Movie marketing: Film industry blog task

1) The film I have chosen is 'Captain America: Civil War'.
2)I chose this movie because although I haven't seen it myself, there was a lot of hype surrounding it when it first came so it seems interesting.

Institutional background:
1) The film studio behind this movie is 'Marvel Studios' which is a subsidiary of 'Walt Disney Pictures'.
2)The distributor for the theatrical release in the UK was the 'Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures'.

No Brand Loyalty:
1)This movie fits into the genre of action, adventure and sci-fi.
2) I can tell it fits into action and adventure because in the trailer, they seem to be preparing for a fight and they have
3) The film is part of an established franchise that is known for producing action movies. The directors have produced other action movies such as Captain America:Winter Soldier but they've also made comedies. The cast  is made up of successful actors/actresses that have already been part of other marvel movies and are commonly associated with their marvel characters.

Timing:
1)The release date was on the 29th of April, 2016 in the UK.
2) The first trailer was released on the 24th of November, 2015.

3) Part of their advertising campaign was partnerships with brands such as Audi and Pizza hut. Marvel also relied heavily on their dedicated fanbase. As an established franchise, they already had loyal fans and much of the campaigning was dedicated to engaging with fans. There was a twitter campaign where cast members actively engaged with fans.

Social:

1) Despite the huge box office success of the movie, the reviews were mainly negative:

The reviews clearly indicate that the consumers were previous fans of the marvel franchise as they frequently reference the marvel films.

Risky Business:

1) The original budget of the movie was $250 million.

2) In the opening weekend, the film made $179,139,142.

3) Overall the film made $1,153,304,495.

4)To be considered a box office success, the movie had to have surpassed $625 million. The film made almost double this amount.

Stars in their eyes:

1) The directors have also directed other marvel movies but only a few comedy projects(they won an emmy award).

2)The main stars include Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. and  Scarlett Johansson.

3)Chris Evans is mainly known for avengers movies, RDJ is known for a wide variety of films such as Iron man and Sherlock Holmes, Scarlett Johansson is known for marvel movies but also for films such as  "Her", which won an oscar.

4) The trailer mentions the actors in the title but no names are shown in the actual trailer apart from the title "Marvel".

Introduction to media-Index

1) Introduction to media
2) Key concepts (LIAR) and analysis of film poster
3)Introduction to photoshop: fruitbowl task
4)Denotation and Connotation
5)Blog feedback and learner response
6)Camera shots and photo storyboard
7)TV clip: Camera movement analysis
8)Camera work and editing task-Minority Report analysis
9)October assessment and learner response
10)Demographics and Psychographics-Photoshop audience profile
11)Audience theory-Blue planet analysis
12)Audience power and the internet essay
13)Reception theory:Harry Brown trailer analysis
14)Audience essay-feedback and learner response
15) Movie marketing blog task

Audience essay feedback and learner response

1) WWW-Taranpreet, I am so impressed with the commitment and effort you have shown me in your first term studying Media. If you carry on with this conscientious attitude then I have no doubt you will be able to achieve or exceed your high target. All your work is up to date even when you have missed lessons for exams and had to catch up in your own time. J You have clearly shown an aptitude for the subject and an understanding of the media language and theory we have studied since you are applying these to your own analysis of products and all of your written work. Your blog posts are detailed and you always try to get to the extension to push yourself. Well done.

Your essay on the power of audiences is well written with clear examples given for each industry. You have used media terminology (such as ‘User generated content’ and ‘platform’) accurately and confidently to enhance your examples. You have weighed up both sides maturely and given examples to back up your points which is very impressive at GCSE level. You write very nicely.

EBI- Could you examine the success of a film franchise such as Harry Potter, Marvel films or The Hunger Games or a TV drama series like Humans or Stranger Things and have a look at ways in which these films have used social media as a means of marketing? Look at marketing campaigns such as using hashtags, web sites, Apps, games, free downloads, Instagram / Snapchat to generate hype.  This will give your film and television section a wider scope when examining the advantages that the internet offers audiences. What are all the different options for how to access films and television, such as streaming, ‘appointment to view’, downloads, piracy and catch up? You have mentioned the ‘detrimental’ effects of binge watching but that’s a bit alarmist – I would say more about the fact that so much competition exists that consumers are saturated with content and people your age tend to have shorter attention spans and expect instant gratification (such as series’ all released simultaneously) and they prefer watching short sound bites or vloggers on Youtube.

In your introduction, you could also say some more general things about disadvantages and advantages of the internet such as the unregulated nature of the world wide web (meaning young people can access inappropriate material / films that are not suitable) and the dangers such as cyber-bullying, trolling and identity theft, to name but a few.

 LR- See blog. Re-do your introduction and focus on the TV and film paragraph. Also, add examples of a time when citizen journalism has made a difference to news reporting (e.g Grenfell Tower coverage, the Ian Tomlinson police incident) and an example of ‘fake news’ 

2) Introduction-89 words

    Paragraph 1-255 words

    Paragraph 2- 276 words

    Paragraph 3-132 words

    Conclusion-46 words

    Total: 798 words

3) I think my strongest paragraph was paragraph 1 because it included facts and statistics to back up my points and it made my reasons stronger as there was evidence to support it.

4) I think my weakest paragraph was paragraph 3 as I didn't include any facts and my points were more repetitive.

5) Introduction:

    I believe that the internet has given the audiences more power than ever before. With an almost constant access to the internet and technology, it means audiences have larger opportunities to share or produce content of their own. Consumers are becoming prosumers due to the rapidly increasing number of  'User Generated Content' (UGC). This means the power of the audience is increasing as well as their chances to share their own content. Audiences have the ability to do a lot more now than ever before.

    

Reception Theory

1) The preferred reading of a media text is  the intended message the producer wants the audience to receive. This is usually built on stereotypes in order to influence the consumer.

2) The oppositional reading goes against the intended message. It's when the consumer completely rejects the producer's intended message and creates their own message based on their personal experiences and beliefs.

3) The Harry Brown trailer portrays young people as dangerous and a menace to society. It uses stereotypes of teenagers in gangs to make the audience feel resentment towards teenagers. In the clip they're seen destroying property and going out of their way to make other people feel miserable. The preferred reading is that young people cause trouble and their idleness can lead to violence and crimes.

4) Young people might reject this reading as their experience of society is very different to an older person's experience. They could potentially view the actions of young people as a way to survive and protect themselves in rough estates whereas older people believe it is the young people creating the sense of danger and the older people that need protecting. They might create an oppositional reading in their favour: young people aren't criminals or thugs, they are just misunderstood by older generations. Their idea of entertainment and fun can be viewed as criminal activity but it's harmless and the trailer relies too much on old, inaccurate stereotypes.

5) The preferred reading of this poster is that this meal will fill you up and leave you satisfied. It looks appetising and will attract more customers. This will entice more people into buying this meal. All the extra information is written in small letters at the bottom, it is not as important to read it.

The negotiated reading is that although the sandwich will be very unhealthy and not good to eat very often, it is still tasty and can be eaten as a treat or occasionally. 

The oppositional reading is that eating meat is bad, it is cruelty to animals. The sandwich looks very unhealthy and greasy. The small writing is potentially an effort to hide information that could put the consumer off.

6)

The preferred reading is that this product has the ability to protect our hair from all heat products and our hair will look as healthy as the models. The gold could suggest strength and success which could imply that our hair will be strong and become more powerful than heat.

The negotiated reading is that our hair won't be completely protected but it can help repair damaged hair. We aren't shown all the styling and photoshop that is happening behind the camera.

The oppositional reading is that they are trying to use a successful star to hide the fact that the product isn't as effective as it seems. They have probably used a professional team of stylists to make the hair look shiny, strong and thick.

I agree that he portrays young people in a positive way because although he has to use negative methods to attract their attention, they just need someone to help them and guide them. Unless older people are willing to support young people, they will go astray and many young people are simply misunderstood.

Audience Power Essay

“The internet has given audiences much more power than ever before.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?



I agree, that new digital media has given audiences more power than ever before. With constant access to news and media, audiences are in a position where they have the power to share or produce anything they want. This means they can share their opinions in the comment section, express their agreements through re-tweets or even make their own thoughts public through forums and articles. Consumers are becoming prosumers due to the rapidly increasing number of 'User Generated Content'(UGC). Essentially, the audience has a lot more power.

In the music industry, the availability of computers and sophistication of home recording equipment and software has led to a rise in 'bedroom bands'. This is where wannabe musicians record and upload music from their homes: it's inexpensive and easier to do than getting signed by a big record label(e.g. Syco). An example of a successful 'bedroom band' is "Walk Off The Earth". One of their covers of a popular song went viral; now the original video has been viewed 180 million times and their channel has over 2 million subscribers. Although this allows aspiring artists to produce music for little money, it also means there is a lot of competition and it is harder to get noticed. There has also been a growth in the number of illegal downloads. As there is such a large number of UGC, it becomes harder for big industries to spot all of the piracy and it is getting increasingly difficult for these incidents to stop. Industries have less power and producers are losing a lot of money. Audiences have access to a lot of content(roughly 100 hours of music is uploaded per minute) through streaming sites(e.g. Spotify) and illegal downloads but as a result, many established artists are losing money and some have even banned streaming sites from using their music. For example, Taylor Swift staged a three year boycott on Spotify. Therefore, in the music industry, the audience has a lot of power and many consumers have the potential to become prosumers.

In film and television, TV shows and movies are available to watch at anytime, unlike before when you had to make an "appointment to view". Now, through platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer etc... audiences can watch shows whenever they want and they don't need to schedule a regular time for TV shows. These digital subscriptions are becoming extremely popular and Netflix currently has 109.25 million subscribers. The popularity of these sites means they are able to make their own original content. As a result,there is more choice for audiences. Subscription services still cost money so more people are using illegal software such as Showbox and Putlocker. Cinemas and DVD's are less popular and cinemas are losing approximately £220 million a year due to piracy. The changes in the film and TV industry are beneficial to the audience but they have a  detrimental effect on the producers. TV shows and movies are available to watch on a range of devices such as laptops, phones, televisions etc...  and therefore are more available for a wider audience. They can now be seen on mobiles so shows are watched more often; anywhere with an internet connection. This makes more money for producers as their shows are being streamed more often and creates a wider range audience. Although being able to watch more shows seems like a good idea in theory, it can also lead to 'binge-watching'. This is when audiences watch several episodes in rapid succession with little or no breaks. This can cause problems mentally, make the viewers more antisocial and sitting in one position for a long time can have drastic effects. 

The internet has even managed to affect aspects such as the news. Along with a rise in social media, there's also been a rise in 'citizen journalism'. Easy access to social media means people can reach a large audience in a short time, meaning news can be broadcast as it is happening. This means anyone has the ability to share news and become a citizen journalism. This sudden rise in citizen journalism means news is easier to access but on the other hand, it also means news is less reliable. Everyone can produce news and it's harder to differentiate between reliable news and "fake news"-a phrase that is becoming more and more common. As many people believe everything they see on a screen, it's easier to spread lies and inaccurate facts.

In conclusion, I believe the internet has given audiences more power than ever as audiences now have the ability to become prosumers and also affect the success and income of industries. The power that the audience has been given can have both positive and negative effects.