2. Definition
"Cross Media convergence is a strategy used by
business owners to market a business using various
types of media. Owners may use all of media types
individually or combine several mediums to create a
cohesive marketing campaign."
3. BagMan
The short film Bagman kept there theme with typography consistent by
keeping all the fonts and colours the same. This is presented as the title
created is shown on all products such as the poster and website. By
keeping the typography the same it gives the audience an easy
understanding of which film is marketed as they would have seen the
imagine enough times for it to be easily recognized. The repeated bright
yellow text is used to develop and raise awareness of the film to their target
audience. The use of the same character throughout the marketing
procedure informs the audience that he is the main character, and that the
short film will most likely be based around his life.
The main character is presented as the face of the film and this helps the
audience indicated that he is the protagonist even though differently in each
products but the audience are still able to symbolise the genre of the short
film which is being a sci-fi drama. This is done to collect a more specific
audience as the character is young which makes the media text appeal to a
much younger audience.
4. The images that are marketed don't show the main character looking
directly at the camera so this creates enigma to the audience making them
emotional and curious for him as we are only able to see him looking down
or in the distance which emphasises that he is feeling something that no
boy his age should have to feel. The audience is able to figure out the
genre out by the use of low key lighting and stranded setting that always
looks like the boy is on his own. The colour scheme of Bagman can be
related to similar films such as star wars which also uses yellow typography
against a dark background. The posters created are very similar as they all
include the actors, directors, a tagline and creators who have contributed to
this short film. The use of the same colour, font and text informs the
audience that the product is a short film as it hasn't been known though
anything else, like for example The Conjuring who’s creators we're known
for other successful projects as well as showing that it is on a short budget.
Bagmans Budget was $100,000 which is quite a lot for a short film although
they had promoted their short film quite well.
5. All the campaigns I analysed for BAGMAN between the posters, online
website and the short film has highlighted the director at the end of the
film, the bottom of the poster, and a page dedicated to the directors on
their website.
The directors of BAGMAN which are Jonathan Baker and Josh Baker
have their own Twitter pages where they were able to post anything
during the production process as well as new upcoming projects.
BAGMAN has provided information about their directors across the
different platforms they produced and this attracts different audiences
that consume their platforms, for example, younger audience is more
likely going to hear about the short film through online platforms whereas
an older audience would see it through a poster. Even though the film is
marketed in a different way using different platforms, the same
information is used which demonstrates uses and gratifications theory
and this is a pure example of what a successful cross-media campaign
wants to do.
6. The Silent Child
This short film is about A deaf 4-year-old girl named Libby lives
in a world of silence until a caring social worker teaches her to
use sign language to communicate. It's directed by Chris
Overton and written by Rachel Shenton. This short film had won
1 Oscar, 25 awards and 8 nominations. Its budget was
£10,000 and had marketed their short film through different
platforms such as a website, a poster, a trailer, a facebook
page, twitter page, Instagram page and a youtube channel. On
‘The Silent Child’ poster there is a silhouette picture of the two
main protagonist which are presented in very dark shadow
which informs the audience that this is a dramatic film by having
the background light but the colours of the main characters
presented in dark.
7. Although the other poster is the opposite, it used a full dark
grey background but the characters are presented in bright
yellow and this attracts different types of audiences as they are
both different meaning and different colour. The website
however is really dark in colour making the audience feel
mysterious and curious. The website offers links to the social
media platforms that “The Silent Child” had made such as a
facebook link, twitter page link, instagram page link and
youtube channel link. This means that it attracts different types
of audiences as older people would get information from the
website but the younger audience would check the social
media thats available on the website.
8. Cross Media Campaign - The Conjuring
The feature film ‘The Conjuring’ was a very successful campaign and this is because of
many different things they have done by using the social media platform. The first teaser
trailer was released in New York Con 2012 as well as interviews were taken with the cast of
the film which was then released on youtube. Viral marketing was effective with the use of
YouTube as videos can be shared onto other networking sites. Youtube can be effective for
this institution and directors to know if any improvements is required in their marketing
techniques since Youtube allows people to upload their videos for free as well as track the
number of views, likes and dislikes.
The Cross Media Campaign was effective by the poster and trailer of the film by the use of
the title of the film. Both of these marketing techniques use the same font and colour in the
title. Continuity is essential in film marketing as it allows the audience to recognise the film
immediately just through simple things like the title. The title of the film isn't shown till the
end of the trailer although the subtitles were used in the same font as the title for continuity.
“The Truth Will Consume You” is the tagline that's placed at the bottom of the poster which
is as well done in the same colour and font that was used in the trailer, this is a pure
example of a cross-media campaign.
9. The horror conventions are enhanced through the cross-media campaign to make
the promotional products look mysterious and terrifying to the audience. The
poster includes an old lady who is isolated in the middle of the room with her head
looking down which already makes the poster look creepy and connotes that
people need to stay away from her. The poster as we'll challenge key conventions
as she isn't looking at the camera which is unusual for a promotional poster. The
background of the poster is very dark and shadowed off which makes it easy for
the audience to recognize that it's a horror poster. The shadows in the poster are
contrasting with the few light bits in the image adding depth to the poster and this
is eye catchy and draws the audience's attention towards the poster.
The production company which is “The Safran Company”, are known for their
success in other famous films with the same varying genre which are: “Annabelle,
Burried, The choice”. This could be one of the main reason why the film was
successful as the mass majority of the audience would’ve been aware of the
creators and distributors from other films which makes them loyal customers.
10. FEATURE FILM VS SHORT FILM
SIMILARITIES DIFFERENCES
They both create promotional
material like posters for the audience
to access and engage with. They
both use it to inform the audience as
much as possible about what to
expect in the film.
Both types of films, follow the codes
and conventions of their genre to
inform the audience immediately on
the type of narrative to expect.
Feature film has a lot to market due to
its long narrative, whereas short film
will most likely only be able to market
their short film with the most significant
part of the narrative to keep the
audience engaged as much as
possible.
Feature films have more ways and
opportunities to market their product than
a short film due to the higher budget.
Feature films can create websites like
"Dark Knight" and make the audience do
challenges to engage them.
