Essay 3

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

The impact for both Star Wars the Force Awakens and Ex Machina varies a lot as Star Wars was owned by Disney, Badrobot and Lucasfilm and Ex Machina is owned by DNA Film and Film4. Disney is a conglomerate company so therefore, they are recognised by all different audiences due to how popular their films, and their company, is. This means that Disney is able to provide a big budget and add in a lot more special effects with the money that they have provided. Due to the big budget, the special effects will be extraordinary and will enhance the films technical difficulty. This would then make the film more enjoyable for viewers who have already seen previous films and even new audiences as the special effects would draw them in.  Locations are also a factor that can be varied due to the budget that is put in place. This is shown by Star Wars have a number of different filming locations, 8 to 9 in total, whereas Ex Machina had only one or 2. By having a bigger budget, it meant that the production companies are able to expand their locations to all over the world. This also varied the audience type as the film was not just filmed in one Countries studio or one particular location.

The Stars are also important to help the films popularity as if the stars aren’t recognised then people may not know whether to go and watch considering that they don’t know the actor’s capabilities. Star Wars has Harrison Ford, Oscar Isaac and Domnhall Gleeson who are well known and recognised actors in film and are recognised for their outstanding achievements. Domnhall Gleeson also stars in Ex Machina so he would be a huge reason for an audience to watch the film as he is known for his exciting films and his brilliant capabilities.  As bigger companies can provide bigger budgets and bigger opportunities, the contrast for a small company would be real as they have less capabilities and resources are less accessible to them. It also differs as Disney kept all of the money from Star Wars as they are the owners of Lucasfilm so therefore any of the money made will stay within their company. This differs for Ex Machina as DNA Film and Film4 are independent companies so would therefore remain all of the profit within their companies. The institution plays the most important part within the film as they are the ones who decide what is in the film and what will be done with the film and who will be cast. Therefore, the impact that the production companies and distribution companies have on the film and the products that are made is significant and can also help with how populated the film is.

The audiences that would appeal to these films range significantly as their genres are completely different. Star Wars is a continuous film and is also an action film so would apply to all ages, whether they are older generations who have seen the films before or younger adults who have been brought up around Star Wars and have grown as fans. This would appeal to a general audience due to how well the film was marketed and publicised throughout the media. On the other hand, Ex Machina would appeal to individuals aged over 15, as the certificate for this film is 15, and any sci-fi fans. This is due to the technicality involved and the violence that can be shown at the end of the film. The film is very complicated and can be difficult to understand. Another way within which the film would appeal to audiences is due to the type of film that it is. Star Wars is a mainstream blockbuster and would apply to any audience as blockbusters can be the most recognised film. This film uses the 4 Quadrat technique as all audiences can be shown to enjoy such a film and can range its expertise to excite all ages. In contrast to that, Ex Machina is a niche film which is made through an independent company. This could have an extreme effect on what type of audience goes to see the film as it could be viewed as less exciting and could only appeal to sci-fi fans. The profit from both films has a huge range as Star Wars was viewed at the cinemas and purchased in lots of other ways after the cinema release date whereas Ex Machina was not available in many options after the cinema viewings. Due to the range of products that were released by the distribution companies on both sides, the profit varied a lot. Ex Machina took a lot less profit than Star Wars and this is due to the size of the Production Companies that worked with the film.

The amount of products that were also produced after the film was initially released varied a lot as well. Star Wars was released in cinemas in both 2D and 3D whereas Ex Machina was only show in 2D. This can have a huge impact on audiences as some audiences would want to see films in 3D to enhance their experience but this isn’t provided at all for Ex Machina. Star Wars then also came available on DVD and Blu-ray almost 6 months after it was released in cinemas and sold rapidly to the public. This was publicised almost as much as what the film was so that Disney could have as much success with the DVD as they could with the initial film that was released. The DVD for Ex Machina was not shown in the media much at all and the public had no way of being aware of the DVD being released. This would have meant that the profit for the DVD was also low as it would only be made visible when individuals entered a shop and saw it for sale. There is also a Blu-ray version of Ex machine but the prices for these DVD’s compared to Star Wars are so far away. The DVD retail price for Star Wars was £10 and the Blu-ray DVD was sold for £15 whereas the DVD for Ex Machina was sold for £5 and the Blu-ray was sold for £7.

Streaming and downloading was also made available for Star Wars as it is due to be released on Netflix and was also available on Putlocker. This was not the same for Ex Machina as no release date for any film websites such as Netflix has been made available. This would then make the film very inaccessible for people who may no longer have a DVD player and watch the films online. This is very popular in this generation so for the film to be published on these websites would be of a very big loss to the Production Companies. Piracy has also occurred a lot in this generation due to illegal film websites and this can have a very negative impact on the films as people are not paying to watch their films but would be one of the only ways that people can watch Ex Machina, so therefore technique would affect Ex Machina the most.

Other products such as comics, games, toys, apps and books have been made for Star Wars and were very popular. This wasn’t done for Ex Machina due to the budget not being able to stretch as far as this. They both had a brilliant soundtrack but only one was released on CD and this was for Star Wars. Star Wars also had a Snapchat filter, its own Lego and was used on Subway food cups and wrappings. This used the media to their advantage and portrayed their film to as many audiences as possible. This then had a positive effect on the film.

Overall, I feel that media ownership has a huge impact on the range of products that become available to an audience because they provide a budget that would then lead on to different ways of viewing a film and have access to it. They also have the expenses to go as far as they can with the film and portray it to different audience types. This then leads to either the film having a lot of extra products or a lot less.

Essay 2

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

Star Wars the Force Awakens and Ex Machina were distributed and marketed in very contrasting ways to each other due to different budgets and distribution companies. Their popularity was based upon how much marketing was done and how well recognised the film is due to this. Through marketing, each film is aimed at a different audience type and this is shown through their certificate and popularity.

Digital technology is very important to how a film is marketed and distributed and can influence a lot of people’s ideas and opinions surrounding the films. In this generation, the way that a film can be recognised is through how often it is shown and used on social media websites and through online sources such as YouTube. It also widens the availability for people to be able to view the film or watch teasers and trailers to enhance the film and raise awareness of the product. Star Wars the Force Awakens is a 12 certificate and would be classed as a mainstream film compared to Ex Machina being a 15 certificated film and being a niche film. My point of view is that marketing through digital technologies is one of the most important factors to marketing a film and enhancing its popularity. It is the best way to get people of all ages to recognise and show an interest in a film that they may not have considered before. Star Wars the Force Awakens was marketed in the best ways and Disney used their popularity to their advantage.

With this company being a conglomerate they have many people involved that can help the film reach different audiences and they can also use their different technological advances to spread the word more effectively and create word of mouth in a more outstretched way. It takes a lot for people to go to a cinema to watch a film now when it is made available in more formats. This would mean that marketing would need to be at its best and well stretched to ensure that people are aware of this film. Disney did this for Star Wars, as they had a budget of $306 million, so they used adverts, twitter, Facebook, snapchat, websites and YouTube videos of teasers and trailers to draw people into their new film. This then caused the film to be more widely recognised. In comparison to Ex Machina, which only had a budget of $15 million, so they didn’t have all the advances that they needed. This then led them to therefore only using one type of social media, Tinder. This did help the film to be recognised but its popularity remains very low compared to Star Wars the Force Awakens.

Each film used very different technologies to distribute their film as they both have a very large different in expenses. They both used cinema adverts but to different extremes. Star Wars the Force Awakens had numerous adverts shown over many different films being shown whereas, due to the budget, Ex Machina struggled to get their advert shown before many films. This meant that people were unaware of when the film was to be released and what the film entailed. Many people who have seen the film Ex Machina and have done reviews on the film have explained how they may have only seen the advert in the cinema once compared to other people saying that they had seen Star Wars quite often. Star Wars also used TV adverts better and to their advantage a lot more as their trailer was constantly played in adverts of many popular TV programmes such as soaps and big films on TV channels such as Channel 4 and Film4. With the trailer being shown numerous times, it showed that people then recognised the advert and became aware of when and where the film would be shown. Ex Machina was not as well populated in this field of marketing as there were hardly any adverts shown on TV so they missed their peak time of being recognised when big TV shows were on. This would have caused a big loss for the film as this is a main way of marketing for a film as in this generation almost everyone sits down and watches TV at night so this would be the most populated way to market a film. If the budget was a fraction larger and TV adverts were considered more excessively then their population could have been much higher. There are also new social networks and technologies that are used by nearly everyone with a smart phone such as: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat and even Tinder, which was a very popular dating app at the start of 2016. Most things on the internet nowadays are recognised by social media and nearly everything that is in need of promoting is on a type of social media.

When it comes to film, online interviews and teasers and trailers are a great way at seeing the film from a cast member’s point of view and also having an insight into what the film entails. This would be useful for people who may be considering going to watch a film and want to know spoilers or extra so that their enjoyment of the film could be improved. Digital use is a very important aspect of engaging with an audience nowadays as the quality is outstanding and it can be done on memory cards which are very easy to distribute to cinemas and companies that would then show the film in other formats. Tinder was also used very well by the film Ex Machina. This is an unusual way for a film to be promoted but it was a very successful way and proved to have a positive effect on the films population. SXSW (South by South West) is a film festival that can include conferences. It can be used to inform people about up and coming films or festivals and can involve questions and answers about a film with Producers, Directors and actors.

Both films used different techniques when marketing and distributing their films. Ex Machina needed an innovative marketing scheme as their budget was a very small one so that had little to work from. Whereas, Star Wars the Force Awakens had a very traditional marketing technique as they used all of the usual methods of adverts, billboards and social media. Both films used trailers and cast interviews. Ex Machina had fewer interviews as theirs only consisted of Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander and the Director, Alex Garland. This was because the film was not seen as important because it wasn’t a mainstream film and all interviewers and chat show presenters would want to talk to film producers and actors form big name films. Star Wars however was shown on many chat shows such as: Graham Norton Show, ABC news shows and the Ellen show, each one of these shows are popular in their own demand and in different counties and communities. All of these chat shows have very high viewing rates so therefore this interview would have been watched by many different audiences and raised a lot of awareness about this film. Social media was also used a lot, in a huge contrast, to each other. Star Wars used a range of social medias such as: Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.

They had their trailers and other videos such as teasers posted onto Facebook and pages were created by fans about the film with videos and spoilers posted on there and this became well known through people sharing and liking each photo and video that was shared. They also used Twitter by creating a hashtag for Star Wars the Force Awakens and yet again posting all of their videos and information on these pages too. Another way that they sued social media was through snapchat and this was done by them having their own snapchat filter that people could then put on their faces and show to their friends. By one individual sending this Snapchat to another or placing it on their story, they are instantly sharing the awareness and could convince someone to go and see the film with them. This then increases profit and would introduce new people to the film. Ex Machina on the other hand, didn’t use as much social media as it wasn’t all accessible. They used Facebook and Tinder. A page was created on Facebook which their trailers and interviews, as well as teasers, were placed on, and they also shared images and spoilers, as Star Wars did. This is again, a very popular technique to use and is a brilliant way of distributing their film to different audiences.

Tinder was also a very extravagant way that they used social media. They created a profile for Ava and their computer aided system started a conversation with people that matched themselves with Ava. They would keep asking very intriguing questions so that they draw their audience in. When each “person” then feels as though they have fully connected they are asked where they can meet and named somewhere that Ava would really like. This would then lead onto a message saying whether they were successful in their “test” and transfer them to their Ex Machina site. This would then make someone intrigued so they would therefore search the page and research the film further. This could then maybe influence someone to go and see the film as they have associated themselves with the character and understood what the plan of the film and the character would be. Above the line and below the line marketing was used for both films as they each took different methods from different sides to distribute their films. This is a positive and effective way for the film to be distributed. They both used online and TV adverts which are above the line and they both used social media which is below the line. This is a diverse way of marketing and does show how each distribution company for the films differs as they used numerous different types of marketing techniques between the two of them.

The way that people are able to view films in this generation differs a lot compared to 20 years ago when certain technologies weren’t invented. Ex Machina was released in cinemas on January 21^st 2015 and on their opening weekend they made $5,349,500 and it was shown on 1,255 screens in the USA. They had a steady opening weekend but the production company would have expected a lot better from the film. Compared to Star Wars, this was a minor profit as they made $529 million in their opening weekend. Star Wars the Force Awakens was released in cinemas on the 17^th December 2015. From the first day, this film was extremely popular and thoroughly enjoyed by many different types of audience members. This ranged from older adults who would have watched the first Star Wars films to younger teenagers who have been brought up around Star Wars and are huge fans. Ex Machina was then released on both Blu-ray and DVD, similar to Star Wars the Force Awakens, but retailed at a much smaller price than Star Wars. On amazon, Ex Machina retails at £3-£4, and was released on July 14^th 2015, whereas Star Wars the Force Awakens retails at £9-£10 and was released on 5^th April 2016. Blu-ray DVD is also very similar as Ex Machina retails at £4-£5 and was released on 1^st June 2015 and Star Wars the Force Awakens retails at £14-£15 and was released on 18^th April 2016. The difference in price can also show popularity as people aren’t willing to pay more than £5 on Ex Machina because it wasn’t as expected yet because of popularity and special effects involved, Star Wars retails higher as people are willing to pay that little extra. Both films are also available on Google play and YouTube and can also be sold through YouTube. Neither films are available yet on Netflix but Star Wars is available on Amazon Prime and is very popular through this was of consuming the product. Unfortunately, for big film companies, piracy is a big problem for their films as people are now able to illegally download and watch films without having paid. This impacts the film’s profit massively as they aren’t receiving as much money as they could. Putlocker is the main website that is very popular and used by many people. These films can both be shown on this website.

Overall, I feel that digital technologies are a very vital role when marketing products. It played a vital part for Ex Machin as the way they used their budget for digital technologies was very imaginative and efficient. Star Wars didn’t need as much marketing as it is already a well-recognised film but through the excessive marketing they did, through technology, the film took a large profit and exceeded all expectations.

Essay 1

“Successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution to a specific audience as they do upon good production practices” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Star Wars the Force Awakens is a very popular and diverse film and can appeal to audiences of any ages. This can range from younger children who are interested in the toys and tie-in product side of the films and the characters that are involved, to the older generation who would maybe have seen the previous starter films and would therefore understand the carry on story in this film. I feel that the marketing of this film did play a huge part in the success of the film and this was due to 4 key areas

Media Products

Star Wars was produced and distributed in numerous different ways that would have applied and tailored to a specific audience. There were five main ways that this film was distributed and made available for people to watch and these were: Cinema showings, DVD, CD, Blu-ray and downloads. These all came about with different release dates as the cinema showings began on the 17^th of September 2015 and was eventually shown on 670 screens in the UK and 4,134 screens in the US. The movie received numerous positive reviews and remained popular for as long as it remained in cinemas. It continuously played in cinemas in the US for 4 months and only started on 2 screens before progressing up to 4,134. In the first day the film made $57 million and then progressed onto making $529 million in the first weekend. This is a highly popular film due to its ratings and would be easily classified as a big budget film. The critic reaction of the film gained an 8.2/10 and had a 92% rating. People claimed that it was “full of renewed energy.” Carrying on from this, on the 18^th April 2016, the Blu-ray and DVD’s were released. This was also very popular due to the continued excitement and enjoyment followed on from the film in cinema. Fans became very agitated that when they purchased the DVD, there was no download link involved so that they could watch it online. They also did not publicise the deleted scenes like any other film would so this then therefore infuriated the viewers as well as they like extra scenes and action to be packed into their DVD pack. Other big budget films and popular blockbuster films would include these features so after the success of the film in cinemas it surprised and upset viewers as this would have enhanced their enjoyment and love for the film even more. The DVD was sold in the UK for a price of £9.99 and on Blu-ray it was sold for £15.00. They then also released a special edition which was priced at £24.99 and this would have included extra scenes and the behind the scenes extras. It has now been available to download on to devices as an extra way to watch and improve profit and the CD has also been released with all of the soundtracks that have been included in this particular film. The release date of this was 18^th December 2015 and was not as popular as the film due to marketing. If this was shown and marketed as much as what the film was then it would have been as popular as the film but because of the film’s success it wasn’t as necessary to publicise this as much.

Specific Audience

Four quadrat applies to this film excessively as it is in the interest of both male and female over and under the age of 25. Stereotypically, boys and men are more interested in action films but with the success and worldwide population of this film it has now applied itself to both males and females alike. The age gap is also non-existent due to how well-known

and populated the film is as the younger generation could have been brought up around the film and the older generation have grown up knowing the film. Older generations can relate and understand the characters more due to how similar this film is made and publicised as the first films were and the characters have remained the same so they can also feel connected to the film through the actors. Younger people will know of the actors in the film and like it just as much due to Harrison Ford being the A list stars and being well recognised due to the films that he has previously starred in such as Blade Runner and Indiana Jones. This film can be seen as a love or hate film. The marketing and distribution would need to do as much as possible to pull this up so that it is seen as attractive to all audiences and they can show it off in the best light to attract an audience into waning to watch and enjoy the film. By showing it off everywhere and showing the special effects and even proving that most of the film was done practically could spark an interest and persuade an audience that this film is worth the watch and worth the money to either go and spend the money to watch at cinemas or to purchase on DVD. It was also publicised to be enjoyed by both UK and UK audiences. This could be due to the fact that they have both American and English actors and actresses involved and the film was filmed in Pinewood Studios in England which is widely recognised and known as a very important and successful studio to produce films in. J.J Abrams is also an American film director and producer so would be recognised very excessively and enjoyed by lots of American viewers and even along with English viewers. The film would not be associated as much with a Chinese audience though due to the fact that there are no Chinese actors or actresses involved in any part of the film and there were also no Chinese producers or behind the scene members of the cast. This would have then not attracted them to watch the film at all.

Marketing and Distribution

There were many ways that Star Was the Force Awakens was marketed, some being bigger than others, and all of these techniques helped the film to be well recognised by everyone in all different Countries. There were huge billboard posters situated around the UK and the US and these contains pictures from scenes of the films and the most recognised picture with all the actors and actresses on the front with an insight into the action that is going to take place in the film. This was done in a discrete way so that no audience member would expect a female lead and a black male lead. They would have all characters on the poster so that people can make their own assumptions about the leads in the new film. There were also adverts on the TV that would reveal slight parts of the plot and give away parts of the action to draw people into the plot and help them to connect to characters and begin to understand which parts people play in the film and who their character is. These adverts would have been watched by most people who watch TV everyday as they were very poplar and came on a lot during TV programmes and in the adverts of films on channels such as Channel 4 and ITV. It would have been used on these channels so that people would see them more often as these are the channels that most soaps are shown on and, in England, Coronation Street and Emmerdale are popular soaps and are recognise by most people in England. Star Was also has its own website and apps for the major fans of the films and this would be their way of playing interactive games and getting involved in the enjoyment of the film. This would also be a good way for the production company to maybe add spoilers and once the film has been released, add backstage clips and the production process for viewers to enjoy also. Other tie-in products were made and sold to promote the film and some of these were: Lunchboxes, lightsabors, water bottles, jumpers and even food products promoted the film, such as Subway. The marketing campaign became a huge deal and everyone in all Cities had heard of Star Wars due to its publicity and the amount of time and effort that was put into the marketing campaign to promote the film. Distribution was done through their large theatre company, Disney, and they were the only distributors of the film. This company set dates for releases of both the film and the DVD and they also supplied the budget of $306 million for the film. This then meant that they also went on to decided that the film would be released as Digital as a pose to film. This was done as it was a cheaper. 1% of theatres in North America showed the full IMAX experience that Star Wars had provided and there is also a lack of cinemas that are now able to show 35mm and 65mm films now, which is what this Star Wars was shot on). There are only 15 theatres in the world that can offer the full 70mm performance so it would be hard to distribute like this. Film also degrades after it has been printed and after being handled once would then become scratched and harder to use dur to the fact that it has been man-handled and smudged. $16,000 was spent on 220 hours of making this film, this is a full 9.5 days! The Production Company are also a Vertical Integration as they have full ownership of the film including production, distribution and exhibition. They then receive all of the profit gained form the film.

Production Practices

There were producers of this film and these were: J.J.Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy and Bryan Burk. These 3worked collaboratively to put this movie together and all pulled together in the end to ensure that, between them, they could make the film a brilliant success. J.J was also well known for producing Star Trek, which was also a Sci-fi film and was also hugely popular in the way that Star Wars the Force Awakens was. He also directed the film as well as producing it. The film was made using film as this made the scenes and screens relate magnificently to the original Star Wars and to show that time hasn’t changed in the film. This also would help an audience to connect more to the film as it would remind them of the ones before and help them to enjoy the film more as it’s so relatable to the original. It also used IMAX which makes the image 10 times bigger than a standard 35mm film. This would have been done to slightly modernised the film and make the picture better and or clear through the film. The film was seen as outstanding and the action involved was one that surprised and lived up to the audience’s expectations and was viewed as extraordinary for huge fans. Their A list star in this film carried on from the others and he was: Harrison Ford and from this film he was paid $20 million to play the carry-on role of Hans Solo. He was hesitant about doing the film again but after a long discussion he decided that it would be good and the action within the film was good enough to take part in. He also wanted the amount of money that he was provided with to take part in the film. This wasn’t even thought about as J.J wanted Harrison in the film a lot! John Boyega was also a main feature in this film as he was the first black male role that would have featured in Star Wars and this came as a surprise to the audience as they expected it to follow a Star Wars tradition but J.J wanted a change so he added a black male lead and a strong female lead (Daisy Ridley) too. This had never happened in Star Wars history. They both earned between $10,000 and $30,000 each which is significantly less than what Harrison Ford was paid. Carrie Fisher also came back in Star Wars as she had been in them before, but the same as Harrison, she was hesitant to come back as she had retired and hadn’t acted for many years so she was never to come back off of retirement to lay her role but her and Harrison have acted together so many times, which helped and it was something she really wanted to do after she had read the script and seen what was going to be in this film. There were also many locations for this film and these included: England, Scotland, Iceland, Ireland, United Arab Emirates. All of these destinations would have helped the actors and actresses to get into character even more as they were living the story that they were supposed to be telling. This was especially done when Daisy was in front of her “home” in the desert and she had real fire around her and the set was real. This would have helped her to understand her surroundings, and scene, even more, along with her emotions. Due to all of these factors, the film made $57 million on the opening day!

Sound Effects were used a lot, especially for sounds such as lasers, cannons and ray guns. Along with this, CGI and visual effects were used, but not to the extent that practicality was used as this was J. J’s vision. Camera work within the film was also extremely important as they needed different angles to display different emotions and also to provide a different view point for an audience so that they could understand the scene and action a lot better. The last thing used for effects was Prosthetics, Solar Power energy and robotics. This was essential to making the film as not all of the props could cover the extent of the scene and needed to be done with extra help. The music was also composed by John Williams, like in all of the other films and most of it remained the same as the theme tune was still included and extra music needed to stay the same such as the distinctive music for the Stormtroopers and they are recognised via this music.

Nostalgia was a main element that was shown in this film as there were older characters, older actors and a huge link to the original trilogy. The only thing that was mainly different was that Daisy and John, as the main characters, were 2 unknown leads and people hadn’t really heard of them before this film, s this was seen as very unusual by an older audience. Other characters that have been involved, such as Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver, have been in lots of other films so are therefore recognised a lot more due to their previous experience and films that they have been involved with.

With the big-name Director, that was J.J Abrams this helped the film to be of a high quality as he related the story very original to the others and he also added more modernised effects to ensure that it still appeals to all ages and audience types now.

Overall, I fell that the marketing of this Star Wars film was as important as the production practice otherwise the film would not become as known to the public and people would not be aware and begin to become as excited for the film as they would if it was shown and placed everywhere in their community.