Cross-media convergence and synergy are vital processes in the successful marketing of a media product. To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to your case study?

                Convergence is bringing different forms of media together in one device, and this can be used in different ways for marketing a film, mainly depending on who the target audience is/ synergy is when the interaction of two or more forces work together in order to produce something greater than the sum of their individual efforts. I agree that both synergy and convergence are very important when it comes to marketing a film to audiences.

                The Dark Knight Rises was a largely successful film which used cross-media convergence when marketing. As Warner Brothers Pictures is one of the six major conglomerates in the USA, it wasn’t difficult of them to market The Dark Knight Rises across many different platforms in terms of budget, which was around $250 million.

The company launched the official webpage for the film in May 2011, over a year before its actual release in July 2012. This began a viral marketing campaign, mainly including Twitter. The hash tag “#TheFireRises” began trending, and for each tweet using this hash tag, Warner Bros removed one pixel from the webpage. This eventually revealed the first image of the character Bane online, still a year before the release of the film. The webpage included audio, which was described as repeated chanting in order to start a buzz amongst their fan base.

In July 2011, the company released a teaser trailer, as well as using synergy to advertise The Dark Knight Rises at the Formula 1 races. After the release of the film, Warner Bros produced a video game based on The Dark Knight Rises as well as producing “The Fire Rises” t-shirts for fans. The release of their video game is a strong example of the use of synergy and convergence in their successful marketing campaign as Warner Bros would have worked with video game companies such as PlayStation in order to produce it.

                The audience for The Dark Knight Rises would have been fans of the previous Batman films as well as new fans, mainly young adults. The marketing strategies used clearly address these audiences directly, and I believe this largely contributed to the success of the film overall. For the existing fans there was plenty of new merchandise to collect to ensure they felt like ‘true fans’, where as for new young fans there was plenty of social media involvement to catch their attention. The DVD was released on Blu-Ray and this even included a code for a free online download of the film when you bought it, which suits their young target audience well by converging with online platforms of viewing.

                In relation to my case study, I agree that cross-media convergence and synergy are infact vital when marketing a film in today’s modern world. There are so many platforms on which you can consume media, and I think that when film companies properly embrace the proliferation of viewing films, they are highly successful.

ER Clip – Representational Issue of Age

                In the first scene the audience see a young boy in a hospital bed, who is suffering with a fatal disease. As soon as he and the doctor begin their conversation it is clear that the boy is wise beyond his years as he almost outsmarts his doctor, whose facial expressions show that he is confused. The boy has diagnosed himself and takes a mature approach to his situation in deciding not to inform his own mother. From the use of a lower angle shot of the doctor standing over him it is clear that he, as the adult, has more authority as he changes the boy’s mind. The lighting in this scene is very low key, to create a sombre mood about the clip as the audience are made to sympathise the boy’s tragic situation. The shot reverse shot used in this scene of the clip shows clearly the difference between the doctor and the child’s reactions to the situation; the doctor appears confused and worried, where as the child has clearly come to terms with the issue; this is perhaps not what the audience would expect from real life.

                Following this there is a short clip of another young boy, in the waiting room, who appears stereotypical in that he cries over a bite from his gerbil – completely trifling issue compared to the boy in bed. This character completely juxtaposes the boy in the previous scene, whilst it reminds the audience of what a young boy would typically act like. This again highlights the maturity shown by the ill boy, so it is made clear these characters are binary opposites despite their similar age. Amongst the waiting room the audience hear several diegetic sounds, conveying the variety of characters and their ages, such as a baby crying, adults speaking and the elderly coughing.

                Later in the clip, where the old, supposedly ‘drunk’ man lays on a hospital bed, the camerawork speeds up from cut to cut in a frantic style whilst several doctors rush and panic around the bed. The bald doctor stands at the end of the bed in his white coat, showing his authority. He is calm and collected whilst he criticizes a young female nurse in her floral uniform, for not noticing the patient’s issues and assuming he is simply a homeless drunk. As he belittles her, he also praises his fellow doctor by saying “get back to the waiting room, we clearly need you in there” as though he is complimenting the doctor’s efforts. It is made clear that these two characters are equals as they are both dresses in white lab coats, contrasting with the colourful nurses uniforms which look much less official.

Hustle Analysis - Gender

In this moving image Hustle, we are shown a representation of men being greedy, defensive and patronizing, whilst the women are manipulative, smart and aware. However the wider representation of the clip shown is the stereotyping of women by males in society, which results in him to be hustled for his money.

The establishing shot reveals a pan of a white high ceilinged shop, white connoting purity and power which signifies the shop is for upper-class people. We see a medium shot of an attractive lady in a sophisticated suit which then pans to the male in a black suit, again representing the higher class environment. We then see a close-up of the woman’s face where her hand is in the frame, we see a diamond ring and automatically we are introduced to the first stereotype of women being addicted to fashion, clothes and jewellery. This is clarified as there is a shot reverse shot of a older lady in a red coat asking for a cocktail dress, this looks at the contrast between status and class as the man tells her the dress is £700 in a patronising manner. The camera then zooms into his face where we see his expressions of mockery as the old lady replies she wanted something “nice”. This represents men as ignorant and self-absorbed, emphasised by his femininity, and he is only interested in making money, clarified when he again patronised the lady as she leaves.

The shot then pans and we see the upper class lady in the longshot, we see she has unusually stylised hair and heavy makeup signifying her vanity which is another representation of women. Her careful movements give a sense of mystery as she is being helped by the man. In contrast to the old lady he is very helpful towards the upper class and stereotypes the lady to be rich and self-absorbed, this shows how the stereotypical view of the woman can be manipulative and misleading. The male is frantic as his dialogue quickens, this signifies his eagerness to help an attractive rich lady. This represents the vulnerability of men over beautiful women however due to the perception that the male is actually gay as he is very feminine, the audience start to question why.

The stereotyping is then emphasised when the cinematographer tracks up from her shoes upwards revealing a beautiful diamond encrusted backless evening dress, which connotes beauty and power. She is exclaiming, ‘oh yes, this is fabulous’, this is over exaggerated and seems unnatural as her emotions shown through her voice replicates the sounds of sexual intercourse indicating that women are high excitable when it comes to clothes, another stereotype. Also there is sex appeal promoted in her body language as she has décolleage and is flirtatious towards the sales assistant signifying her confidence and vanity.

There is then a cut to a new location of a room with dark luxurious furnishing and green walls. It heavily resembles a casino and could represent the foreshadowing of the clip ending with a risk being taken or gamble. Also the men in a medium two shot are drinking whisky and smoking cigars with a non-diegetic soundtrack of jazz. This connotes they are upper-class, which suggests that they are important but also greedy as they help themselves for more whisky for enjoyment, a representation of men being self-absorbent in this scene.

The next frame is very frantic, there are repeated fast crosscuts of the woman searching through her bag and panicking over her long ring. Representing women as being prone to loosing things and over reacting frequently. However due to her exaggeration and non-diegetic music being fast pace and happy this signifies that the situation is planned. This is clarified as the woman looks directly into the camera, giving direct address to the audience as she says, ‘ I know you will’ as the male offers help. This shows women as manipulative as she has conned the male due to her stereotypical acting.

There is another crosscut back to the shop where a gentleman with blonde hair and blue eyes, which is seemed as angelic, has entered the shop. His composition resembles someone whom is innocent and genuine; however as an audience we are aware that he is not, as he has a common dialect and is not formal. He is also very impolite and arrogant towards the sales assistant asserting his authority. This is also shown in the extreme longshot of the two where the sales assistant is on his knees and the man is upright and gracefully looking through the clothes. Again this represents men as patronising as the male belittles the assistant, towering over him.

When we see a zoom to his face, as he speaks to the sales assistant, his hair as highlighted as the same blonde as the woman which could suggest the unison or hustling the man. The cinematographer then cuts to a zoom on the man’s hand behind his back and the previous diamond ring slipping out. A ‘ting’ sound is heard emphasising the scam. The audience now knows that the sales assistant is being conned and the man was working with the woman. This represents both the male and female to be deceiving, manipulative and play the stereotyping to their advantage. Also the sales assistant is a prime example of men can be very trusting towards woman due to their sex drive. The sales assistant is trying to negotiate with the man. Being smart he patronises the assistant by making him feel like the thief for being greedy and claim the prize. This represents the males to be arrogant and selfish.

By the end, the jazzy non diegetic music fades in which signifies success. As the male walks into a café, to meet the original lady, who now has brown hair, which signifies her identity change, this emphasises on the scandal. Throughout the clip it heavily focuses on the stereotypes of the two genders and how people’s perception changes based on assumptions and looks.

Waterloo Road Analysis

The establishing shot of the scene is of the main girl character in the scene Vicky. She is standing alone leaning against a doorway starting on at two other characters that are deep in conversation with each other. Vicky is wearing a green jacket over a school uniform; the colour green has many negative connotations including jealousy and envy. The way in which Vicky is leaning against the door frame suggests that she is not stable and feels that she needs some support. Vicks has her arms folded across her body, signifying that she is an insecure person. The shot enables the audience to see Vicky in the background and the girl and boy conversing in the foreground. Although Vicky appears to be the selected focus of the shot her body language and distance from the other two characters speaking, suggest to the audience that she feels left out of the conversation and she feels jealousy towards the blonde girl (Maddy) who is speaking to Vicky’s boyfriend (Ronan).

From the establishing shot, the director cuts to an over shoulder shot from Vicky’s point of view, focusing on the characters: Maddy and Ronan in the background. During this shot, the setting is further established as a school food tech room as a wider shot of the set is visible. In the shot, the lighting on Vicky is low key, and very dark and shadowy, this could signify her emotional state, and the dark unhappy place she feels that she is in emotionally. In contrast the lighting on the character of Ronan in the shot is high key natural lighting which indicates a happier brighter mood. Maddy is wearing all black in the shot, the negative connotations of black suggest that: Maddy may be causing problem is in Ronan and Vicky’s relationship and the way in which she is bringing negative and bad energy to their relationship.

The director then cuts the camera to a mid-shot of Maddy and Ronan standing beside each other, portraying to the audience their closeness in the scene. The diegetic sound of dialogue between Maddy and Ronan is heard allowing the audience to hear Maddy’s strong northern/ Yorkshire accent letting the audience recognise where the program Waterloo Road may be set. As the conversation between Maddy and Ronan builds they share eye contact with each other, which once again leaves Vicky feeling secluded and left out and possibly suggesting to the audience that the pair may have something to hide between the two of them. As Ronan turns towards the doorway and sees Vicky for the first time standing there in the doorway, his facial expressions become subdued suggesting that he feels guilty for talking to Maddy, and being ‘caught’ by Maddy, this therefore suggests that in Ronan and Vicky’s relationship Vicky holds more power, which subverts the usual gender stereotypes that the male in the relationship is the strong powerful  individual, and the female as the weaker submissive individual who follows her partners wishes.

The rector the cuts back showing a mid-shot of Vicky still leaning against the doorframe in the doorway of the food technology room, which allows the audience to then witness her reaction to what she has just seen between Maddy and Ronan. Vicky’s arms are still folded across her body suggesting the anger that she may feel at Ronan and Maddy and the fact that she is not impressed by it but this could also connote that she feels uncomfortable and insecure around Maddy, because she feels threatened by her friendship with Ronan, and the increasing closeness of it. The diegetic sound of Vicky’s dialogue is heard by the audience: “You having a nice time?” is delivered in a cold sarcastic tone suggesting anger, and emphasising on the jealousy that Vicky is feeling. The director then cuts to an over shoulder shot of Ronan over Vicky’s shoulder, Maddy is cut out of the frame by Vicky’s head suggesting that Vicky is trying to assert her place in the relationship, and that she feels the need to involve herself in the conversation.The director keeps the camera in a still position as the scene develops further, Vicky begins to move slowly about the frame she stands in front of Ronan blocking him from the shot so that the audience can view an over shoulder shot of Maddy over Vicky’s shoulder, emphasising again the dominant role that Vicky holds in their relationship, and that she wants Ronan to keep all to herself. Maddy again returns to view in the shot which could imply that she is trying to get in the middle of Ronan and Vicky’s relationship, by: ‘worming her way’ in to Ronan's affections. From this point, shot reverse shot is used by the director, cutting between close ups of their conversation as they begin to speak to each other. The director then cuts back to a close-up shot of Vicky’s face as she begins to speak with Maddy. The diegetic dialogue from Vicky is heard, as she angrily shouts at Maddy to: “Get out!” the dialogue from Vicky again suggests a strongness that continues to subvert usual gender stereotypes, an as Maddy leaves and obeys Vicky’s command it is obvious to the audience that Vicky holds more power over Ronan that Maddy does within the scene. A close up of roans reaction to this and his facial expressions let the audience realise that he is shocked and bewildered by Vicky’s hostile actions towards Maddy.

Mock Exam

Coming Down The Mountain

                From the very beginning of the clip the audience are presented with an image of a childish, disabled teenager Ben, in comparison to a fast-thinking, typical teenage boy, David. The distinction between the two brothers becomes clear as the audience firstly see a bird’s eye view of their shared bedroom. It is noticeable that Ben’s side of the room is incredibly separate from david’s one, as his domain contains a collection of toys, Doctor Who posters and colourful bed sheets.  David’s side, however, involves a dark and dingy selection of posters with plainly coloured bed sheets. This straight away conveys the brothers’ differences, and so already the audience is able to understand how sharing a room couold cause problems. The non-diegetic music in the background is rather upbeat but with a deep bass to it, also suggesting a representation of the contrasting brothers’ personalities.

                As David begins to speak about murdering his brother, the music becomes very fast and suddenly the audience are shown a variety of clips from fish, to dinosaurs, to cavemen. These each convey how David views his disabled brother and this is confirmed when there is a cut to the kitchen, and David’s voice as a narrative describes Ben as a ‘big potato with eye tenticles’. Before this the audience are shown an establishing shot to convey where the characters are; at their block of flats. The non-diegetic uplifting music in the background (‘wouldn’t it be nice’) contradicts how the protagonist, David, feels about his life. This music becomes diegetic in the kitchen as it is quietly played out of the radio. As the two brothers begin to bicker the audience are shown a close-up shot of Ben eating his breakfast, creating a sense of empathy as the idea that he struggles with his daily life starts to be portrayed. The mother’s actions towards Ben cause the audience to sympathise with him as she treats him in a kind and gentle way by kissing and hugging him goodbye.

                When Ben raises the question of how pigs are killed, David begins to tell him an exaggerated story, insinuating that Ben is unintelligent and gullible. This also suggests how Ben looks up to David to educate him. Police sirens begin to quietly ring in the background which perhaps foreshadows David murdering his brother in the future. After the two protagonists have left for school, several clips of Ben and David are shown to illustrate their lives together. The audience are shown a short clip of David aiming and shooting a toy gun at Ben, which could also foreshadow Ben’s death and David’s desire to get rid of him.

                Whilst the brothers are at school, the audience see a scene in which David is away from Ben, in a class, doodling on the table. There is then a close-up of his sketch on the table of a horse connotating his power sa the more able brother, or perhaps his lust for power as he holds almost no control of his teenage life due to Ben. He answers back to the teacher in a snappy and bitter way, suggesting he is a fast-thinkr and learner. When he brothers meet to leave school, David is faced with the decision of leaving his brother or leaving his friend. In this situation, with the company of David’s friend, there is a clear impact on how he treats Ben. The shot reverse shot of David and his friend not only conveys how quick he is to give in to peer pressure to leave Ben, but also show s the audience, through an over-the-shoulder shot, how Ben is affected by the conversation as the shallow focus shows David in the foreground as the more dominant brother, with Ben looking helpless in the background. Before this, Ben appears to be at peace with his relationship with his brother as he is blissfully unaware of David’s frustration.

                Ben returns home alone, as the audience see a slow motion clip of his bus journey. The teenagers surrounding him o the bus are presented as typical and rowdy whilst Ben sits in silence, clinging onto the baras though he feels insecure without David there. The slow motion pace has a sympathetic effect on the audience as they can finally see from Ben’s point of view. He looks rather out of place in the public environment alone where as David conflicts with him, as he is a typical grumpy teenager who appeared to fit in well in the classroom full of other teenagers.

Waterloo Road Analysis

                The location of the scene is in a busy canteen in a school, this is clear as there is the sound of people talking, kids shouting and knives and forks hitting plates. This sort of hectic atmosphere highlights how Ben is being publically humiliated implying the cruelty behind this bullying. It begins with a mid shot of Ben walking through the door happily; there is then a quick cut to a mid shot of Bolton walking forward, towards the camera. The use of the same shot allows the audience to grasp a better understanding of both characters, by focusing on the mise en-scene. Ben is wearing a black hoodie, a black necklace and a black bag. This reflects the darkness of this scene and the unhappiness of his life. The audience can then see that Bolton (who is the bully in this part of the scene) is also wearing a black hoodie and also a chain. This allows the audience to understand that the two characters are not all that different and would usually get along due to their similarities; however the rumour has destroyed Ben’s chances of friendship with anybody. However, Bolton’s chain is hanging out of his shirt, highlighting to the audience that he is a more upfront and cocky character compared to Ben. His earrings also indicate he is a rebellious person. Bolton’s body language can instantly be interpreted as violent due to the way he licks his gums before speaking, his aggressive and emphasised steps and his quick movements.
                The conversation is opened with the loud slam of Bolton’s lunch tray hitting the table, reflecting the harm he’s capable of. There is then a medium close up of Ben’s surprised reaction to the noise. Bolton then begins to threaten Ben, shown in an over-the-shoulder shot of Bolton and the back of Ben’s head. As the diegetic dialogue begins, the background noise of the canteen quietens, allowing the audience to hear Bolton’s accent, furthering their interpretation of his character, as his harsh accent highlights his character-type. There is then a quick cut to another over the shoulder shot of Bolton’s head and Ben quietly and softly answering, highlighting his confusion to the threatening conversation.
                There is then a two shot medium long shot of two girls noticing the heated discussion and questioning it, but not intervening and helping Ben, simply watching, highlighting how Ben has no real friends who support him. There is then a cut to a two shot medium close-up of Bolton and his mate still threatening Ben, highlighting how Ben is fighting a losing battle, as he is being ganged up on by more than one person. There is then an over the shoulder shot of the Bolton’s head as his volume increases and he begins shouting at Ben, this allows the audience to see Ben’s shocked and hurt reaction to Bolton’s threatening behaviour. A cut to a medium close up of just Ben, looking upset highlights his loneliness in this situation. There is then a single medium close-up of one of Bolton’s gang looking sternly at Ben, highlighting how people agree with Bolton and Ben is being victimised. There is then a long silence after Bolton says ‘got it?’ indicating Ben’s confusion and fear. The tension is then broken with the obvious sound of Bolton’s shoulder bashing past Ben’s, shown in a medium shot as Ben attempts to rush away. This highlights how Bolton is a bully and a violent character. As Bolton is a different ethnicity to Ben, this highlights also that the bullying might also be down to racial differences.
                The scene then switches to a conversation between two girls, sitting at a table nearby. It opens with a medium long shot of a girl quietly discussing why the two boys were arguing, the volume of the girl’s discussion highlight how the reason the boy is being bullied is supposed to be a secret – indicating how people must have gone behind his back, making the audience feel sympathetic for Ben even more. There is then a medium long shot of the girls sitting at the table, this allows the audience to consider their characters and decided what they think of them. Both girls are wearing short skirts; they have their shirts hanging out and their ties on loosely. This indicates this is not a posh school and the students within it are not respectful or necessarily smart.
                There is then rigid cross cutting of the girls, using medium close-ups, discussing the rumour about Ben and how everybody knows. The fast pace editing in this scene highlight the quick cuts which reflect the intensity of the conversation and also represent the frustration of the characters. This is then broken with a medium long shot of one girl slamming her fork on the table, the loud noise represents her anger that Ben is being bullied, showing that people do care about him.
                The scene is then taken to a close up of Ben, who is at the food court, being served by a dinner man. His sarcastic tone highlights instantly to the audience that he is a bully that has heard about the rumour also, foreboding that Ben is about to get more grief from another character. The close up of this dinner man allows the audience to judge him as a character due to the mise-en-scene. He is wearing all white, which is a contrast to the connotations of white: calm, pure, angelic. However, the colour is used to imply he is staff in the canteen, and also to indicate how Ben is bullied by all types of people, the obviously mean and the unexpectedly mean also. He is wearing a hat which is twisted sideways, indicating his rude attitude.
                A medium long shot of thee dinner man serving is opened with the loud clatter of the plates, reflecting Ben’s fear of what is about to happen. There is then a close-up of Ben’s shocked and startled reaction that even a staff member is bullying him. This is followed by a close up of the stuffing being served reminding the audience that this bullying is taking place in a busy canteen environment. The medium close up of the dinner plate allows the audience to hear the slam of the sausage being hit onto the plate reflecting the threat of violence and also the two loud hits of the spoon on the plate, indicating that Ben is powerless and the dinner man is stronger than him, mentally and physically. There is then a two shot of Ben and another student watching the dinner man, indicating to the audience that this bullying is being done in front of other people, highlighting Ben’s embarrassment. A volume increase of the dinner man shouting at the staff to ‘throw away’ all cutlery highlights how this man is more powerful than Ben and he is too weak to stand up to him. The dinner man’s violent emphasis of the word ‘catch’ demonstrates the cruelty of this bullying and reminds the audience of the rumour.
                There is then a focus pull of the man to a close up of a dinner lady in the background who has been watching the way he has been bullying Ben. The silence highlights how, alike the girls earlier in the scene, she has witnessed the bullying but not intervened and tried to help Ben. This then cuts to a focus pull from the man helping another student, using a soft and subtle tone, to a big close up of Ben looking hurt as he notices the harsh and obvious victimisation of this bullying.

Textual Analysis and Representation

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement and Composition

- Shots: establishing shot, master shot, close-up, mid-shot, long shot, wide shot, two-shot, aerial shot, point of view shot, over the shoulder shot, and variations of these.
- Angle: high angle, low angle, canted angle.
- Movement: pan, tilt, track, dolly, crane, steadicam, hand-held, zoom, reverse zoom.
- Composition: framing, rule of thirds, depth of field – deep and shallow focus, focus pulls.

Editing

- Includes transition of image and sound – continuity and non-continuity systems.
- Cutting: shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, graphic match, action match, jump cut, crosscutting, parallel editing, cutaway; insert.
- Other transitions, dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow motion, ellipsis and expansion of time, post-production, visual effects.

Sound

- Diegetic and non-diegetic sound; synchronous/asynchronous sound; sound effects; sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover, mode of address/direct address, sound mixing, sound perspective.
- Soundtrack: score, incidental music, themes and stings, ambient sound.

Mise-en-Scène

- Production design: location, studio, set design, costume and make-up, properties.
- Lighting; colour design.