How important is technological convergence for institutions and audiences within a media area you have studied?

Technological convergence is the way in which media products are becoming available throughout many different forms of technological mediums and platforms. This an important and quintessential part of the exhibition, distribution and marketing stages of film production. In a world where technology is continuously developing, the film industry has had to adapt to this change in order to appeal their audiences.

For example, with Low budget films such as Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016) and Moonlight (2016). Effective marketing of their media products was needed in order to get them recognised. This would mean a lot of money which low budget films simply do not have the means of obtaining. Furthermore, this would mean that institutions which produce and distribute lower budget films have to adapt to the ways of the technological world. This is because in the modern world it is a lot easier to market films at lower budgets due to the success of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter which provide a useful platform to advertise films for free effectively. By advertising in this way it becomes easier for the film institution and the film to connect with its audience which is essential to the success of the film. For example, Bridget Jones’s Baby was heavily marketed on social media, this created a hype among fans which had been waiting since the last movie Bridget Jones : The Edge Of Reason released over 12 years ago. This was followed by Working Title and Universal (The producers and distributers) releasing a large amount of pre-release material like teaser trailers and short clips from the movie on YouTube, which gained a huge following by fans of the Franchise. Arguably however, with films like Bridget Jones’s baby, technological convergence may not be as important due to the fact it already had a large fan following and a followed a single narrative storyline and had a safe genre (Rom-com). However a film like Moonlight which was the first film focusing on Black LGBTQ+ issues, may have relied on technological convergence more so since it is a controversial topic and quite a risky genre.

Furthermore, High Budgeted films like Frozen (2013) and The hunger Games (2012) may not have relied so much on technological convergence since they already had a lot of hype and people would have gone to the Cinema to see them whether they were marketed across 200 media platforms or just one since people buy into the institution which produces it and for the case of high budgeted films this would be one of the Big Six Hollywood Studios (Disney, Paramount, Warner Brothers, Columbia, Universal & 20^th Century Fox). This being said I think that most highly budgeted films do rely on technological convergence. For instance, Frozen is a high budgeted film which cost over $150M to produce. However, it has grossed over $1BN one year after its release. I believe that this is partly due to technical convergence. This is because films like Frozen are largely available on a range of different media platforms. In the case of frozen it can be viewed at a cinema, on the Disney channel, via Disney life, short clips on you tube, Netflix, Amazon etc. and the list goes on! Due to this Frozen was both critically and highly, highly commercially successful. The was in which people view films is hugely influential on the way it is received by the audience and being able to watch a movie like frozen in the comfort of your own home is just so much more convenient for people. However, this has lead to Illegal streaming and downloads from fraudulent websites becoming more and more popular. This is highly concerning for the film industry as this not only is not earning them money, but it also foreshadows the death of cinema.

In conclusion, even though technological convergence arises the issue of the death of cinema I believe that this will not happen since going to the cinema is a socially gratifying activity which people enjoy to do and shall continue to do for the conceivable future. I feel that technological convergence by far is more helpful to any institution than it is a sin. If low budget movies could not get their movies out there would they be noticed? The answer is yes, but not with the huge success like films like Bridget Jones’s Baby.