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.