Wednesday, 28 February 2018
Sunday, 25 February 2018
Minecraft Cross-Platform Update
Cross-platform gaming is defined as a gaming accessible on different computers & consoles or softwares.
A recent article on The Verge discusses Microsoft's cross-platform update named the "Better Together" update for Minecraft which will allow players to converge their gaming experiences with other players from different computers, consoles and softwares including the Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, Windows 10, IOS and Android. This is potentially revolutionary for the world of gaming as it opens the door for there to be complete convergence throughout gaming where players are not forced to compromise when selecting one console or online network over another.
Online child protection when gaming should not be much of a cause for concern as most if not all online networks give players identities through gamertags where their real life identity tends to be kept anonymous from other players. Online networks for gaming differentiate from social networks where users are inclined to rely on their real life identity whereas on gaming networks players practically have second identities. It is highly unlikely for children to be in any actual danger when gaming online; cross-platform gaming would have little to no impact on the safety of children online.
As long as the two largest online gaming networks being Xbox Live and Playstation Network are competing there will not be true cross-platform gaming a huge concentration of the gaming community will be segregated by their networks. Of course there will be convergence with smaller less significant networks. If of course the competitiveness between Xbox Live and Playstation Network no longer benefits the Microsoft or Sony there may be covergene between their online networks, breaking a barrier between two of the largest gaming communities in gaming history making truly becoming a revolution. A pro of cross- platform gaming is that players are no longer forced to compromise when making the decision of which network to choose, minimising the regret they experience later on. Of course there are cons for cross-platform gaming, more so for the owners of the gaming networks as players are less inclined to purchase their consoles since they can still interact with players from that console's network from a different console and network. For the game developers it may remain relatively the same as they will still be producing and distributing games for all the consoles they had been before unless of course the games are console exclusive in which case the number of sales may increase or decrease depending on the aftermath of the cross-platform revolution.
Thursday, 22 February 2018
The Lion King Live Action
Social Media Strategy
The Lion King is still an iconic film so to just a mere teaser poster would go viral on all social media platforms. Perhaps Disney could partner with Snapchat to create a Lion King themed filter which would make audiences aware of the film's development.
Celebrities such as Beyoncé and Seth Rogen are allegedly involved in the production of a live Action remake of The Lion King. Perhaps if these celebrities were to constantly share and keep their fanbase updated on the film and events taking place relating to the film it could expand the audience for The Lion King, making it potentially more successful.
Licensed Products
Licensed products such as toys, action figures and other merchandise could be produced and distributed in Disney stores along with other toy stores such as Smyths Toys Superstores or ToysRUs where an abundance of licensed products are sold. Since the film originally appealed to children it can be assumed that the primary target audience for the film would again be children who also are also the primary target audience for licensed products based on children's movies.
Brand Partnerships
Disney have a range of potential brands to partner with. Since The Lion King is themed around animals, they could partner with national parks and zoos, perhaps giving the audience a chance to win free tickets to either the film or the resorts depending on where they go first.
Disney could of course partner with children's fast food restaurants such as McDonald's where they can promote each other. This has benefited Disney and other distribution studios before as partnering with arguably the largest fast food company to promote a film can give the film extensive recognition and grow its fanbase even further.
It should be noted that the target audience for the original 1994 film are currently adults and although they may not be the primary target audience they still could potentially make up a significant amount of the film's audience; they are likely anticipating the film's release as it gives them a sense of nostalgia, allowing them to relive moments from their childhood.
The Lion King is still an iconic film so to just a mere teaser poster would go viral on all social media platforms. Perhaps Disney could partner with Snapchat to create a Lion King themed filter which would make audiences aware of the film's development.
Celebrities such as Beyoncé and Seth Rogen are allegedly involved in the production of a live Action remake of The Lion King. Perhaps if these celebrities were to constantly share and keep their fanbase updated on the film and events taking place relating to the film it could expand the audience for The Lion King, making it potentially more successful.
Licensed Products
Licensed products such as toys, action figures and other merchandise could be produced and distributed in Disney stores along with other toy stores such as Smyths Toys Superstores or ToysRUs where an abundance of licensed products are sold. Since the film originally appealed to children it can be assumed that the primary target audience for the film would again be children who also are also the primary target audience for licensed products based on children's movies.
Brand Partnerships
Disney have a range of potential brands to partner with. Since The Lion King is themed around animals, they could partner with national parks and zoos, perhaps giving the audience a chance to win free tickets to either the film or the resorts depending on where they go first.
Disney could of course partner with children's fast food restaurants such as McDonald's where they can promote each other. This has benefited Disney and other distribution studios before as partnering with arguably the largest fast food company to promote a film can give the film extensive recognition and grow its fanbase even further.
It should be noted that the target audience for the original 1994 film are currently adults and although they may not be the primary target audience they still could potentially make up a significant amount of the film's audience; they are likely anticipating the film's release as it gives them a sense of nostalgia, allowing them to relive moments from their childhood.
Thursday, 8 February 2018
Black Panther Case Study
Black Panther is an upcoming film as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe owned by the conglomerate Disney. The film's primary production company is Marvel Studios who produce most if not all of the films linked to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). Another production company with significant contributions to the production of Black Panther is Colombia Pictures.
The cast of Black Panther include very few notable actors, casting well known actors such as Michael B. Jordan, Daniel Kaluuya, Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman. Of course the most paramount actor in the film's production is Chadwick Boseman who plays the film's protagonist and was chosen to play Black Panther in a previous film linked to the MCU; Captain America: Civil War. According to the actor he did not require an official audition in order to be casted as Black Panther unlike his colleagues such as Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans who had to audition to be casted as Iron Man and Captain America. Multiple sources seem to suggest that Chadwick Boseman's pay for Black Panther is estimated to be just under $900,000 which when compared to his colleagues may seem like he is being underpaid. Although it is likely that with the potential success of Black Panther, the actor's pay will continue to increase for his next films.
According to an article by Bethany Biron the production budget for Black Panther was stated to be $200 million. This does not include the marketing campaign and advertising for the film as those have a separate distribution budget. As it is a Marvel film is it well known that the bulk of the film's production budget would be spent on the CGI for the setting and the action sequences. Surprisingly, Black Panther was given a higher production budget than Marvel's other recent films. The soundtrack for the film may have had a greater cost than what a Marvel soundtrack would cost as it was an original soundtrack produced by an iconic american rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar whilst also featuring more current music icons such as Swae Lee, Travis Scott and The Weeknd. The rest of the films budget probably went into paying the cast, choreography and costuming (it should be noted that some costumes such as the Panther suit were enhanced with CGI making them much more costly in comparison to the other costumes.
Of course like most blockbuster films, the production budget paled when compared with the budget for the marketing campaign. Black Panther is very significant to the black community and diversity within the film industry along with the rise of black power in the media. Marvel and Disney saw this as an opportunity to promote Black Panther or rather have the audience do it through viral marketing. Currently Black Panther is the most tweeted film of the year. As standard, the film was promoted through trailers online and commercials on television, billboards and interviews with the producers, directors and cast members. The film was strategically premiered and released in cinemas in black history month to give audiences the impression that the film is a significant marking in the achievement of black actors in the film industry and the black community as a whole. With the concept of Fordism applied, Disney had made the decision to release the film relatively around the same time and close to its premiere release similar to Jaws that was released across the United States when first released. This of course does increase distribution costs and is much more difficult to efficiently accomplish however when taking a look at Black Panther's box office success in the first week of the film's release this method may have benefited the studios and the conglomerate.
Being a superhero film. there most definitely would be some licensed products available for purchase for the audience. These include clothing items, accessories, toys and action figures. Some of these licensed products may be aimed at more specific audiences like the toys which when judging the size of them such as the masks, it is presumed to be made for children. Other licensed products such as keyrings and pendants were produced for a universal target audience including children and adults of any demographic. The licensed products are produced by third party industries who were authorised by Marvel or Disney to do so allowing the Disney to generate more profit on top of the box office revenue. In many cases it is the licensed products that generate an excess amount of profit for the institutions that own the rights to the a franchise.
Not many brand partnerships were made for Black Panther with only one significant partnership with Lexus, a vehicle brand who's parent company is Toyota, another major vehicle brand. Lexus paired up with Black Panther to produce a Superbowl commercial which aired during the SuperBowl. This was a tactical marketing move made by Marvel and Disney as the annual Superbowl viewership on television is estimated to be over 100 million people, guaranteeing that an extremely large number of viewers will watch the commercial and familiarise themselves with Lexus and Black Panther. This was of course highly expensive to accommodate as many huge brands have similar ideas and compete with each other for a successful viewing on the air. It turned out to be a success as Black Panther is still generating a profit after a week of its release.
For Disney, Black Panther is a profitable investment and can participate in generating even more of a profit by utilizing assets that the conglomerate has at its disposal. They can perhaps heavily incorporate Black Panther in their theme parks or sell much more desirable licensed products themed and influenced by Black Panther. Distribution studios like Marvel Studios do most of the production and distribution for the films linked to their MCU with Disney overlooking them and the other distribution studios that Disney own. Perhaps Disney could even host events in relation to Black Panther as part of its marketing campaign. It should however be noted that Black Panther is part of a franchise that has been building itself up for a decade for a film that is being released in the summer of 2018; Avengers: Infinity War where characters from other films including Black Panther will feature, therefore Disney are not going to focus on Black Panther for a long period of time since they are preparing for the release of their next upcoming film.
The cast of Black Panther include very few notable actors, casting well known actors such as Michael B. Jordan, Daniel Kaluuya, Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman. Of course the most paramount actor in the film's production is Chadwick Boseman who plays the film's protagonist and was chosen to play Black Panther in a previous film linked to the MCU; Captain America: Civil War. According to the actor he did not require an official audition in order to be casted as Black Panther unlike his colleagues such as Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans who had to audition to be casted as Iron Man and Captain America. Multiple sources seem to suggest that Chadwick Boseman's pay for Black Panther is estimated to be just under $900,000 which when compared to his colleagues may seem like he is being underpaid. Although it is likely that with the potential success of Black Panther, the actor's pay will continue to increase for his next films.
According to an article by Bethany Biron the production budget for Black Panther was stated to be $200 million. This does not include the marketing campaign and advertising for the film as those have a separate distribution budget. As it is a Marvel film is it well known that the bulk of the film's production budget would be spent on the CGI for the setting and the action sequences. Surprisingly, Black Panther was given a higher production budget than Marvel's other recent films. The soundtrack for the film may have had a greater cost than what a Marvel soundtrack would cost as it was an original soundtrack produced by an iconic american rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar whilst also featuring more current music icons such as Swae Lee, Travis Scott and The Weeknd. The rest of the films budget probably went into paying the cast, choreography and costuming (it should be noted that some costumes such as the Panther suit were enhanced with CGI making them much more costly in comparison to the other costumes.
Of course like most blockbuster films, the production budget paled when compared with the budget for the marketing campaign. Black Panther is very significant to the black community and diversity within the film industry along with the rise of black power in the media. Marvel and Disney saw this as an opportunity to promote Black Panther or rather have the audience do it through viral marketing. Currently Black Panther is the most tweeted film of the year. As standard, the film was promoted through trailers online and commercials on television, billboards and interviews with the producers, directors and cast members. The film was strategically premiered and released in cinemas in black history month to give audiences the impression that the film is a significant marking in the achievement of black actors in the film industry and the black community as a whole. With the concept of Fordism applied, Disney had made the decision to release the film relatively around the same time and close to its premiere release similar to Jaws that was released across the United States when first released. This of course does increase distribution costs and is much more difficult to efficiently accomplish however when taking a look at Black Panther's box office success in the first week of the film's release this method may have benefited the studios and the conglomerate.
Being a superhero film. there most definitely would be some licensed products available for purchase for the audience. These include clothing items, accessories, toys and action figures. Some of these licensed products may be aimed at more specific audiences like the toys which when judging the size of them such as the masks, it is presumed to be made for children. Other licensed products such as keyrings and pendants were produced for a universal target audience including children and adults of any demographic. The licensed products are produced by third party industries who were authorised by Marvel or Disney to do so allowing the Disney to generate more profit on top of the box office revenue. In many cases it is the licensed products that generate an excess amount of profit for the institutions that own the rights to the a franchise.
Not many brand partnerships were made for Black Panther with only one significant partnership with Lexus, a vehicle brand who's parent company is Toyota, another major vehicle brand. Lexus paired up with Black Panther to produce a Superbowl commercial which aired during the SuperBowl. This was a tactical marketing move made by Marvel and Disney as the annual Superbowl viewership on television is estimated to be over 100 million people, guaranteeing that an extremely large number of viewers will watch the commercial and familiarise themselves with Lexus and Black Panther. This was of course highly expensive to accommodate as many huge brands have similar ideas and compete with each other for a successful viewing on the air. It turned out to be a success as Black Panther is still generating a profit after a week of its release.
For Disney, Black Panther is a profitable investment and can participate in generating even more of a profit by utilizing assets that the conglomerate has at its disposal. They can perhaps heavily incorporate Black Panther in their theme parks or sell much more desirable licensed products themed and influenced by Black Panther. Distribution studios like Marvel Studios do most of the production and distribution for the films linked to their MCU with Disney overlooking them and the other distribution studios that Disney own. Perhaps Disney could even host events in relation to Black Panther as part of its marketing campaign. It should however be noted that Black Panther is part of a franchise that has been building itself up for a decade for a film that is being released in the summer of 2018; Avengers: Infinity War where characters from other films including Black Panther will feature, therefore Disney are not going to focus on Black Panther for a long period of time since they are preparing for the release of their next upcoming film.
Friday, 2 February 2018
Economic Logic of Sequels
Transformers Franchise Box Office Success
The first three sequels may have had an increase in box office success due to reasons such as:
- Continuity and Narrative
- Successful Marketing
- Lack of Competition
- Managed to Target the Audiences' interests in a film
Thursday, 1 February 2018
Action Figures
Mugs
School Supplies
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