Essay 5 - Mr Ford

"Cross media convergence and synergy are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences". To what extent do you agree with this statement?

To a greater extent I agree with this statement. The process of Cross media convergence in social media can be argued as crucial for a successful marketing campaign due to the free use and the massive audience that uses it. Synergy is also an important process, which is the simultaneous release of two products. It boosts the success of marketing as it is much more affective than releasing single products because they are mutually beneficial. They also have a symbiotic relationship, this means that one product could not exist with out the other. With out the release of a new film, a book, magazine or video game would not be as successful.

It is a well known fact that Disney did a spectacular job of the marketing campaign for their latest Star Wars film - Star Wars: The Force Awakens. A very successful method of marketing is to release film trailers before the films is released. These trailers captivate the audience as they give them a very short insight into some of the events that take place in the film, but do not give away too much. This often leave the audience wanting to know more, which is why they go to see the film in cinema or purchase the DVD etc. Therefore it is important that the audience is made aware of these trailers. This is when cross media convergence has an impact on the marketing. Social media sights such as YouTube, with over 1 billion active users, are huge sights that audiences from all areas of the four quadrant turn to to view film trailers. If the film trailer appears on YouTube, which is highly likely for a mainstream film which is a part of a successful film franchise, it will increase the amount awareness of the release of the film. it will also  dramatically increase the availability for the marketing product as it is accessible to a much larger audience on a different media platform.


Along with the social media marketing, Disney also put a lot of effort into synergising with external companies (not in the film industry). It was easier for Disney to synergise as it was already a big, powerful, well respected and recognised media conglomerate. Companies through themselves at the idea of collaborating with the institution. For example, Disney synergised with a lot of supermarket companies to created orange packaging packaging. They proved the film by associating an everyday fruit with one of the characters from the film, R2-D2. The packaging was seen by millions of regular shoppers who purchased oranges. However it worked both ways, not only were Disney gaining recognition for their latest film, but the supermarkets chain were also benefitting. Due to the fact that Disney is so recognisable worldwide, it increased the sales in the oranges (and any other food item that was packaged with Star Wars). A very similar process occurred with other brands which included makeup (Cover Girl) and other industries. Both product were released simultaneously which benefited both Disney and the other institution.


Having argued that it is clearly essential for big media conglomerate companies to cross media converge and synergise with other media platforms, the independent companies also heavily rely on these processes. In order for niche films to be marketed successfully,they are going to have to compete with the larger blockbuster films. As discussed early Disney, a conglomerate film managed to to stretch to almost all areas of the four quadrant and work with a lot of different industries. This was made possible through having good financial strength. Unfortunately niche films do not have very big budgets, therefore they are not able to synergise with other companies successfully. In order to become reasonably successful, like Ex Machina, they need to rely on free marketing methods. One of the most powerful marketing strategies is to cross media converge with social media, due to incredible amount of users from all target audiences having access to this platform. Ex Machina used the free social media site, Tinder - with an estimate of over 50 million users, to kick start their marketing campaign. By incorporating the theme of the film and involving and interacting with the audience they managed to gain some recognition of the film. Not only did they gain some recognition but this new method of marketing was so original and unique that it attracted a lot of attention from the press. This resulted in the cross media convergence with YouTube - interviews would be documented on the site and shared through their network of audiences, newspapers and magazines which would reach the older spectrum of the four quadrant, TV time which would be broadcast to other audiences and even radio interviews. Although Ex Machina did not cross media converge and synergise to the vast scale that Disney did, it still proved that they needed that process to promote their film.


Personally, I would argue that cross media convergence and synergy are vital processes in successful marketing as it widens the availability of the product to bigger audiences. Incidentally increasing the awareness of the media product. By expanding into other industries, such as food and clothing, the media products are being promoted to a wider and more diverse audience.


In conclusion, regardless of whether a company is a media conglomerate or global institution or an independent company with limited financial strength, both have evidence of cross media convergence and synergy in one way or another and both were successful films. This is despite the fact that they are almost opposites as one is a huge mainstream film which is a part of a long film franchise which was produced, distributed and exhibited by Disney and other well respected, big institutions. Where as Ex Machina is a niche film produced by an independent company with much smaller budgets. In summary this again highlights the vitality of the two processes as no matter the size of the institution , it they are both proven to be a necessary process.
 

Representaion Of Gender

Textual Analysis -



The first scene in the extract is a hand held shot which positions the audience to focus on the male character placing his hand on the female characters back. Not only does this demonstrate a relationship between the two characters, but it represents a common stereotype of diary opposites between men and women. Male characters are often presented to be both physically and emotionally strong however, in contrast female characters often play the victim as they are thought to be weaker. In this particular shot the audience is focussed on the brave act of the male character as he comforts the female character to is clearly upset. Following the first scene we are introduced to our third character through a tracking shot which moves slowly toward the character. The Director using the tracking shot to zoom in from an establishing shot, this demonstrates to the audience the new environment. in a addition it also reveals that the female character is driving digger. This is a contrasting way to present a female character because generally female characters are presented to be doing less physically demanding job. However, soon after another male character, who is shown through a medium shot, starts to shout at the female to "stop" what she is doing. By choosing to use this imperative the male character is giving the female character a command. This contrasts with previous shot, where female character looks doesn't conform to popular generalisations as she is presented to be doing a physically challenging activity, as she is being told what to do and is therefore not in control.

The first two characters that the audience is introduced to in the extract, are obviously presented to be very contrasting through mise en scene. The female character is wearing more vibrant colours. For example her red top along with other darker features like her dark gilet and dark brown hair. Due to the fact that the pink contracts with her other dark features, she is not presented to be an evil character. however, she appears to be the more emotional character. This conforms to a typical idea that female characters are more emotionally expressive. In contrast to this, the male character is wearing very neutral, grey coloured clothes which suggest that he is more emotionally closed when it comes to revealing emotions. His hair is also lighter and fluffier which suggests innocence in comparison to the females darker brown hair. In the second scene when we are introduced to the contrasting female role, where she partaking in physical work          

Christmas 50

Textual Analysis Alphabet

A - Ambiguous time: Where the series takes place at a certain time in the past or future and in the same universe as ours, except for the story elements added by the author, but doesn't state anything specific. With in the context of a well-defined time-scene sequences may occur which ambiguous in time. This is most frequently communicated through dissolves and superimpositions.

B - Buffer shot: a bridging shot (normally taken with a separate camera) to separate two shots which would have reversed the continuity of direction.

C- Cross cut: a cut from one line of action to another also applied as an adjective to sequences which use such cuts.

D - Direct sound: Live sound. this may give a feeling of freshness or spontaneity and authentic atmosphere, but it must not be made acoustically ideal.

E -

Essay 4 - Mr Ford

"Media production is dominated by global institutions, which can sell their products and services to national audiences." To what extent to you agree?

The statement as to whether global institutions dominate media production is a complex argument but fundamentally, it would appear that they do have media domination. Using the film industry as an example, huge conglomerate institutions, who are also global institutions, produce large, big budget films that are usually very successful. The success benefits the big companies in many ways such as money, recognition, respect from smaller companies and other industries, etc. This is them control and power over the industry and other independent companies, which is why it is a common belief that they dominate the media production industry. However this is not to say that they dominate all areas of film industries as independent institutions such as DNA Films, who produce smaller cult films, can often be better at accommodating for specific target audiences better than big media conglomerates. 

These global institutions, also known as conglomerate institutions, are extremely money orientated. An example of the sheer volume money they have access to, was when Disney, a media conglomerate, purchased Lucas Film and along with it all the rights to the whole Star Wars franchise for $46 billion. This purchase was made without any additional external financing, they simply had the cash flow to make the investment. In addition, very shortly after, Disney followed up the purchase by announcing that they would also be creating six more Star Wars films as a part of the franchise. Due to the mass ownership of other companies by Disney in the film industry, it is vital that Disney generates a vast amount of money in order to pay for the huge infrastructure and overheads. This is why it is so important for the conglomerates to mass produce mainstream films (which guarantees more profit as it is aimed at all areas of the four quadrant); with huge budgets, such as the budget for Star Wars: Force Awakens which was $230 million, and massive marketing campaigns so that they create an enormous amount of profit. It is essential they generate cash to support their subsidiaries. Not only does Disney's financial strength allow them to produce successful blockbuster films that dominate the ox office but they also have the means to eliminate competition. Instead of competing with other successful or new and upcoming media companies, Disney can buy the company and along with eliminating the competition, they will also have access to everything the company produced in the past. This demonstrates the domination global institutions similar to disney can have, therefore agreeing with the statement, in media production as the money allows them to have control over hundreds of other media companies.

Domination in the film industry is often surrounded by the amount of success an institution has in their media products and a big part of success in media products, relies on the quality and quantity marketing. As mentioned previously, media conglomerate companies generate ver large sums of money. Evidently, they are able to ensure the success in their media products by excelling in the marketing campaigns. When considering the marketing for Star Wars: Force Awakens, Disney did not leave anything to chance. They spent over $29 million on the marketing campaign for the film which puts them at 38th place in terms of motion picture advertising budgets for the year. Not only did they use all their subsidiary companies to branch out into other ares of the film industry but they also synergised with other companies in the industries such as the clothes industry, where they released Star Wars merchandise; they synergised into the food industry when they collaborated with supermarkets, the make industry with brands such as Cover girl. Disney was able to achieve this domination through their incredible reputation and popularity This demonstrates the sheer scale of the media that Disney had the power to dominate.

In addition, not only does the financial strength give Disney the ability to have a strong marketing camapaign in Britain and America, but it gives them the ability to market internationally. The Star Wars franchise has never been popular in China due to the political climate when the trilogy was first released, but it wasn't until the release of the Star wars: Force awakens that they decided to target and attempt to expand their Chinese audience. The pulled publicity stunts including 500 stormtroopers lining the Great Wall of China and using Chinese celebrities such as Lu Han to promote trailers. The film became from almost non-existent to breaking records record for the best box office on a weekend  realise in China $33 million. Disney was able to use its subsidiary companies to expand world wide and promote its new product internationally, this demonstrates the influence that disney had soon the success of its media products and demonstrates how this global institution can impact internationally to audiences. 

Although it might appear the media conglomerates and global institutions dominate the whole of media production, there are intact other successful independent institutions. Although Ex Machina was a low budget film of $15 million and only managed to make $39.6 million in the Box Office which looks pathetic compared to Star Wars' $2 billion, the film was still a success. It is often the case the independent media companies produce smaller niche films because they simply do not have the financial strength to cover a big budget, blockbuster film. However, niche films are often produced to accommodate for only one area of the four quadrant. In Ex Machina, the target audience was around the ages of 15-24. Due to the fact that they had a much smaller target audience, they could focus on satisfying their target audience thoroughly. Where as in mainstream films produced by global institutions they can only touch on each area of the four quadrant. therefore the cult film could perhaps be considered higher quality to the target audience. However despite the high quality of production in Ex Machina by DNA Films and Film 4, they still did not have the resources to distribute the film to a worldwide audience. Therefore they had to synergise with a global institution Universal Studios to distribute their product. This again argues that media production is dominated by global institutions as independent companies do not have the resources to produce, distribute and exhibit their products.  

In my opinion, media productions is dominated by global institutions. This is because as the consumption of media products grows more accessible to more and more people, an increasing amount of money is being poured into the industry. This results in these huge conglomerate companies expanding even more as they have so much ownership in the industry therefore a lot of the money is being fed into their systems. This is increasing their success rate as they are being able to keep improving their media products and along with their success comes media dominance.

In conclusion I believe that media production is heavily dominated by global institutions who have the means to sell their products and services to national audiences. I believe that dominance in any industry can be achieved through wealth and there is not difference in the media industry. 

Representation of Age

Textual Analysis - Waterloo Road

Waterloo road is a British drama series that is aired on BBC 1. During the clip we have studied, age is constructed to reinforce the stereotypical binary opposite between young and old.

In the first scene of the extract, the director starts by using a following pan to follow the teachers shoes walking across the room. In addition, they use selective focus to position the audience to focus on the shoes opposed to the chairs he is moving past. Simultaneously, the director also incorporates the diegetic sound of the footsteps created by the walking of the older teacher. Using cross cutting, the director transitions the shot to a per down shot which introduces the audience to the students who are completing the suspicious act of attempting to hide the broken camera. This immediately gives the audience the impression that the teenagers are mischievous, this conforms to the common generalisation that teenagers have the ability to commit rebellious acts.

The director then uses a variety of master shots and over-the-shoulder shots which involves all the characters that are the focus of the scene. These are edited together using the shot-reverse-shot technique to capture the conversation. This allows the audience to view one character who represents a stereotypical middle aged man in relation to two of his students who are younger teenagers. It also demonstrates the dialogue exchanged between characters. The two teenagers attempt to cover up their guilty act however the teacher out smarts them with the sarcastic comment "holding his hair back". The director has included the middle aged teacher out-smarting the younger students. Again, this follows the stereotype that, in contrast with the teenagers, adults are often intelligent and smart. In addition - at first glance, the teacher is presented to be smartly dressed. However, throughout the clip the audiences attention is often drawn to the knitted cardigan worn underneath his suit. Typically this item is thought to be unfashionable and therefore presents the character as conforming with the generalisation that old people often have an outdated fashion sense.

In the second scene of the extract, the director uses a crab left shot to introduce the two new characters. Through the use of mise en scene, the audience can immediately see the difference between the representation of the older character in contrast to the younger character via their costumes. Through cut editing the crab left shot transitions to a two-shot of the student and the teacher engaging in conversation.

Next, the director uses an establishing shot to introduce a new location from a vantage point however this is quickly transitioned to a long shot of two students. This is accompanied by the diegetic sound of murmuring voices which will allow the audience to feel more engaged in the scene. Again, through mise en scene, the three characters are presented as being chavy, a common stereotype associated with teenagers. Key features such as 'bling' jewellery and loose ties are made noticeable due to the fact that they are filmed through a medium shot which reveals a large proportion of their costumes. Another big indication that the characters rebelling presented as 'chavy' is the diegetic sound. The dialogue highlights pronunciation and colloquial expressions used by the teenagers.

There is a scene of conflict between two of the students that occurs during the extract. Initially, the scene is filmed through two different over-the-shoulder shots, one pint of view to another, these are transitioned through continuity editing. The director then transactions to an establishing shot, this gives the audience an indication of the location of the conflict but it also reveals in the situation.      

Essay 3 - Mr Ford

What impact does media ownership have upon the range of products available to audiences in the media area you have studied?

Media ownership is having control of a mass of media products. The scale of ownership often depends on the amount of money the company earns. A big and wealthy  institution can buy out other smaller companies in the industry, they therefore have ownership of these smaller institutions and they become subsidiary companies. These wealthy institutions are called conglomerate companies because all the profit and money made as a result of the subsidiary companies remains in the conglomerate. This relates to Walt Disney Studios which were the producers of Star Wars: Force Awakens. On the other hand there are independent institutions, such a DNA films, which do not have much media ownership and therefore have to synergise with other independent companies. This can have a huge impact on the range of products available to audiences.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was produced my Walt Disney Studios, a conglomerate company that is recognised for being one of 'The Big Six' media companies that dominate and control 90% of the industry. A media conglomerate is a company that has ownership of numerous smaller companies involved in the industry in various sectors including production, distribution and marketing. Walt Disney Studios has ownership of nine different institutions excluding its self, these include; Touchstone pictures, Lucasfilm (producer of Star Wars), ABC Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment. If Disney, the conglomerate, alone does not have the capability of creating certain products, it can vertically integrate with its subsidiary companies to create the product in demand. This results in the media conglomerate, Disney, having the competence to create a huge range of products. Due to the fact that Disney was responsible for all aspects of Star Wars: Force Awakens production, distribution and marketing it had to vertically integrate with Lucasfilm, one of its subsidiary institutions, to produce the film. However because the company was owned by Disney, all profits made remained in the conglomerate. Another example is when Disney used ABC Entertainment to market the new Star Wars: Force Awakens film by having the anchors from ABC showed up on 'Good Morning America' (A popular American chat show) dressed as Star Wars characters. This highlights that media conglomerates can use all of its subsidiary institutions, which specialise in a variety of areas with in the industry, to create a wide variety of audiences. Along with creating the products, the companies also help to cater for different groups from the four quadrant which will improve the availability of the products.

Star Wars: Force Awakens is a vertically integrated film. Vertical integration is where an institution has ownership of the means to produce, market and distribute a media product, as a result of this they will receive all profits made from the product. In order for Disney, a conglomerate institution, to complete production process, it had to vertically integrate through its subsidiary company, Lucasfilm.  In contrast, horizontal integration is where a company expands into other areas of the industry. This means that the company can develop in a particular area of production or they can buy out companies that deal with these areas.Both types of integration involves companies working together, this could result in the production of a bigger range in products because the companies can have an influence on each other.

In contrast to conglomerate companies, we also have independent companies. These are predominantly smaller institutions that have no input from major studio companies, therefore it works on its own. The domination of media conglomerates results in the smaller/individual production companies having little media ownership. This can often damage the overall profit created from the niche films they have to synergise with other separate companies that specialise in a particular are such as distribution or marketing. This means that the independent institution would have to share the profit with the company that it synergised with, which results in less money being made. This often means that independent companies do not have the financial strength to fully produce a film individually. Due the fact that DNA films, which is an independent institution, was the producer of Ex Machina, it did not have the means to produce the film on its own. Incidentally the company synergised with Film 4 studios which would improve the end product ex Machina as the companies could combine each others equipment, money, name and popularity. However, despite the successful product, there was no cross convergence which resulted in a lack of products relating to the film. Despite the two companies combination of money, they still only had the budget of $15 million which is not a lot in comparison to Star Wars: Force Awakens $306 million budget. This resulted in a high quality film but no excess money to spend on film related products and tie products. This could be proven by the lack of marketing for the film.

Another aspect of media ownership that can have an impact on the availability is synergy. This is where two different media platforms work together to use an idea that can be promoted but that benefits both of them. In addition, as a result of Disney's popularity other companies, not involved in the media industry, were willing to collaborate to promote the new, up and coming film in order to gain recognition for themselves. Collaborations with companies such as Covergirl, Hot wheels, Duracel batteries and Tesco could be seen months before the release of the film. Synergy is a clever marketing strategy especially for a media conglomerate that produce mainstream films. This is because these films are made to captivate all areas of the four quadrant. Incidentally, the marketing campaign also needs to be available for all ages.

Cross media convergence is where two or more companies work together to produce, distribute or exhibit a film. DNA films and Film 4 cross media converged with Invada Records (a part of the music industry) to create the Ex Machina sound track. Geoff Barrow composed the songs and then with the collaboration of the record company, they were able to distribute the soundtrack on to CD, Vinyl and enable it to be available for download and streaming. This system can help film institutions produce a wider variety of products as they are cross media converging with other companies that specialise in other area of the media industry (i.e. the music industry). This will be available to more audiences in the four quadrant as the different product will cater for different people.

In my opinion, media ownership is often to do with the financial strength of a company. If the institution is worth a lot of money, it is easy for the institution to expand by purchasing other production companies, which is where it then transitions to a media conglomerate. This then gives it control and power, which enables it to produce any product that the company thinks it can sell and make profit from.

Overall, media ownership does have a large impact on the range of products available to audiences. Media conglomerates, due to their financial strength, they hugely dominate the media industry. This results in them having access and ownership of institutions thats specialise in other areas of industry who will produce the product in demand, therefore expanding the range of products. Horizontal and vertical integration wide the variety of products as companies are collaborating together to create new products thats they do not already of the means to create. Independent companies who have very little ownership and money do not produce a range of products, as seen by Ex Machina - a niche film. Lastly, Synergy and cross media convergence are also the process of companies working together to produce that will benefit them both, often expanding in to other ares of the media industry.

Past Exam Questions

Audience and Institution Questions

January 2010

“Media production is dominated by global institutions, which sell their products and services to national audiences”. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

June 2010

What significance does the continuing development of digital media technology have for media institutions and audiences?

January 2011

Discuss the issues raised by media ownership in the production and exchange of media texts in your chosen media area?

June 2011

“Successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution to a specific audience as they do upon good production practices”. To what extent would you agree with this statement, within the media area you have studied?

January 2012

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

June 2012

"Cross media convergence and synergy are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences." To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to your media area?

January 2013

What impact does media ownership have upon the range of products available to audiences in the media area you have studied?

June 2013

Evaluate the role of digital technologies in the marketing and consumption of products in the media are you have studied.

June 2014

The increase in hardware and content in media industries has been significant in recent years. Discuss the effect this has had on institutions and audiences in the media area you have studied.