The Jungle Book: Interview

TASK:  Make an interview with the marketing manager of the new "the jungle book"

Interview script: 

The Jungle Book: Distribution Essay

Essay on Distribution

Disney is well know for making a range of different films with a wide range in audience. Disney is a conglomerate as it consists of different groups of things for example Star Wars, who has a more male dominate audience, or Sleeping Beauty who appears to the younger female audience. Disney is a dominate company in the film industry, having many of their films in the top 10 grossing list. Most people's favorite films have either created by Disney or owned by Disney.
Distribution is increasingly important as technology continually advances so media companies must keep up and distribute and market their media products in a way that will appeal to the audience and new generations. Disney has effectively done this by selling license to increasingly popular services such as Netflix or Sky which is a household service and therefore an easy way to Disney to distribute and a target a mass audience that is also diverse. Distribution is changing the modern world as Disney have adapted to taking advantage of promoting and distributing through new services such as Netflix and Sky showing how media is always changing and evolving.
McDonalds have sponsored the Walt Disney, McDonalds tried to help Disney to attract more the younger audience and families. One thing which McDonald have been doing for over 30 years now is giving out toys to everyone who bought a happy meal. This use of synergy allows McDonalds and the film to go further in their business because those who eat at McDonalds and get one of those toys will want to watch the movie those who have seen the movie will want the toy so they got to by McDonald and get this with a happy meal.
Walmart has separate stands for all the Disney movie and had all the merchandise surrounding them. This allowed Disney to widen their demographic as older generations were seeing it and buying it for their grandchildren etc.
The same service that is the exclusive home for new Star Wars television show. And then that same company will offer fans the opportunity to actually visit the lands they're watching through Disney's theme parks, and then read about them in books and comics put out by Disney publishers. It's a holistic ecosystem of entertainment, all under one corporate umbrella, with each division publishing audiences to engage with every other division. Without outside deals or restrictions, it is all just Disney.
The Disney vault is the way Disney contain their film releases and distribute their films. Disney keep all of their animated films in their "vault", stopping the release of any of the films in production. In big holidays, Disney re release films from the vault to get their demographic interested to buy all of their films again. This tactic is useful as it interests all the demographics and re interests in the old audiences.
Furthermore, the Vault system will enhance Disney's secondary profit streams on films which might become twenty to thirty years old or even older as once these films are released out of their vault for a while, they're presented as enhanced "special" editions.
Disney has been re-releasing classic films such as Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and Bambi in the form of DVDs. These DVDs have been labelled "Platinum" or "Diamond" editions and has been done on a seven-year cycle. This creates a constant and consistent income for the brand and allows heir brand to be distributed further.
The 2016 remake opened to the Box Office on April 15, 2016, and took in around $300 million.
3D versions are very good because people might have already seen the normal version but the 3D version might make people want to go and see it again and then they will get more profit.
To conclude it is important to stress the importance of distribution to a conglomerate like Disney. Without effective distribution patterns films could easily underachieve profit wise for example but it must be remembered that distribution cannot be seen in isolation because it can quite easy be linked to the principle of synergy, as one business theorist states "industries rely on repetition through use of stars, genres, franchises, repeatable narrative and so on to sell formats to audiences, then industries try to impose scarcity to keep demand high. "This is very true of Disney who with the original Jungle Book 1967 found himself with limited avenues of distribution - namely TV and film, thus to keep The Jungle Book characters fresh in the minds of audiences the company created other programmes and ancillary products from 1967 to the early 2000's to keep alive the idea of the characters so that in the future there could be a potential remake of reboot of the original film, these other programmes included Talespin, a cartoon starring many of the characters form the original film and Jungle Cubs- another cartoon which explored Baloo, Shere Khan and other characters' lives as children, the aim of these products were to not only to keep audience entertained but to keep the Jungle Book franchise fresh and active although or importantly, a means by which one media product can promote another media product by the same company, a term called synergy and one which will only improve with the creation of Disney's new streaming service in 2019.

The Jungle Book: Marketing/Circulation

Essay on Marketing/Circulation

Disney is an important diverse business that has significant impact on the industry and audience as they deliver varying content that appeals to a wide audience, this is because Disney is a conglomerate and has lots of different themed films on offer to appeal to different types of audiences for examples Star Wars appeals to a more male and older age group compared to Cinderella and other Disney princess films that appeal to young children and families. Furthermore, Disney is also a conglomerate franchise that offers products and services that vary for example films, theme park holidays etc. 

Jon Favreau marked the Jungle Book, fist of all with a trailer on Instagram of only 7 second. Provided fist looks at Mowgli and the rest of the characters, as well as the first listen we've had at the voices being given to them. It's mostly structured around Sheer-Kan, telling Mowgli that she knows what he really is and promising to keep him safe. Lots of animated animals fight, run and jump throughout the whole thing, which ends with Baloo whistling a recognizable portion of "The Bear Necessities" from the classic Disney movie. The also used around 10 different posters all of them having different aspects of the movie such as one large poster with all the characters, which then could be turned into 3 different posters separating the characters. They also have individual posters with the characters being alone and facing the camera. Jungle book was also aimed at a ma more male oriented audience to beat the stereotype of a Disney film. They did this by showing the action packed trailer at the super bowl to try and capture the male audience.
Disney and the director Jon Favreau have done a spectacular job of realizing their new version of The Jungle Book using the sort of sophisticated digital effects familiar from Life of Pi. He introduced the film at D23 Expo film festival, the annual Disney expo where they reveal all their new and oncoming films set to release this year and the following year. It was introduced with company partnership as well for example Kenzo and the Hispanic television network, Univision, who discovered that Spanish audiences will often purchase cinema tickets in groups. Therefore, they paired up with Disney to integrate some of the new Jungle Book characters into the regular programming on Univision, such as integrating them into the channel identification screens and into talks shows, etc.
Overall, the 2016 re-make of the film took on a much more darker, and realistic art style, and also veering on the side of caution, by deciding to integrate some more scarier scenes, such as using the rather deep-voiced Idris Elba to voice Shere Khan, to create this type of sense. Because of this, Disney can attract a much older audience to the film.
Disney circulated professional photographs of actors posing with their onscreen counterparts, largely over social media, in order to create conversation about the upcoming Jungle Book remake. These images also added emphasis on the star-studded cast which Disney were so desperate to promote. This was done in order to create more attention surrounding the popular actors, (such as Scarlett Johansen and Idris Elba).

The poster from the 1967 film is a lot brighter and more colorful, as their attention was making the film towards a younger target audience. However, in the 2016 poster. the characters appear much the more realistic and have more serious faces also the whole posters is a lot darker and there are more shadows, this make the film seem more appropriate for an older target audience which is what Jon Favreau wanted to do. 

Rudyard Kipling was born in India and he spent six years of his adulthood there. Also, he spent the first six years of life in the India subcontinent. Jungle Book in sent in India as a part of the context. The original film was release in 1967. 

The Disney vault is a policy in which Disney put some of their best films in a vault. 

To conclude, marketing has obviously changed. You could argue that with its licensing deals with Kenzo and its focus on aggressively targeting a secondary audience to build profits on the back of a family audience who always turn out for Disney films you could argue that Disney have grown smarter and more precise with their planning, however we must also not forget that there are still lots of similarities between the two eras, for example the use of stars and red carpet premieres to promote a film remains in place as does the creation of character posters and trailers as the fundamental basics of  Disney marketing so to me what is  forgotten is that Disney as a conglomerate have always been a master at marketing, it is why they are the number one entertainment conglomerate in the world and  yes some of the practices have changed but the whole reason why there was new version of The Jungle Book in the first place was because of the success of the first film, a success driven by an effective marketing campaign.

The Jungle Book: Production Essay

Essay on Jungle Book production

Disney is a conglomerate it engages in a multi-industry with two and more companies, with a business interest that centers on mass media and entertainment. It combines media activities in three different sectors. It also cooperate on joint ventures and may invest in each other's companies through cross ownership. 

Overall, Disney have access to and almost complete control over a wide range of media outlets which work in different areas of the media, allowing them to gain a maximum level of reach. Some prime examples of this include their acquisition of Lucas film, which essentially gave them complete control over one of the largest film franchises in the world, which is Star Wars. Doing this also allows them to carry out horizontal integration, allowing different areas of these companies to produce one small part of the whole producing process, such as showing advertising during commercial breaks on the ESPN network, or by leasing a complete soundtrack on their record label.
Oligopoly is a market structure in which a small number of firms has the large majority of market share. An oligopoly is similar to a monopoly, except that rather than on firm, two or more firms dominate the market. There is no precise upper limit to the number of firms in an oligopoly, but the number must be low enough that the actions of one film significantly impact and influence the others.
They sue different streaming services such as Disney channel and now they are trying to by HULU which is the third largest streaming service in the world, just after Netflix and Amazon Prime. HULU have 30% of the stocks in Netflix so if Disney to carry on with they're horizontal integration and take over HULU then they will slowly but surely take over all streaming services this is like a snowball effect.
Disney's reputation of filmmaking is commonly perceived as aimed towards a feminine audience usually mothers and daughters, with the Disney princesses and the magic of Disney. This however has tried to be changed by Disney as they're now trying to aim there films at a more generaised audience, such as targeting am older male audience by creating darker stories or advertising at the Super Bowl. Films such as Pirates of the Caribbean stereo typically appeal to a male audience. Disney's reputation overall has never fallen and has mainly created to all demographics always making a profit on every film they have made. With the Original Animated Jungle Book film. The animation and original film sold it to audiences however the new 2016 film sold it through amazing visuals. As well as amazing visuals Disney is also known for character building and subliminal messages, and allowing the community to create ideas such as the Pixar theory, to generate interest in their products.
Favreau used intertextuality in his live - action remake of the Jungle Book. For instance, there is one scene where Mowgli jumps into a stampede of Wildebeest to escape the blood-thirsty Shere Khan. Following this, he is jumping between the legs of the Wildebeest stampede. This is reminiscent of the Lion King, (1994), where Scar traps Simba in the path of a stampede of Wildebeest, Furthermore, there is a scene at a watering - hole, which is also an arguably new idea like the previous one, The way the rocks are structured is similar to that of Pride Rock in the Lion King. This could be subliminal advertising for Disney's upcoming live-action remake for the Lion King 1994 or a Disney Ester - egg.

They filmed the jungle and Mowgli by using a blue screen and simulacra. They got Mowgli to hold props which helped resemble the characters he was interacting with. The blue screen also had 3D parts to represent the landscape.
MPC have helped the Jungle Book a lot, allowing the film to be honored in being nominated for the movie with the "Best Visual Effects". This would help highlight the high rating of the film, further creating a bigger audience.
Simul-Cam is used for blending real-time shoots with CGI characters and environments. This would have been used in the Jungle Book where the cast have been standing in front of a green scree, but then later shown in front of the real-life setting.
The process of storyboarding was done by preparing the songs, animations and sets that would be made for the film.

They used the jungle book which was scrapped for being too dark and not child friendly as a basis on how to make the film and they just redid that film but with a more positive and child friendly vibe. 

To conclude, the production process of both Jungle book films places technology and the experience of the audience at the heart of development. This commitment has not changed in the 80 years since the release of Snow White and by examining the production processes of both Jungle Book movies you can tell that the focus on technological change is just as important now as it ever was.

Marketing presentation

Audience

What is Audience?

• Media is changing what is known as the audience
• Shift from PUSH media (when a producers push media at us and we receive and consume it) to PULL media ( where we decide what we want to do with media and access it in ways that suit us.)
• People are now making and distributing their own videos much more - gone from a VALUE CHAIN (products are made and distributed to audiences) to SOCIAL NETWORK ( Complex system where producers and consumers are mixed up)

How is this a problem for film producers?

 
• Media Producers also consider very carefully how that audience might react to, or engage with, their text. The following are all factors in analysing or predicting this reaction.
• AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
• This describes how an audience interacts with a media text. Different people react in different ways to the same text.
• AUDIENCE EXPECTATION
• These are the advance ideas an audience may have about a text. This particularly applies to genre pieces. Don't forget that producers often play with or deliberately shatter audience expectations.
• AUDIENCE FOREKNOWLEDGE
• This is the definite information (rather than the vogue expectations) which an audience bring to a media product.

• Mainstream and Niche
• In this case it is the relationship between the audience and the institution.
• Audience= the ways in which people engage with media
• Institutions are no longer interested in keeping the audience together nut "triggering engagement" in people.

COUNTING AUDIENCES

• Different type of media text measure their audiences in different ways.
• Film figures are based on box office receipts and cinema taking, rather than the numbers of people who have actually seen the movie.
• Subtract the production costs of movie from the box office receipts to find out how much money it made, and therefore how successful it has been in the profit - driven movie business
• Be aware that a film which does not cost much to make (eg The Bair Witch Project) and takes even a modest amount at the box office can be considered a greater success than a big action movie which cost more, has a bigger set of box office receipts ( i.e. lots more people went to see it) but has a smaller profit margin.
• AUDIENCE AND MEDIA PRODUCERS
• AUDIENCE IDENTIFICATION
• This is the way in which audiences feel themselves connected to a particular media text, in that they feel it directly expresses their attitude or lifestyle
• AUDIENCE PLACEMENT
• This is the range of strategies media producers use to directly target a particular audience and make them feel that the media text is specially "for them"
• AUDIENCE RESEARCH
• Measuring an audience is very important to all media institutions. Research is done at all stages of product of a media text, and, once produced, audience will be continually monitored.
• Audience reaction to early versions of a media text is closely watched. Hollywood studios routinely show a pre-release version of every movie they make to a test audience, and will often make changes to the movie that arte requested by that audience.

SYNERGY

• synergy is when the interaction of two or more forces working together creates a greater effect than the sum of their individual efforts.
• Media synergy is the way in which different elements of a media conglomerates work together to promote linked products across different media.
• Synergy works when different elements within a media conglomerate promote (eg. film studio, record label, video game division) create linked products (eg. film, soundtrack, video game0.
• Each distinct element promotes the others

The Film Industry

The 4 Stages of A Film:

• Production
• Distribution
• Marketing
• Exhibition/Exchange

Production:

• The creation of the film

1. Development - The script is written and drafted into a workable blueprint for a film
2. Pre-production - Preparations are made for the shoot, in which cast and crew are hired, locations are selected, and sets are built.
3. Production - The film footage is shot.
4. Post-Production - The film is edited; production sound (dialogue) is concurrently (but separately) edited; music tracks (and songs) are composed; performed and recorded; sound effects are designed and added, all sound elements are mixed into "stems" then the stems are mixed then married to picture and the film is fully completed ("locked")

Distribution

• Describes everything between production (Making the film) and how the film gets to an audience (people watching the film in cinemas/ dvd etc.)
• The film is screened for potential buyers (distributors), is picked up by a distributor, and a marketing and release plan are developed. The film is duplicated as required for distribution to cinemas.
• The business of getting films to their audiences by booking them for runs in cinemas and getting them there eg digital screens/ reel films
• It includes all of the financial deals done to get films shown and promoted   

Marketing

• This is the business of creating campaigns to promote the film, eg posters, apps, television interviews
• Press kits, posters, and other advertising materials are publishes and the film is advertised. Film are usually released with a launch party, press releases, interviews with the press, oppress preview screenings, and film festival screenings. Most films have a website and a trailer

Exhibition

• The way people consume films - eg showing films in cinemas or renting/ buying DVD's or downloading films, piracy.
• About how the audience see the film, box office intake, reviews, awards etc
• The film is released to cinemas for exhibition ( or at this point occasionally straight to DVD, Blu-Ray, or direct download from a provider), in order to reach its cinema and/or home media audience. The film plays at selected cinemas and the VD typically is released a few months later.

The Aim of A Film and the Production Company!



The primary Aim of the production company making the film is:
To make a profit= good business
You want the audience to spend their money seeing it and gain money back on it!
They will make money by: Having a Distribution Plan, Marketing and promoting the Film and Selling it to Audiences through cinematic release and DVD/Television release.

Conglomerates

• A conglomerates is when two or more companies engage in a multi- industry company.
• This means they combine media activities in at least three different sectors. For example - in the USA, all the main television networks are owned by NBC Universal.
• Although the corporations seem to compete, they also cooperate on joint ventures ad may invest in each others companies through cross ownership.








 

Ownership and the Film Industry

• The Film Industry is dominated by major studios, each of which are subsidiaries of major media conglomerates.
• The American film industry makes more money from international revenue ($30 billion) than domestic revenue ($10 billion).
• What are the implications for this ownership structure?
• Concentration of media ownership (bias, stealth marketing)
• Ability to take bigger risks - bigger budgets - spectacle

Ownership

• Ownership is all about different film companies owning each other and provind each other with money, ideas for films and finance
• Major companies own others (smaller institutions) within the industry in order for more films to be produced
• Ownership Types;
• Horizontal Integration
• Vertical Integration

Horizontal Integration

• When the Production Company expand into other areas of one industry. It can acquire or merges with other companies that do the same thing to help eliminate competition. The profits will be shared amongst each company.

Vertical Integration

• When the Production Company has ownership of the means of production, distribution and exhibition of the film  by the same company as they receive all of the profit.

2017 Top 10 Fims

1. Star wars: The Last Jedi
2. Beauty and the beast
3. Wonder Women
4. Guardians of the galaxy
5. Spider-Man: Homecoming
6. It
7. Thor: Ragnarok
8. Despicable me 3
9. Logan
10. The fate of the furious
11. Justice league
12. Dunkirk
13. Coco
14. The boss baby
15. Get out
16. The boss baby
17. Pirate of the Caribbean
18. Jumanji
19. Kong
20. Hidden figures