What significance does the ​continuing development o

​ f digital media technology

have for media institutions and audiences?

Production technology is advancing everyday from the quality to movies being moved to the VOD
market instead of being screened in cinemas like we are familiar with. There are many benefits for the
film industry as films are more believable as they have more advanced special effects and are able to
make last minute edits and changes to the movie. An example of this is when the film “Cats” was
released, the director made changes last minute before it was released, which a few years ago was
not possible. VOD is a ​media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a
traditional video playback device. It is very effective as it’s less time consuming when it comes to
distributing and editing as everything is easily accessible.

Streaming is becoming increasingly bigger as audiences have entertainment at their fingertips with
Disney+ and Netflix. Netflix charges £8.99 per month as Disney charges £5.99 per month (as Disney
doesn’t have as much content compared to Netflix). Netflix caters to a range of different
demographics as they have a wider range of genres which target a wider range of audience
quadrants. The benefits of streaming is it’s cheaper, easily accessible and the younger generation can
access a wider range of content. Streaming is also beneficial as they can extend releases and keep
them on the streaming services for longer which could gain more life/popularity for the movie. Social
media is a big part of VOD as it reaches fragmented audiences. Other companies use social media to
target generations interests so they can base their ideas on the most popular idea/genre. It takes
almost no time to gain the data required to know people’s preferences when it comes to films, which
helps the film industry greatly.

Disney benefits from vertical integration as they own companies such as Pixar, Marvel Studios and
LucasFilm (creators of Star Wars). By buying these well known companies, they also get all the
studios and access to different technologies, making it much easier and cost efficient to make any
movie they like. Also by having these popular franchises, they gain many audiences too and different
fandoms. This links with Jenkin's theory on fandom as Disney gained millions of fans from Marvel,
Pixar and Star Wars. Disney has all the rights to any merchandise or products linking to their
franchises, gaining them more profit overall which they use to budget the films audiences are
dedicated to. Toy Story 4 is a prime example of moving production technology as you can see a
dramatic difference in quality and detail in the first movie compared to the last. Pixar is famous for
their animation but over the years they’re using more high-tech software to achieve the most realistic
imagery they can make. They used CGI, hand drawn cel animation, story reels which sound is added
onto before they fully animate the movie.

Toy Story 4 made a total of $1.703 billion in gross box office, making it one of the most successful
animated films of all time. By this, Disney can use the money made to invest in even more technology
and ways to produce more high quality films which they are known for. The bigger budgets they get,
the better quality, better editing, animation, and special effects they can use. For the Lion King 2019
live-action remake, they made the movie entirely out of CGI, to make all the animals and wildlife seem
real. This film made $1.3 billion in gross box office as the film was heavily popular. Disney’s popularity
allows them to gain access to stars such as Beyonce, who voiced ‘Nala’ the main female role in the
film. This definitely had a big impact on the movie as people who are fans of Beyonce would watch
the film purely because she was in it and for the people who watched the movie for the film, may have
discovered or been reminded of Beyonce and started listening to her music. It’s mutually beneficial,
especially as Beyonce made an entire album for the Lion King movie. Films like these are becoming
more popular as Disney are starting to remake all their classic films with realistic CGI, which will be
easy money for them as they don’t have to create a new story.

The VOD market is taking over as streaming services are becoming more popular for film releases.
Netflix is at the top when it comes to the VOD market as they are the most subscribed streaming
service with over 167 million global subscribers. Netflix uses ‘artificial intelligence’ for their algorithm
as the computer collects all the data from each subscriber, given Netflix statistics on what is the most
popular genre, best series etc. This helps Netflix base new projects and movies over the most popular
movies that are being viewed. From the data they collect, they are able to draw in their audience with
their specific demographic as they can personalise posters and what pops up on their homepage
based on what that specific user likes. Covid-19 has made a huge impact on Netflix as many
countries went into lockdown for weeks- even months, many people subscribed as they were unable
to go out. Cinema’s were closed but even with them reopening, many are still hesitant to go back and
some just simply prefer to be in the comfort of their own home where they can stream films on
platforms such as Netflix.

Disney+ is catching up to Netflix as they hold 8% of the VOD market from their recent release in 2020.
Since Covid-19 has had a massive impact on cinemas worldwide, they are starting to release movies
such as the new remake of Mulan which subscribers could have ‘pre-access’ to if they spent £19.99
(in addition to their monthly subscription of £5.99 per month). Releases are being pushed back such
as Pixar’s new movie called ‘Soul’. It is likely that it will be released once again on Disney’s streaming
service as it’s cheaper to distribute and many people prefer being in the comfort of their own home.

Netflix use marketing strategies such as above the line marketing where they have billboards on
buses, buildings and places where local audiences can see the advertisement daily. Another way is
earned media marketing which is all based online with hashtags and people making the movie or
series well known through all social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. People
can voice their opinions on twitter and Instagram while TikTok, people could use clips from the film to
get creative and act out the scene. Social media has many ways to get thing’s viral and Netflix targets
people on social media by advertising on Instagram stories, Snapchat stories and Twitter hashtags.
For example the Bird Box challenge became popular where people would do tasks blindfolded and
upload the videos online. This started to become a trend and many took part in the dangerous
challenge, yet Bird Box made over $400 million in gross box office. This type of advertising however is
cost effective as it’s free advertising.

Social media has a global wide reach, therefore news travels much quicker and reaches multiple
audiences. This is useful as earned media marketing is free and is probably the most useful way of
marketing as it reaches mostly Gen Z where they can interact over social media and could possibly
share information. Twitter and Instagram are the best way to share hashtags and they’re easy to find
trending hashtags, making more people aware of what is trending. Celebrities often tweet or post a
picture about a film they’re in which gets more audiences involved, making them more likely to share
the information that is trending.

Covid-19 has had a huge impact on the film industry as many movies such as Black Widow have
been pushed back to be released in 2021. Independent companies losing money as they’re not as
popular as the big brand franchises such as Marvel, although due to theo big names being streamed,
smaller companies are now being screened in cinemas. This gives independent companies an
opportunity to gain more recognition as blockbuster films can become more popular. Everything is
placed online so the use of technological convergence helps audiences find everything much quicker.
Everything is easier to access, even for younger generations. People feel a sense of escapism as if
they’re in their ‘own world’ where they can escape from reality (especially due to Covid-19). Two step
flow is the concept of recommending things to people, social media gathers data from everything you
look at so advertisements will pop up regarding what your interests are from your previous searches.
The same goes for Netflix and Disney+ where certain movies and series will be recommended as the
data gatherers knows roughly what you would want to watch. Posters will be altered depending on
your gender, so you’re more drawn in to watch a certain film or programme. This helps audiences find
more films and movies they would enjoy which they may have not noticed at first.