Essay Plans And Practice: Section B

I need to show knowledge and understand through case study materials in any of these areas. I will be assessed on my ability to illustrate patterns of production, distribution, exhibition and consumption through relevant case study examples. I must use my two case studies which are: The Avengers and The woman in Black.

The Set Question

• Cross media convergence / synergy
• Marketing Product
• Success and Failure
• Promotional Strategies ( Sell to the audience )
• Cross Media / Marketing ( Global v Local )
• Technology has changed
• Media Ownership ( Who owns who )
• My own experiences

Definitions 

• Cross Media Convergence = Everything on one device ( E-mail, Mobile Telephone, Paper, Handheld Game Console, Camera, Video Camera, Music Player, DVD Player and Internet Browser ) 

• Synergy = Two or more things working together to make 'The Whole' stronger. ( The film, TV Programmes, Soundtrack, Computer Games, Toys, Promotional Merchandise and Magazine Articles all should happen within a month. 

• Globalisation = Making the world one market place. The internet has no boundaries.

Question Example

How has media convergence and synergy played a part in the media area you have studied?

Set Answer:

The INSTITUTION in control, selling more product more effectively. Always AUDIENCE more access more convenience more involvement with product.

Practice Essay

In my essay I am going to be looking at both The Avengers and the British film The Woman In Black which was both released in 2012. The companies that made these films was Disney/Marvel and Cross Creek and Hammer Films. Im going to look at how the production, Distribution, Exhibition and the Audience was carried out with these two films. The film companies use Media convergence and synergy to promote their film more effectively to their potential target audience. Media Convergence is a term where large companies are trying to encourage using a single device for an example an iPhone gives you access to everything such as the Internet, Music, Films, Etc... Synergy is about all the promotional methods that carried out at the same time.  

I believe that The Avengers used Media convergence and synergy a whole lot more than The Woman in Black. I think this because Disney and Marvel are worth billion's of dollars when Cross Creek and Hammer Films are as not so popular. The Avengers is a sequel so the films before would already of had a market as a lot of people would known the Avengers. The Woman in Black was the first film so had no previous Buzz about it although the main character ( Daniel Radcliffe ) is more commonly known as Harry Potter already has a massive fan base and they realised their first trailer on the last Harry Potter film. Disney sold marvel before and because of its massive success Disney re-bought Marvel and all the characters for around 4 Billion dollars so they could create this film. Not only did The Avengers have a previous film, they also had comics which was very popular and these progressed into their individual films which was also hugely popular.

Exhibition

Exhibition means the showing of a media product, the following is many examples of this.

Cinema:

The Cinema is the important thing to the film company as that is their most reliable source of income.  In the 1940's most people would go to the cinema on a weekly basis maybe even three or four times a week but in the modern day the cinema industry is not as popular. The film company will want the population to go to the cinema to see the film as many times as possible and normally the biggest hit films depend on how successful they are in the cinema.

Blu-Ray:

Blu-Ray are film which have a higher definition picture quality than the standard disc film. The Blu-Ray films are normally released around a month after the film has come out of the cinema as people may spark up and interest about the film again. Blu-Ray sets can be bought but they was more commonly found on consoles. The film Companies are relying on you that you already have the expensive equipment to watch Blu-Ray on.

Download:

Downloading films is where you can watch films online using sites such as Netflix. Netflix would set you back around £5.99 a month but would always be available to you wherever you are. Using sites such as Netflix is not the physical act of purchasing a DVD and also most films will be out dated by a year or two but it is available on more than one device.

'Sky':

Sky broadband can also be purchased as a package as you can have the TV, Internet as all the movies and everything for a set price a month. Sky will pay the film company for the film and if the film company choose to sell their rights to Sky they may not be able to sell it to Netflix or any other download sites.

Record TV:

To be able to record certain Tv programmes you must already own a Tv and a sky box. For a Film company to sell their rights to a TV channel they wouldn't get a lot of money but a lot of people would see there film. They would put the first film on just before they release the second one out in the cinema the thinking behind this is that hopefully loads of people will watch your film on the TV and then go see the second one in the cinema.

Mobile/Tablet:

Mobile and tablet are not a massive streaming system but you will still have to pay for the phone and/or tablet and then the mobile roaming data so it can become quite expensive to the consumer but you can get Netflix and other download sites on your Mobile/Tablet

DVD:

The film company will get there money through the sales of DVD's but they are slowly dying out as they are not as popular as they used to be. DVD's may not be around in the next 5 years as watching films have taken over and more film companies are putting there films online.

Illegally Download:

Film companies will not get any money from illegey download as the consumer does not pay for the product.

Cinema Ticket £16
Blu-Ray Machine £100
Blu-Ray Console £150
Internet Access £10
Blu-Ray Disc £30
HD TV £500
DVD Player £30
DVD's £20
Netflix £5.99
Sky Package £360
Recorder £100
TV Licence £150
Mobile/Tablet £200
Mobile Data £120
Total price to enjoy two films for one year = £1,791.99

What Is Film Distribution

Films can be conceived in many ways. They can be started from a genius idea of a powerful spark of the imagination but how do films really get themselves heard? The film companies themselves create the film but then they can pass on the responsibility of promoting their film to the distributions companies. Many bigger film companies sometimes may do both. Distribution is the highly competitive business of launching and sustaining films in the market place. 
Films don't become talking points, or find their place in the world, by accident. The distributor's challenge is to bring each one to market by:

• identifying its audience
• considering why they'd go and see it
• estimating the revenue potential across all the formats of its release
• persuading exhibitors (cinema operators) to play the film
• developing plans and partnerships to build awareness of and interest in the film
• aiming to convert as much interest as possible into cinema visits

 The UK has six major distribution companies which are linked directly to the Hollywood Studios and also many smaller independent distribution companies.  

Film Facts: The Woman In Black/ The Avengers

British Film/Us Films: An Introduction

The Woman in Black:

Ownership: Susan Hill and her publishing company (Hamish Hamilton) own the woman in black. The production companies are Cross Creek Pictures, Hammer Film Productions and Exclusive Media Group.

Costs and Budgets: The woman in black had a budget of $15 million.
Woman in black do not have AN APP.

Production: The Woman In Black was filmed in several different places around Britain, including Essex, Northamptonshire and Peterborough. The cameras used in production were:

Arricam LT, Zeiss Master Prime Lenses Arricam ST, Zeiss Master Prime Lenses The main cast for The Woman In Black was Daniel Radcliffe, Ciaran Hinds, Janet McTeer and Liz White. The Director is James Watkins who had previously directed Eden Lake.  The screenplay was done by Jane Goldman who has previously co-written X-Men: First Class and Kick-Ass. Kave Quinn was the production designer.

Marketing: There are 9 Trailers for The Woman In Black. There marketing spend was around 3.5 million. The Woman in black was promoted in many different ways. These include Facebook and many other social networks, Posters, On a side of a bus and it was all over the internet as banners and trailers. It was also promoted via reviews in newspaper which is good advertisement for the film. The most effect way of advertisement is something that the film company has no control over what so ever. Word of mouth is very powerful but you can't by it. They also realised a new film which helps promote the old one because people will think that they have to see the original one first.

Exhibition: In the UK The woman in black was showed in 348 different cinemas. The film stayed in the cinemas for roughly 4-6 weeks and got $20.8 million in its opening weekend.

Purchase/Ownership:

The Avengers:

Ownership: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. They created the comic books, which were called Marvel Comics, and then Marvel Studios made the film. The producer of the film is Kevin Feige who had the final say with what happens to the money.

Costs and Budgets: The Avengers had a budget of $220 million.

Production: The Avengers was shot in loads of different states across the US; Albuquerque New Mexico, Ohio, New York and LA. The cameras used in production were: Arri Alexa, Panavision Primo, PCZ and Frazier Lenses

Arriflex 435, Panavision Primo Lenses

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon Lenses

Canon EOS 7D, Canon Lenses

The main cast for The Avengers is: Robert Downey, Jr.

         Chris Evans

         Mark Ruffalo

         Chris Hemsworth

         Scarlett Johansson

         Jeremy Renner

         Tom Hiddleston

         Clark Gregg

         Cobie Smulders

         Stellan Skarsgård

          Samuel L. Jackson

The Director is Joss Whedon had previously directed Buffy The Vampire Slayer and The cabin in the Woods. The screenplay was also done by Joss Whedon. James Chinlund was the art/production designer.

Marketing: There are 34 trailers for The Avengers there marketing spend was around 55 million. The Avengers also advertise is loads of different ways but a lot of them had comparisons to the way the woman in black advertise although because The Avengers is a bigger film and spent a lot more money. They also promoted using posters, billboards, trailers, etc...

Exhibition: In the USA 1,700 cinemas showed the film,  and it stayed in the cinemas for around 4-6 weeks. On the opening weekend it got $392.5 million which covered the budget inn the first 3 days.

Purchase/Ownership:

-30 minute live global twitter chat
-Robert Downey JR Black 'Sabbath T shirt' (Ironman) ACURA car
-'Superhero Augment Reality ...' 'Avengers Alliance Apps...'