Broken notes

Broken Notes
On the 27 March we were visited by the producer of the British film Broken. During her visit she answered many questions and gave us a talk on the production of the film, below are some notes taken during the talk.

• Media Ownership
• Originally Collin Firth was attached to the film but firth pulled out which caused an external financier to pull out taking away 2 million dollars.
• BBC film, BFI, Bill Kenwright chairman of Everton funded the film
• The film was originally a book
• To produce the script for the film, the script was constantly re-drafted several times; in the source text there were much more deaths and more characters however, this was edited in the script as they believes it was too "doom" and "gloom".
•  It cost 2.2 million pounds to make
•  When producing a film you can defer fees i.e an actor signs up asks for said amount, you pay him/her half when the film makes money you pay the rest.
• BFI turned down the film 3 times.
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• Cross Media Convergence and Synergy.
• Broken has an OST by BLUR
• The OST was released onto ITUNES
•  The money made from ITUNES doesn't go directly to the producers
• The main actress from the film  Eloise Laurence sung at the premier of the film at cannes film festival. 
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• Technology
• The film was shot on 16-mm which was more expensive however this was done for aesthetic reasons. They used the digital conversion process to distribute the films easier.
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• Proliferation of Hardware and Content
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• Technological Convergence
• The film was promoted via Steven fry's twitter page.
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• Targeting of Local and Global Audiences
• They did market screenings - to work out a potential market for the film.The film performed, well with women in their 30's.
• When played overseas British films can be distributed by the big 6 i.e the full monty was distributed by fox.
• One way of improving the marketability of a film is by entering film festivals and winning awards which generate good word of mouth.
• When an independent film is produced there's an external sales company which create marketing strategies i.e finding film festivals to screen said film.
• It cost 2.2 million pounds to make.
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• Media Consumption and Audience Behavior

What are the benefits of 3D films for audiences and producers

What are the benefits and the negatives of 3D films for  audiences and producers ?

What are the benefits of 3D films for audiences and producers?

Source: Business insider

As a result of the popularity of 3D films in recent years this has caused a rise in the installments of 3D screens in theaters. As evidenced by the knock on effect of the film Avatar's box office performance with there only being 9,000 3D screens in 2009 worldwide and in 2012 a significant jump from only 9,000 to 43,000 screens.

This as a consumer benefits us as we have more or a variety in ways to consume film, furthermore its much more easier for us now to access these new film formats. As a producer this means distributing a 3D film is much easier than it would be say in 2005 with only 98 cinemas housing 3D film projectors. This also means that producers no longer have to fear as much when producing a 3D film will it receive a mass audience as compared to a standard 2D film.

According to an article written by Hugh Langley for Total film, Langley claims that 3D benefits we as an audience as it allows us to be even more immersed in the narrative and setting of the film; allowing us to interact with the environment of the film much more effectively. He goes on to claim that revisiting 3D films such as Hugo and Coraline in 2D just seems "cold, distant and flat".

Furthermore Langley proposes that 3D for producers is a solution to the threats of piracy and on demand services that are threatening cinemas, "3D is putting bums on seats". Meaning that 3D is bringing in audiences in an age when consuming film has so many alternatives. This benefits Producers as the fear of loosing money to piracy in someways is lessened to how it was post- avatar.

Langley also suggests that we as audiences are allowed to consume classic films that we may not have seen but can now due to 3D re-releases. "It's given a new generation a chance to see classics revived on the big screen, and for others to relive them from a whole new perspective". This benefits audiences as we can watch classic titles now return on the big screen in a new format but this also benefits producers as they can potentially convert older films that were both critically and commercial successes into 3D films and some form of success can be made as compared to producing an entirely new film this process should be cheaper.

Source: Business Insider

Another benefit of 3D films for producers is that they earn a lot of money. According to the business insider, 9 of the top 15 highest grossing films of 2012 were in 3D contributing to make 2012 the biggest projected box office earnings so far making $10.8 million worldwide.

What are the negatives of 3D films for audiences and producers?

For consumers of film the rise in 3D films has meant an increase of the average ticket price. In 2012 the regular ticket price for a 2D film rose to around $8.12, if one wants to purchase a 3D ticket we as consumers must pay somewhere between $10 to $18.50.



The increase of 3D films since 2005

Another result of the popularity of 3D films that can be considered as a negative as it has caused an increase of of 3D films being released every year. In 2013 it is estimated that 39 films will be released in a 3D format in the U.S. The problem this poses for some consumers is that what if there are audiences that simply don't like the idea of 3D. Moreover there is the chance that these 3D films offer nothing to add to the viewing experience and are simply just "cash grabs"; a way of producers and film makers to shelve any film regardless of the quality of  how 3D adds to the experience and just charge extra for a ticket.

For producers the negatives 3D films offer is that producing a 3D film is much more expensive than producing a 2D film as evidenced by the graph on the right.Source - cost of 3D movie by falsecreekproductions.com.

Furthermore it is apparent that 3D conversions are not selling as evidenced by Disney's sales in their 3D re-releases.  According to the business insider none of Disney's re-releases have lived up to their projected sales. From this one may suggest that for producers 3D films are expensive to produce but also pose the chance of simply not selling; becoming a box office bust in a way.






What are the benefits of HFR films for audiences and producers?

For audiences the benefits of HFR films is that there is that there is reduced motion blur and allows more clarity when viewing films. According to the Den of geek.com HFR can also improve our viewing experience as it removes "the rather gloomy pall we usually associate with 3D film."

Moreover Director Peter Jackson claims that HFR offers more a immersive viewing experience to audiences allowing them to interact with the setting and environment of the film's narrative in greater detail.

For producers the development of HFR films allows new waysof telling stories in film. Furthermore Producers can also charge more for a ticket similar to how producers charge more for 3D viewing as marketing it as the premium viewing experience.

What are the negatives of HFR films for audiences and producers?

According to an article written by Vincent Laforet the problem HFR poses for viewers is that its so clear that, "It's like being on a film set in person: all of the magic is lost. You get to see behind the curtain and you're no longer under the spell."

Laforet goes on to mention that he's viewing experience felt like a "Universal Studios "4D" Ride ...where everything is painfully fake, but at least THERE you're moving fast enough on that ride to forget that and you can let yourself be distracted by the thrill of the ride."

He then went on to claim that it felt like watching a really cheap British TV soap that "just looks plastic."

To summarise Laforets points he the downsides to HFR is that because everything is so clear we as an audience react to these films as if we are watching a cheap soap opera due to how we have been trained to viewing films in a certain way because of previous viewing experiences.

Moreover another downside for audiences for HFR screenings is that because filmmakers and costume designers and other designers are so accustomed to using design methods that would work more for 24 fps on 48fps we the audience can see so much clarity and detail, we can also see how fake these designs are which take us away from the immersion of the worlds that is attempted to be crafted.

According to the Den of Geek this can be best seen in scenes which contain CGI; "We look at an actor, whose every skin pore and arm hair can be made out with perfect clarity, then the monster he’s fighting, and we can see how different the digital textures look."

This may also pose a problem for producers and film makers of HFR films as more money may have to be invested in order to develop new design methods such as set and props to counter this "fake" looking problem.

Another problem that HFR poses for producers but more importantly distributors is that if HFR becomes a norm similar to the rise of 3D films many cinemas would have to upgrade most of their projection equipment which can cost up to $1 million per screen.

What makes a successful 3D film according to working title films?
According to working title films 3D films that are post converted never work, they believe that this type of 3D film doesn't add to the viewing experience. That said they mentioned 3D works well when it is built from the ground up . Currently Working title still film their films such as Anna Karenina on film but do plan in the future to use digital.



Cinema Exhibitor's Association Annual Report 2011

Cinema Exhibitor's Association Annual Report 2011

Why have attendances in increased?

 Recently the figures for cinema attendance has increased because of technological developments such as 3D which has managed to attract audiences by marketing 3D as a feature that would enhance audiences viewing experience.

Television shows are also screened in cinemas which also attracts audiences.

What is the DFP And VFP?

 DFP - Digital Funding Partnership was established by the CEA to support small and media sized cinema operators seeking to switch from traditional film reel to digital.

VFP - Virtual Print Free refers to a subsidy paid by a film distributor for the purchase of digital cinema projection equipment for use by a film exhibitor or cinema in the presentation of newly released films.

What may happen to those who don't use the DFP?

 By the end of 2012 those who do not use the DPF may not be able to receive new films and may go bankrupt as a result. This is because of how distributing digital films are cheaper this is why distributors are switching to digital.

What problems face 'alternative content?

BBFC must rate the alternative content that is shown in cinemas which costs money; this serves as a deterrent for cinemas

Maintaining the model

Today's business practices are built around existing and historical practices

This needs to remain as the predominant methodology for at least 8/10 years to allow cinemas the time to recoup their outlay and take full ownership  of the equipment

new practices e.g. early VOD, restricted copies ,may challenge the model and make life very difficult for a number of cinemas over the period

Extra notes

Financial - converting film cinema screens to digital

• Cost - 50k per screen + finance of other costs
• Major distributors unwilling to accept lower standard
•  No or minimal public support
• Current funding mechanism - VPF is complex and difficult for small individual operators to enter
• General Banking and Economic environment

VPF explained

• Sum of money paid to a cinema when a film is played on a DPF supported system on the release of a film.
• If a cinema plays enough first run films over the funding period, say 10 years, then it covers off about 75/80% of the equipment and finance costs.
• A good proportion for major commercial operators
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 DPF

 

• By collecting all the indie cinemas to raise the funds together they can all enter the VPF - All cinemas benefit.

Technical and Logistical

• Competition for equipment and technical expertise for psychical installations
• Space and Facilities required in projection Booth
• Training and mindset - some people don't like digital films
• Loading and playing content
• Unlock Keys for encrypted content
• A new way to operate - you have to train those use to 35mm to use the hard drive

Representations in TV drama - Hollyoaks

Representations in TV drama - Hollyoaks

• Hollyoaks
• Season 22
• Channel 4
• Duration 23:03
• Method of watching: Online
• Genre: Soap

Closed Narrative - A narrative that features a clear beginning, middle and end (equilibrium, disruption and new equilibrium). The narrative is linear and runs in a smooth straight line with no interruptions. For example this type of narrative structure can be found more in film

Open Narrative - A narrative which does not feature a clear cut  beginning, middle and end narrative structure and may feature ongoing cliffhangers to drive the Narrative further. As a result of this, these stories can go on for years for example this type of narrative structure can be seen in soap operas and comic books.


Summary
The episode of Hollyoaks that aired on the 15th of march followed the return of a character named Walker who seeked to gain revenge on other characters of the cast. As the episode progressed we the audience witnessed smaller storylines play out for example the escape of a woman named Max from the apartment of a character named kevin, the search for another character named Steve who was attacked by character Brendan Brody whos is also the one looking for him and finally a  more lighthearted story of character Will deciding to socialise more. The episode end on a cliffhanger with Walker catchng up with one of the characters who he seeks revenge on, Brendan and is holding a hostage at gunpoint; Brendan's father.

From what I've seen in some ways this episode follows soap genre conventions as it features dramatic conflicts which involve a lot of the cast, not only this but the episode features multiple narratives which is conventional to the soap opera genre.


Was the episode an open or closed narrative?
The episode was an open narrative as evidenced by its multi narrative features which in turn presented a more open story rather than a linear one of begining middle and end. The episode focused on mainly the conflict between Walker and Brendan but also focused on smaller storylines as well none of which were resolved in the episode.

Representation of Characters

Max - Female; presented as victim type role in the opening sequence of the episode as she relies on the other members of the cast to help her in her situation

Costume/appearance  - Purple track suit bottoms, pale skin, Messy Hair; This emphasises Max's victim role as her overall appearance connotes that perhaps she hasn't been able to take care of herself as evidenced by the dirty track suit and pale skin which may suggest that she is ill. This appearance has been devised to allow audiences to empathise with the character.One may say that as a result of Max's representation in the media text, the female gender has been represented as dependent.


Walker - Male; Presented as tough, intimidating and as the villain role

Costume/appearance/Props - Large Black coat, green scarf which obscures his face, Black gloves and Gun; The green scarf which covers Walkers face presents him as less human. In addition the use of the large black coat and black gloves present Walker as an intimidating figure as his form is exaggerated by these clothing choices which presents him as dangerous and tough. Furthermore Walker is the only character throughout the episode to feature a firearm as a result of this Walkers intimidating status is emphasised. One may say that as a result of Walkers representation in the media text, the male gender has been represented as tough.

Will - Male

Throughtout the media text we the audience see Will in a wheelchair. As a result of this being the only member of the cast in a Wheelchair, Will serves as Hollyoaks representation of the disabled. Will is represented as someone who is finding it hard to fit in as when we are introduced to him we find him in his house rejecting a text to attend a party. From this we the audience can establish the problems this character is facing quite possible the character is afraid of social interaction.  The character is alone in someways only interacting with this one person initially. This character who he interacts with is someone who Will depends on as evidenced by the parental/friend like tone of the conversation. This in turn may present those with disability as dependent on others and in someways social recluses 

•  The older cast of the episode are presented as friendly, welcoming and helpful one such example is Will's career who encourages him to attend a party.  

Hollywood Media Synergy as IMC

Hollywood Media Synergy as IMC

• Hollywood media products in recent years have been produced to promote one another One for of media synergy in Hollywood is the sqeulisation of blockbuster films. Other important and profitable convergant forms include theme park rides,soundtracks, novel tie ins and videogames - an increasing importance to the bottom line at media conglomerates.

• Following the success of Star Wars and its various sequels and pre-quels, Hollywood focused more of its attention to developing  and marketing megafranchise films - big budget films that have potential for sequels video games, theme park rides, novels and other media product tie ins.

• Top performing Hollywood megafranchisees are produced by the conglomerated "big-six" and Dreamworks.  (time warner, news crop, Sony, Disney, Viacom and NBC universal).

• The megafranchise model was intiatied by star wars and is one which has generated the most revenue for the majors. Culture critic Mark Crispin Miller(1990) was one of the first to analayse Hollywood's move to vertical intergration(buying up companies that allow distribution of saod media product to be eaiser) to horizontal (buying up the competition), and films that have been developed withb the purpose of deployablty on multiple media platforms, as well as thier abilty to be sequelised and thier abilty to be cross-promoted with other media texts.

• Those who make the decisions within media conglomerates undterstand that every pice of media under the same brand-umbrella promotes every piece of media unser said umbrella.e.g the disney stores promote consumer products which promote the theme parks which promote the Tv shows.

• According to Miller this can be described as constant media synergy, wherein everythingwith in a franchise promotes and endorses other products with the umbrellaAccoridng to Hollywood a francise film is any film title that is a sequel, or a title that has one or more sequels following it.

• However there is an idea that Hollywood has been sufering from a case of sequelitis at term that refers to the increasing ratio of sequels. The term was coined in the mid 1990's by Hollywood trades

• Film scholar David Bordwell 2006 pointed out that sequels begin to account for 25% of domestic box office in 2003. However, what Bordwell is refering to are sequels generated by revenue alone and thus couldn't factor in the revenue generated by films that would later produce film franchises for example the films Bruce Almighty and Cheaper by the doxen which were later seqlised in 2007 and Evan Almighty and as Cheaper by the Dosen 2 in 2005.

• Sequels are considered as theatrical brand extenstions driving revenue beyond raw box office.

• Domestic Box office revenue is regarded as the single best predictor of all follow on supporting revenue.

• This includes foreign box office, domestic DVD, Toy merchandies, soundtrack and videogame revenues.

• The film industry market has started to rely more on the sequelised model.

• Media scholar Thomas Schatz claims that there have been over 100 "new hollywood film franchises".

• Furthermore these film franchises are bieng planned in one go for example New line executive Robert Shaye made the decision to produce the entire lord of the rings trilogy for the combined cost of $270 million.

• This business model may impact the business strategies of active franchises such as James Bond and Spider-man where the success' inheret in prsequalisation are likely to appeal to studie executives and where the risk that comes with producing films are lowered by the pre-sold elements i.e. a dedicated fan base that is inherent to a long-running film franchise.

The 4's franchise model - synergy, sequels, spectale,story

• Franchises such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Shrek, LOTR, Spider man and Pirates of the Caribbean follow these models to ensure success.

• All seven films have theme-park rides, video games, books and soundtracks under their brand umbrella.

 

• The importance of videogames should not be underestimated, they have generate enournmouse revenues and have become Hollywood's most important form of media cross-promotion with films.

 

• Sequelisation itself is a form of cross promotional media synergy.

 

• All the franchises above invest heavily into the development of their screenplays, wheter they are adaptations of books or presold properties or theme park rides.

 

• Majority of these megafranchises, present and then represent a "campbellian" hero's journey in a fairytale-like fashion -a simple yet effective and reduced narrative which is then intergrated into other synergistic media under the same brand.

 
 

• Schatz(1997)  - "film franchises such as Jurassic Park comprise a profitable product line and a cultural commodity whose form directly reflects the structure of the media industry at large."

 

• Producsts such as movies, videogames and theme park rides can be treated as related aspects of entertainment supertexts, multimedia narrative forms that can be expanded and exploited almost ad infinitum

• Spectacle and high production value does not simply attract and provide enjoyment to audiences, it increases the megafranchise's brand value and provides a robust "barrier to entry" to lower budget would be competition.

 
 

• Elements from theses films such as score and CGI can be imported directed by other media such as videogames.

 

• As important are the 4'Ss can be to Hollywood megafranchises,  simply using large does os the 4'Ss does not ensure success, there must be a glue which holds all the elements together.

 
Film/videogame convergance
 

• Media scholar Kristin Thompson - biggest videogame projects have acieved success becaues of their big franchise film licesnses e.g the Lego Star Wars games.

 

• Over 100 Star Wars games have been reloeased starting with The Empire Strikes Back (1982).

 

• Young gamers are being targeted by the media conglomerates in counterintuitive cross promotional maneuvers for example the Lego Star Wars partnership which is an effective way of getting children to interact with the Star Wars brand at an early age.

 

• The direct convergant repurposing of elements from film to videosgames only came into common practise in the mid 200s.

 
IMC implications
 

• IMC practitioners can beneift by observeing the ways in which successful megafranchises practice brand consistency accross multiple sequls and interations.

 

• They can also take not of the skill with which Hollywoodhas adopted the synergised model intiated by Star Wars.

 

• One may alrady observe the synergistic practises where in the case of nike the athletic shoe promotes the athletic shirt, that promotes the atheletic jacket and vice versa.

 

• Coca cola- soft drink>cooloer>T-shirt

 

• Harley Davidson - Key chain > Leather Jacket > motorcyle.

 

• The power of synergy is a force IMC practitioners have the opportunity to help design and unleash for clients in their respective marketplaces.

How has one media conglomerate used synergy successfully?

How has one media conglomerate used synergy successfully?

What is synergy ?

Synergy is the promotion and sale of a product throughout the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate, e.g. films,soundtracks or video games.

Film

On october 2012 the media conglomerate Disney have purchased the rights to the megafranchise Star Wars for $4.05 billion and announced that they are planning to produce 3 new films, the first of which is planned for release in 2015.

The Star wars megafranchise is a space opera that was first released in 1977 and became a pop culture phenonom and was the first franchise to kickstart the Hollywood megafranchise model of box office sequels and successful cross media synergy. The film franchise is known for the 3rd highest grossing film series, generating a total box office revenue of $4.49 billion. However the 2nd highest grossing film franchise is the James Bond series grossing around $6,159,388,878 in box office revenue worldwide whereas the up to date the highest grossing film franchise is currently the Harry Potter franchise grossing $7,706,147,978 worldwide.

Games

The star wars franchise is known not only for its box office film series but also for its other successful merchandise such as an array of Star wars licensed video games with over 100 titles under the Star Wars license each with their own sub franchises e,g the Star Wars Battlefront franchise. Although the video game franchise of Star Wars Battlefront has sold well with the second game in the series selling over 500,000 copies on the psp platform, I feel what drives the sales more about these Star Wars video games is the Star Wars brand which sells these games. One may argue this is because these video games are licensed under a big and well known brand with a large fan base and audience, therefore regardless of the quality of the game those who enjoy Star Wars are more inclined to purchase these video games as they serve as sort of an extention to their Star Wars viewing experience. This benefits media conglomerates as in some ways the production of these games are quicker as all they have to do if lift assets such as sound directly from the films and place them in the games if they wish. Furthermore there is less risk when producing these games as these companies know that the Star Wars name alone will draw in mass audiences of Star Wars fans and Children who play these games who as a result of this exposure to Star Wars will start interacting more with the Star Wars brand. Additionally, there is also the possibility of drawing in another mass audience of "Gamers" as if these Star Wars video games produce good "word of mouth" this may draw in the "Gamer demographic" who like the children may interact more with the Star Wars franchise as a result of this exposure.


 Attractions

Star wars weekend promotion

Furthermore the Star wars franchise has also branched into many tourist and theme park attractions such as for example before disney's aquishion of the megafranchise lucasarts and Disney went into partnership  in 1986 for the production of a motion simulator attraction in disenyland paris based on the Star Wars franchise called Star Tours. Additionally in Disney's Hollywood studios ( a theme park part of the Walt Disney world resort) a festival based on the Star Wars franchise called Star Wars weekends is hosted which includes an vast amount of attractions to involve audiences in for example Jedi Training Academy; a live show where children are selected to learn the practices of the fictional Jedi Knights and the Force in order to become Padawan learners.  Audiences can also participate in an event called Carbon Freeze Me; an interactive attraction where audiences can have their face scanned and reproduced in a prism of carbonite, which can be purchased later.

These attractions benefit the film franchise of Star wars by meeting a larger audience and also bringing more attraction to the disney franchise which in turn promotes other franchise under its ownership. This is done as Star wars fans will come to these attractions to consume Star Wars based media and, however this demographic may also be exposed to some of the more traditional disney media texts during their visit and the same works the other way round with Disney fans wanting to consume Disney products but being exposed to mass imagery of Star Wars. This can be evidenced by the cross media text image above of Disney's Mickey Mouse and Star Wars Darth Vader fighting each other.  This cross synergy allows both products to be successfully promoted which in turn will promote other products within the franchise umbrella. Both of which franchises are now own by Disney so potentially the Media conglomerate Disney has used synergy to promote their franchises to a mass audience and therefore possibly increase the consumption of these products.

Soundtracks

The soundtrack for the film franchise was produced by Composer John Williams, the first score to Star wars episode 4 was released in 1977, episode V's in 1980, VI's in 1983, I in 1999, episode II in 2002, episode III in 2005 and finally in 2008 the soundtrack for Star wars the clone wars was released. The soundtracks have won many prestigious awards such as the Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1977 and has spawned a number of concerts which feature Star Wars music for example Star Wars: In Concert. From exploring the official Star Wars main site Star Wars.com I have found out that the site does not directly sale it's Star Wars merchandises and products instead offering a link to popular  online store Amazon.com to sell its products; this included the sale of its soundtracks. Meaning that the vendor vendor is not owned by the same conglomerate that currently owns the Star Wars franchise. Additionally from looking on the Disney store website I have found that the Disney store does not currently sale any Star Wars products what's so ever. The use of a soundtrack may benefit the film franchise and media conglomerate of Disney as the good "word of mouth" that was produced about the score prior to the release of the soundtrack would have made the music in the Star Wars film desirable on its own and thus have allowed Disney to easily sell said product and promote other products under the Star Wars name. However, the fact that Disney themselves do not distribute their soundtrack but rather Amazon causes Disney to loose out on some potential revenue as Disney may have to pay Amazon for the space of distributing their product in contrast to companies such as Sony which have the means of distributing their products along the production line.

Toys
The Star Wars film franchise has also spawned a number of toys and action figures produced by top toy manufacturers such as Hasbro producers of the popular Transformers toys and the Lego group producers of the popular line of Lego construction Blocks. Such products prove to be beneficial tot he film franchise and Disney as a conglomerate as it easy promotion of products under the Star Wars brand and the development of a larger audience by capturing those who  necessarily Star Wars fans but consume Lego products or just toys in general. Which as a result may increase the films sales as children who are first exposed to Star Wars products  such as the toy range may take their families to consume the Star Wars film series via cinema or DVD.

Moreover to produce these action figure and Toys the rights would have to be licensed to these companies generating revenue for  Disney. This in turn has manged to produce successful toy lines such as the lego star wars toy line which has also managed to cross over media text as well and has produced short films such as Lego Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 and the commercially successful Lego star wars videogames which has managed to sell over 20 million copies. This as an effect produces a larger audience for the Star Wars film franchise and has also allowed Disney to make more sales for its Star Wars product, with each successful product promoting the other product to an audience that is yet to be exposed to the Star Wars brand.


Conclusion.
From looking at various Star Wars branded and licensed products it appears that the media conglomerate Disney has manged to use synergy successfully to promote other products within the Star Wars Brand umbrella and also other products which are also owned by Disney for example the Star wars weekend promotion containing Mickey Mouse Graphics which promote the Mickey Mouse franchise. The success of this cross media synergy format lies by generating vast amounts of Star wars products on different media platforms which all promote and advertise each other.All these promotions allow the Star wars and other Disney brands reach a larger audience and thus increase the sales of these products and brands respectively.




 

Representations of age in television

Representations of age in television

Youth

 On the right hand side is a promotional image for the E4 youth drama Misfits; during the course of this analysis I will be breaking down how said image represents the youth demographic.

Mis en scene
In terms of Mis en scene i.e costume,props and the setting this photo was taken in, these features connote youths to be dangerous and reckless ; a common stereotypical portrayal of youths in the media. One example of this can be seen in the costume the characters are wearing; there all wearing bright orange community service jumpsuits, not only this but these jumpsuits are scruffy, dirty and the character on the far right hand side isn't wearing his jumpsuit as it has been intended to worn. The scruffiness of these jump suits connote how they don't care and may have little regard for how others see them. Furthermore the fact the character on the far right has is wearing his jumpsuit around his waist further emphases this reckless attitude. In addition the bright orange colour of these jumpsuits bear connotations of the orange prison jump suits seen in American media texts; this as an effect may connote how dangerous these characters are, associating them with the dangerous prisoners that can be seen in other media texts. Moreover the character on the far right has a tribal tattoo which because of other tattoo stereotypes that have been established in the media this presents the character as some sort of dangerous gang type.  In addition the characters are situated against a gritty and damaged locker room which further emphasises how these people may not be so pleasant.

Composition
All the characters in the promotion are situated near each other and are each posed in an intimidating way looking directly at the audience and laying back. Said pose and the close placement of these characters further emphasise the reckless attitude and also conveys a kind of gang like collective as evidenced by how close they are; they look intimidating individually but together they look dangerous. Additionally the photo uses a high contrast filter which exaggerates the darker areas of the environment and convey a gritty and more hazardous environment.  As an effect this emphasises how threatening these characters are placing them in an unwelcoming environment with the characters reacting with little to no concern.

Camera angles
The camera angle used in this promotion is a long shot and allows audiences to see the characters and the surrounding  environment they are interacting with.  This camera angle places the teen characters together in close proximity with each other similar to those of a group photo of family or friends. This presents these teens as a family or group like collective. One may argue that the way these teens are posed conveys an aggressive tone and represents youths as gang type youths.