LO1: Media Products in the Audio-Visual Industry (P1)

In this report I will be investigating the audio-visual industry, I will discuss how a conglomerate, such as 21st Century Fox, operates when compared to an independent company, such as Warp Films. I will also discuss the types of products that each of these companies produces.

Ownership

A conglomerate is a large parent company that own lots of other smaller companies (subsidiaries). An example of a conglomerate is 21st Century Fox. They are the parent company that owns film companies (20th Century Fox), animation studios (20th Century Fox Animation), TV services (Sky), streaming services (HULU), news stations (Fox News) and TV channels (Fox Sport, Fox Music, FX). They can utilise vertical integration (when a Media Company owns different businesses in the same chain of production and distribution) to target a mass audience. 

On the other end of the scale, independent companies don't own any subsidiaries and they are not owned by any parent company. They work independently in one media sector meaning that in order to make a cross-media production they would have to work with a conglomerate, this is called a joint venture. An example of an independent company is Warp Films; an independent film and television production company based in Sheffield. They have produced films like "Four Lions", "Submarine", and "Dead Mans Shoes" along with the cult classic "This Is England", which was later made into 3 mini-series broadcast on Channel 4. The smaller size of independent companies allows them to create products for niche audiences. 

Adaptation

One of the most popular adaptations done by 21st Century Fox is The Planet of the Apes. The book was originally written by French Author Pierre Boulle, it has been adapted many times but most recently by 21st Century Fox.

Adapting an already popular book will be very beneficial to the company as it means they won't have to do as much marketing to get people to come and see it. If the book already has a large following then people who enjoy it are probably going to see the film regardless of how many adverts for it they are exposed to as they already know what it is going to be about. If these people like 20th Century Fox's adaptation of the book then they are also more likely to go and see another film by the same company in the future.

One of the main reasons the adaptation was a success is because of the characters. The audience can really connect with the struggle of Caesar and the other apes in their fight for equality. Certain groups of people could empathise with the characters as the film losely portrays similar issues to ones they might have to deal with in real life (e.g. discrimination)

Brands

An example of a brand that uses cross-media to advertise its products is Marvel. In traditional entertainment, a character typically lives in one specific medium and enclosed universe, rarely crossing over with other characters or projects. But Marvel has completely disregarded that idea in favour of building a deeply thought out, interconnected universe across multiple mediums and platforms including television, film, digital, print mediums (e.g. comics), apps, video games and live events. Having their characters interconnected across multiple platforms not only keeps their fans engaged at every marketing touchpoint, it also drives fans of one aspect of the universe (like a particular film) to engage in other aspects (like other films, video games or comics). A great example of this is "The Avengers". The Avengers and its sequel, Age of Ultron, both feature a number of popular superheroes including Iron Man and The Hulk; the majority of which have at least one film featring just them. The Avengers films are set in the same reality as the superheroes solo films and they often reference plot lines from these past films. This is a highly successful method of attracting its target audience (young males between the ages of 13 and 21 from families who would fall into the ABC1 categories of the NRS social scale) as it creates a deeper sense of realism that they can become more involved in, perhaps as a means of escapism (Earpz & Katz, ses & Gratifications Theory, 1959)

Another example of cross-media advertising is 21st Century Fox's Avatar franchise. James Cameron's Avatar was released in 2009 and was extremely popular (it made $2.788 billion).  In an effort to further promote the film and generate interest, a prequel game was released by Ubisoft around two weeks before the release of the film itself. 

Audience Pleasures

The target demographic for Marvel films is young males between the ages of 13 and 21 from families who would fall into the ABC1 categories of the NRS social scale as they are likely to have enough disposable income to be able to go and watch a film at a cinema. Although the younger end of the target audience may not have much spending power themselves, they are likely to receive money from a parent who has a reasonably high spending power. Marvel appeals to it's demographic by making its films, uniformly, more fun and less self-important than its competitors (DC Comics) who have a similar target demographic. In terms of McQuail's uses & gratifications theory, I would say that escapism is very relevant due to the genre of the film. As most Marvel films would fall under the genre of fantasy, audiences are more likely to watch it to escape from their real lives as the things that happen in the films are never going to happen to them. In terms of Rick Altman's theory, I would say that visceral pleasures would be associated with most of Marvel's films. This is because of the films stylistic construction that elicits a physical effect upon its audience, for example, a feeling of revulsion, kinetic speed or a roller coaster ride.

The target demographic for avatar was men between the ages of 18 and 30 from the ABC1 categories of the NRS social scale as they are likely to have enough disposable income to be able to go and watch a film at a cinema. Avatar appealed to its target audience of young adults by adding a more complex storyline to the film whilst still including a lot of action scenes. In terms of McQuail's uses & gratifications theory, I would say that escapism is very relevant due to the genre of the film. As Avatar is a fantasy film audiences are more likely to watch it to escape from their real lives as the things that happen in the film are never going to happen to them.

Mode of Address

Marvel films, such as Deadpool, sometimes use a direct/peer-to-peer mode of address which is uncommon for most films in the modern era. Deadpool is an unconventional character, he could be described as an "anti-hero" and at multiple points in the two films he stars in, he looks directly into the camera and talks to the audience directly. In the superhero genre of films, this is known as "breaking the fourth wall". Of course, the majority of Marvel films and even a large part of the Deadpool films feature an indirect mode of address as it would ruin the continuity of the film if the characters were constantly stepping out of the film world to talk directly to the audience. The direct mode of address used in Deadpool appeals to the audience as it is unconventional. It is uncommon for characters in films to step out of the film world and talk directly to the audience so this combined with the quirky, and often taboo, humour seen in the film provides the audience with a unique viewing experience.