Synergy is an important aspect because its two media
companies collaborating for the purpose of generating profit. This is important
in production because when two media conglomerates come together and they are
very well known it will make the audience want to watch the film more because
it’s done by two media conglomerates and will therefore be successful. However,
because Ex_Machina was produced by two smaller conglomerates, it seemed a different
picture. It’s clear, that without the help of one another they would certainly
not have been successful, as a film like ex machine needs thousands of ideas
thrown at it as they were trying to be something different. And therefore by
having two companies work on the film, it allowed them to proceed and come up
with many ideas. Another reason it was important is because they were so low on
their budget and therefore because they had the help of each other they were
able to maximise the overall outcome of Ava, set the film in a stunning
landscape and create amazing visual effects. Cross media convergence is where a
media product is promoted across other media platforms. Ex Machina used cross
media convergence a lot when marketing, in a way where it was on lots of TV
advert intervals, and cropped up a lot on the side of websites online. However,
this is what is expected for a film company to do now. Therefore, Ex Machina
stepped it up a level and decided to market their film in yet another way by
the use of Tinder... The way they did this was by creating lots of “Robot”
accounts named Ava. Once in a conversation with another individual, the “Robot”
would explain the storyline in a very sneaky way, and eventually explain who
they are and what the film is about. This gained lots of publicity over social
media and helped the film generate lots of fans.
This is used for the audiences to interact with the films
through using digital technology to put extracts on YouTube and then to overlay
new sound tracks on to them. Film studios can make films using CGI, green
screens and other special effects, which have only recently been able to
complete due to the technology we now have compared to a few years ago. The
methods of filming and editing have changed recently with the introduction of
film cameras and digital cameras, editing software, laptops and digital
projectors. Distributors use the latest software for designing high-concept
film posters and trailers. Now with the mass use of phones they can heavily
advertise using social medias and other pop up ads, for example they can do
this using phone apps and online marketing also use Facebook. Although film
companies spend so much on the productions on films, they have issues with file
sharing and piracy. These are issues which are growing within our society as it
is easy to get away with it and also easy to download and watch. lots of people
would rather stay at home and illegally download a film instead of going out
and paying to watch it. A way in which
film companies are trying to avoid piracy and file sharing is through releasing
the films soon after theatrical release by selling them on video on demand,
premium TV channels and downloads. The US and UK cinemas chains aren’t happy
about this issue, especially as the cinema companies have invested a lot of
money in to projectors and digital equipment. With people file sharing and
piracy, the cinema companies aren’t able to make their money either to make
their money back on the equipment which was invested in to the equipment and
also, unfortunately, goes out of date fairly quickly.
4. The significance of proliferation in hardware and content
for institutions and audiences
The significance of proliferation of hardware in the film
industry means there are more equipment for producers to use, for example in
the filming aspect, there are thousands of cameras to use and many ways to
film, like using a film camera or a digital one. However, as the new
technologies are cheaper to buy and are meant to be better quality it means
film companies can spend more money on better editing software and marketing,
etc. In the film Ex_Machina the filming was done on a digital camera, instead
of film, the producer may have done this because it was cheaper and they were
on a smaller budget compared to some of the block buster movies. But that
didn't affect the outcome for the audience as it still won awards for Best
visual effects. The proliferation of hardware in media has meant that audiences
in the film industry have been able to create their own home movies on a much
smaller budget, by using digital cameras and editing software like adobe. Then
the movie can be uploaded to the internet for the audiences.
5. The importance of technological convergence for
institutions and audiences
Technological convergence is the joining of two or more
media companies or technologies to form a new object. Within Ex_Machina, the
technological convergence would be that the robots are made to be human-like
with consciousness but are also able to do things better than humans making
them, eventually, the next evolution stronger and better than humans. The
technological convergence for institutions and audiences has allowed to improve
the quality and complexity of films using new techniques. It also makes it
easier to make and access such as DVD’s, cinema and downloadable versions.
Recently, films aren’t being made how they used to be made with big cameras and
film reels and are now using digital versions of recording which is
considerably cheaper because a traditional camera would cost around £50,000
compared to the advanced digital ones which cost around £10,000 saving money.
With them being able to save money in this section from just changing recording
methods, the production companies can then use the money efficiently, spending
it on different areas to make the film better such as special effects and CGI
(which have improved dramatically over time) for, in this case, Ex_Machina.
Despite the fact that Ex_Machina was a low-budget film, it won a Grammy award
for the special effects which were used during the film which suggests that the
production company spent less money on other necessities such as the actors’
abilities and not needing A-list stars and other extras such as advertisements
and marketing but specifically focused on making sure that the special effects
were really good, making the film known for their special effects.
6. The issues raised in the targeting of national and local
audiences (specifically British) by international or global institutions
Ex machina was a film which had unexpected success earning
academy awards, golden globes and BAFTA awards. Ex machina won an Oscar for the
best achievement in visual effects and was also nominated for an Oscar in the
best writing and original screenplay. There are many different issues which are
raised by production companies aiming films at either local audiences or global
audiences. With ex machina being a low budget film, they weren’t able to focus
on the advertising and marketing department because they focused on the visual
effects making the film interesting with all the special effects using special
software. Because Ex machina was only released in the United Kingdom on January
21st 2015, this proves how because they had a low budget, they weren’t able to
make the film for other countries or advertising it in other countries as it
would cost the production company more for marketing and advertising. Although,
if the production company for ex machina was to have a bigger budget, focusing
it more on the advertising and marketing and releasing it in other countries,
the production company would have more profit than what thy received. Also,
with it only being a local based film, it may only appeal to the target audiences
of the United Kingdom compared to target audiences globally. This film was good
at targeting the desired audiences due to the amount of profit the production
company had made. The production company had an approximate budget of
$15,000,000 and made approximately $30,000,000 doubling their money.
7. The ways in which the candidates own experiences of media
consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour
My own experience of how the media has changed is very
dramatic as i have grown up in the 21st century, meaning i have been able to
watch movies on Video tapes, where the screen used to flicker and now I’m able
to watch movies in HD, but that has now been outdated by blue ray which almost
an immaculate picture. But much before this, back in the 1970s when DVD first
came out, people could only see a movie at the cinema on and they made a
special trip out of it as it was such a big thing. As times have changed, we no
longer have to do that, we can sit at home and watch almost any more by
streaming it on our mobile phones of other devices. Due to this film has to
attract its viewers again by issuing deals for example orange Wednesdays and
student Thursdays. Now media companies are buying rights to show films on their
television channels for example Netflix and sky movies. All of this takes away
people visiting cinemas and can place them in the same cinema situations at home.
