"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?

"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?
I would agree with this statement in that media convergence and synergy are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences. It is now considered to be more important as social networks such as Facebook and Twitter play a big part within the marketing of films. There is also YouTube a company which promotes film trailers when synergised or converged with certain films.


The idea of convergence is where media company's accidentally work together and promote the products. Most film trailers are put onto YouTube which wasn't intentionally made to show film trailers however now shows mainly all of them, this is an example of convergence as it YouTube was not intentionally there to promote film trailers but has accidentally. There is also social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, these advertise media products as users of these servers can see this content reaching their target audience.


Synergy is where a media product and a company intentionally collaborate for an advantageous outcome, this is good because this then promotes films gathering a wider audience and creating hype. An example of synergy is TV adverts, internet adverts and trailers in cinemas. This promotes both the company and media product which

Age representation, women 60+

“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?

“Successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution to a specific audience as they do...

The Grand Hotel Budapest

Task 1- research 
What is Indian Paintbrush and who owns it?
Indian Paintbrush is a production company owned by Steven M Rales. This has funded films such as The Darjeeling and Fantastic Mr Fox.
Which company is Fox Searchlight a subsiduary of?
Fox Entertainment Group, a sister company of the larger Fox studio 20th Century Fox.
Which type of films do Fox Searchlight distribute?
It specializes in US distribution of independent and British films.
Which two countries financed the film?
The film is a British-German co-production that was financed by German financial companies and film-funding organisations. It was filmed in Germany
What did Anderson use instead of CGI (computer generated imagery)?
He painted backgrounds instead of CGI which ment that everything filmed on set and no green screen was used.
Where did the inspiration for the Hotel come from?
His hotel inspiration came from the writings of Stefan Zweig.Which film festival opened with The Grand Budapest Hotel?
The 64th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2014.
Alexanre Desplat wrote the score, which major Hollywood films has he worked on? 
 Desplat has worked on a variety of Hollywood films, including Darnell Scott, and commercial successes like The Queen, The Golden Compass, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The King's Speech, Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and Godzilla.
How many awards has the film won?
The film has won 5 awards and one is still pending. 
Initially how many cinemas did the film open on in the US?
It opened in 4 cinemas.
How much did it average per cinema? 
It averaged $202791.50
The film was released on Ultraviolet BluRay, what does this enable consumers to do?
Ultraviolet is a service which offers a free digital copy of the film bought to be watched on a variety of devices (phones, smart tvs etc.)
Which companies do not support Ultraviolet?
Companies such as Metro Goldwyn Meyer, Disney and Columbia Pictures are the only major studios which are not involved with Ultraviolet
What complaints did Ultraviolet encounter when it launched?

Task 2- comprehension

Edward Norton- Henckels
Owen Wilson- M. Chuck
Ralph Fiennes- M. Gustave
Tony Revolori - Zero
Jeff Goldblum- Deputy Kovacs
Saorise Ronan- Agatha
Tilda Swinton- Madame D
Adrien Brody- Dmitri Desgoffe
F. Murray Abraham- Mr Moustafa
Jason Schwartzman- M. Jean
Williem Dafoe- Jopling
Harvey Keitel- Ludwig
Bill Murray- M. Ivan
Mathieu Amalric- Serge X
Lea Seydoux- Clotilde
Tom Wilkinson- Author
Jude Law- Young Writer
Bob Balaban- M.Martin


Where did scouting for a hotel take place?
Central Europe
Which location did the production team eventually use?
A department store in Germany 
Did they film on location or on a sound stage?
Location 
Where were the production offices located?
On the top floor
How did they film the 60's and 30's hotel?
They wanted to shoot the 60's and 30's hotel back to back so they created the set within a set, they built the 30's set then the 60's one and shot it backwards then peeled back the 60's layer.
Where did inspiration for the hotel's interior come from?
They travelled to different places around Eastern Europe to get ideas.
How many extras did it take to fill the loby?
It took 150 extras 


Task 3 - Marketing
5 secrets to the film's success

1) Anderson’s World- The director’s eye for detail is a merchandiser’s dream. “Budapest” features a collection on eBay, a partnership initiated by actor and frequent Anderson collaborator Waris Ahluwalia (whose own fashion label is House of Waris). The film’s production designer Adam Stockhausen also curated an art collection inspired by the film. Auction items range from bow ties and moustache wax to promotional materials from the pic. Some are selling out, including copies of “The Society of the Crossed Keys,” Anderson’s book of selections from the writings of Stefan Zweig, which inspired the film. 

2) Unique Promotions- Fox Searchlight is touring a large-scale model of the hotel in theaters from Hollywood to Berlin. And U.K.-based Secret Cinema, a monthly gathering that combines live performances involving audience participation, recently screened “Budapest” instead of its usual classic fare. The film already has grossed nearly $15 million in Blighty.

3) Viral Chow- Fox Searchlight created instructional featurettes detailing how to create baked goods inspired by the film’s colorful Mendl’s pastries. The videos went viral as fans sent back footage of their creations, which Searchlight used in TV spots on cooking networks. The distrib shot eight marketing shorts, including a profile of the film’s central character, M. Gustave, played by Ralph Fiennes.

4)Young Moonrisers- Thanks to the success of 2012’s “Moonrise Kingdom,” Gilula says Anderson’s fans have gotten significantly younger. “He’s attracted a whole new generation, some of whom weren’t even born when ‘Royal Tenenbaums’ (2001) and ‘Bottle Rocket’ (1996) were released,” the exec notes.

5) Universal Access- Cool marketing would mean little if the film itself were poorly received. However, “Budapest” has generated a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes — behind only Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” Critics have called “Budapest” his most accessible film. “We don’t see the ceiling yet,” Gilula says.

How did Anderson use the QE2 to market the film?

What connects Prada to the marketing of the film? 

Visit this viral website and identify how the films plot is revealed

http://www.akademiezubrowka.com/

Task 4 - Opinion

Why would a big Six company be interested in supporting a smaller distribution company like Fox Searchlight?
Which audience category best describes The Grand Budapest Hotel (Mainstream, Mainstream plus, officianados, )
Why might the use of Ultraviolet alienate the film's audience?
Why might the use of secret cinema work as viral marketing for the film?

Representation of sexuality | Create Infographics

Avengers

• the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice; (how does who owns a media company influence the type of film made and its potential success? For example do BIG companies make BIG films and therefore make all the money? Is it possible for small companies to succeed?) 

Big film companies generally create blockbusters which are produced to gross large amounts of money, to be a blockbuster films have to fit a certain criteria which is: A level star, a newsworthy budget, spectacular visual effects and not be a comedy. Marvel Entertainment owns the Marvel studios and as they are well known for owning Marvel comics they are always creating superhero films from the original comic books.  

• the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing; (how do companies work together to produce, distribute and publicize a film? How can Disney use their size to promote and publicise a film? How can small companies work together to promote their business' when making and promoting a film?)  

In the Avengers film the convergence and synergy in production is very important. This is because characters in the Avengers come from other films such as Captain America, The Hulk, Thor ect. All these characters help to publicize Disney along with media marketing such as links to YouTube releasing trailers and marketing on social media to get audiences excited.  

• the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange; (how has the introduction of digital film, 3D, DVD, Blue Ray, internet streaming, downloadable content, home cinema influenced the types of films made, the way we watch them and the way we 'buy' them?)

By introducing 3D into films this has added excitement about watching films from a different outlook making people want to go watch and experience films in 3D. However recently 3D films have became less popular due to the price of tickets increasing, therefore some audiences would rather just watch in 2D. As for DVDs this allows people to enjoy films in their own homes and watch them over and over again, Blue ray also allows people to enjoy HD films within their own homes, this attracts people as they then don't have to go and pay for the cinema for the whole family. As for internet streaming and downloadable content, this saves people a lot of  money as they can enjoy the films in their households without having to pay, it is easy to access and watch films. These all affect the influence on films at the box office due to it leading to a lower gross as people would rather turn to another option than going to the cinema but it means the overall gross for films will then increase. 

• the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences; (how and why have film companies had to alter the way they work now everyone has web enabled phones, PC's, consoles etc? How have audiences changed their viewing habits now we no longer need to go to the cinema to watch a film)

From advances in technology films are now available to view on smart phones, PC's and consoles, from this people are more likely to stay at home and use websites such as Netflix to watch films rather than going out to cinema and paying money. It is easier to access and works out a lot cheaper.

• the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences; (can you think of examples of how different technologies have come together to help the film industry?)

Because of YouTube, twitter and Facebook these advertise the films making audiences produce hype and get excited about new films being produced. YouTube releasing trailers and social media such as twitter and Facebook release web adverts.

• the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions; (how do film companies try and attract their audience? Do they do different things in different countries?)

• the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour. (what is your opinion on the above? Do you see the developments as a good or bad thing?)

Representation of ethnicity

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of ethnicity:
In this extract the mise en scene represents ethnicity in the way the characters are shown. All the characters are wearing dark colours and in suits and formal attire which is not stereotypical dress for a black man. Both Danny and the woman in the clip look as if they are spy's, this is against the stereotype as he is a black male and the woman looks eastern European. The man in the background is in typical terrorist costume wearing a balaclava and holding a gun. The room this clip is set in is very dark and oppressive reflecting what is happening within the clip linking back to ethnicity and the idea of terrorism.

The sound in the clip also links to ethnicity as the diegetic music sounds like the religious song Muezzin which is the call to prayer. The music sounds Arabic and very intense, there is also a Spanish guitar in the background which gives a sense of otherness as it is not British. The music and the Arabic sound reflects the mood in the scene of the black versus Arab between characters showing hatred and a culture clash. At the start of the clip there is also diegetic sound of drumming creating suspense and this highlights that an event is about to happen.

As for the editing there are lots of cuts used, this links to ethnicity as this shows the bravery of the black man and shows he is strong, the short cuts show that the Arab character is stereotypically evil, shifty and untrustworthy. There is also use of longer cuts where it shows the white man crying linking to binary opposites where the black characters are shown in shorter cuts and the white character in longer cuts.

In the clip the camera angles and shots represent ethnicity, there is many uses of close ups in the clip which shows the characters reactions. When the camera is on a close up on Danny the camera slightly shakes as it is being hand held, this shows his anger towards the other character and links to ethnicity as black people are stereotypically loud and angry. There is use of low angle shot on the black character which could show he is less important as it shows him looking up at the terrorist which shows that he holds all the power in the situation. This reflects ethnicity in society as black people are known to being at the bottom holding no power. There is use of slow motion when the white people react to Danny's death, they only show slight emotion showing his death could be less important to them. The white people are shown in a different location as they hear over the phone, this shows that white people are law abading and safe, out of harms way. This links back to the reflection of society in the way the white people are safe and higher and at the top in the social heir achy.