Anuvahood Prezi

Anuvahood Research on Prezi

Anuvahood - Candidates Own Experience of Media Consumption

The devlopments of technology within the film industry have had both a positive and negative effect on a low budget film, such as Anuvahood. Developments in technology within the production stage of the film industry have had a negative effect on the film - the low budget did not allow Anuvahood to release their film in 3D, or in IMAX theatres, which are now-a-days seen as the standard way of releasing a film. Consequently, Anuvahood would automatically decrese in critics expectations and also would be less accessible to audiences who prefer to watch films in 3D or IMAX. However, the use of technology to create word of mouth has been an advantage for Anuvahood, as this is what they based their markting techniques on. Through the use of online distributors, like LoveFilm, I was able to watch this film at home and was able to send it back afterwards. As I didn't know what to expect from Anuvahood, I preferred to rent the film from LoveFilm rather than make a long term investment of buying the DVD, as there was a possibilty that I would not have liked it as much as I initially thought, and there was always the safety of sending the DVD back.

Anuvahood - Issues Raised in the Targeting of National and Local Audiences

Adam Deacon is a well known English film actor, rapper, writer and director. He is previously known from his lead role in Kidulthood and his directional debut and role in Anuvahood. Being a well recognized actor and known for his roles in urban street films, there would have been no question about his name being a huge attraction of British, local audiences, and therefore would automatically be a great marketing tool for the film within the UK. As well as this, Anuvahood was Adam Deacon's first film that he directed, and so critics, fans and bloggers would have been highly anticipating what he would have to offer and whether or not he made the right decision of directing the film himself (as he has previously stated that "I was too street and too scary for directors") suggesting that Anuvahood may have been like no other urban film that has been released. Previous films such as Kidulthood and Adulthood would also have an existiting audience that would be attracted to see Anuvahood, however, the majority of these audiences are locally based in the UK. Targeting worldwide audiences was an issue for Revolver Entertainment due to the small budget and the relatively unknown cast outside of the UK. Therefore there was minimum marketing used worldwide as this was not possible within the budget and was predicted to be unsuccessful and a waste of valuable money, creating a small worldwide audience and a lack of potential sales.

Anuvahood - Technological Convergence

Anuvahood has an official iTunes app that can be installed onto any iPhone, iPad etc. for free. This convergence in technology has helped the film market and publicise itself, even for months after the official UK release. Although this won't primarily ignite a financial boost for the film's producers, it will boost word of mouth and in the long term, may help encourage an increase in sales for the film.

As well as this, Adam Deacon managed to team up with JME to release 'Hype Hype Ting' the single and publicise the film even further. Big names, like JME, attract the right audiences to Anuvahood as his fan base is the younger teenage generation. Both of these examples of the use of technological convergence by Anuvahood demonstrates how it can be used to promote the film in various ways that will attract a specific audience. Films such as Anuvahood command a niche market from diverse backgrounds that is hard to replicate and draw in to see a film, but using apps and singles to publicize the film will dramatically help Revolver Entertainment when distributing the film and making it accessible. As well as this, Anuvahood used the internet to it's advantage by releasing official trailers, 'Anuvahood Cast Freestlye' videos to be viewed on YouTube and also filming their Anuvahood Bus Tour around the UK and also releasing the various videos virally. Anuvahood has also used other social networking sites when publicizing their film, for example their popular Twitter (5,004 followers) and Facebook (204,969 likes). Anuvahood use the internet and technology to their full advantage when promoting the film, as this is the most successful way to appeal to their small market, without breaking the low budget.

Anuvahood - The Significance of Proliferation in Hardware and Content

Films such as Anuvahood are now usually sold to online film distributors, such as Netflix and LoveFilm, as audiences have dramatically changed their viewing habits due to the development in technology in media. Teenage viewers, especially, no longer feel the need to spend extortionate amounts of money on a trip to the cinema to see a film when they can either buy it on DVD/Blu-Ray as a long term investment or even rent the film from an online distributor and watch it on their laptop or download it onto their smart phone/tablet. The introduction of home cinema has influenced the way that film companies have to alter the way they work as they have to consider their production, distribution, and marketing to fit the majority of audiences that prefer to watch a film in the warmth and comfort of their lounge and to publicise the other windows that the film has to offer, e.g. DVD, Blu-Ray, online distributors. However this may not be the case for a film such as Anuvahood as the target market for a film such as this is a younger audience, who tend to view films on their smart phones or on the internet rather than buying the long term DVD because it is cheaper in the short term to do so.
Also, with the forever increasing usage of smart phones, the film industry has had to adapt to the change when it comes to marketing their product and advertising it. For example, there is an Anuvahood app available to download on iTunes for the iPhone, which includes the voices of each main cast member, and a quiz on how 'gangster' you are, publicising the film even after it's release.

Anuvahood - Technologies Introduced in Recent Years

Since the release of Anuvahood, the film has relied heavily on Blu-Ray/DVD sales to contribute to it's success. The DVD/Blu-Ray is crammed full of 'exclusive extra features' such as cast and crew interviews, 'the making of', the west end premiere, Levi Roots - cooking with the cast, Hype Hype Ting music video (Boy Better Know, JME & Adam Deacon), behind the scenes footage, comic strips and the theatrical trailer - All of which are promoted in an attempt to advertise the DVD. There is a direct link that appears on the official website of Anuvahood so that audiences can "order yours now"and takes you straight through to play.com so that you can order a physical copy of the film. As well as this, Aunvahood is also available to download and is on-demand, making the film even more accessible for the public, as watching films through internet streaming or smart phones (because of downloadable content) is becoming increasingly popular amongst the target audience of a film such as Anuvahood. The film was not to be released in 3D because of the small budget that the film had and so this particular introduction in technology did not effect the way that the audience watched or bought the film.

Anuvahood - Cross Media Convergence

Gunslinger Productions was the only studio to produce the film, however it then worked together with Revolver Entertainment to distribute the film and make it accessible to the public. Revolver Entertainment has bases in London and West Hollywood and is therefore able to distribute heavily in those two areas. As these are only two moderately small companies, they are not able to use their size to promote and publicize the film very successfully. However, the two companies work together to promote their business' when making and promoting a film; If Anuvahood recieved a positive crtical response from the public and the media, then the companies that produced and distributed it will therefore also recieve a positive response, resulting in possibly more awareness and recognition of their companies in the future. However, it is also possible for a company to be 'trashed' by the public or the media and, consequently, their company could recieve negative, unwanted attention, which could be significantly damaging to their company.

Working on Anuvahood would have been a great risk for both of the companies producing/distributing it as the film was supposedly the first of it's genre 'urban comedy' and so Revolver and Gunslinger did not effectively know how well it would be recieved, putting themselves at risk.

Anuvahood - Media Ownership

Anuvahood was directed by Adam Deacon, Daniel Toland and Najama Dahir, and was produced by Nick Taussig, Paul Van Carter, Daniel Toland and Terry Stone. The writers included Adam Deacon and Michael Vu, who together wrote a British urban comedy film. Adam Deacon is a well known actor and director and would've been known previously for his lead role in Kidulthood, his background in urban films influenced the type of film that he was setting out to make and therefore would have had an impact on the success of the film also.
Adam Deacon had a budget of $1,000,000 and therefore was dealing with a small film that was not guaranteed to be successful as the budget would not be able to market the film hugely. Consequently, this only attratced a small production company (Gunslinger), however, a relatively well known distributor (Revolver Entertainment) became involved with film.
Revolver Entertainment is well known for it's promotional stunts and are the leader in social media marketing with over 10,000 Twitter followers and 9,000 Facebook subscribers, a great helping hand in creating publicity for the 'first urban comedy film' Anuvahood. Revolver Entertainment has also distributed similar films to Anuvahood, such as Kidulthood, and so therefore will attract fans of the previous films and know how to make the film accessible to audiences of the urban film industry. Revolver Entertainment would have, therefore, been a massive influence on Anuvahood's potential success as a film.
Gunslinger Productions are a small, un-heard-of production company and, consequently, will not have the advantage of attracting fans of the previous films that they have worked on. Therefore, this supports the general idea that small companies make small films and don't tend to make a substantial amount of money as a result.

Anuvahood - Official Trailer

Prometheus Prezi

Prometheus Research on Prezi

Prometheus Revisited

Prometheus - 2D Vs. 3D

Prometheus Responses

Prometheus - Candidates Own Experience of Media Consumption

The developments in technology used in media during recent years has definitely had a positive effect on the film industry. With advancements in technology, such as CGI, allows films like Prometheus to have incredible realistic effects that have a great impact on the audience making the aliens realistic and believable. This development in technology in production and editing also means that the horrifying scenes within Prometheus can be made in such a way that it scares the audience - creating a strong atmosphere in the place of exhibition, for example the cinema. This certain aspect of the use of technology in media has always had a positive effect in the way that Ridley Scott directs his scary scenes, such as the 'alien chest burst' in the first Alien, which would have horrified the audience at that time. This enabled Prometheus to match up to the genre of a sci-fi horror and achieve it. I also feel that the distributor for Prometheus, 20th Centruy Fox, made the film very accessible for the public and assisted the producers a great deal with doing so.

Prometheus - The Targeting of National and Local Audiences

The target audience for Prometheus was close to a worldwide market due to the high status that accompanied the film, which was 20th Century Fox, the distributors for Prometheus. This successful distribution allowed the film to become accessible for almost all audiences and targeted viewers. Ridley Scott is a famous English sci-fi film producer and director, mostly known for his series of Alien, this would have impacted and influenced the British audience to go and see Prometheus. As well as this, Alien fans would have also been highly anticipating the film because of the previous work done by Ridley Scott, which they have been entertained by so far.
Prometheus proved a hit as it's total domestic gross ended up as $126,477,084.

Prometheus - Technological Convergence

Prometheus had a fairly big budget of $130 million and therefore the technological convergence within the film was quite large, along with this, technological advancements and developments in the technology used in media have made it possible for sic-fi films such as Prometheus to be made via such a standard of digital effects and CGI. There was pressure on the effects to match up to the standard of the previous Alien films (as they were incredible in their time of release) and so, consequently, added to the anticipation of it's release.
As well as this, various films and clips are available to download on iTunes, including a Behind the Scenes package that is available to download for free, which includes "In Character with Guy Pearce" and so on. This is from 20th Century Fox's movie channel on iTunes and is another example of how well known and respected distributors can publicise a film successfully.

Prometheus - The Significance of Proliferation in Hardware and Content

Films such as Prometheus now tend to be sold to online film distributors, such as Netflix and LoveFilm, as audiences have dramatically changed their viewing habits due to the development in technology in media. Viewers no longer feel the need to spend extortionate amounts of money on a trip to the cinema to see a film when they can either buy it on DVD/Blu-Ray as a long term investment or even rent the film from an online distributor and watch it in the comfort of their own home. The introduction of home cinema has influenced the way that film companies have to alter the way they work as they have to consider their production, distribution, and marketing to fit the majority of audiences that prefer to watch a film in the warmth and comfort of their lounge and to publicise the other windows that the film has to offer, e.g. DVD, Blu-Ray, online distributors.

Also, with the forever increasing usage of smart phones, the film industry has had to adapt to the change when it comes to marketing their product and advertising it. As for the Weyland Industries website, Ridley Scott is able to apply a setting so that iPhone and other smart phone users can view it, increasing the publicity of the film even further. This proliferation in hardware has boosted the publicity of Prometheus even further than the already successful viral marketing. 

Prometheus - Cross Media Convergence

Scott Free Productions and Brandywine Productions worked together to produce the film. Scott Free Productions is an English film production company owned by Scott Ridley himself, the director and producer of Prometheus. Brandywine Productions, however, is an American film production company most known for the Alien film franchise. The company was founded by American filmmakers Walter Hill, David Giler and Gordon Carroll. These two small production companies are both familiar with the Alien franchise and so could work together effectively to produce Prometheus at it's best. The film was then passed on to 20th Century Fox to distribute Prometheus in Belgium, France, and Switzerland (May 30th 2012), United Kingdom (June 1st 2012), and in North America (June 8th 2012). Having a major distributor such as 20th Century Fox meant that the film would be largely distributed in these countries, creating lots of extra publicity for the film, this would have been worth the extra expense of having such a well known distributor on board. Although Prometheus relied heavily upon viral marketing as a way of generating anticipation for the film, such a large distributor would have also been a significant factor of it's success as a film.

Prometheus - Technologies Introduced in Recent Years

Blu-Ray advertisement



The advertisement of Prometheus on Blu-Ray influenced the majority of Prometheus viewers to buy the DVD once it had been released, as it offered an alternative ending and beginning to the film. This was so effective because of the massive cliffhanger that we were left with at the end of the film, and the alternative ending may answer our questions as an audience, which appeals to the fans of the Alien series. This boosted sales of Prometheus after the initial releases in cinema, as people who wanted to see the film but were put off by the extortianate prices for a ticket much preferred the investment of Blu-Ray or DVD as a long time product, which they can view over and over. There is also said to be seven hours worth of special features, and an interactive game that you can complete using your tablet. Online distributors also contribute to the success of a film, such as Prometheus, because of their wide variety of films that people can access and rent out. These recent techniques in distributing are increasing in popularity and some companies are becoming extremely well known. e.g. Netflix or LoveFilm. However, free internet streaming of the film has had a negative effect on the success of the film industry, as it is becoming more popular especially with the teenage market. Although this way of viewing the film is illegal, it is still possible to find a decent quality copy of the film online for free - Consequently having a negative effect on the sales of the film. The recent introduction of a 3D cinema experience changes the way the film industry now makes films in the production stages, as more technical and special effects need to be considered when filming, possibly making the process more complicated and difficult, but getting a good response in sales at the end of it. This also has a positive knock-on effect of cinema sales as more people want the real-life experience of 3D and are willing to pay for the benefits. The introduction of IMAX has also benefited Prometheus and, in London's Waterloo, one screen took more than £500,000 in advance ticket sales. IMAX is becoming increasingly popular amongst films such as Prometheus, which has some of the best effects running continuously throughout the film, and to see such effects on a 20 metre high IMAX screen is something sci-fi fans are, evidently, highly anticipating. 

Prometheus - Media Ownership

Prometheus was distributed by 20th Century Fox, one of the six major major American film studios. Such a massive distriubtor alongside the two studios producing the film, Scott Free Productions and Brandywine Productions, and a budget of $130 million almost promises success for Prometheus after it's release. Having a distributor such as 20th Century Fox guarantees that the film will be heavily distributed across the country that it is to be shown in and therefore giving the film a huge scope and making it accessible to all potential audiences. A well-known distrubtor such as this also has all the finance needed to distrubute the film well and has a recognizable name and corporation, which may also attract an audience to the film as the company is linked to many other successful films and can be trusted.
20th Century Fox also backed and distrubted the earlier films within the Alien franchise, continuing with Ridley Scott's strand of films. This would attract audiences and fans of the earlier Alien films to see Prometheus, also increasing the success of the film.
20th Century Fox distributing Prometheus follows the traditional theory of 'big companies make/distribute big films' and therefore make all the money.

Five Cool Things About Prometheus Marketing

1. Ridley Scott returns to science fiction
Ah, the prodigal son returns. God bless Ridley Scott and his many incarnations - one involving a story of the Crusades as the West went off to war in Central Asia and modern day Babylon - but it is in his role as a master of science fiction in which he can do no wrong. From the infamous Apple 1984 commercial, where he cut his chops creating arresting video, to Alien, where Scott once and for all proved his geek bona fides as a master of the genre.

2. Who is Sir Peter Weyland?
Forget Howard Roark, Ayn Rand's cartoonish Creator. Weyland, the founder of the Weyland Corporation, which caused so much trouble in the Alien films, has always been a bit of a mystery. Is Sir Peter a bit of a Sir Ridley, and vice versa? Both, clearly, have been fascinated by mythology and by science. Sir Peter, according to his fictional TED Talks biography, is the son of an Oxford educated Professor of Comparative Mythology and a self-taught software engineer. And Sir Ridley, like Stanley Kubrick, seems obsessed by the intersect between science and art, between artificial and artistic intelligence.

3. The Weyland Corporation
With a 218 trillion dollar valuation, the shadowy Weyland Corporation's ambitions are more than international in scope - they are, indeed, galactic. "There are other worlds than this one," Sir Peter boldly declared, "And if there is no air to breathe, we will simply have to make it." Hello?
The company's website is just masterful, the stuff that social media geek conversation is made of. There is actually an Investor Information page on the site, the sort one would find on any corporation website, only this one has fictional - but fascinating - charts ("Weyland Employee Satisfaction Rate") as well as graphs of data that, no doubt, added value to the whole "Prometheus" experience. It only heightens the excitement.
Hello? If Weyland Corporation had a fictional LinkedIn account, how many would apply? Which brings us to...

4. The viral marketing strategy
They had me at the fictional TED talk, given in 2023. It was, of course, an instant social media success - to date over 6,000 retweets and over 21,000 Facebook likes. There were also viral movie poster. This viral video campaign has been studiously calculated to tickle the g-spot of every tech geek, every aficionado of science fiction practiced at the highest levels. Sir Scott is best when he allows his creativity full reign, creating whole worlds out of thin air.

5. The stars
Nooni Rapace, Michael Fassbender and, of course, Sir Ridley. I. Was. So. There.

Credit to IFC Fix for this post

Prometheus - When Movie Marketing Goes Very Right

Any major studio film these days is going to have a marketing campaign that includes some kind of online element. Often that means a trailer. Sometimes film clips are thrown in there too. But what every studio exec would really like is something about the film that goes viral - that has people passing it on to friends. With Prometheus, the upcoming film from director Ridley Scott, Fox has scored a major viral victory.
First there was the TED talk from the future. The short video shows Guy Pierce as fictional Weyland Industries head Peter Weyland, giving a TED talk in 2023. The piece was first screened at the real TED conference in February. According to the LA Times, TED organisers helped to make the film look like what they envision a talk will really be like in the future. (Look at previous post for the video).
Now Fox has released a second video. This one is about David, a robot who understands human emotions that he does not feel, and who is creepily life like. Actor Michael Fassbender who plays David in this short made to look like a corporate video about a cool new product.



The latest video is almost a little movie into itself. We learn a lot about David and the world he lives and works in and the video is just incredibly entertaining.
On top of all that there's this Website for Weyland Industries. The movie promo site could easily be mistaken for an actual corporate website. My favourite bit is the "about" section. It includes the standard corporate information like number of employees: 837.53 million. Secondary locations: 160 countries and 63 colonies. There's a corporate time line that includes facts such as in 2042 Weyland Industries donated $5 billion to Little Explorers, a charity "dedicated to the education of troubled middle school students."
There are several reasons this marketing is proving to be so effective. The movie (which is likely a prequel to Scott's Alien) has been shrouded in mystery. Sci-fi fans have been chomping at the bit to get any information they can about the film's plot. The current marketing campaign provides lots of tasty tidbits.
The promos are also good enough to pull in movie lovers who have never seen Alien. This summer is going to be crowded. Prometheus will be up against a new Spider-Man, The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers. Those franchise films are based on well-known heroes. Prometheus doesn't have that advantage so the film makers (and the studio) have had to be smarter about their marketing. Mystery + well done promos = marketing gold.
Will it help at the box office? That remains to be seen. The film hits theatres June 8th.

Credit to forbes.com twitter - DorothyatForbes

Peter Weyland TED Talk 2023 - Viral Marketing

Prometheus Full Length Trailer