Exam Question

 "Evaluate the role of Digital Technologies in the marketing and consumption of products in the media area you have studied"   

One film that has used digital technologies in marketing is the upcoming film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

One way in which this film uses digital technologies is through the use of Youtube. The Youtube channel contains all of the important videos and trailers. The videos all have links to the official star wars website, as well as the Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr. Furthermore, by using Youtube also allows it to be accessed and watched by anyone at any time because of peoples access to convergence devices, such as, smartphones, tablets, game consoles. This helps promote the brand because before the video finishes playing, they have pops up to further videos and social networking sites.  The Youtube channel is also like a 'social hub' where fans can

Another way in which Star Wars uses digital technologies is through the use of social networking sites, with the use of unofficial hashtags which fans make to interact and share their experiences and opinions on the new film. Examples of hashtags are, #starwars , #theforceawakens , #darthvader. This is a form of viral marketing as it is promoted by people interacting with each other. They also had a viral trend of #ForceFriday, was
'the day when Star Wars licensed merchandise goes on sale, is shaping up as a force to be reckoned with and could produce $1 billion in sales for U.S. retailers.'

In addition to this, Star Wars have also created a digital app via Apple and Android. The app contains access to all social media sites, access to trailers and back stage videos. The use of the technological convergence of a mobile phone, (iPhone) , allows the app to access the camera which allows them to take selfies with the Star Wars characters. They are then encouraged to share and retweet their pictures, this is an example of viral marketing. The app also contained sound effects, and games too. This engaged the audience to continue watching and to stay updated with the latest information on Star Wars. 

The British Class System

TV Drama- Hustle

How does camera, miss en scene, editing and soundtrack represent gender?

One way in which the camera presents the woman as emotional and frantic is through the use of the hand held camera moving quickly following the woman when she is searching for her ring. This represents women as hysterical and emotional. 

Another way in which women are presented as emotional is is through the fast paced editing and when the music speeds up. This shows that she is frantic and follows the stereotype that women are emotional. Yet, when she has slightly calmed down, she becomes controlling and assertive. When in the dialogue she says "call in all your staff"to find the ring. This represents that women are demanding.

Additionally, this extract creates a anti-stereotype of men through the use of editing and mise-en-scene in the sequence when David Walliams goes into the changing room to get the dress. His walk is very camp and flamboyant and he swishes the curtain into the camera, creating a wipe to the next seen of the woman in the dress. 

The camera conveys the woman to be a sexual object through the use of the close up and tilt shot on the woman's body this objectifies her and creates the representation that women are to be looked at. This is reinforced with the diegetic sound of her squealing in excitement.

Furthermore, when the older lady is looking in the shop and is unable to purchase the dress, the use of the cutaway to the younger women suggests that she is judgemental. However, the close up on her facial expressing suggests that she sympathises with the older woman because she cannot afford the dress.

When the man sets off the alarm, the dietetic sound of the alarm implies that he is incompetent. This creates a counter-stereotype as the man repeatedly says "shh! shh! shh!" to the alarm as if it would turn off. The stereotype of men being capable to work with electronics is challenged.

Marketing and Distribution of Film 4's film FRANK

The way in which Indie films market, distribute and exhibit their films differently to how Major film companies do. This is due to the difference in money in which they have to produce and distribute their film.


FRANK
                                                                               Frank premiered at Sundance in January 2014 and played at SXSW and Sundance London before being released in the UK on September 9 2014. Frank has been nominated for five awards at the BIFAs including Best Director for Lenny Abrahamson, Best Screenplay for Peter Straughan and Jon Ronson, Best Supporting Actress for Maggie Gyllenhaal, Best Supporting Actor for Michael Fassbender and Best Technical Achievement for Stephen Rennicks' music. Frank is available on DVD and Blu-ray now. .The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 17 January 2014. When audiences went to see the film at Sundance, they were all given masks similar to that worn by Frank in the film. The film premiered in Europe at its European premiere in Dublin on 25 April 2014. The film was released in cinemas nationwide in the Republic of Ireland on 2 May 2014and in the United Kingdom on 9 May 2014. Additionally, fake twitter accounts were set up for the characters of the film. This is to allow the audience to interact with the characters, and also gain a insight into their views and also what is happening to them in the film.

Actor: Domhnall Gleeson, Scoot McNairy, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Fassbender

Director: Lenny Abrahamson

Screen Writer: Jon Ronson, Peter Straughan

Producer: David Barron, Andrew Lowe, Ed Guiney

Photographer: James Mathers

                 

Country:

UK | Ireland | USA

Language:

English | French | German

Release Date:

9 May 2014 (UK) See more »

Also Known As:

Frenk See more »

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA See more »

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Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$16,056 (USA) (15 August 2014)

Gross:

$644,906 (USA) (5 December 2014)

See more »

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Company Credits

Production Co:

Runaway Fridge Productions, Element Pictures, Film4 See more »

Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Desperate Housewives Opening Sequence

Susan Mayer plays 'The Damsel in Distress' the vulnerable woman who must breezed by the hero. She is often used as a trap to ensnare the unsuspecting hero. This is conveyed in the title sequence when a younger woman flirts with the wife husband and the woman is then visually sealed/trapped into a sardine can. This presents men as easily tempted and can easily discard their wives. This also presents women as easily being replaced and that they have to be young and attractive, and when they get old they have past their sell buy date and are chucked out.

Lynette Scavo plays 'The Earth Mother' a symbolic of fruition, abundance and fertility. This character offers spiritual and emotional nourishment to those with whom she comes in contact. Often depicted in earth colours with large breasts and hips symbolic of her child bearing capabilities.  This is portrayed when it shows the Egyptian woman physically drowning in children. This conveys women as unreliable and incapable of coping alone.

Gabrielle Solis plays 'The Temptress' a character of sensuous beauty, this woman is one to whom the protagonist is physically attracted and who ultimately brings about his downfall. This is portrayed in the opening title sequence when they show Adam and Eve and the apple falls off, this shows how Eve is tempted by the apple and picks it. This portrays men are hurt by women actions, and women are devious and sneaky/sly.

Bree Van De Kamp plays the 'Unfaithful Wife' she is a woman who is married to a man who she sees as dull or distant and is attracted to more virile or interesting men. This is presented when the husband watches his wife sweep the banana peel of the floor (which he has just eaten). This reinforces the stereotype that women are supposed to be domestic wives and are represented as servile to their husbands.

The sequence ends with a woman punching her husband, this ultimately shows that woman win.

Gender Stereotypes

Emotional	Prudent	Co-operative
Community minded	Compliant	Rational
Efficient	Competitive	Individualistic
Ruthless	Submissive	Sensitive
Dependent	Independent	Demure
Controlling	Confident	Strong
Ambitious	Aggressive	Assertive
Selfish	Selfless	Domesticated
Violent	Powerful	Competent

Lenny Henry- Television Drama and Race

Lenny Henry- Television Drama and Race

After watching the famous black actor, Lenny Henry, discuss his opinions on BBC News about black and asian actors in television dramas, I have concluded his main points:

• Lenny Henry believes there has been a significantly slow effort made to how black/asian actors are portrayed on screen
• He thinks that producers should include and produce more diverse programmes and include actors from different ethnicities.
• Broadcasters should expand on what they broadcast so it suits all ethnic types
• There is only a small percentage or black and asian actors on screen
• Small budgets are given to ethnic programmes in contrast to more mainstream programmes.

Cultural Hegonomy

Cultural hegemony, a concept developed by Italian scholar and activist Antonio Gramsci, refers to domination, or rule, achieved through ideological (cultural) means. The term refers to the ability of a group of people to hold power over social institutions, and thus, to strongly influence the everyday thoughts, expectations, and behavior of the rest of society by directing the normative ideas, values, and beliefs that become the dominant worldview of a society.

Hotel Babylon- Mise en Scené

 One way in which the director chose to use Mise En Scené in order for us to sympathise with Ibrahim is through the use of the prop the hoover. The hoover is a significant object as it represents Ibrahim's character. When the camera cuts to the hoover left on the floor, this tells the audience how Ibrahim will be remembered as a cleaner, rather than a person. The use of the metonymic shot tilting down onto the hoover also shows how though he is working hard and putting in the effort for his job, he is still going to prison for it and being taken away.

The workers are seen wearing maroon jumpsuits, whereas the white people are seen wearing suits and heavy makeup. This shows the difference in social class due to the colour of their skin. This represents the white people as high class, rich and presentable, whereas the other ethic groups are seen in basic clothing, and as outcasts.

Furthermore, when the immigrants are rushing to the stock room there is a sense of sympathy from the audience as they are obliged to feel tense as they want the immigrants to avoid getting captured. The immigrants rush down to the stock room in which they are enclosed in a small room to hide. The small room downstairs is out of the way which reinforces the representation of the immigrants being below the white people as the white people are upstairs in the hotel, with lots of space. This makes the audience sympathise with the hiding immigrants.

The use of facial expressions also helps represent race during this clip. When the immigrant officers arrive, the white woman on the desk speaks calmly and presentably by smiling and has open body language. In contrast, the hotel workers show signs of nervousness as they tremble on their words and also have a worried and tensed facial expression. This shows how the white manager feels superior to the other workers because she is the same colour as the officers and does not need to worry about being arrested.

When Jackie is clearing out Ibrahim's locker, the audience sympathise with him being arrested through the use of the music and also the photographs of his family and football club. When Jackie removes the photographs, this presents to the audience that he is now alone as his only family were the other immigrants. The director has done this to show how the closeness of the immigrants is like a family because they all stay together with fear that they could be taken away from the officers at any moment.

Love Thy Neighbour

Love Thy Neighbour- Race and Ethnicity




Race is presented to the audience in many different ways in Love Thy Neighbour. From the start the behavioural of the white characters is that they see themselves as a high status and highly educated. One way this is portrayed is through the clothing they are wearing as he is wearing a well fitted suit, and the woman is in a matching two piece and is seen knitting.

Furthermore, racial discrimination is portrayed in this episode when the white man has returned from shaking the hand of a potential prime minister and the black man shakes his hand. The reaction of the the black man's actions from the white man is "you have contaminated my hand" this suggests that the white man see's the black man as dirty, almost like a germ. The thoughtful and welcoming actions from the black man were criticised by the white man, this shows racial prejudice. Racial comments are repeated during this episode, for example, when the white man says to his wife, "you may need to buy monkey nuts" and "descended from the jungle" when talking about the evolution of "black" people. This presents the white race as people who feel they are more superior and special than black people. Additionally, this idea is portrayed also through the comments from the white man when he questions how the black man feels wearing a suit. This suggests that white people thought that they were only at a high class and therefore only they could wear suits and be presented smartly.

However, the black man does not challenge the racial comments. He confronts the white man and explains how he is not surprised by the white mans opinions on black people because he is "conditioned by society" to support the discrimination of black people. This allows the audience to understand that black people during 1970's were seen by outcasts by white people.

Overall, the ideology from this programme is that white people were the "norm" of society, whereas the black people were discriminated against, and were not treated the same way white people were during this time. This is presented also when the black man tries to emphasise to the white man the discrimination of black people when he challenges him to a bet that they will not serve him at a pub due to his skin colour. This programme allows the audience to become aware of the differences of treatment between black and white people during the 1970's. This episode makes us sympathise with the black character as he was only trying to be nice from the start, however, because of his skin colour he is not accepted in everyday society.

The Big Six

THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY

The Walt Disney Company is currently the top "Big Six" major hollywood studio.

Disney was founded in 1923, and has many different parts of the main Disney. The Walt Disney Studios is an American film studio, one of the four major businesses of The Walt Disney Company and the main component of its Studio Entertainment segment. 

The Studios generated an estimated income of $1.549 billion during the 2014 fiscal year. The studio entertainment business alone (live-action and animated motion pictures, direct-to-video content, musical recordings and live stage plays) brought in $5.83 billion in 2012.

Walt Disney Productions began production of his first feature-length animated film in 1934. Taking three years to complete, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,premiered in December 1937 and became highest-grossing film of that time by 1939.

By the 1980s, The Walt Disney Company's collection of film units emerged as one of Hollywood's "Big Six" film studios.Disney has produced many successful films, such as Alice and Wonderland, Pirates and the Caribbean, award winning animation, Frozen, The Lion King, Toy Story, Monster Inc and many more.  

Since The Walt Disney Studio's company is made up of Walt Disney Animation, Marvel, and Live Action movies they each are responsible for creating different genre films, and targeting different audiences. These include, action adventure, fantasy, magical and many more.

Walt Disney Motion Pictures was  distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was then set up and developed by Walt and his older brother. In 2011, Disney signed a distribution contract with DreamWorks Studios. Disney is the first of only three studios that have released at least two billion-dollar films in the same year (the others being Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures) 

Disney's most successful film so far with the highest domestic gross is The Avengers. Released in 2012, it created $623,357,910. . Marvel Studios, a division of Marvel Entertainment, produces movies based on the world's most prominent and iconic comic book empire. 

Released in 2012, Avengers became the most successful Disney Marvel film known to date. On the opening weekend it managed to make $207,438,708 just in ticket sales. 

Star Wars

Two teasers, one main release. Built up a hype and make it like an event. The main trailer was then premiered during an american football event.

Also exhibited in Digital, IMAX, IMAX LASER (new technology)
Rereleased the original films digitally VOD, and streaming on various websites- Youtube.

The online app provides a way to fill the gap between episode 6 and 7. They can also keep updated with the new film and important facts/features they need to know. Able to connect with others around the world who have a interest in star wars. The more you play the more you can unlock and find out.

#ForceFriday was a live streamed event which released all the merchandise on the same day. (Reference to #BlackFriday)

Disney world has made ride and attractions to fit in with the film. Launched a temporary makeover of Tommorowland Festival.

Film4 Productions

Film 4 Productions

Film4 Productions is a British film production company owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The first production was Walter, directed by Stephen fears, which was released in 1982. 

The company has been responsible for backing a large number of films made in the United Kingdom. Film4 is owned directly by channel 4.

The company was also known for working with the most distinctive and innovative talent in the UK, whether new or established. It had developed and co-financed many of the most successful UK films of recent years, including some Academy Award winners such as 12 Years A Slave, Slumdog Millionaire and The Iron Lady. 

Film4 works with established and emerging talent, supporting them to tell unique stories and connect with audiences in new ways. They range across subject matters, and base lots of suff around British content and British-led talent and produce diverse and challenging films.

One of the most successful films which Film4 were associated with is 12 Years A Slave. Though this film was not produced just by Film4, the producer was British and most of the actors were British. This film was very successful and had a rating of 8.1/10 on IMDB. This film was released in 2013 and on the opening weekend was able to successfully make $923,715 US dollars.

Race and Ethinicity

final preliminary task