Monday 8 December 2014

"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 definitely agree that convergence and synergy are vital to the marketing of a media product, in this case film. Due to modern technological advances the role of different technologies in the marketing of a film is only increasing in importance, with things like social networks and the internet being of increasing importance, and the internet provides a way for media companies to reach a very broad audience.

Convergence is when a technology accidentally works in unison with a media company/product to promote it, for example most films have trailers on YouTube (which wasn't the sites intended purpose), most of which have a very large audience reach. Furthermore, when most people want to view a trailer for a film they just look it up on YouTube, meaning that it is a good way for them to reach their target audience cheaply and effectively. After all it is free to post videos on YouTube. It also plays a key part in companies with a smaller budget/influence, as they don't have the wealth to pay for a large campaign. Fans of the film can also inadvertently promote it by posting fan made trailers or by re-posting the trailer themselves.

Social networks like Twitter and Facebook also play a key part in media convergence as they allow fans to talk to each other about the film, and the media company themselves to directly address lots of its target audience. For example if Marvel post news about The Avengers to their Facebook page, all the people who "like" them on Facebook will see it, therefore advertising the movie.

Synergy is the opposite of this, it is when a media product is helped by another company/technology deliberately, in an advantageous manner for their film. This includes most advertising, such as TV adverts, web adverts etc. It also includes less obvious things like advertising on food or drinks. This could be seen as a more effective way of reaching their target audience, as it is deliberately planned to be most effective.

Thursday 27 November 2014

Grand Budapest Hotel - Comprehension

Cast:
Monsieur Gustave - Ralph Fiennes
Zero - Tony Revolori
Madame D - Tilda Swinton
Deputy Kovacs - Jeff Goldblum
Dmitri Desgoffe und Taxis - Adrien Brody
Inspector Henckels  - Edward Norton
Agatha - Saoirse Ronan
Monsieur Jean - Jason Schwartzman
Jopling - Willem Dafoe
Ludwig - Harvey Keitel
Monsieur Chuck - Owen Wilson
Monsieur Ivan - Bill Murray
Serge X - Mathieu Amalric
Mr Moustafa - F. Murray Abraham
Author - Tom Wilkinson/Jude Law
Monsieur Martin - Bob Balaban


Questions:
Where did scouting for a hotel take place?




Which location did the production team eventually use?


Did they film on location or on a sound stage?


Where were the production offices located?


How did they film the 60's and 30's hotel?


Where did inspiration for the hotel's interior come from?


How many extras did it take to fill the loby?

Friday 21 November 2014

Grand Budapest Hotel - Research

What is Indian Paintbrush and who owns it?
It's a production company, owned by billionaire Steven M. Rales, it funded many of Wes Anderson's films including Darjeeling Ltd., Fantastic Mr Fox, Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Which company is Fox Searchlight a subsiduary of?
Fox Entertainment Group, which is the sister company of 20th Century Fox.

Which type of films do Fox Searchlight distribute?
It specialises in distributing independent or British films in America.

Which two countries financed the film?
The film is a co-production between German and Britain.

What did Anderson use instead of CGI (computer generated imagery)?
He made miniature models instead, as he decided that since audiences would know that the shot was artificial, computer-generated effects or otherwise, "The particular brand of artificiality that I like to use is an old-fashioned one."

Where did the inspiration for the Hotel come from?
Anderson and the production designer toured Europe looking at grand hotels from that era for inspiration.

Which film festival opened with The Grand Budapest Hotel?
The 64th Berlin International Film Festival.

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?
It's won 5 awards and has one pending, such as Best Costume Design and Best Feature Film.

Initially how many cinemas did the film open on in the US?

The film opened in 4 cinemas.

How much did it average per cinema?
$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?

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?

Redemption sheets that come with physical discs often direct consumers to studio operated sites that may require registration, and often confuse users. This was a big problem when the service first launched, and caused a backlash among consumers.