How have film websites used convergence to increase audience awareness and participation?

Convergence is the coming together of technologies, for instance using a mobile phone as both a device to record still and moving images, as well as being a device on which they can be downloaded and streamed.
Convergence can also be used to describe the merging of various types of media - many newspapers now also have an online version and offer a variety of media such as videos of news broadcasts and podcasts.

Films now have websites created for them which have a variety of different media available on them, as well as links to various other sites in order to enable to sharing of this content to be done much easier; for instance on the website for the film Lawless, there is a link at the top which allows the viewers to enter their post code in order to buy tickets to any showing of the film, without having to go to the cinema by foot and risk not being able to secure a ticket.

The zombie romance film Warm Bodies, despite not having yet been released in cinemas, has a website with a lot of content on it, as can be seen in the image here.
It features an interactive quiz to "find out if your boyfriend is a zombie", contains videos that give the visitor tips on how to act like a zombie, by a star of the film, as well as a link to finding out information about the main character 'R', including trivial information about the weight of his brain, the contents of his stomach and the fact that he walks with a "slight limp". Upon entering the site, one is shown samples of the film, such as the first four minutes of it.

These are examples of technological convergence, and there are also example of convergence between media industries, as can be seen here. There are links to seven different social networks including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, as well as the option to send the link to your friends on Facebook and like the Facebook page.
There is an option to get tickets to the film, which is helpful to visitors as it means that they can book tickets in advance and also book their preferred seating.
A popular way of publicizing a film now is to "hashtag"a term on twitter, as can be seen to the right, and this helps to easily integrate the film franchise and other social media sites.

This is helpful in terms of increasing audience awareness as it means that people who were not previously aware of the film before to click on the tagged phrase, then they will be led to a variety of people who are talking about the same phrase.
There is then a lot of content available through doing this.

The website has offered a variety of different platforms on which to discover content on the internet, which is very good in order to sustain the interest of the audience - the film has not yet been released but there is a lot of content available - if trailers were released early, the website manages to prevent the potential audience from forgetting about it through the vast amount of videos available on the site. Once the film has been released, an audience may be tempted to go on the site if they have not before, which sustains their interest in the film for a little while longer.

The new film Silver Linings Playbook featuring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro has an interactive website, featuring lots of interesting content which is a little uncommon for such websites - for instance links to a Super Bowl recipe contest and a dating guide from Match.com, as well as more common methods of convergence such as to the Amazon website in order to buy the book or soundtrack.
These are more likely to appeal to a more mature audience rather than a young one, since there is a not an overly interactive nature;  it bounces off the romantic nature of the film, for instance with the dating guide, and also the family side of it, through the recipe contest.

Something to sustain the interest of the audience is the option to be added to a mailing list. This prevents early visitors to the site from losing interest in the film as they can be regularly updated on new content and reminded when the film comes out on what is likely to be a regular basis.
There are not quite so many links to social networking sites on the website for this film as there was on the site for Warm Bodies, but there is a link to a playlist for the film, which is linked to Facebook in order to make for easy sharing of the content. This something shadowed in the "excelsior" link at the top, whereby there is daily advice from the four main characters of the film; there is a link which allows you to directly share the quote on Facebook.

Although there is a limited range of content available on the website itself, there is a lot of it, which sustains the interest of a lot of audience members. The site itself is very visual, with lots of images, and these are effective in attracting an audience. The fact that it is so easy to share content on social networking sites means that it is going to be easily shared  between friends - word of mouth is obviously one of the most powerful methods of publicity and hence doing this online is going to be just as effective, if not a little more due to the visual element being added in as well.

Cutting It - Technical Analysis

We watched a short, 4 minute clip of the TV show "Cutting It", where main character Allie Henshall is hit by a car when leaving the hospital to meet her new husband, Gavin Ferraday.

Sound
There a four different types of sound that we can look at when analysing a scene:

• Verbal soundtrack - this is essentially the dialogue between characters or a narration.
• Soundtrack - this is the natural sound such as pauses and silence.
• Music score - this can include stings, bridges and motifs to support the visual.
• Ambient sound - this is the general background noise and is used for realism and to establish a place.

In Cutting It, the verbal soundtrack is the main source of sound due to the dialogue that is shared by the characters throughout. It mixes with background noise to create the sense of realism that most dramas try to achieve, and shows the thoughts and emotions of the characters.

There a quite a few sound effects in this extract, mainly natural sounds, to intensify what is going on. for instance, there is the sound of cars driving past and the general hubbub of people around them. In order to make us pay more attention to a single moment in particular, there is little sound other than tyres screeching and the sound of a heartbeat. The sound of the heartbeat makes us focus all of our attention on Gavin and his attempts to get to Allie. The lack of sound other than the heartbeat suggests that he is blocking everything else out, which is proved by the fact he almost gets hit by a car himself when crossing the road.

The music score is a song with lyrics. It is melodic and pleasing to the ear, but is unhappy and melancholy in nature, and seems to foreshadow that something bad is going to happen. The final lyric of the song is "remember what you see", before it fades out as Allie leaves the hospital, which is almost symbolic, since Gavin will want to remember Allie looking happy as she goes to cross the road.
Climaxes within the music tend to make it obvious when there is something of significance going to happen, but there is not much of this in the tune played over the otherwise silent collection of shots when Allie is in the consultants office.

Ambient sound is quieter than the dialogue in order to keep us focused on the main characters.

Editing
There is not a lot of editing in this drama, mainly because it aims to keep the levels of realism high. There are differences in the lengths of shots and how they have been cut together - for instance, when there are close ups of faces, there a quick cuts between characters to keep up with the natural flow of dialogue, but there are slower cuts at the consultation when Allie is being spoken to by the consultant.

There is a fade to black at the end of the clip, which suggests to us that this is an end to a lot of drama and almost the end of an era - supported by the fact that it is implied that Allie and Gavin have had a lot of drama in the past.

In terms of visual effects, there is some slow motion when Gavin runs towards Allie from his place in the café. This instills a sense of how futile his efforts are, since it makes it seem like he has much further to travel to get to her.
The ring which Gavin twists around his finger appears to have been recoloured. The image has a blue tint to it, which looks rather dramatic and also creates a cold atmosphere despite the romantic connotations of a wedding ring. This could potentially be foreshadowing events which occur just minutes later.

There are sharper shots where the pair converse, and softer ones in the consultation room, which adds to how little we know about what has actually happened in there.
The moving slow motion shot when Gavin runs to Allie's body creates a lot of tension, made even more tense by the non diagetic heartbeat sound added on top; this makes it seem as though everything has stopped and Gavin cannot do anything to help her.

Mise-en-scène
In this piece, we can look at three different aspects of mise-en-scène.

• Location
• Objects & Props
• Lighting

The locations of the clip are all very significant. The pair being in the back of a taxi allows for continuous conversation as they do not have to turn away from eachother to look at the road as they would have to if they were driving.
The differences in location during the quiet moment in the middle when Allie is in the consultation combine to create a lot of tension - the atmosphere in the cafè is calm and although Gavin worries for her, the whole area looks rather serene. However, the consultation room creates a sense of worry, mainly due to the fact that we see the room firstly from an unusual aerial shot, and then do not see the face of the consultant once.

There are not an incredible amount of props in the clip. The main props is Gavin's wedding ring, which we see being twisted around his fingers in uncertainty. We see their wedding rings when they are discussing their pasts and when we are contemplating their future - for instance, in the taxi, Allie holds his hand when they talk about their past mistakes, and Gavin twists it around his finger when he is waiting for Allie.

When Allie has been hit by a car, she is laying with flowers in bunches beside her, which is ironic because of their connotations with funerals and wreaths, and consequently tragedy. Her dress is floral and her coat falls open as she lays there; her dress compliments these flowers and it is this what helps us to understand that she has actually died.

The lighting in this clip can be seen to be rather significant. In the taxi, the light is behind them, as if they are moving away from it and leaving it behind; that is, the light representing a good side to life and happiness.
Allie's face is shadowed as she sits in the back of the taxi, moreso than Gavin's, which almost foreshadows the future events.
The doctors office is lit with unnatural light which emphasises the cruelty of her death - she is given good news in a dark place but in the light, she is killed by a car.

Camera Shots, Movement and Framing
There are lots of different shots used in the clip in order to achieve a variety of different effects.

There is a two shot used when they are in the taxi. They are sat next to eachother, and the angle at which the camera is at allows us to feel involved in their relationship. It allows us to lok at them on a personal level - we are almost sharing their marital bliss.

The final shot, on the other hand, is an aerial shot which distances us from the pair completely and almost infers that this is something that we will not understand, as it an unusual position for someone to look upon others from. The camera shows us the two of them in a more exposed, vulnerable manner, and the height and the angle of the camera reinforces this as it makes them seem small and as though they could easily be hurt.

The shot where Gavin twists his wedding ring is an extreme close up. Although the main event of the sequence has not occurred at this point, it is foreshadowing in the sense that he is holding onto their relationship - similar to the way he holds onto her when she has died in the final shot.
The nature of the shot tells the audience that their marriage is an important aspect of the show that the extract is from.

There is a point of view shot when Gavin runs to Allie, where the camera moves quickly, and we see her face from his perspective. This is a shot type not used in the rest of the sequence, and hence this individuality creates a sense of urgency and makes this moment really stand out in comparison to other moments.

The crane shot used when Allie is in the consultants room is an interesting and unusual shot, because it allows us to be in the room but due to the height of the angle, it is expected that we will not be able to hear what is being said. It is slightly surreal too; it is a little like Allie is being given news which makes her feel detached from her body, as though she cannot believe it has happened to her. The angle also makes the desk a very obvious feature, making a barrier between the professional and the patient.

The close up of Allie's face when she is being given the news is to try and give us some notion as to what is going on, but it doesn't work like this because of the difficult to read emotions of her face. It succeeds in building a lot of tension because we do not know what news she has received.

There are exterior shots too, for instance of the hospital, which pans to show the ambulance, then pulls focus to the taxi as Allie and Gavin exit it. This successfully sets a scene and helps us understand what it was that they were talking about in the taxi moments before.

The alternating shots of the characters faces in the taxi swap quickly, and there is something interesting in the fact that in all of Gavin's shots, Allie is visible through part of her face being shown, but in Allie's shots, none of Gavin is visible. This could suggest that Allie is the main focus of the clip and who we should focus on, or that he feels more for her than she does for him, and that she is a little more independent than him.

Another close up is used in the taxi when the couple hold hands, which creates a sense of intimacy and helps us to fully understand the nature of their relationship, and what they mean to each other - the wedding rings are also visible.

Key Features of Different TV Dramas

Tv dramas from Chloewardmediablog

Audiences & Institutions

We watched a video produced for schools which talked us through the production of a film and it's distribution.

Production
The role of the producer is to find an original idea, and bring together a script, director, and leading roles in terms of cast. The producer tends to look at the bigger picture, having to mediate between the creative and other sides of the production process. The producer tends to "protect" the director in the sense that they help to ensure that the directors vision gets realised on the big screen. There are 4 blocks in the production process - developing; raising money; making it; distribution.

The Idea
The idea behind the film has to revolve around a good story, well told. Producers look for an idea which is explained simply and consistently, which the writer is passionate about. The script tends to act as sort of a blueprint for the director, which is continuously developed throughout the production.

The Package
Producers have to ask certain questions in order to create a type of "package" to present to potential financiers. Among these is "who will be in the film?". Script will be polished and rewritten multiple times, which may involve the creation and elimination of main characters, and even transposing of the location - for instance, the novel of War of The Worlds was set in London, but due to differences in era, it was changed to being in the USA.

Attracting Investment
Films can get financial investment from a variety of different sources, such as television companies such as the BBC and Channel 4, regional films funds and other independent investors. There are typically between 3 and 10 financiers on each film - there needs to be a selection of people with a financial stake because only having one investor means that they ultimately control the entire film, whereas multiple financiers means that the producer and director stay in control.  Production companies can also join to create films.

Planning
Producers read through the script and find the hardest to film scenes first, and then shape the schedule around these. The cinematographer is usually the directors "right hand man" as they help to visualise the script in new ways and help the director get their vision exactly onto the screen.

Budget
Each film as treated as an individual business in the sense that each and every aspect has to be accounted for in the budget. The script is gone through carefully and broken into sections which are then budgeted for separately such as the cast and the cost of filming in locations.
There are two kinds of cost:
Above the line --> the creative talent package - rights to the novel, producer and their team, the director, the actors.
Below the line --> cost of actually making the film - setting up shoots etc.

Audience 
Several questions are asked about the audience:

• Does the film have a defined audience? Is it niche or widely accessible?
• Where will the film be shown? In a mainstream cinema or an arthouse?
• Who are we making this for? Young or older people?
• How many people will watch it? Is it worth releasing it in the cinema?

The film needs to be understandable to the audience, and be definable without sticking to formulas laid out by other films, as well as being a fresh idea, without being too out there for people to actually want to access.

Marketing

The cost of marketing is considered to be "hidden" because it is not at the forefront of everyone's mind in the production process. It has to be taken into careful consideration when films are released; for instance horror movies do much better in cinemas around Halloween. 

It helps to create a "need to see" through having a special genre and cast, even if the film itself is not too good this should bring in a wide audience. 

There are differences in the way that the UK and US film industries market films; in the UK, the film is made and then marketed, but in the USA a release date is set before it is even made. They need to have a release date and a distributor in order to get the go ahead in making the film.

Distribution - The Role of the Distributor

The Role Of The Distributor

A distributor helps the producers to find an audience. They bring the film into the movie marketplace, having to be both strategic and creative in the film campaign. Independent distributors have to hunt down films at film festivals. Large studios distribute their own films and even can manufacture DVDs themselves, which is something Sony does.

Marketing

Distributors have to find one line of the film which sums it up and describes it. They have to pinpoint the genre and then market it in a way that best suits that genre. They can also play on the unique selling point, or USP of a film as a way to entice an audience.

Target Audience

The main groups that attend the cinema are 15-24 year olds and family groups. Hence most films are targeted at this demographic in order to attract people to the cinema. Any films which stray from this audience have to be exceptional in order to fare well in the movie marketplace.

Release Date

Distributors have to decide when the best time to release a film is, in order for it to stand the best chance of doing well. In school holidays, more child friendly films are released, in order to reduce the risk of the film failing.

Film Research

It's not common to take a risk with films, so they are shown to carefully selected audiences, through giving them a questionnaire to fill out. In the USA, people are shown posters and trailer ideas to check that the films message is being properly conveyed in the advertising of the film.

Marketing Budget
This depends on how much the movie is predicted to bring it at the box office. Between 25 and 30% of a films budget is spent on marketing.

Advertising/Publicity

There are different ways to make a film known. There is straightforward advertising such as on buses, billboards and through advertising on television. Promotions also bring in an audience, through teaming up with radio shows and having big name actors in the film.

Distribution - The Campaign

The Marketing Campaign

People are saturated with media messages everywhere, so adverts have to stand out. The trailer is considered to be one of the most important elements in a film's marketing strategy. Synergy is important here;  without it, the marketing elements do not work well together.
It often helps to create a recognisable brand, in the form of a font for example. The font for the film Spiderman, as seen in the image here, is easily recognisable as it was used widely in three films. It was only changed when the franchise re-branded itself.

The Poster
These tend to be the first look people will have at a movie and hence it has to stand out. Teaser posters and campaigns can be made early in the production process and give the audience an early knowledge of the film in order to slowly build up an awareness of it.

The Trailer
This is the public's first exposure into what they are actually going to be shown. They tend to work well because the adverts are shown on the same size screen, with the same audio quality, as they will experience in the actual film. There are three types of trailer; a teaser trailer, which is released either before production or very early on in the production; a main trailer, and a condensed one for the TV, when it has been released. There tends not to be voiceovers in trailers, but this is dependent on the genre of film. Comedy films usually have a voiceover to help the jokes stand out, but thrillers will most likely only feature a soundtrack and a few phrases from the film itself, in order to help recreate the mood that will be experienced in the film.
There are new kinds of trailers being made constantly - for instance, there is a 15 minute long trailer for Star Trek being shown in some screenings of other fantasy/sci-fi films.

TV Spots
These show a more finished version of the film, and have three main aims; to show the films name, when it opens in cinemas, and who's in it. They are between 15 and 30 seconds long, enough to leave an impression but just enough to intrigue viewers.

Multimedia
Films often have official websites, and distributors can create viral campaigns such as teaser videos and clips from the film. Some distributors offer quizzes and wallpapers for free in order to help people advertise via word of mouth.

PR/Publicity
In order to get cheap advertising, films get reviewed. These are usually free and a good review is great advertising if in a mainstream publication such as The Daily Mail. These can then be put in newspaper adverts for films, in radio adverts and other media in order to convince the audience of the film's worth.

Tracking
Four weeks before the film is released, distributors look at what percentage of people are aware of the film, and how many intend of them intend to actually watch it. Word of mouth is very important to the reputation of a film, because an audience is more likely to listen when their friend tells them to watch it then if an advertisement does. It's a very efficient method of advertising, and is also free.

Opening Weekend
This is the Friday that it opens, the Saturday, and the Sunday. Distributors aim to have made more than any other film in the cinema. If there is not many people attending the screenings on the opening weekend of the film then it is very unlikely that it will be successful and cinemas will often pull it from their listings and stop showing it in favour of a more promising title.

The Film Industry - Exhibition
In the summer of 2007, cinema attendances rose to their highest in 40 years, owed mainly due to the number of popular releases and blockbusters at that time, such as Shrek the Third and Pirates of The Caribbean: At World's End.
Exhibitors have problems with piracy when they choose where to release their films. They need good, interesting movies to sell to an audience, and the newest digital developments for cinema mean that the future of film exhibition is constantly evolving.
In 1984, a new multiplex opened in Milton Keynes and rose attendances hugely. Since then, cinemas have constantly been upgrading the cinematic experience for their guests with features such as raised seating, better sound, cleaner screens and better projection staff.

Cinema Location
Cinemas previously had to be built out of town in retail parks, for example. It was not economically viable to take up large amounts of space in city areas due to the immense cost. Planning permissions have changed which make it easier to built cinemas in towns. Out of town cinemas succeed only when they have good parking and are easier to access.

Audience
The film chain Curzon shows specialised films as well as mainstream films in order to attract an audience to their smaller cinemas.
The main contingent of the cinema audience is the "baby boom" generation, meaning that there tends to be older audiences. More discerning, older audiences tend to view their films  in city centres, whereas younger audiences view films in out of town locations - consequently cinemas need to change the types of films they show depending on where they located.
On Mondays, films and decisions are reviewed to see how successful they have been. Exhibitors have to think commerciallyn when choosing what to show and not let their own opinions become prevalent.

Mosaic Profiling
Mosaic profiling is a method of research carried out by Vue Cinemas, where they profiled all their customers at all their sites, to see where customers are and are not in order to see where to concentrate resources. The chain discovered that there was a large Turkish demographic around one of their sites and hence showed a popular Turkish film in order to draw these people in.
Curzon hold events to differentiate themselves from other cinemas and make them less easily accessible. They offer a more relaxed environment and show specialised movies.

Brand
People tend to choose to watch a film based on who is in it, and choose a cinema based on several factors - shown below.

1. What movies are being shown
2. Access
3. Transport
4. Possibility of queueing
5. Old or new?
6. Obstructive screen
7. Sound quality
8. Brand

Curzon claims that it is more of a "delicatessen" compared to other chains being "supermarkets"; they cater for a specialised taste but there is a market for it.

Digital Cinema
This has transformed the industry relatively overnight, due to the unlimited amount of movies that can be shown on a digital medium. They can screen sporting events, live concerts, and live ballet. Digital 3D is a much more immersive experience, most directors and producers are excited about what this might lead to in the future of cinema.
This can help to distinguish between a home entertainment system and offer a more interesting night out for some guests.
These new developments will help Curzon attract a younger audience to their specialised sites, as they can hold more events.

People want to get away from home, and hence the cinema can offer people that; it is a social experience which is likely to be enjoyed for years to come.