Monday 4 January 2016

To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of media products in the area of media you have studied?

To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of media products in the area of media you have studied?

the distribution of digital media has a large effect on the marketing and consumption of films as it alters the way people view the film and can also influence how successful a media product is. Digital distribution makes observing a film easier which creates a broader audience. The film can also be broadcasted internationally, creating an even larger audience. 
Digital distribution means that films can be dispersed to cinemas electronically and digitally. This is an advantage because it means that the film can be dispatched to a further range of cinemas over a broader area. By distributing the films digitally it can be done faster as the film doesn’t have to travel to the cinema in large reels. As well as this it also means that more copies of the film can made and at a decreased cost than the cans of film. Because more copies can be made it creates a larger audience as the film can be shown at more cinemas. However the distribution of digital media has some disadvantages, because a lot of the distribution is done on computers it means that people can illegally download or pirate copy the film rather than paying to view it or paying to purchase it. This means that companies lose out on money to the illegal industry.  
Ex machina was released in various areas at different times. This meant that more money had to be spent on marketing so that adverts could be kept running to keep up the advertisment of the media product. However this meant that because people were spending money watching the film at different times that the companies were making money before the film had been fully released. Ex machina later went on to be released in 3D and Blu-Ray, another digital distribution aspect that impacted how much money a film can make and how the product can be consumed. The more ways a film is released the more consumers the film will get. This is demonstrated through Ex Machina, it was released in many ways which meant there was something to suit everybody. 
Kill List wasn’t distributed as much as the other films and didn’t use marketing as well. The trailer for Kill List clearly didn’t cost as much to make which could be why it didn’t do so well. Kill list wasn’t released in Blu-Ray or anything like that, which already limits its audience. Online Companies such as Netflix and LOVEFILM all help with marketing and distribution. Film companies can pay to get there films put on their website which widens their audience. This way of digital distribution has impacted the film industry massively, as viewing films online and on websites such as these is currently one of the most popular ways to view films. However positive feedback from Mark Kermode and Martin Scorsese helped give this film a little more attention.
Mad Max: Fury Road used digital distribution to its full potential through the use of advertising. Because Mad Max is best known for its brilliant visual affects it needed to use that as one of its selling points. For the audience to really know what the visuals are like, trailers and other advertising methods had to be used. This is important for a film like mad max because the audience had to actually see it for themselves online and on TV adverts before they could really understand the visuals. This had a positive impact on Mad Max: Fury Road because by spending money on online advertising they spread the word about the film which caused a lot of people to pay to see it, which in turn made the companies a lot of money.The frachise already had a huge fanbase to its name, so that also helped.
To conclude I think that digital distribution and marketing contributes and makes a huge impact on the film industry as the film relies on this to help it get anywhere. Digital distribution has changed the way people now see films and can impact how much someone enjoys seeing a film. Films can now be seen in many different ways and this creates a lot more competition amongst the film industry. Advertising now plays a huge part in how successful a film will be.  

jacob rushforth

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