1. Film Media in context
How does the industry promote film to audiences using:
- Print media?
- Broadcast media (TV/Radio/DVD)?
- E-Media?
The industry uses print media by relying on magazines and newspapers that review and promote them. The previews and reviews aren't controlled by the film so films can either slate the film or recommend it. They sometimes give interviews to well established media magazines such as empire magazine, they do this to get hype circulating around the film and to make the audience aware of the film release.http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/review.asp?FID=10999
The industry uses broadcast mainly as the promote using adverts. They use broadcast because it has an extremely wide target audience as almost everyone has a TV at home, this allows them to attract the maximum amount of people to go and see their film resulting in a big box office return. They use radio also to give promote the film by making the film stars go to the radio stations and answering questions. Also they have an audio trailer, that just uses the sound from the film and primarily a voice over to narrate and to make the film sound exciting, they almost always include a release date. On DVDs they have a cluster of trailers that start before the film menu comes on, they use this to make the audience aware that the new DVD is coming out, this is an effective method of promoting a DVD because they are directly targeting people that buy DVDs.
On social networking websites such as Facebook, they have adverts that appear on the sidebars that you can click on and it give you information about the film, often a link to the official website. On twitter they might have it as the promoted trending topic, this tries to get people to talk about the film, and spread information and opinions by word of mouth (or word of tweet if you want). They often have official websites that provide information about DVDs, release dates and have interactive features for younger audiences.http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/dvdsite/
What are they key issues and changes taking place in each platform?
Print isn't free and as easy to access as social media. Most magazines have on line websites which provide the same information on line as they do in the magazines, the only difference is that the on line information is free. This poses an issue that people aren't buying magazines anymore because of the emergence and expansion of the Internet.
TV is seen by some as a"dying" form of media, because they believe that the quality of programming is extremely poor, with one or two exceptions. This causes people not to bother watching TV, they would rather download the shows they would rather watch or they just choose to stream them over the Internet. This way they don't get interrupted by adverts and don't have to wait to see what they want to. Some people believe that scheduled programming is dying because of the introduction and increased popularity of TV recording services such as sky+ and tivo. This allows users to record their programmes and fast forward through adverts. This could mean that they skip through trailers.
The e-media problem is that its hard to stop piracy, as files are shared over the Internet so easily. This makes it hard to stop people from sharing them, especially as the Internet is accessed by so many in the world. Over social networking websites, users often get huge loads of spam and junk, this causes them to just close any windows that aren't their social networking site, without even looking at them, as a result this makes e-media promotion much harder to attract their attention and to keep it.
How is each platform responding and adapting to these issues and changes?
Print is responding by providing their magazines on line, but for a subscription. So that they have to pay for it, so they still are getting their money but they are evolving and trying to capitalise on the growing appeal of the Internet. Some websites make some of their website free but some more interesting or well written information subscription based. This way they are trying to get money that they are not getting from magazine sales.
Broadcast is now allowing users to connect to twitter and Facebook through their TVs as it allows them to share with their people what they like on TV. Film companies are choosing to put their trailers on during live sporting events that people would rather watch live than record.
Social networking websites are now suggesting to their users things that they may like judged on things that they have either liked or searched previously.
2. How are texts in the three platforms constructed?
How is Super 8 promoted through:
- Print?
- Broadcasting (TV/Radio/DVD)?
- E-Media?
Super 8 was broadcasted through print in the UK on buses, magazines, newspapers and the film poster appearing on phone boxes and also bus stops. They choose to advertise on buses and other easily viewable items because many people see/use them daily. As the audience continues to see Super 8 advertised so much it makes them want to gain more information on the film, like the trailer, and release date for example, they do this so that they understand why there are so many adverts and hype surrounding this upcoming film. They can find out where to go as the posters that are on the buses and bus stops have information about the films website and they either say "coming soon" or they have the date of release on it.
They promoted through e-media by including the website on posters, this makes it interactive for users as they can find out information and also play games. The games were associated with the film and also gave in sights/ information about the film. They advertised on hit social networking websites such as Facebook on the sidebar, the advert contained the film title a photo of the cast, the release date and also information about the director/producer.
Now look at each platform individually:
- What type of media language does the platform use? Identify the codes and conventions of that platform
- Print media will give a review of a new film, provide information about the cast, certificate, etc. and will often include an interview with a star/director
With print there are two different types of newspaper, broadsheet, which is for a more educated audience as it contains bigger words and more though provoking articles. The other is a tabloid, which uses more basic and standard vocabulary, and provides articles about celebrities more than anything. Just to show the difference between a broadsheet and a tabloid review I am going to choose a short extract and compare them. Let me start of by saying that both newspapers, The Guardian and The Daily Mirror gave the film 3 out of 5 stars. It took me all of 5 minutes to read through the daily mirror review, written by David Edwards from the university of Leicester. It lacks proper film terminology and is only 12 lines. The daily mirror is describing and showing that film is only for entertainment. It is for an extremely basic audience and falls way behind the guardians review. The guardian has a very good Media section, the review of Super 8 was written by Peter Bradshaw, who was educated at the prestigious Cambridge University. The guardian uses higher vocabulary words, and includes a high number of media terms. It also touches into social context of when super 8's where about and social issues. It makes the audience think opposed to the daily mirror that spoon feeds the basic audience the information. The main difference is that the guardian views the film as art, even though its not the greatest film ever, but the daily mirror just views it as entertainment.
Radio and TV will usually offer an exclusive interview alongside clips from the film
On the sky movies channel there is a programme called 35mm which is a short TV show that provides a preview to the audience of new upcoming big budget films. The Super 8 special was aired on sky on 29th July 2011, this was shown a week before the UK premiere. It lasts roughly 10 minutes, and contains snippets from the film. During the show they have interviews with multiple cast members. They talk you through the narrative, but to a careful balance where they don't give too much away but enough to get the audience into it. This is common in almost all of TV promotions as they try to get the audience intrigued into the film, so that they go to see the film. The cast members give an insight into what their character is like and why they are that way. In some other cases they also include some of the more important production staff, for example the producer who gives an insight into their vision for the film and sometimes also give a hint of what to look out for.
Now think of how Super 8 is being promoted across the 3 platforms:
- What are the similarities?
- What are the differences?
- E.g. Why are some platforms better than others at reaching a certain audience?
- Does one platform promote Super 8 differently to another?
Each platform reaches out to a different audience. Broadcast and print reach an older audience, and e-media reaches a younger audience. Older audiences grew up with magazines and newspapers as their primary way of getting information, this was until the introduction of television, but still some of the older audience prefer newspapers and magazines to get their information. Younger people are more Internet literate, and the older audience aren't, that's because the younger audience have grown up with computers and all of this technology but the older audience hasn't. Also young people spend most of their time on the computer as they don't work yet.
Through all media formats they give brief but sufficient information about the film so that the audience knows enough about the narrative to be intrigued but not too much to the point where the narrative is spoiled. Through broadcasting they did this by choosing certain scenes from the film that tell a small part of the narrative, they also include high energy stunts, which make the audience want to see if there is more of the same in the film. In broadcasting promotion (trailers) they leave the audience wanting more and leave them thinking, thinking about what happens next.
Super 8 was pushed hard worldwide through the print media platform, the billboards just had the films name on it, Steven Spielberg and J.J Abrams, in big writing with their accolades just above their name, and the release date. This is because Steven Spielberg and J.J Abrams are such big names that just by them teaming up together should be enough for the viewer to want to go see the film.
Super 8 was promoted by print through magazines by interviews, and also reviews and previews. Super 8 was reviewed by the well established empire magazine, Empire review people often look at reviews from well respected institutions as to whether or not to watch the film. They carefully choose which institution to do interviews with as they want to get the widest possible audience so they get the most amount of people interested in the film. For example J.J Abrams did an interview with GQ magazineThey also use the same poster on buses and bus stops as they do on billboards, this makes it easy for the audience to recognise the poster as it is the same poster.
They promoted the film over e-media by running competitions that are linked to the film, they also provided information through social networking websites, they provided information to the people that follow/like their page by tweeting or updating their status about things such as dvd release dates, and also other extra information such as special features and awards that the film and things associated to the film are nominated for. Paramount released a Twitter promotion which provided a chance for fans to purchase tickets for advanced screenings of the film, a day before the American premiere. They attached the first trailer to the hit film iron man 2, which was released on May 2010, the trailer contained the opening scene of the film where the train crashes into a pick up truck which ran across the railway. During the final scenes of the trailer there was a message of "Scariest thing I ever saw". Once that quote was googled it came up to a website which had a computer screen and needed the user to select Y/N in order to progress further through the website. It leads onto give information about the films storyline
3. How do audiences access the text across the 3 platforms?
Who are Super 8’s target audience(s) and how do you know?
When they promote the film they have Steven Spielberg and J.J Abrams in huge writing, this is because they are the main figures of the production team, and their previous work is well respected and well recognised. Steven Spielberg is known for his children's films which have cutting edge technology. J.J Abrams is also well recognised for his directing work, so the film is aimed at Spielberg and Abrams enthusiasts. Also people that enjoyed ET as there are many similarities between ET and Super 8. The film is 12A so it is for a family audience just like ET. It's not for family with young children, its more for families with children that are aged roughly 10-13 because young children will get scared of the monster.
How is Super 8 promoted to its target audience(s) through:
- Print?
- Broadcasting (TV/Radio/DVD)?
- E-Media?
- What is the audience experience for each platform (physical, emotional, psychological)? How are they different?
Super 8 was promoted through broadcast to the family audience by the periods they advertised through. They advertised during the super bowl half time show, the super bowl attracts millions and this was the perfect advertising platform that Super 8 needed to inform the mass audience about this big budget film that is soon to be released. They also made sure that when they were making the trailers/adverts that they made a big deal about Spielberg and Abrams, because that will attract the older audience whilst the children would be attracted to the "cool scenes" and the adventure element of the film.
Through e-media the film was promoted more at the younger side of the audience as they use social networking more than their parents would. They payed to have super 8 as the promoted tweet because it would get people talking and interested in the film. The website had interactive features that would interest children as they enjoy playing games and being creative and the super 8 official website allowed them to do that.
Through print Super 8 was advertised to probably an older audience because most youngsters dont read books, or magazines as they get them for free on the internet, but older audiences would of been intrigued by the interviews that were done by both Spielberg and Abrams such as this one http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=31101.
Now think of how the producers are communicating with audiences across the 3 platforms:
- What are the differences?
- Are there any differences in the audience gratifications offered across the 3 platforms? What rewards or enjoyment do Super 8 audiences get from each platform?
- Are the producers widening their appeal through their cross platform approach? If so, how?
The most obvious form of communication between the producers and the audience is through social-networking websites, such as Twitter and Facebook. Through broadcasting it is through the film trailer and through print it is through interviews that are conducted through institutions also billboards and posters.
The producers are widening their appeal through their cross media platform because they are reaching a wider audience. By reaching a wider audience they inform more people about the film. Some of these people wouldn't of been interested in the film before seeing either the trailer, social media promotions or magazine interviews. Some people might not of known that Spielberg produced the film or Abrams directed it and they might have strong interest in these 2 media people so they want to go and watch it to see how these two people combine to make a film. Also the audience might really like an actor and they might want to watch the film because of them. Also the content in the trailer, magazine or social media might interest them because of the plot or it might interest them because of how its done.
Audience theories you could research and apply to your Super 8 case study:
- Uses & gratifications
- Social demographics (ABC1 = Middle class; C2DE = Working class)
- Mode of address
- Narrowcasting
Using Blumers and Katz theory about escapism. The film provides escapism for the audience as the film is set in the past it may cause adults, who grew up in that period, to reminisce about their own childhood. For others it provides escapism as it involves magical creatures and makes them want to be in a land of magical beings. It also allows them to escape and be somewhere else, to get away from their problems and also any routine. The audience members may be able to identify with a character or a group of characters, through the values or traits that the character has. They then may go off and do some other things that the character they identify with does.
The film is aimed at all socio-economic groups. I think it doesn't exclude any groups because the film has aspects that everyone can enjoy, just like I said with the newspaper reviews the more educated (usually but not always A, B, C1) will see and appreciate the art behind the film, and the less well educated audience (C2, D and most but not all of E) will just use it for entertainment value.
I don't understand what 'mode of address' is meant by in this context.
Narrowcasting is a market strategy where in this case paramount just target a specific audience in an attempt to get them to view the film more. This is done by film production companies because they want to get the films target audience into the cinema and watching their film. I don't think that narrowcasting has been done much by paramount. Although to an extent it has, because they attached the Super 8 trailer to another action adventure film they are trying to get people that already watch action adventure films to come and watch this one.
4. How are representations constructed across the 3 platforms?
How are characters/stars in the film represented in:
- Print media?
- Broadcast media (TV/Radio/DVD)?
- E-Media?
- Select some examples from each platform and perform some textual analysis (trailers, magazine articles, adverts, tweets, radio interviews etc
Through print media the characters are represented as being young and impressive. In empire magazine they called the child actors "amazing". The review is viewable online here, the paragraph about the children is the 7th paragraph down. This is a good representation because they are praising the actors that might have very little experience in a high budget film and is promoting them as the actors of tomorrow. In the guardian's review of the film they describe Elle Fanning's performance at the train track as "perhaps the best "rehearsal" scene since Naomi Watts's audition piece in Mulholland Drive". This shows her as a extremely talented actors with a high potential for greatness.
Through broadcast the child stars are represented as fun loving, funny, innocent, and talented. The characters which the stars played are represented as: ambitious, innocent, young, brave, courageous, funny and talented. These representations of the characters are shown through the trailer, by a combination of: body language, tone, facial expressions and dialogue. The stars are represented that way because of the television interviews which they have done related to the film. The positive representations that they have attached to their character, makes them seem like good role models, and also some of the representations that they have attached to themselves also make them seem like good role models.
Through E-media they are represented as being in touch with their fans. They are represented as caring about their fans because they reply/retweet what their followers are saying such as Riley Griffiths twitter. They are shown to be interactive with their fans, this will make them more popular with their existing fans and potentially make new fans because they are talking to normal people despite being big stars. This could mean big things for the film also, as they may feel obliged to go and buy the DVD because a star from the film replied/retweeted them.
Now look at what values and ideologies are communicated within these representations
- Think about the people/places/ideas that are used/communicated
- How and why they are presented to the audience in this way?
- How is the audience represented? Do they get a chance to represent themselves? E.g. Twitter.
During the 35mm sky special they are just in a studio sitting on a chair with a very uninteresting background, this forces the reader to just watch them and to listen to what they are saying because there isn't anything to distract the audience. This is for almost for all of the characters, but not all, the two less important male characters are put together when being interviewed. The 2 boys are very fun together and look like they genuinely enjoy each others company. The representations that are shown in the children in the trailer are to provide escapism for younger audiences as they will look at one character and be like yeah I wish I could do that, be that cool or be that courageous. Also it has to be a positive representation because children are highly impressionable and might act the negative things that the characters do. So the positive representations are there so that parents see that this is a film that is suitable for their children to watch, and that they can allow them to watch it because their child won't pick up bad habits for what the actors do. The audience is represented through twitter because the official super 8 page retweets what some of the followers say that is related to the film, that is positive. The audience is represented on twitter as being extremely enthusiastic and happy with the film, and no displeased, as the super 8 official page selects which tweets to retweet. On Facebook they often post status updates, and instantly there are likes and comments on whatever it is, further emphasising how enthusiastic their fans are about the film, and eager to get more.
Now think of how the film communicates with audiences across the 3 platforms:
- Are there any differences or similarities in the representations of:
- The actors/stars (their star persona)
- People (race, gender, age etc)
- Places (countries, regions, the USA etc)
- Values and ideologies (class, politics, religion, lifestyle, beliefs etc)
Through the film the children represented as being intelligent and being a step ahead of the humans. They also are represented as being as being defiant of their parents words, and they are also portrayed as being emotionally developed. The film goes against stereotypes which say that children are dependent on their parents, and that they don't understand emotions.
The actors through the interviews which they have done are represented as being talented, smart but also being fun. Through print media reviews they are represented as being extremely talented and acting prospects for the future.
The young actors are represented as being correct and the adults as wrong. The USA is viewed as being the dominate world power because they posses these alien creatures, and they are viewing it as their job to protect the planet.
They main actors are all white and only one actor is black during the film. This is promoting white people as the main/dominant race, connoting that black people are less important in society. This isn't promoted across any platforms at all, this might just be a coincidence or might just be to reiterate the time period.
The film promotes the ideology of patriarchal society, as all of the people are proud to be American and will do whatever possible to protect their beloved country. This isn't made a big point when they are promoting the film across all 3 platforms, because they need people all around the world to see this film, and if they just focused on America being the dominat power some people might be put off the film and not go and see it.
5. What institutional issues are raised in the case study?
Who are the key institutions involved in promoting Super 8 and how are they involved?
- Paramount
- Amblin Entertainment
- Other collaborators (distributors, exhibitors – multiplex cinema chains, DVD sales/rental companies, film download sites, e.g. LoveFilm).
Paramount pictures corporation is americas oldest film production/distribution institution (97 years old). Paramount pictures are a huge company and have a history of producing highly popular films, that do well at the box office. They make a variety of different genre films, ranging from drama to musicals to action adventure to horror films. Paramount pictures is a film institution that is associated with quality. This helps to promote the film because people associate good quality with paramount pictures and if they know that the film is made by paramount pictures they might be more likely to go and see the film in hopes that the film might be as good as the last paramount pictures film that they saw.
Amblin entertainment is an American film production company that was founded by the well respected director and producer Steven Speilberg. Amblin has never distributed their own films nor has it ever financed its own film, and they then need help of another studio, usually a bigger studio. Amblin was the name of Speilberg's first released film. People that know that this is Speilbergs production company will be intrigued to see how Speilbergs company teams up with paramount pictures.
How do they use technological developments to provide new audience experiences?
Paramount don't just sell the blu-ray and dvd they also provide a digital copy which means that they can put it on their computer or on their phone. On the official Super 8 website there is a link at the top which allows the user to rent or stream the video onto their device for a fee. As people look for alternative ways to view media the institutions are providing that.
Are the institutions affected by economic issues within each media platform?
Magazines are seen as expensive and also a bit of a luxury. When economic problems such as the recession occur, people stop buying luxury goods, and this probably has played a hand in the fall in magazines bought over the recession period. Also because the internet is free and often provides the same information that is found in magazines.
Broadcast costs quite a bit of money to do and because of financal hard times, it can be hard to come up with the capital needed to buy advertisment time slots, and to also contsruct the trailer. Because of how much capital that has been put up for the film this is not a problem because of the big nudget, but for smaller films it is a lot harder for them to promote their film if they dont have a huge fininacl backing from investors.
E-media doesn't have much if any economic issues. If there are any problems caused by economic problems it is that it could cost a lot to get a website designer, to develop a website such as the official super 8 website. Using social media doesn't have any economic issues as social networking is free for everyone to use.
Has internet piracy impacted on the construction/distribution of the film/DVD?
Yes, I think so because there are links to websites which allow free downloads of Super 8. These people that could download Super 8 for free could be going and buying the DVD instead, and this could be helping the film make even more money. Most people download movies and keep them in a digital format and format them to a media device, so the institutions have offered a digital copy of the dvd with the dvd.
Now think of how the institutions behind Super 8 are working across the 3 platforms:
- Analyse how the platforms interact
- Do some work better together than others?
The platforms interact because they promote the film and dvd, through broadcast, print and e-media. Often they use an image from the trailer and just use that as the poster which the promote the film. They must make sure that the image is easily indentifiable and easily assciated with the film. On e-media they often use the same trailer as they have used over broadcast so that people are able to identify the film dvd advert and know that this is for Super 8.
Print media is starting to try and work hand in hand with E-media with the use of a new technology called bee-tag. It allows users to scan a bar code like image with their phone camera and it sends them to the website. They are trying to make print media more interactive and try to link it more to the highly popular and easy to access e-media. This is a smart move as a high percentage of people have smart phones and are cabable of using this software. Unfortunetly super 8 were not able to use this technology.
E-media and brodcast work best together for this moment in time. They work best togther because of how, what is on tv is usually on the internet within 10 minutes usually. Also with social media it also allows people to get their view across about the film, this can either be good or bad but usually depends on the quality of the film. No matter if its good or bad, more people are finiding out about the film and they will then want to see if the persons statement is correct or not.
