LO3, Task 4- Advertising, Promotion and Distribution

Hey again, its me Sammie this time I am going to be talking about advertising, promotion and also distribution.

Advertising and promotion means to market a film to create maximum awareness for the films target audience.

There are many different ways that a film can be advertised such as:

- Posters
- Billboards
- Cinema Adverts
- Magazines and Newspapers
- Social Media
- Flyers
- Video Adverts
- Interviews
- Web Banners
- Endorsements
- and many more.

Theorist David Gauntlett (2002) talked about Web 2.0 and stated that  this is the point where the web went from being a static medium to a two way form of communication and also an interaction platform.

The Fault in Our Stars was advertised in many different ways. A few of the ways that it was advertised are: video advertisements, trailers in the cinema and on youtube, bus adverts and many other ways. Below I am going to speak about some of these ways.

The first way that we are going to speak about is the poster. This poster was put up in many different places such as cinemas, supermarkets and it was also shown in magazines and newspapers. It shows the it was based on a book which means that not only is the film being advertised but the book is too. This is a good thing as it encourages young people to read the book as well as go to see or buy the film. The poster encourages and tells people to go and see the film as it also shows the two main protagonists Hazel and Augustus which also appeals to young people as they are young and attractive which could be why the advertisers chose to use this image. This is a very simple film poster and doesn't give away what the film is really about which then intrigues the target audience because they then want to find out more and so watch the film. Using posters has always been a way for film industries to advertise films and it has always worked for them  as they are a good way of creating awareness which is why they still use them now.

Bringing out a soundtrack before the film comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray is a good thing as it is another good way of advertising it. This is because it helps people to remember that the film will be following soon. The music is also played on music channels on tv and also on the radio which again reminds people again about the film as if they watch the music videos then they will see parts of the film incorporated in the video. A good example of a music video that has the film incorporated in it is Charlie XCX's video as this was the main soundtrack recorded specifically for this film. This is again another thing that film industries have used for a long to advertise but it has only really become more popular the past few years as most big films now bring out the full soundtrack. This then boosts the sales of the film as they are cross promoting. And the target audience can hear the soundtrack regularly.

Video Advertisements and the trailer were used to advertise The Fault in Our Stars. They would have been played on television, on internet sites such as YouTube and vivo, it will have also been played in the cinema before the film was released for viewing. Video advertising is fairly new as the internet like we know it now is also fairly new.

These are some screenshots from the trailer and they tell the audience in a minimalistic way what happens in the film which then intrigues them to then either go to the cinema and watch it and then also maybe buy is on DVD.

Overall, I believe that the advertising methods that were used to promote the film The Fault in Our Stars is one of the main reasons why it did so well.

Distribution is the act of giving or selling an item or product to an audience.

Technical Convergence is the theory that over time technology converges into different pieces of technology that are new and improved and they are also easier to use. It also means that one piece of technology can be used for more than one thing.

The Fault in Our Stars was distributed on many different mediums such as DVD and Blu-Ray, Cinema and also a copy for internet streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube and many other sites, a person can use these sites on many different devices. For the online streaming sites a person has to subscribe and pay to watch things. As long as a person has a subscription they can watch anything unless it is YouTube as you have to pay for the films on there now. When a film is brought out in many different ways it means that the film will become more successful as more people will watch it as it is easier to access. There are many different illegal sites too which means that people can download torrents and then have the film for free and this is where the film industry loses income as there are so many illegal sites out there.

Here are some stats that show how well the film did because of the way that it was advertised and distributed. These stats however, do not include streaming and illegal downloads which could have boosted the profits if it was bought.

Domestic Box Office- $124,872,350 - £82,840,316.99

International Box Office- $178,700,000 - £118,549,580

Worldwide Box Office- $303,572,350 - £201,389,896.99

Home Market Performance:

Domestic DVD Sales- $24,517,240 - £16,264,737.16

Domestic Blu-Ray Sales- $17,779,344 - £11,791,260.94

Total Domestic Video Sales- $42,296,384 - £28,059,421.14

Based on how much it cost to make the film and and how well the film sold in the box office and on DVD, a profit has been made from the sales of this film, which means that the advertising and distribution in many different places worked to promote the film.

Audience Profile and Imaginary Entity

"Sophie, 17 loves romance. This informs most aspects in her life especially film and music. The Fault in Our Stars does this especially as she is a sucker for the emotional films. She also gets all her ideals for a relationship from this sort of film, she is inspired by the unconditional love that is shared between characters and wants this in her own life."

Feedback for L02, Task 2

LO2, Task 3

Introduction

Hi there, its Sammie again. This time I have been asked to look at the demographics for my film 'The Fault in Our Stars'. Ien Ang (pronounced Yen)  (1991) and John Hartley (1987) suggested that producers create invisible fiction or imaginary entities before creating a media product. This is true as the producers want to get a feel of what their target audience likes to do and what sort of things would interest them to incorporate these into the film. The main target audience for my film is teenage girls from the ages of 15 and upward.

Gender

The first example that represents gender in the film 'The Fault in Our Stars' is the relationship as it links to Carl Rodgers theory. His theory is 'Ideal self, ideal partner' and this links to the film as the main characters ideal self would be to not be ill and this relates to the target audience as they have other things wrong with them that they would like to change to become their ideal selfs. The ideal partner is Augustus because he is an attractive and caring young person like the target audience and they feel like they could see themselves with somebody like him, however this appeals mostly to girls. The next example that represents gender is again the main characters relationship as it links to Claude Levi Strauss's theory of 'Binary Opposition'. This links because Hazel is more dominant than Augustus most of the way through the film and so doesn't meet the average stereotype of the male being the dominant partner and the female being the subordinate partner. We can tell that this film is aimed mostly at a female target audience because of the fact that Hazel is more in control and so shows the females that watch the film that they can be in control. The third example is again linked to the main characters relationship and also to Strauss's theory of 'Binary Opposition' as the roles are reversed and Augustus becomes the dominant stereotypical male and Hazel becomes the stereotypical subordinate female. This shows the target audience that the roles can be reversed.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
Age

The age rating of this film is a 12 but the median age is a 15 as the themes of the film are for a more mature audience that would understand what the meaning behind it is. The first example of this is the fact that this is a film about two teenagers that are battling Cancer. It shows the target audience that they can overcome anything if they try and if they really want to. The second example of this that I am going to use is when Hazel and Augustus go on their first date. This is an example because they are falling in love for the first time and it shows that if they can do this even if it is just for a short period of time, then the target audience can too. It also helps the target audience too believe in love if they don't already. The third example is when the lead characters travel abroad and go to Amsterdam. This shows the target audience that they can go anywhere and do anything that they want to. The fourth example is when they go to the Cancer Support Group as it shows that they are sociable and can still make friends even if they are terminally ill. This appeals to the audience as many of them may be involved in a support group for other problems that they have, also the target audience will be if an age where they are just learning g to cope or deal with social issues. Another example of the target audiences age is the book as this is a young adults fiction book.

Lifestyle and Uses and Gratifications

NRS stands for National Readership Survey. The target audience for my film 'The Fault in Our Stars' is in the lifestyle category E of the NRS which is Urban Ventures. The technology from the film back this up as the main characters have up to date technology such as I-phones and laptops which their parents have probably bought for them as they are teenagers and still live at home. It backs it up as most people have up to date technology because their parents can afford these kind of things and so can the characters parents in the film. This also relates to the target audience being digital natives. Digital natives are people who have been brought up within the digital age and they have witnessed the development of technology. Denis McQuail (1972) says that there are four reasons why people consume media products. These are; surveillance, escapism, building a personal identity and finally building personal relationships. An example of escapism in my film is when the two main characters go away to Amsterdam. This is an example as many people want escape and to go away on holiday and do things like they do in the film. Another example that links to escapism is when the main characters go on their first date as the target audience can escape and imagine that they are on the date with whichever main character that they like as they are both attractive. An example of building a personal identity is when the target audience can relate to the characters or the actors. They want  to be or replicate them. The audience could relate to them because they have an illness that they are trying to overcome, or they can relate to the love story that is incorporated into the film.  The film could also be in lifestyle category A: affluent achievers as many successful people will watch the film too such as people from the medical world that will understand the problems and the downsides of the illness that the two main characters suffer from. This would help the affluent achievers to build relationships too as they could talk to people similar to the characters in the film that suffer from the illness in the real world as they understand the themes that are included in the film.

Spending Power

This film will influence two different groups of people, who have different lifestyles. The first is Urban Ventures and their demographics would be C1 and C2. This means that they will have an income but it will be very little as they will be at college or university which means that they will probably have a part time job where they will earn minimum wage. The second is the thriving greys and affluent achievers and their demographics will be A and B. This band are all upper middle class and middle class people which means they have a good job and a decent wage and a disposable income. The first group of people may be able to go to the cinema to watch the film or buy the book or the DVD. But the second band of people could afford to go on holiday to Amsterdam like the two main characters do in the film. They could also afford to donate money to charity every month.