2010 Exam question

June 2010

What significance does the continuing development of digital media technology have for media institutions and audiences?

The continuing development of digital media technology has a huge significance on media institutions and audiences. The film industry is constantly changing and adapting in order to find new ways to distribute their product. For instance, in recent years companies have been introducing an online streaming platform, which gives the viewer the option to purchase the movie and stream or download that film directly to their computer at home, or even to their smartphone or device.

Production
The significance of developing digital media for media audiences is the production of films such as Mad Max Fury Road, an Australian film directed by George Miller. Also Ex Machina, a British film directed by Alex Garland. The development of computer system when producing a film allows films to be edited with no mistakes. For example, in Mad Max Fury Road, there were 2700 individual shots captured by a Phantom Camera. This camera has the ability to capture 300 frames per second. This was able to happen due to the many cameras featuring and capturing the footage to be shot in the film. This advance in digital media technology allows film makers to get better shots at more angles quicker then they would have beforehand. The mechanical cameras could have not coped with the dust from the desert so it would of had to be filmed in a different location. Another advanced pieces of camera equipment was the edge arm that was also used shows synergy within the film. The edge arm allows 360 rotation so that the shots flowed more. It also allows the audience to easily follow the shot more, an example of this being used is when they are looking at Nux's car, they were able to do close up shot of max to a medium shot of Nux to a long shot of his war boy. Also, the CGI used in the British film, Ex Machina, was perfected by editing through developed computers. Mad Max was originally filmed in 2D but planned to film in 3D, In Ex Machina to do the drawing on of Ava's body that they wanted to do in the editing stages they had to film everything twice. Film originally cost £1000 per roll so it would have cost them £2000 but now they are able to do it on a hard rive it took less time and crucially, less money.

Post-Production
The significance of developing digital media for media audiences is the post-production in films such as Mad Max and Ex Machina. Some features in Mad Max shows the CGI used in the film, for example, CGI was used when blowing up the car as a character jumped towards it. However, in the film it will be shown as if it actually happens. The car being blown up had to be done with CGI as it wanted to have as many special effects in the film as possible, this to aim towards action packed fanatics and everyone that likes big explosive films. Although, during the filming of Mad Max they filming crew came across the issue of the sand, as the location for the film is in the Namibian desert. This caused major problems as if the sand got in a part of the cameras, the mechanics would have jammed, causing filming to come to an abrupt stop. Ex Machina also had to deal with the rotoscoping of Ava's face. This was done to ensure no humane features could be seen other than her face, which was used throughout the whole film. This was significant to media audiences as they wanted to only see Ava as a robot and the rotoscoping of her face helped the character come alive as her character. The final design for Ava's body came from many rough drawings, until they found one in which they liked so they rotoscoped her to fit the character they had drawn. Also, the character Furiosa in Mad Max has one arm, this was shown in the film as Charlize Theron had to wear a green screen glove so the editing could cut out her actual hand. This was significant to the audience as it gave the character a personality to which some audiences could relate to. Although, the green screen glove allowed the editing to be done much quicker in order for the film to be released as soon as possible, this saved time for the editors as they did not have to blank out her hand on every frame.

Marketing

The significance of developing digital media for media audiences is the marketing stage of films such as Mad Max, Ex Machina and Star Wars. Star Wars announced they would be making another film and it went viral worldwide. To market the upcoming film they released a trailer which does not show any major parts of the film, they did this as they knew they will get millions of people going to watch the new film. However, Mad Max released 2 trailers representing the film, it also had a TV spot where they aimed to broaden the release worldwide. This was done to tease fans so they wanted to watch the film even more, it could also have been done to reach wider audiences ensuring maximum profit. Furthermore, Ex Machina being a low budget film, used social media as a way of marketing the film. They created profiles and popular social media sites such as Tinder. On this fans could interact with the robot, Ava. This was significant for media audiences as through developing media they could come in contact with one of the main characters immediately before the film was even released. Also, other films such as the upcoming Batman Vs Superman film have created a social media account on Instagram. The trailer that was released has reached 9 million views creating synergy between two films through the use of social media, they worked together in order to bring individual fans of Batman and those of Superman together with the new film. The use of posters for all films allows sneak previews of setting or cast, for example Mad Max posters included the three main characters on the front with the desert setting in the background. This is significant to media audiences as it allowed fans to see the upcoming films with their preview, thanks to the continuing development of digital media.

Distribution
The distribution of films has changed dramatically over the years as we are now able to watch films over and over again by DVD. Before the audiences could not view them again unless they were played in the cinema but now they can purchase the DVD and watch it over and over again. It also has been increased in quality over time with added blu-ray, blu-ray and DVDs increase the amount of money films make, this would have not been able to happen before the development. Also, the continuing development of online streaming means people can watch the latest films for free meaning they do not have to go to the cinema to watch a film they like. With the development of technology also allows online streaming on smartphones and tablets meaning films can be watched from anywhere, this decreasing the amount of DVD's bought, not only does this make it better for the buyer but it is cheaper for the consumer provider. This is evident as Mad Max Fury Road is the most illegally downloaded film on online streaming sites such as PutLocker. However, this is trying to be overcome as other film sites such as Netflix are trying to slowly kill the online streaming industry outside of themselves. Netflix allows the audience to know the film has not been illegally downloaded and is genuine, this benefiting the media audience as they get to watch films, documentaries and dramas for a very small fee every month.

In conclusion the significance of the continuing development of digital media technology has meant that both institutions and audiences have benefited from a great film experience. Media institutions have made hit films such as Mad Max and Ex Machina generating a huge profit and media audiences have had the opportunity to watch the new films for their enjoyment.