. They also used cross-media convergence to distribute their film as they could do activities related to the film all on the same device such as a Smart TV or a smartphone. However it did this on a smaller scale compared to the Avengers. They similarly used synergy to promote their other products such as an online game and a small amount of merchandise as the film promoted these products and these products promoted the film.
There are too many companies to get a fully successful media convergence as all of these companies are owned by different people and they are all competing for the same business and until one company owns it all there will not be a complete media convergence. Companies include Netflix, Apple, Android, Sky, Amazon. These are all working to allow people to see the film on one device but all of these companies use different hardware to distribute a film.
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