Media Synergy

Synergy- When two companies work together to mutually benefit each other.

Synergy works when different media conglomerates created linked products to promote their product.

Disney Synergy Case Study- High School Musical (HSM)

Disney had synergy following the release of 'High School Musical' in 2006. There were multiple products created off of its release and its franchise (including 'High School Musical 2' and 'High School Musical 3'.) These include:

-DVD Release (Disney Channel Original Movie)
-Official Soundtrack
-'High School Musical: the Ice Tour/On Ice (Feld Entertainment)
-Disney store merchandise such as Clothing, Dolls and Home ware.
-HSM Magic 8 Ball (Partner with Magic 8 Ball)
-Various videogames partnered with PlayStation and Wii
-High School Musical Top Trumps (in partner with Top Trumps.)

Skyfall Synergy

Skyfall was produced and released to mark the 50th Anniversary of Bond. Many industries and brands took advantage of the occasion and partnered with Bond to create products to promote the new film. These include: 

-O.P.I Nails released 12 new lacquers inspired by the film's blend of glamour and danger. From metallic and glitter to jewelled and jet black, the lacquers capture the film's glamorous and sophisticated look.
 

-James Bond 007 Eau du Toilette for Men was released, with the bottle taking the pattern/texture of a grenade.
 

- Bollinger partnered with Bond to create 007 Champagne called '002'
 

-Coca Cola created cans and bottles with the iconic gun-barrel shot from the opening sequence of Bond printing onto the outside. They also ran a competition offering people the chance to win tickets to see Skyfall
 

-Heineken sponsored the film and used Daniel Craig as 007 in a TV advertisement and poster. They also offered people the chance to win tickets to see the film.
 

-Adele partnered with Bond to create the theme song for Skyfall which was, ironically, called "Skyfall." It was published as a single on iTunes.
 

-The Omega Seamaster Watch has been worn by every 007 agent since GoldenEye in 1995. Omega created a new Seamaster to celebrate the release of Skyfall anda nother to commemorate 50 years of Bond. Omeha advertised their new product via TV and digital campaigns.

-007 Legends was released on PC, PS3, Playstation Move (with wand and carry case), XBOX 360 and Wii U.

Main Brief: Storyboard

Main Brief: Script

Opening Sequence

Caroline is walking down the road with earphones in. The music is faint, but loud enough for the audience to know she is listening to something. Her music stops and she looks at her phone to see a call from an unknown number. She picks it up but there is no-one on the other line.

Caroline : Hello? Is there anyone there?

Hangs Up

For God’s sake.

She sighs and carries on walking. As she nears the end of the road, she looks up to see someone, dressed in black, on the path to the church. She takes her earphones out.

Caroline : Are you okay?

Other person turns around and main character gasps. Sudden cut into flashbacks of the two girls out together, laughing, having fun etc. The main character opens her eyes and sees that the other person is gone.

Caroline : Rose? Rose?

She spins around, looking for the person she just saw. Final shot over the shoulder of the antagonist, still looking at the girl, but from a distance.

Main Brief: Production Schedule

We created our production schedule so we could plan when to film our shots and when to edit. Our group had events such as school trips, mocks and the school production that were going to intefere with the weeks comencing the return from half term. The production schedule allowed us to plan who would be away then, and we were able to come up with an efficient timetable that would enable us enough time to film, edit and evaluate our main brief.

We created a group chat on WhatsApp which would allow us to share pictures and videos easily and to message each other instantly without having to send two texts. It proved to be a valuable and wise decision.

Main Brief: Character Analysis

Caroline (Protagonist)

• Age: 18
• College girl
• Best friend died (still grieving/ recovering from her loss)
• Has a younger sister
• Curious
• Afraid of the supernatural
• Not convinced that her friend’s death was an accident
• Indecisive
• Brave
• Selfless
• Family oriented - she is very close with her younger sister/parents

Rosalie  (Antagonist)

• Died at age 17
• Fatal car accident while on holiday
• Manipulative
• Selfish
• Stubborn
• Buried in the cemetery
• Haunting
• Was cheerful and adventurous  
• Never liked school/ would always bunk
• Parent got divorced after her death
• Has no siblings, was an only child

Film Certifications

The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is a company set up in 1912 that is responsible for the national classification and censorship of films, videos, DVDs and some video games (most video games are classified by PEGI.) The BBFC control who can see what films based on their topics and content. Classifications and ratings take items such as nudity, profanity, language, drug use, discrimination, weapons and violence. The BBFC published these guidelines for what is acceptable for the 7 different classifications for films:

Main Brief: Target Audience Research

Using Google Forms we created questionnaires about horror films that were to be distributed amongst friends and family. The questionnaire asked the recipient about their age and gender (for basic target audience research) and their likes/dislikes about the horror genre. This included their favourite horror film themes, what scares them about horror films and what clichés they are bored of. The results were accumulated in a table.

Horror Film Research Questionnaire

Questionnaire Results

Our results showed that the most popular sub-genre of horror was psychological horror with monster/fantasy and 'based on a true story' being the second and third most popular options. Silence, jump shots, tense moments and blood/gore were equally common 'scare factors' amongst the recipients with clichéd storylines being the biggest hate of horror films. With this we have learnt what to include in our main brief and what not to include, especially not to use clichéd storylines (as described by this Tumblr Text Post)

Main Brief Pre-Production: Pitch

Here is the pitch we presented to our classmates. The pitch contained our initial ideas for our main brief, as well as ideas for media institutuions we could work with for our brief. We decided to have teenagers and young adults as our target audience as our research into film ratings revealed the most popular rating for horror films was 15. If pur film was reated 15, it would allow us to include more graphic, explicit and scary themes/ special effects whilst also allowing the majority of our target audience the opportunity to watch the brief.

 

We were inspired by Barthes Theory of Engima and Strauss's Theory of Binary opposition when creating the story line of our main brief. We used Barthes enigma theory towards the end of the opening of the brief, as the viewer is left perplexed about what happened to Rosalie (why she looks like she has battered) and why Caroline seems so affected by the appearance of Rosalie (the flashback reveals they were friends.) We were inspired by Strauss when creating our characters- Caroline (the protagonist) is wearing a white top, jeans and layers of coats. The antagonsit- Rosalie- is wearing a black lace dress and no jacket. There is a contrast of black and white with the clothing and there is also a contrast in the projection of the protagonist and antagonist- Caroline is loud and projects her voice well, whilst Rosalie only whispers. These elements reveal influences of both Barthes and Strauss.

Planning the pitch:

 

Main Brief Recce's

 

(These are shots of the ideal time for filming due to the atmosphere and mood implied by the colour of the sky.)