How far does
the platform on which they are consumed determine the construction of media
products in your cross media study? Support your answer with reference to a
range of products from three media platforms.
I have been
learning about the film industry, the case studies of films I have looked at
are Ill Manors, A Field in England and my own which is The Dark Knight Rises.
The platforms are broadcast, print and e-media which determine the construction
of the media products as certain ways to promote the film such as posters would
not be the most effective way to promote through e-media for example.
Ill Manors
used e-media for the ‘Tag London’ campaign, this was for people to use social networking
site Twitter to #IllManors and tweet about the film and what they think of it,
also general opinions about the societies in London. These were then projected
on buildings in various locations around London written in a graffiti font.
This e-media platform was significant as it would not work without user
generated content and on another platform such as broadcast; it would not be as
effective and would not have engaged a wider audience.
Ill Manors
was also consumed on broadcast; there was a trailer for the movie and a music
video which was for the soundtrack for the film from Plan B’s album which was
promoted as well as the movie as a technique called synergy. The trailer could
not have been successful on any other platform because it is totally dependent
on a moving image platform. The music video is also all about broadcast, this
is a way to engage the audience as they can view the artist himself singing and
performing to the soundtrack. It also gives the viewer a feel of how the movie
may be like.
The TEDx
lecture was consumed on broadcast which was effective as the audience could see
and hear Plan B talk about Ill Manors. However this could have also worked on
print as his speech could be typed out for people to read in magazines, even
through e-media on an online version of the magazine. The TEDx lecture also
targets the audience better on broadcast as some people may not be bothered to
read it and they’d rather visualise it, its more effective this way.
For Ill
Manors the platform print was used to create the feel of the film without a
moving image. The poster showed consistent branding as there was a lack of
moving image and it would not have worked on broadcast. The towerblocks used on
the poster, DVD cover and billboards connotes the urban life which promote the
brand as well as the image of the protagonist holding the gun, which connotes
the violence in the movie and is also a form of iconography. The typography
used is quite bold and the ‘Ill’ looks like towerblocks. The colour scheme
connotes the seriousness of the movie; mainly monochrome- white, grey, black
and other fades of dull colours. These can only be done through print, also
e-media if the posters were shown as images online.
The second
case study was ‘A Field in England’ which had a unique release strategy of
releasing all platforms on the same day. So in this case the platforms are less
important and the audience was more likely to watch the movie because of the
release strategy.
My own case
study was ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ which used all three platforms effectively.
This movie was sponsored by the energy drink Mountain dew which was advertised
on TV (broadcast) and on posters (print) so this was a synergy of the two so
was promoted well either way. Another example of this was that the movie and
the character Batman were promoted on NASCAR which was shown on TV as well as
images on e-media. The posters, DVD covers and billboards were a good way to
advertise as they all had meaning to them, such as the colours used were mainly
black which connotes evilness also links the title hence the ‘Dark’ knight. The
bat symbol is also very iconic which engages fans of Batman. The trailer shows
the best bits of the film that the audience would want to watch, the music used
in there is tense and engaging. Therefore broadcast is the only platform this
could have been done on. There were also competitions on twitter in order to
win a sneak preview of the newest trailer for the film, so using e-media people
had to post up pictures to win. This was also the only way to attract a wider
audience worldwide as many people use social networking sites and is easier to
get messages across.
