Working Title Films Cameron Walker

Media Ownership Working Title Films (WTF) is owned by ‘Big 6’ member Universal Studios. Universal Studios, also known as Universal Pictures, is located outside of Hollywood which is uncommon to be successful when not inside Hollywood. Albert Dorskind (served as Vice President of Universal Studios, Inc) had envisioned a theme park and film studio in Hollywood California. After numerous improvements, a branch of Universal Studios opened in Los Angeles County, California in The entertainment value it brought to the city gave an up rise to its slogan "The Entertainment Capital of LA." This helped the community as it brought tourists willing to spend money at the new attraction. This would liven up the area and help the community there make a decent living. Since it embodies a film studio theme park, there are a lot of motion picture themes incorporated. Some films include Shrek in 4-D and Terminator 2 in 3-D. Themes from movies and television shows are integrated into the rides like The Simpsons Ride, Jurassic Park: The Ride, and Revenge of the Mummy. This boosts promotion for Universal Pictures and encourages those who have visited the theme park to purchase the merchandise they have on offer including their films. This in the process helps WTF earn money because the films on sale will include those of WTF as Universal Studios owns the company. The collection of films made by WTF on show will promote the films and encourage them to purchase and view them, possibly then recommending those films to their friends and so on so that the company’s sales and profits increase.

Synergy and Cross Media Convergence Synergy is the marketing of a product through a media conglomerates subsidiary companies. They do this to gain the largest target market available and therefore make more sales. For example WTF used this technique with Shaun of the Dead as Universal International distributed the DVD and sound track for Shaun of the Dead. Cross media convergence is the process by which a range of media platforms are integrated within a single piece of media. For example with WTF it is owned by Universal films. Universal films is a part of Vivendi Universal and Vivendi Universal owns major phone companies in many countries

New Media Technologies In the modern day world we are now able to watch films almost anywhere we please. We can watch them in the theatre possibly on iMax3D, on a home cinema system or in any place in the world with new portable television and films applications on our phones and tablets. The internet has also played a key role in the advances of technology as websites such as YouTube, owned by Google, allow the user to upload any videos they wish, including films. Some people are even creating short films just specifically for YouTube and are making a living from it. The way this advance media technology has effected the media world is by making the viewing of films increase but this may encourage piracy which allows people to download films for free illegally. No one wants to pay for a film when you can get it for free but by people doing this the media world is dying. The range of new platforms to watch films on has given birth to new companies revolving around film and television such as LoveFilm and Netflix. These companies allow the public to gain even more access to films on any platform possible. The user pays a fee each month to watch unlimited films that are available at the time The range of platforms that give the ability to watch films on has allowed smaller film companies to get their films viewed because if they put their film on each platform such, as LoveFilm or Netflix which can be viewed on tablet, PlayStation, Xbox and phones some people are likely to come across this small film and watch it. This gives the film a chance and if it is liked then the viewer will tell friends about it and popularity will spread.

Technological Convergence Technological convergence is the merging of distinct technologies such as a camera and video console. For example the iPad is a tablet where the user can record videos and upload them to YouTube, can play games, listen to music and socialise with friends on social networking sites such as Facebook. For Working Title Films this is useful because if they release their film on iTunes only they can guarantee they’ll have purchases from a range of different devices because of the mass amount of people who have technology that links together and the Apple products do this very well. Technological convergence allows people equal access to both mainstream and niche/alternative films which is great news for small independent film companies like Working Title Films because it means they do not have to try as hard to compete with the larger companies distributing their films on all possible platforms.

The Spread of Technology The proliferation of software allows films to be displayed in higher quality and up to a higher standard for smaller film companies with smaller budgets. This is because the editing software used is more advanced but still affordable and so allows for more realistic and dramatic effects that The proliferation of hardware has meant that cameras of high quality can be purchased anywhere for low prices and so gives small independent film companies the chance to compete with larger film companies. please the audience and the finalisation of the film is to a higher quality. Films of extremely high quality can be purchased as Blue ray disks rather than DVD disks and they give a higher quality to the film. Unfortunately, the proliferation of hardware means that it is easier for people to download films illegally off of the internet for free on sites such as Pirate Bay. This can destroy a film company because it means that they are getting less income from the film than the outcome spent on making the film.

Big Industries Targeting British Audiences Large media conglomerates that are part of the ‘Big 6’ are targeting the British audience with their films. By doing this the large media conglomerates are deteriorating the number of small British independent companies as a means of getting rid of the competition. The large popularity of these big budget films are making the journey to becoming a successful independent film maker a lot harder. Working Title Films have got through this challenge because they are owned by ‘Big 6’ member Universal Studios and so if their films are ever ignored because of the other conglomerates such as Warner Bros producing more anticipated films, Universal Studios can invest money in promoting Working Title Films’ films. This will solve the problem for them but for many other British independent film companies this is not so easy to overcome. The company must try and promote their film as much as possible through the use of convergence. Promotion in newspapers, advertisements, magazines, radio etc.

Your Media Consumption My personal media consumption is quite large because I have access to many devices that use technological convergence such as a computer, PlayStation 3, iPod, smart phone etc. This means that whether I am at home, on the move or at school I am able to access media. I use the media for both research and entertainment. Watching YouTube videos for tutorials and watching documentaries on BBC iPlayer are examples of research using technology. Entertainment comes from all the devices above and so because they key factors of my life include the media, I do consume a large amount. This affects Working Title Films because it means that when I am on the plane to my holiday destination or on the bus I can use my iPod to watch the companies latest trailer or film. If with friends they usually question what it is I am watching and take an interest in the featured film. This means that due to word of mouth new audiences are being achieved and so proves why technological convergence is so useful.