Film case-study…Toy Story 3

By Hannah Mills

TOY STORY 3Toy Story 3 was released in the UK on the 21st June 2010. It is a 3D animated film and is the third film in the Toy Story series, that has been produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures.It’s budget was $200million and it made $1.063billion at the box officeIt was also the first film to be released theatrically with Dolby Surround 7.1 sound.

Kermodes rules1) It has a newsworthy budget = $200million

2) It contains spectacular visuals

3) It’s NOT be a comedy

4) It includes ‘A list’ star – such as; Tom Hanks (Woody), Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear)

The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice; (how does who owns a media company

influence the type of film made and its potential success? For example do BIG companies make BIG films and

therefore make all the money? Is it possible for small companies to succeed?)

Toy Story 3 is a massive film that was made by a big company, which will have lead towards its success. This is because it was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios which are part of the big six meaning that they can provide fantastic cinematographic for their audiences. This will have benefitted ‘Toy Story 3’ because it’s a big company film producing a big film resulting in them making more money, as Toy Story 3 had a budget of $200million and it made $1.063billion. This meant that when in the pre-production, production and post-production they will of had more money to spend compared to small budget film. This is because small budget films will have had to spend most of there budget on getting good special effects and using good quality cameras/technology in order for their film to have a chance of being successful.

The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

(how do companies work together to produce, distribute and publicize a film? How can Disney use their size to promote and publicise a film? How can

small companies work together to promote their business' when making and promoting a film?)Cross Media Convergence refers to companies coming together in order to gain access to bigger stars and a better distribution network for their films. So media institutions deliver their product on more than one channel meaning that film piracy may occur which would be a negative but it will reach audiences quicker and so more people will go and see it meaning that it will become more popular. However Toy Story 3 is not an example of this because a massive film company has distributed it and so it won’t have had to merge with other companies in order to be successful.Disney which produced ‘Toy Story 3’ is an example of a synergistic company because they can publicize their new film, shows and characters through the film studio, children’s TV channel and the Disney store (where you can buy all the merchandise and DVD/CDs they’ve seen on TV/internet or in the cinema, i.e. a ‘Woody’) which will appeal to a wider audience resulting in the fact that more people will watch it.

The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production,

distribution, marketing and exchange; (how has the introduction of digital film, 3D, DVD, Blu-ray, internet streaming, downloadable content, home cinema influenced the types of films made, the

way we watch them and the way we 'buy' them?)For the film industry there has been a huge improvement in the editing software meaning that they can make more powerful digital imaging programs and new formats like digital projection, DVDs and Blu-ray. This means that it provides a clearer picture, a better cinematography experience and faster and easier distribution. So from this film companies are making more and more impressive films, and even though their budget will have to be increase they are more likely to make a profit because everyone will want to go and see them because their visual effects could be very impressive. This will have benefited Toy Story because it has incredible animation thanks to Pixar, and so this is will encourage a massive audience and many people will live stream the film and get it from home cinema sites such as netflixs.

The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences; (how and

why have film companies had to alter the way they work now everyone has web enabled phones, PC's,

tablets etc? How have audiences changed their viewing habits now we no longer need to go to the

cinema to watch a film)Proliferation is the increase in the amount of hardware and content available to both audience and institution through emergence of new and old media. The demand for films to be viewable on phones, computers, consoles etc has increased and so film companies have to ensure that there films are suitable and able to work on these devices in order for them to make money. Due to this many people now do not visit the cinema because it’s much easier to watch from home, also there is not such a big demand for DVD’s anymore because many people (especially teenagers) will just illegally download or use sites like netflixs to watch there films rather than going out and buying the films. This change has come about due to the improvements in technology because now most transports have at l TV’s in them and if they don’t they most people have a device like a mobile phone or ipad/laptop that you can watch films on and so when you are traveling or on the move then it is easier to watch from there rather than buying the DVD because not many people watch them anymore. So in 2011/2012 when Toy Story came out it would have been and probably still is available on planes, illegally download, and other film sites, which will mean that even though the film has been out for a few years now it’s still making money back.

The importance of technological convergence for institutions and

audiences; (can you think of examples of how different technologies have come

together to help the film industry?)Technological convergence is the tendency for different technological systems to evolve towards performing similar tasks, and so it’s when new technologies are created that take over from past technologies and perform the same task but in a more advance manner. Marketing is one of the most affected areas of film from technological convergence because the jump in new technology has been beneficial to institutions attracting their target audience. Also with the increase of modern technology film marketing is easily passed about between people through things like Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other types of social media, whereas before marketing used to rely on billboards and posters which film companies can still use today as well as the technological approach and so their film will spread to a wider audience. Due to this improvement in technological convergence it means that films like Toy Story 3 become instantly easier, cheaper and faster to distribute to cinemas and converting them into DVD is almost automatic. It also creates different revenue streams by selling the production right to someone through sky or itunes etc and then after a little while after the film has been released in the cinema it will be released on live steams and links like netflixs or lovefilm and so because Toy Story was such a big film this process will have occurred for them.

The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically,

British) by international or global institutions; (how do film companies try and attract their audience? Do they do different things in different countries?)For American film production companies, they are very well known especially the

companies involved in the big six and so because they have so much more money to spend on their films because they mostly always do well, when it comes to marketing and getting their audiences all they have to do is announce that a new film is coming out and people already get excited and start posting it on social media websites which will attract more and more people, and then they release trailers which will help people to decide whether or not the film is for them and whether they want to go and see it or not. So for Toy Story 3 all of this will have helped them in order to get their target audience together and due to the fact it was part of a sequel will have meant that its viewers from 1 and 2 will have been talking and excited about it creating an audience when it’s just announced. Whereas for British film they aren’t so well known, however some of the films they have released in the past have been very successful like James Bond, but this isn’t always the case. So because the British film industry don’t have as much money to spend on their films like the American film industry do it means that there promotion isn’t as well known and so doesn’t always reach their target audiences, and so they need to improve how they appeal to people worldwide who have seen and enjoyed British films before, like James Bond and Harry Potter.

The ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption

illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour. (what is your opinion

on the above? Do you see the developments as a good or bad thing?)

Personally I feel that the development in technology is a good thing because the film companies are still making their money even when the need for DVD’s is decreasing and the demand for higher quality movies is increasing. I just feel that the film industry is developing and improving to fit in with the improvements of technology and so they’re both moving at the same time, and giving the audience what they want to see and hear. I also feel that this has all been beneficial to Toy Story 3 as without this they wouldn’t have been any where near as successful.