Super 8 Cross Media - Arfa and Harsimran

Presentation Answers

Slide one:

In order to profit and boost its revenue, the film industry uses a variety of methods to promote their media product. The methods used are: print media in the form of newspapers and magazines, billboards and many more; Broadcast media, which are communication methods such as television, radio; and e-media, this is when information is on the internet. Media institutuons use this to attract their audience to purchase their product, this is known as the hyperdermic needle.

The theory suggests that the mass media could influence a very large group of people directly and uniformly by ‘shooting’ or ‘injecting’ them with appropriate messages designed to trigger a desired response. 

Print media

Print media includes newspapers, magazines, direct mail and other non-electronic forms. Billboards are often considered print media as well. Print media can be an effective tool for businesses to advertise their products and services. It is widely used it is cheaper than advertising on TV or the internet, which costs considerably more. In addition, Print advertisements in newspapers and magazines are usually targeted to specific audiences. Therefore, there is a grantee that the media product will get a level of success as it is shown to the consumers, who consume the media product the most. Furthermore, Magazines and billboards can have a long exposure time. Magazines may be left around homes and offices for months before they are discarded. Billboards usually stay for lengthy periods of time.

An example of this is the 2011 American science fiction action film written and directed by J. J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg:

billboards emphasise a specific image Keeping brand name in front of the masses Filtering to the subconscious for future recall when purchasing products, or in this case choosing what film to watch. 

Another example is the Super 8 review by british newspaper The Guardian: Super 8 review-Guardian. 

The use of giving a review, gives the audience an expectation of how the movie is going to be, therefore when the they watch the film they will look out for the points given in the move. 

Broadcast Media

“Broadcast Media" usually refers to media such as TV & Radio, hence the term broadcast. Webcasts are also usually considered broadcast media. billions of people around the world watch or listen to television, films and radio every day, therefore it is likely that consumers will be exposed to the media product.

A key exmaple of promoting Super 8 via braodcasting is when actor Kyle Chandler is interviewed about the film. Not only does this promote the film, but it also promotes the actor himself: Late Show with David Letterman- Super 8

E-media 

Super 8 and Twitter teamed up in order to promote the film virally:

"Twitter has the incredible capability of spreading buzz in real-time, as well as fostering communal conversations that encapsulate large audiences in a matter of seconds. We believe these elements are key in promoting a movie like SUPER 8 that has such incredible playability and the potential for unlimited positive word of mouth," 

- Amy Powell, Paramount's Executive Vice President, Interactive Marketing Strategies & Film Production

In addition, the use of marketing the movie online, help attract their target audience which are mostly younger males and females. 

Although each platform is different, the product advertised and the it is advertised are similar. This is because each platform, will be successful in attracting a mass audience. Furthermore, the example I have used require people to talk about the film, for example, for a billboard people will talk about what movie to watch and where they had seen it being advertised. 

However, in my opinion I think using e-media plays as a huge advantage in promoting the movie. This is the movies key demographic  areTeenagers, as they are the ‘internet generation’. In addition, the use of print media will attract an older audience of A-D1. The use of this for the consumer creates nostalgia as they will remember other movies made by Spielberg. Therefore, they will think about watching the movie as it will bring back memories, generating escapism to their childhood or identification. Using broadcast media helps advertise the film to a mass audience as everyone watches TV. Furthermore, it helps attract the target audience which are family audiences. The ethnicity of the audience may play a role, for example, it could be targeted for An American audience who will identitfy with the characters and the location of the movie. Also, as the protagonist is male, it could attract a young male audience to create identitfication, which in some ways creates a friendship between the character and the consumer. Also, the movie contains issues to do with the army and American politics. Therefore, people who are interested in these issues or would liek to be informed more will

watch the movie. In addition, people who have the same ideologies as the ones presented in the movie, will identify with the narrative and characters.

The institutions involved in promoting the film are:

Paramount

Amblin Entertainment

Paramount and Super 8

'Paramount Pictures’s Super 8 is ramping up its social media marketing efforts before it hits U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday, first by premiering the first full-length trailer on Twitter, and now with promotions on Foursquare and Twitter.

Paramount is offering the latter’s users advance showings through the hashtag #Super8Secret, which the company is also pushing as a Promoted Trend. There is, of course, nothing secret about the promotion, and that’s the point; Paramount has essentially guaranteed that the movie will be trending on opening day, thanks to all of the advance reviews on Twitter.

As we’ve seen before, however, the film will still have to stand on its own merits; Twitter can just as persuasively keep moviegoers out of theaters as it can bring them in.'

-http://www.mashable.com/

According to reports, about 100,000 people across the country attended the sneak preview. On Friday Twitter boasted that the Hollywood promotion, its biggest movie tieup ever, earned Paramount $1 million on Thursday alone.

Amblin entertainment

Nested in a back lot at Universal Studios, Amblin Entertainment is producer/director Steven Spielberg's movie production company.

7-eleven - 7-Eleven® Launches Super 8 Movie ‘Check in to Space’ Promotion with Sweepstakes Prizes that are Out of this World

iPhone app - super 8

 

Super 8 promotions:

In order to profit, it is vital for films to promote across all media platforms. 

An example, would be an App Super 8 have made for iPhone users. This promotional app for the film by J.J. Abrams adds scratchy vintage effects to your iPhone video, just like it was shot in Super 8. This is used as a promotional device, as the consumer will discover the film when looking at their phone. 

In Addition, the use of e-media and blogging has been used to promote the film. According to paramount Executive Vice President of Interactive Marketing Strategies & Film Production Amy Powell: “Twitter has the incredible capability of spreading buzz in real-time, as well as fostering communal conversations that encapsulate large audiences in a matter of seconds. We believe these elements are key in promoting a movie like Super 8.” Realising the positive word-of-mouth the film was receiving on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, Paramount, the studio releasing the film on June 10th, decided to stoke the fire. They had partnered with twitter to offer users of the service advanced tickets to a sneak preview screening on June 9th. Paramount were also holding separate, private screenings for Twitter users with large numbers of followers, and even one for Twitter employees. Attendees of all screenings were encouraged to post messages about the film on Twitter.

Another marketing technique the film producers have used is interviews on televivison and the web. For example, a Youtube channel called ClevverMovies this channel plays a role in promoting films, as well as, actors. This is because with the release of the film, this channel has interviewed both directors and the actors. This not only promotes the film, but the actors too, as they will now become more established within the film industry. 

Also, to create a following Paramount has released a series of clips from a promotional video to different movie sites and blogs, which, when all pulled together, make one big, shiny video.  This creates a following on the internet as the audience will look for footage that matches up with the other extracts of the video.

In conclusion, the film uses a variety of methods to promote the film. However, the main marketing technique used is e-media, this is because the institution has looked what media platform is most consumed,' thus they will promote on that platform. 




"Like Cloverfield, an earlier J. J. Abrams film, Super 8 was promoted through an extensive viral marketing campaign. The first trailer for the movie was attached to Iron Man 2, released in May 2010. The trailer gave the premise of a section of Area 51 being closed down in 1979 and its contents being transported by freight train to Ohio. A pickup truck drives into the oncoming train, derailing it, and one of the carriages is smashed open while a Super 8 camera films. Fans analyzing the trailer found a hidden message, "Scariest Thing I Ever Saw", contained in the final frames of the trailer. This led to a website, Scariest Thing I Ever Saw, which simulated an old computer and contained various clues to the film's storyline (the computer was eventually revealed to belong to Josh Woodward, the son of Dr. Woodward, who is trying to find out what happened to his father). Another viral website, Rocket Poppeters was also found, which like Slusho from Cloverfield plays no direct part in the film but is indirectly related. The official Super 8 website also contained an "editing room" section, which asked users to find various clips from around the web and piece them together. When completed, the reel makes up the film found by the kids in Dr. Woodward's trailer, showing the ship disintegrating into individual white cubes, and the alien reaching through the window of its cage and snatching Dr. Woodward. The video game Portal 2 contained an interactive trailer placing the player on board the train before it derails, and showing the carriage being smashed open and the roar of the alien within. The viral campaign generated massive hype for the film long before its release.<sup>" 


- Source: Wikipedia</sup>
Other promotional methods used:


7-Eleven promotion - 7-Eleven, the American food institution Launched a Super 8 Movie 'Check in to Space' Promotion. During the month-long sweepstakes, up to 21,475 prizes awarded thousands of movie tickets, 10 zero-gravity trips and a grand prize trip to suborbital space.


Super 8 promotion via Twitter - The paramount producers have used twitter in order to promote the film, in my opinion this is a good thing. This is because it is a free way to promote the film, therefore they will profit much more and save much more.

 

Print poster analysis:

The use of an indirect mode of address, creates a narrative enigma, the audience, will wonder what they are looking at in such distress.  Also, the super 8 title is in white, this has two interpretations. Firstly, it could connote purity and an angelic feeling, which could suggest something supernatural, however another interpretations could be something Cold, colorless, sterile. In addition, the size of the images on the poster could infer who the protagonist is and the importance of the character. Furthermore, the text "Diner" suggests the setting is in America, and that perhaps it is set in an older time period. The cartoon effect could suggest a comic story line or a supernatural narrative. The lens above all other images could provide an indication of the narrative, or inspiration of producing the film. As, it is an American film, there are many explanations of the lens. On one hand, it could be seen as the government watching   citizens, like the book 1984 by George Orwell. On the other hand, the lens could be for the audience to identity when watching the film. The tagline "it arrives", creates a narrative enigma as we do not know what is going to arrive, or if it arriving causes the distress on the protagonists.  

Image Analysis from presentation

Image one: The image denotes a woman with a cigarette in her hand, and a direct mode of address, with her hair tied up with red lipstick. The use of the cigarette connotes the genre of film noir, thus suggesting she is the femme fatal; this is further evident with her red lipstick which has connotations of evil and passion. In addition, her hair is tied up, this challenges the patriarchal society. She is the dominant figure, and, perhaps, the villain. 


The lighting techniques used is low-key lighting, this creates a dramatic and mysterious ambiance. It could also, create a narrative enigma. Furthermore, the top lighting accentuates the characters features. Her bone structure and lips, as well as her direct mode of address, suggest she is a welcoming person. This relates to her character of being the femme fatal. 


Image two: The image of a woman, with an indirect mode of address provides an enigma. We wonder what she is looking at, why she is looking at it? etc. Also, her hands are on her face, this suggest she maybe distressed or worried. Her facial expression and pose could relate to the lighting used. In this image top-lighting is used to accentuate her bone structure, furthermore it could connote an angelic character or she is the damsel in distress (Propp). In addition, low key-lighting is used to provide a shadow and mysterious atmosphere. The effect of this is that the left side is light, whereas the right is dark; this is an example of binary opposition (Levi Strauss) 


Image three: This man giving a direct mode of address, suggests he is intimidation. This can be further supported, with the crown, suggesting he is of high status. In addition, the use of top-lighting suggest glamour and importance of the character. Moreover, the effect of high-key lighting connotes the king has two sides to him; as the lighting creates a shadow under his eyes. 


Image four: Low key lighting is used in this image to connote a dramatic feel. Top lighting is also used, this may infer that he is the hero (Propp), he is sent from above to "save the day". This is further supported with the gun, which also plays as a phallic symbol. This may foreshadow what will happen to this character, he could be joined with a female. 


Image five: this image shows a woman with a direct mode of address. As it is evident she is in trouble due to the facial expression, the direct mode of address may be a call for the audience to help her. In addition, under lighting is used to illustrate the genre of the movie, horror. Low-key lighting is used in order to present a dramatic scene.  

Still image analysis

There are a number of lighting techniques used in this image. For example, top lighting has also been used to show the actors facial features, as the setting is in a bathroom, the lighting is expected to come down from the top. Since this film is shot in neo film-noir style, everything is black and white. Another interpretation would be that the top lighting is making the plasters light, emphasizing the injury on the character, which also creates a narrative enigma. Furthermore, the extreme low key-lighting, by using this is shows a very strong contracts of light and dark. This creates if effect of Chiaroscuro, it could also connote (using binary opposition) who is hero and who is the villain. In addition, the use of low-key lighting is that it connotes that the character has a deep and dark personality. 

Trailer analysis

Psycho is a thriller directed by the master of the genre Alfred Hitchcock. it stars Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh and Vera Miles. It tells the story of a woman seeking refuge in a motel after stealing $40,000. But everything in the motel isn't as it seems:

Trailer

The trailer opens to shots of the film's cult scene:

A woman being murdered in her shower. There are close ups of her hand sliding down the wall and gripping onto the side of the shower  There is a close up shot of her leg, showing she is lying in the shower, therefore it may suggest that she is dead. A low angle shot is then taken of the shower curtain being ripped down. A shot of a man in the dark thrusting a knife towards the camera follows, the lighting used in this is back lighting. this creates a silhouette, thus creating narrative enigma (Levi-strauss). 

This scene lasts just over 3 seconds. Therefore very fast and almost subliminal, meaning we might not realise they're there. The non-diegetic sound of the cult theme tune, played on string instruments, is heard during this short scene.

Super 8 Review

Super 8: Is it really super?

JJ Abrams plays part homage to Steven Spielberg and part franchise – and a little disappointing.

The affectionate tribute to Spielberg classics such as Close Encounters and ET, the weird hybrid is a slightly disappointing mystery adventure movie. On the posters is written as a Steven Spielberg movie, thus it is a part homage, part franchise operation.

Little things about the movie has been thoroughly created or recreated. For instance the homely suburban setting, whose housing sprawl is set across a valley or plain, which can be viewed, all at once, a group of kids keeping secrets from the grownups. Also, the use of a typical American diner with conversations of alien, almost paranormal topics, gives a Spielberg experience.   

There is a group of kids. Each of them has a gimmick disguised as characterization. For instance, there’s a fat kid who says “Mint!” every five seconds, and kid with braces who seems to love fire, a pansy who vomits, and a protagonist who keeps his dead mom’s locket with him wherever he goes.

While JJ works his usual directorial magic on movies such as mission: impossible III and star trek  – the casting is wonderful, the shots are skillfully composed – it’s just not enough. In the end this is a script that Abrams cannot overcome, and it drags him down until by the end of the film scenes that are supposed to be emotional peak is just an empty spectacle.

The problem with "Super 8" is not how much there is to complain about but how little there is to be excited about. Given the abilities of those accomplished names on the poster, that has got to be an anticlimax.