"What significance does the development of digital technologies have for media institutions and audiences."
Introduction- Digital technologies such as smart phones, tablets and computers and social websites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram are essential for film production companies in order to market and distribute their films in the 21st century. It is important that film marketing companies keep up to date with technology as it grows rapidly. Large companies such as Disney have several Facebook pages for their films to promote upcoming sequels and new films to keep up with evolving technologies.
Pre film opening- Before film production companies have distributed films for public viewing, many companies hold preview events and ask for audiences' critiques. This causes a buzz of the new film. These filmed interviews of members of this audience can then be used in adverts which entices possible future audiences due to the good review. Cross media synergy is often used before a film's premier in the form of adverts seen on the television and also on websites such as Youtube before videos which can be viewed on phones, tablets, game consoles and computers. It has become quite common that young children make fan-made trailers of a film such as Disney's Tangled which add to publicity. This is critical for film distributors and production companies to predict popularity. Social 'buzz' created on the internet about potential actors in films before they come out for public release can also act as pre-production marketing. Press were keen to be the first to publicise the un-named actor who will play Mr. Grey in 50 Shades of Grey in 2014 even though the film will not be coming out until early 2015. Photos of the set and filming locations can be found easily on the webpages of news companies such as E!News and social bloggers such as Perez Hilton.
Production- Disney's film 'Tangled' was criticised in the news and by animators due to it being the first use of a new animation technology, an improvement from CGI which enables there to be no need for hand-drawn animation. Many amateur cartoonists were in uproar over the effect this would have on their livelihoods, creating bad press. Usually, this would cripple small production companies such as 'Sixteen Films' as they do not have the privilege of vertical distribution like Disney as if the film were to receive bad press, the film could still be distributed easily and cheaply. If a film is going to be in 3D or IMAX, this can attract investors as these new steps in technology are appealing to audiences. However large companies can be affected by bad press but are not as affected. Disney's film John Carter (2012), although in 3D and had a large budget of £153.1 million, did not receive a profit due to critical reviews before public release, crippling box-office sales, only receiving £18.3 million on its opening weekend.
After film opening- Many characters that have had 'meme's created about them have fan created twitter pages which act as free marketing for the company. This however only applies to large grossing films from very successful film companies such as Disney and its film Tangled which grossed a box office of £5.1 million in the UK. The film, although aimed at a target market of 5 - 12 year olds, had a large viewing audience of teenagers and young adults who have more access to the internet, allowing more 'word of mouth' marketing on social media, making its reach worldwide. This form of marketing is the most effective and cheap but cannot be relied on as a main form of marketing. Fortunately for the production company 'Bedlam' who produced 'The King's Speech', 'word of mouth' marketing worked extremely effectively. The production company relied on this as it only had the budget to distribute the film in a limited number of cinemas and slowly feed it into worldwide cinemas. In total, 'The King's Speech' made a gross of £85.1 million.
Exhibition- The film 'The Angels Share' produced by the company '16 Films' did not make much at the box office compared to Disney's 'Tangled'. 'The Angels Share's s considering it's limited viewer market (as it is certificate 15) and had a low budget, performance at the cinema was more than expected making a total of £185,000. Some say this is due to the fact that the director Ken Loach was well renowned creating awareness for the film. 'Tangled' made a gross of £5.1 million, 27 times the gross of Sixteen Films. in the 21st century, the cinema is one small way how people view films. One factor that will always affect all film sales is the audience finding a cheaper way to view the film through piracy and film viewing platforms like Netflix which enables films to be viewed on portable devices such as tablets. Most large films, such as Tangled do offer direct links to Netflix and LoveFilms on websites such as IMBD. Films take a physical form in DVDs which can then be watched on demand but do not cost the consumer after initial purchase, unlike Netflix, which causes the film to loose possible money.
Conclusion- In conclusion, although making and distributing films has become easier and cheaper for everyone, large companies such as Disney make more of a profit by using cross-media ownership ironically, dominating the market. In the future, I believe that eventually, viewing platforms such as Netflix will over take the cinema due to how expensive a cinema trip can be. It is possible that laws may be changed so that films can be distributed to Netflix and DVD sooner after release. Because of an increase in smaller, portable devices that take away the need for a DVD player and TV system, eventually, all technology may be synced, disallowing the use for DVDs and Blue-Ray.
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