Convergence and Synergy Essay

"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 agree with the statement due to the fact that cross media convergence and synergy are vital to a successful marketing campaign for media products such as various movies, TV shows and other media products that capitalise on convergence to promote their media products. For example movies will use YouTube to post trailers, interviews, soundtracks and behind the scenes footage to promote their film. Another example of films using convergence to their advantage is using social media to promote their product. Social networking sites are used by millions of people a day and are a vital part in companies reaching out to people and trying to selling their product. The company that is making the product will make a Twitter page, Facebook page etc. Another example of cross media convergence is celebrity's social networking pages. Most 'famous' people now have social networking page in which they talk about the film/ TV show they are starring in, for example a celebrity's twitter page such as Tom Cruise is not verified, meaning it isn't ran by him, it is run by representatives that don't post updates on his personal life, but promote either his career of his upcoming films.

Synergy is where a film works with a company to promote their film. Sometimes a film company can work with a magazine to publish an article about the film. Doing this inevitably shows anyone who buys the magazine, information or an advertisement of the film, this occurred when Dawn of The Planet of The Apes was in a 5 page spread in a magazine.

Another example is The Woman In Black, which made deals with Social media sites Twitter and Facebook, this is due to the fact that Twitter and Facebook are currently the largest social networking sites. This means that the 1 Billion Facebook and Twitter users will see advertisements for the film which will inevitably expand the films reach. However, due to the fact that Daniel Radcliffe is the antagonist, this may make Harry Potter fans who enjoy his acting watch the film, meaning synergy and convergence isn't vital as there is a possibility that the A list star will create enough publicity. To further argue, this means that the fans of Daniel Radcliffe will see his social networking pages and see his involvement in the film which may indicate that the actor is an aspect that makes synergy and media convergence a success.

Synergy is most often used by bigger companies as the different elements of them (Often a media conglomerate) work together to promote linked products across different media. For example, The Walt Disney Company owns many companies in numerous places: Film, Internet, Music, Broadcasting, Publishing and Recreation and can use the ownership of these companies to their advantage. The ownership of the ABC network (One of America's largest network) allows them to show as many adverts for their media project as they want. Which extends their reach. The radio company 'Disney Radio' and the ownership of Hollywood records, helps promotion further. For example when Disney released High School Musical they later released a soundtrack for this film, by doing this they are able to widen their platforms of what to sell due to them now having a movie and a CD, both based on one thing.

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Featurette

The Story:

Gorlitz:

Creating A Hotel:

Wes Anderson - Grand Budapest Marketing

Marketing

1) Anderson’s World

The director’s eye for detail is a merchandiser’s dream. “Budapest” features a collection on eBay, a partnership initiated by actor and frequent Anderson collaborator Waris Ahluwalia (whose own fashion label is House of Waris). The film’s production designer Adam Stockhausen also curated an art collection inspired by the film. Auction items range from bow ties and moustache wax to promotional materials from the pic. Some are selling out, including copies of “The Society of the Crossed Keys,” Anderson’s book of selections from the writings of Stefan Zweig, which inspired the film.

2) Unique Promotions



Fox Searchlight is touring a large-scale model of the hotel in theaters from Hollywood to Berlin. And U.K.-based Secret Cinema, a monthly gathering that combines live performances involving audience participation, recently screened “Budapest” instead of its usual classic fare. The film already has grossed nearly $15 million in Blighty.

3) Viral Chow



Fox Searchlight created instructional featurettes detailing how to create baked goods inspired by the film’s colorful Mendl’s pastries. The videos went viral as fans sent back footage of their creations, which Searchlight used in TV spots on cooking networks. The distrib shot eight marketing shorts, including a profile of the film’s central character, M. Gustave, played by Ralph Fiennes.

4)Young Moonrisers



Thanks to the success of 2012’s “Moonrise Kingdom,” Gilula says Anderson’s fans have gotten significantly younger. “He’s attracted a whole new generation, some of whom weren’t even born when ‘Royal Tenenbaums’ (2001) and ‘Bottle Rocket’ (1996) were released,” the exec notes.






5) Universal Access



Cool marketing would mean little if the film itself were poorly received. However, “Budapest” has generated a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes — behind only Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” Critics have called “Budapest” his most accessible film. “We don’t see the ceiling yet,” Gilula says.

Grand Budapest Hotel Research

Task 1 Research





What is Indian Paintbrush and who owns it?

• Indian Paintbrush is a production company owned by Steven Rales, whose productions include The Darjeeling Limited, Towelhead and Fantastic Mr. Fox

Which company is Fox Searchlight a subsidiary of?

• Fox searchlight is a subsidiary of 21st century fox 

Which type of films do Fox Searchlight distribute?

• Specializes in US distribution of independent and British films, alongside dramedy and horror as well as non-English-language films, and is sometimes also involved in the financing of these films.

Which two countries financed the film?

• Germany and UK

What did Anderson use instead of CGI (computer generated imagery)?

• For wide shots of the hotel, Anderson used a three meter tall handmade miniature model. "The particular brand of artificiality that I like to use is an old-fashioned one."

Where did the inspiration for the Hotel come from?

• In designing the hotel, Anderson and production designer Adam Stockhausen did extensive research, looking at vintage images at the Library of Congress of hotels and European vacation spots, as well as existing locales such as the pastel-pink Palace Bristol Hotel prominently featured on movie advertisements and the Grandhotel Pupp in the spa town of Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), Czech Republic and the Grandhotel Gellért in Budapest.

Which film festival opened with The Grand Budapest Hotel?

• In November 2013, the film was announced as the opening film for the 64th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2014.

Alexandre Desplat wrote the score, which major Hollywood films has he worked on?

• The soundtrack is composed by Alexandre Desplat, who worked with Anderson previously on Fantastic Mr. Fox and Moonrise Kingdom.

How many awards has the film won?

• Jury Grand Prix - Berlin International Film Festival
• Best Foreign Film - David Di Donatello Awards
• Best Graphics in A TV Spot - Golden Trailer Awards
• Best Costume Design - Nastro D'Argento
• Best Original Score Of The Year - World Soundtrack Awards
• Best Feature - Gotham Awards

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

• In North America, the film opened in four cinemas at number 17 in its first weekend, with $811,166.

The film was released on Ultraviolet BluRay, what does this enable consumers to do?

• UltraViolet is a free, cloud-based, digital rights library that allows users of digital home entertainment content to stream and download licensed content to multiple platforms and devices. The UltraViolet ecosystem embraces a "pay once, play almost anywhere" approach that allows users to store proofs-of-purchase of media rights in an account to enable playback of licensed content on different devices using multiple applications, and via different streaming services. UltraViolet also allows users to share access to their library with up to 5 additional people, and 12 different devices, with up to three simultaneous streams.

Task 2 Comprehension





Part 1 The Story



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmLEsdDnyLg





List the cast of the film as explained in the featurette:

• Edward Norton - Henckels
• Owen Wilson - M. Chuck
• Ralph Fiennes - M. Gustave
• Tony Revolori - Zero
• Jeff Goldblum - Deputy Kovacs
• Tilda Swinton - Madame D.
• Saorise Ronan - Agatha
• Jason Shwartzman - M. Jean
• Willem Dafoe - Jopling
• Harvey Keitel - Ludwig
• Bill Murray - M. Ivan
• Mathieu Amalric - Serge X.
• F. Murray Abraham - Mr. Moustafa
• Lea Seydoux - Clotilde
• Tom Wilkinson - Author
• Jude Law - Young Writer
• Bob Balaban - M. Martin
  

Part 3 Building A Hotel





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYMfEKELveQ



Where did scouting for a hotel take place?

• Central Europe

Which location did the production team eventually use?

• It was filmed entirely on location in Germany, mainly in Görlitz and other parts of Saxony as well as at Studio Babelsberg. Principal photography began in January 2013 on location in Berlin and Gorlitz. One of the principal locations was the defunct Görlitzer Warenhaus (de), a huge Jugendstil department store with a giant atrium, one of the few such department stores in Germany to survive World War II. It served as the atrium lobby of the hotel.

Did they film on location or on a sound stage?

• Filmed all on location.

Where were the production offices located?

• In the Hotel

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

• Because they wanted to film the 60's hotel and the 30's hotel back to back, they created a set within a set.

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

• The inspiration cam from almost all of real life, after travelling around eastern Europe and taking chunks of ideas from each.

How many extras did it take to fill the lobby?

• It took 150 extras to fill the lobby

Task 3 - Marketing





Read this Variety piece and summarise the 5 secrets to the film's success

1. "Budapest" features a collection on eBay and Adam Stockhausen also curated an art collection inspired by the film. Items such as bow ties and moustache wax are also auctioned as well as a book of selections from the writings of Stefan Zweig, which inspired the film, called "The Society Of Crossed Keys".
2. Unique Promotions. Fox Searchlight is touring a large-scale model of the hotel in theaters from Hollywood to Berlin. And U.K.-based Secret Cinema, a monthly gathering that combines live performances involving audience participation, recently screened “Budapest” instead of its usual classic fare. The film already has grossed nearly $15 million in Blighty.
3. Fox Searchlight created instructional featurettes detailing how to create baked goods inspired by the film’s colorful Mendl’s pastries. The videos went viral as fans sent back footage of their creations, which Searchlight used in TV spots on cooking networks. The distrib shot eight marketing shorts, including a profile of the film’s central character, M. Gustave, played by Ralph Fienne.
4. Thanks to the success of 2012’s “Moonrise Kingdom,” Gilula says Anderson’s fans have gotten significantly younger. “He’s attracted a whole new generation, some of whom weren’t even born when ‘Royal Tenenbaums’ (2001) and ‘Bottle Rocket’ (1996) were released,” the exec notes.
5. Cool marketing would mean little if the film itself were poorly received. However, “Budapest” has generated a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes — behind only Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” Critics have called “Budapest” his most accessible film. “We don’t see the ceiling yet,” Gilula says.

How did Anderson use the QE2 to market the film?

• He allowed people on the cruise to feature in the film as extras and this got attention from the media

What connects Prada to the marketing of the film?

• Prada has a long running partnership with Wes Anderson

Why would a big Six company be interested in supporting a smaller distribution company like Fox Searchlight?

• Because they are able to secure a world known director.

Which audience category best describes The Grand Budapest Hotel?

• Mainstream Plus 1

Why might the use of secret cinema work as viral marketing for the film?

• Because while the ‘Secret Cinema’ is meant to be a secret, it Is very well known in Britain and if they do this they provide advertisement to all the people aware or who go to these events.

Representation Of Gender - Transexual Example

Tracie - Accused

Tracie explains her motives, how they clearly aren't for money and then insults a man and accuses him of homosexuality.

Tracie truly isn't represented as a stereotypical transsexual

Sexuality In The Media Prezi

Walt Disney Studios | Create Infographics