Why is Disney so successful?

Disney is successful for variety of reasons, which just so happen to fall under the categories of the exam questions, for example, its synergy and cross media convergence, its media ownership, its proliferation of hardware etc. I will explain in this essay why disney is so successful through the section B headings.

Disney is a conglomerate and one of the 6 top oligopolists as it owns its production companies, distribution companies, forms of exhibition companies (such as disney cinemagic), its own theme parks, radio channels etc. This benefits them as it makes them more money and then through the money they earn with media ownership they are able to afford bigger actors, for example, Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, they are able to film in more than just one location (that are also quite well known), for example, the Dominican Republic and California. They are able to use more expensive props to create verisimilitude for example, Pirates of the Caribbean were able to recreate pirate ships and certain sets within the film. Within Pirates of the Caribbean all of this proved to be very beneficial as they made a profit of $509,954,103 just at the worldwide box office. Media ownership is very influential to create a successful company as Ill Manors, which was produced and distributed by independent companies such as Film London, BBC Films, Aimimage Productions and Revolver Entertainment only made an overall profit of $1,008,176. Ill Manors wasn't able to use such big things because of the lack of media ownership, for example, Ill Manors was only able to use the location of Forest Gate, a less wealthy end of London, also Ill Manors could only use stars they hadn't quite made a debut yet as they were cheaper to use. All of the elements mentioned make a difference to the overall profit of the film as it is likely if you have more well known stars you are likely to attract a larger audience due to fans and people assuming a film will be good due to previous experience of viewing an actors acting and thinking they are good. Also if various filming locations are used it is more than likely national audiences will be attracted to the film as it becomes more internationally appealing.

Disney also has access to a lot of synergy and cross media ownership because of its media ownership, for example, disney owns stores which sells merchandise and which also sells other products such as soundtracks for certain films. Concerning synergy, disney has the ownership of the theme parks, the stores, shows such as disney on ice, costumes for the children, books which have been made for the film etc. Concerning cross media convergence disney has websites which contain games for its target audience, they have apps created for games e.g. Frozen Free Fall, they have downloadable soundtracks on iTunes and they have TV channels which can show trailers or even show the film after the cinema release. This increases the amount of money Disney has an institution as consumers feel the need to buy such products as they enjoy the film. Such synergy and cross media and convergence also helps promote a film, especially if it is before the film, and concerning Disney, this is them using 360 degree marketing. Ill manors marketing was done through cross media convergence as they released a single containing clips from the film within it, this was big for the target audience whom were Plan B fans as he was in front of the camera within the video however for the film he wasn't featured into it as he was the director.

Media Ownership and Case Studies

Skyfall
Sony: Conglomerates and olygopolists of Hollywood, therefore had a really big budget and could afford big stars such as Daniel Craig and Judi Dench, film in various locations across the world like Turkey,

Representation of class and status - Waterloo Road

Camera Work 

The first shot used is a close up of a teenage girl wearing hoop earrings and a gold chain, which matches her to the stereotype of working class as it puts her within a subculture of those who are a moral panic,this is enforced when she is seen arguing with who the audience assume to be her boyfriend as he walks around with a gun, this being first shown with a very fast paced extreme close up of a gun, it then follows to an overhead shot, showing the damage that has been caused. This represents those of a working class to be quite destructive, a cause of moral panic, and associated with crime. An over the shoulder shot is used when the boy is leaning over the girl as she has been pushed to the ground, this shot emphasizes the composition of characters as it represents men of a higher status compared to woman and represents them to be dominant and the ones whom are in control. Concerning camera movement, a track shot is used as the boy is running away after he has shot his girlfriend, this shot is a way of following the action, which is now a run away criminal which adheres his working class stereotype of being a criminal. A low angle shot is used as an adult enters the scene of the crime, making her seem to be much bigger tan what she is, this certain camera angle makes her bigger and therefore enforces that with more age comes a higher status. Another over the shoulder shot is used as the adult leans over the teenager, again putting the adult above the teenager and enforcing the stereotype that with more age comes higher status, this shot enforces this stereotype despite the circumstances. A tilt shot is used on the boy carrying the gun, first it shows the gun and then carries over to his face, this is very smooth and associates the crime with the character, representing him as working class due to it being one of the main stereotypes,the smooth transition indicates an issue which working class people are often associated with through stereotypes.

Sound

There is the synchronous sound of the gun going of and then hitting the plant pot which the consumers can see, this has been used to accentuate the drama, alongside the sound of the asynchronous dog barking that follows, this drama adds up and then matches to a close up of a girl looking distressed and scared, which is then followed by the speech of the boy saying 'i had to', this adheres the stereotype that those of working class are troublesome and a criminal, and that they often turn to violence. The asynchronous sounds of police sirens are used within the clip and typical connotations of sirens are danger, harm, and crime. At this point in the clip the police have caught up with the boy, this shows the police to be of a higher status and almost the good are of a higher status as opposed to the evil, within this sound it also hints that the boy now has no way put and following his stereotype as a working class person he will be going to prison for his crime.

Editing 

Referring back to a previous shot I have mentioned, the over the shoulder the shot showing the boy being over the girl and the male sex having higher status over the female sex and obtain more hierarchy as opposed to the females, this is enforced more so with the use of eye line match as it shows them as a unit and knowing each other (this being enforced with the mise en scene of their costume in which they both wear gold chains and incorrect school uniform), yet the boys is still holding over the girl and almost holding her in her place, representing once again that the male sex obtains hierarchy as opposed to the female sex. Also in this clip, the use of shot reverse shots between the older lady and the student as Maxine dies provides a juxtaposition between class and status and creates binary opposites through class an status between the characters. This shot to me showed a clear difference between class and status through the use of mise en scene and their costume, for example, the young girls is wearing gold hoop earrings like her friend which seems quite common within their working class, whereas the other woman is wearing silver studs with diamonds in, this shows the different between class as it shows a visual difference and represents that those of middle class have more money to spend on luxuries whereas it is most likely that the young girls hoop earrings are fake if everyone is wearing a pair. The use of shot reverse shot also allows the audience to observe both characters feelings, both are the same which almost defies the differences between their class and status as they both feel the same towards the tragedy of the girl.

Mise-en-scene 

The costume between the two classes (middle and working) juxtapose each other within this clip, for example, the teaches are seen wearing smart suits which are appropriate to the environment they work in, however the working class teenagers are shown wearing shirts with the top button undone, loose ties, big earrings, short skirts and hoodies. Hoodies are always connoted to crime and gang culture, this enforces the stereotype for the working class that they are often involved in crime. Back to the juxtaposition, what I have listed shows a clear difference between the two classes and represents them to be quite diverse from each other, the working class represented to be laid back and chilled and the middle class represented to be prim and proper. The lighting as the older lady walks through the door is dark and represents a sense of danger and suspense, this foreshadows the upcoming event of Maxines wounds being fatal and her dying, this enforces the stereotype of the working class always being involved in something bad liek crime, which can become life threatening.

Media Ownership

• Concentration of media ownership: when a smaller number of companies owns most media outlets/ the media industry e.g disney 
• Cross media ownership: when a company produces two or more types of media e.g. sony with Skyfall 
• Conglomerate: A parent company owns a range of smaller companies e.g. disney owns abc entertainment 
• Subsidisary: The smaller company which is owned by the parent company e.g. abc entertainment is owned by disney 
• Oligopoly: when a few firms dominate a market e.g the five major distribution companies own hollywood, like a game of monopoly

ADVANTAGES OF CONGLOMERATES IN PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION

1. take risks in the production of the film
2. big enough to not have collaborate with other companies through the production process in order to raise funds (already have enough money)
3. can produce bigger and better films which are more likely to do well at box office e.g. use more famous stars, use special effect such as 3d and green screen, travel to unique locations to attract more of an audience in exhibition stage 
4. they can use synergy and cross media convergence throughout the marketing of the film e.g. create games/music/merchandise in relation with the film 

DISADVANTAGES OF CONGLOMERATES IN PRODUCTION AND EXHIBITION

1. the films usually have to please a mass market so they cannot be creative films such as fish tank, they have to appeal to a large audience of the entire world, otherwise the budget is wasted and the company creates a bad rep 
2. it is necessary for the film to do well at box office otherwise they have wasted a lot of money through the production, distribution and exhibition of the film, which the company usually spends a lot of money on, however they most likely have another film coming up which will most likely be a success 

DISADVANTAGES OF AN INDEPENDENT COMPANY 

1. the film cannot be very ambitious with stars and effects as they have less of a budget to work with as opposed to conglomerates 
2. they usually have to collaborate with other companies in order to raise funs to produce, distribute and exhibit the film 
3. the film has to have a target audience and cannot appeal to the entire world like a conglomerate as they do not have as much funs to spend on distribution campaigns 
4. it is automatically expected to earn less at the box office because of the point above 
5. it cant afford to lose money at the box office as it is an independent film and it can't rely on a next hit 

APPLYING TO CASE STUDIES 

Skyfall: 

• Skyfall was created by conglomerate company and oligoplist of hollywood, sony and used big stars such as daniel craig and judi dench which was promotion itself as fans anticipated their acting in the film as they are such big names, also sony had the money to produce synergy and cross media convergence such as creating fragrances and trailers shown on tv constantly, this is a form of blanket advertising.  Skyfall also had the funds to involve the large company of Coke (however it was coke zero used) to promote their film, as coke had a bond themed advert and real life clips of people passing obstacles (like bond) to get to the coke machine, in a mere few days this video reached over 3.5 million views. Also with this advert, if the people did the task in under 60 seconds they got to go to the premiere, creating even more buzz for the upcoming movie. 

Ill Manors: 

• Ill Manors which was financed by various companies such as BBC Film London and UK film council and created by an independent companies couldn't afford to lose at box office even though they had a little a budget as £100,000 however made just under £500,000. With such a small budget their main marketing strategy was releasing a single (a form of cross media ownership) prior to the release of the film in the cinema to ignite a buzz for the film. The marketing of the trailer of the film couldn't be shown globally as it would not succeed globally (and would lose money) therefore ill manors had a target audience and the trailer was only showed to such audiences through certain channels like Comedy Central, also the film was advertised through radio channels such as kiss fm, who often play plan B (which was the director of the film) and therefore appealed to the audience. 

Disney Synergy

Disney uses various different motives for successful marketing, the synergy used with disney is a vital process to earn such large profits. For example disney not only creates the films but has:

• Disney Channe
• Radio channel (radio disney) 
• Theme parks 
• Merchandise e.g. lunch boxes, posters, teddys 
• Toys e.g. dolls
• Costumes 
• Books 
• Games 
• Stores 
• Costumes 
• Disney on ice
• West end e.g. The Lion King
• Apps 
• Disney Cruise
• Adventures by Disney 
• Disney Vacation Club
• Disney XD
• Disney Cinemagic 
• Disney Junior 
• Soundtracks 
• Disney Infinity 
• Club Penguin
• 
  

Scetion B The Inbetweeners

Cross media convergence and Synergy

SYNERGY

• A yearbook release (book) of the inbetweeners containing character facts and application forms, all appropriate to the series and the film 
• A competition entry counting down to the best series moments in light of the movie release 
• A soundtrack featuring all the songs which are in the movie, available for download on itunes and can be bought on hardware format
• Merchandise such as t shirts which are featured in the film - 'pussay patrol' 
• The premiere which all the stars attended, which was held in London to bring a buzz to the film and get people excited about it, it was also the first screening of the film (working with exhibition companies) 

CROSS MEDIA CONVERGENCE

• Podcasts available on itunes for download, the cast talking about the film which generates a buzz about it 
• Creating trailers and exhibiting this on an official website made especially for the film 
• Facebook and Twitter accounts (social networking) explaining the upcoming events concerning the film and placing snippets of the film and teasers to excite and draw in an audience

Cross Media Convergence and Synergy h/w

Cross Media Convergence and Synergy are both vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences. To what extent do you agree with this? 

Synergy 
The release of different products at the same time which work together to promote each other, e.g. when a game is created through inspiration of the film, the film industry and gaming industry promote each others product, synergy can also include merchandise- non media products

Cross Media Convergence
Basically the same as synergy however it can only use media products

Marketing
Promotion - it is completed by the distributors

Answer

Cross media convergence is a very vital process for the marketing of a film, as it uses other media platforms to gain an audience and to widen an audience. For example, Skyfall created a soundtrack which was released at the same time as the cinema release, this was very beneficial for the soundtrack alone (which charted number 1 for weeks (which was also owned by Sony Entertainment)) but was also beneficial for the film as there was more coverage about the film, due to the soundtrack being a product of the film. The film Skyfall alone had a profit of over 1 billion dollars. Ill Manors also released a soundtrack at the same time as the release of the film, alongside a music video single which featured on the album in relation to the film, this album went to number one within the UK charts, and he film then benefited off this success, Ill manors alone had a profit of $614,441. Although, Ill Manors needed cross media convergence for their success, whereas it is likely that Skyfall would have done just as well even without the soundtrack.

Synergy is also a vital process for the marketing of a film, and when thinking of synergy my mind automatically redirects to Disney as they are a large brand that not only uses media products to to market but also non media products, including merchandise which can be located in the shop, toys, the Disneyland/ world attraction etc. Disney's synergy is very successful with the marketing of media products to audiences as thorugh the non media products it sells like toys, it targets young children and attracts them to want to see a film through the characters which are used on the lunchboxes, or have been made into dolls etc. As Disney is a horizontally integrated company it earns much more profit and benefits off all of its media outlets.

Overall I think both are very vital processes for the marketing of a film as it rasued more awareness for the film and almost creates a 360 degree marketing effect, in which it feels like the media product is surrounding you and encouraging you to see the film, therefore I agree with this opinion to a full extent.