Practice Exam Question

Qu.: '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 chosen media area?


Essay Plan

• In the film industry of the 21st century, cross-media convergence and synergy have become evermore important in terms of marketing to post-modern audiences. 

• Refer to case study (Quartet) and give examples of what forms of cross-media convergence and synergy have been used > in this case, YouTube adverts/trailers, TV adverts, Cinema trailers > did not come across as vital for this movie, as not all forms of media were taken advantage of
• However, movie was still reasonably successful, suggesting that cross-media convergence and synergy were not that important for their marketing
• This could be because the film was aimed at an older audience, who would not have access or may not be aware of the newer forms of technology available to them, so marketing through social networking, for example, would not have been essential

• Refer to another case study (I Give It A Year) and give  and give examples of what forms of cross-media convergence and synergy have been used 
• Movie was very successful suggesting that cross-media convergence and synergy were very important for their marketing
• This could be because the film was made by Working Title who have collaborated with Universal

Notes: Secrets, Hidden Identities and the Village Movie

How Three independents are Making Movies for the 21st Century

• Brenda Hamlet: production and view on movies is changing due to new technology
• Fans have more access to movies through gadgets, movie channels, DVD players and multiplex & single screen cinemas

          The Big Screen: The Story of the Movies and What They Did to Us (2012) by David Thompson

• Darkened cinema + Big screen = immersive experience > defines concept of spectatorship & movie-going
• Thompson: this no longer exists in modern cinemas

         The Good, the Bad and The Multiplex - What's Wrong with Modern Movies? (2012) by mark

         Kermode

• Modern movie more revolved around technological production and distribution than actual consumption
• Movie experience has been dominated by technology (e.g. online booking systems & ticket machines)

      

• Leos Caraz (writer & director of Holy Motors): 20th century film dying out and digital film
                                                                               emerging
• Fabien Riggall (founder of Secret Cinema): "there is a cultural shift happening. Live cinema is
                                                                          the future."

Secret Cinema: Don't Tell Anyone...

• Secret Cinema - interactive movie events: warehouse/vintage picture palace transformed into
                             iconic movie settings, favourite scenes improvised, audience participation
                             (e.g. costume, props linked to movie, special tasks), 'live cinema journey'
• Julian Spooner (actor in Bugsy Malone): "Secret Cinema takes the movie goer inside the
                                                                     cinematic narrative so they become part of the
                                                                     onscreen action."
• concept started off as a one-off screening > popular, so grew into Secret Cinema
• Fabien Riggall (founder): "It is like what cinema used to be. Cinema as the community as a
                                             communal experience - a place where people can be inspired."

Holy Motors: Hidden Identities and the 21st Century Movie

• Evolution of filmmaking: Chaplin (silent film) > surrealism (Bunuel and Cocteau), Nouvelle
                                            Vague (Melville and Godard) > digital age of motion capture CGI
                                            animation
• Idea of movie links to idea that the internet is one big performance space in which people take on a range of disguises and hidden identities from usernames and avatars
• In the movie, a car is worried they might be sent to the scrapyard - a metaphor for old films in a
                                                                                                             movie archive

Tortoise in Love: The Village Movie

• Browning (comedy writer) pitched idea of movie at local village hall
                 > to raise £250,000 needed to make film, he offered villagers a stake in the film     
                    for as little as £20, to buy a mini-mogul share or maxi-mogul share investment for
                    £500 and up
                                              > unique crowd-funding scheme enabled people to share profits
                                                  appear in film
• Homes, businesses, gardens used for production stages, wardrobes, catering trailers
• Local hair salon used for make-up & styling
• Women's Institute made meals for cast & crew
• Musical score composed by a neighbour & performed by village choir
• Funding for distribution & exhibition provided by BFI          
                 > e.g. posters, press packs, prints, Q&A with director, post-screening discussions with
                           cast members

Independent Distribution: Pop-Up Cinema

• Pop-up cinemas: unusual setting, decadent interior, popcorn, paper tickets, elaborate signage, flip-down seats
                             > designed to evoke feeling of traditional cinema-going rather than modern
                                 multiplex
• screenings of cult movies, shorts, mixture of classics
• often take place in disused locations
                             > urban recycling
                             > e.g. Cineroleum takes place at a disused petrol station in East London
• Pop-up cinemas represent golden age of film:
                             > tradition of Saturday morning kid's cinema (e.g. Family Friendly Saturday
                                Film Club in Manchester)
                             > film awards (e.g. 'Cannes in a Van' - 'four-wheel film festival' - aims to give
                                exposure to independent films)
                             > food (e.g. Film Fugitive offers homemade food and a pop-up bar & The
                                Nomad partners with caterers, chocolatiers and gourmet popcorn makers)
• Secret Cinema - example of one of the largest pop-up cinemas
• Pop-up cinema is flexible and adaptable
• Can be used as an opportunity to screen specialist/low budget films that find it difficult to get distributed

David Gauntlett

• Professor of Media and Communications, and Co-Director of the Communication and Media Research Institute at the University of Westminster

• Author of several books on media and identities, and the everyday creative use of digital media

  E.g. Moving Experiences (1995, second edition 2005) and Video Critical (1997)

• Most recent book is Making is Connecting: The social meaning of creativity, from DIY and knitting to YouTube and Web 2.0 (2011)

• He has conducted collaborative research with a number of the world's leading creative organisations, including the BBC, Lego, and Tate  

How important is the BFI to the British Film Institute?

Without the British Film Institute, the British Film Industry would be at a great disadvantage to other film industries, particularly the American Film Industry. This is because the BFI plays a crucial role in terms of its main contribution of prviding the required funding for British films.

Independent movies would be likely to suffer the most without the help of the BFI, as the fact that they are not associated with large, well-known companies, means that they are in most need of funding towards the production of their films in order to produce it to the best of their ability.



The BFI play a key role in...

• supporting UK distributors ensure that the best British films engage with their audiences through a variety of platforms
• supporting sales companies to premiere new British films and international film festivals in order to improve marketing and promotion
• investing in skills across the film sector in order to help the British Film Industry to remain competitive, especially on a global scale
• discovering and developing new talent, across a range of roles involved in the film industry

 

"We use Lottery funds to nurture and invest in a diverse mix of first-class filmmakers UK-wide; to discover and develop new talent; and to support the production of a wide range of films that will enrich British film culture and define Britain and its storytellers in the 21st century, for the benefit of audiences at home and abroad."  - British Film Institute

 

The BFI provides audiences with more choice by awarding Lottery funding to widen the release of films in the UK.

Click here for a link to the Lottery funding awards made by the BFI since April 2011