2/18 - Finalizing Our Film

    For our final film, we decided to keep most of what we already have from our draft film. We are keeping the same plot possibly even the same film. We decided to tweak some of the editing and make the film flow more, like the audio of the film combining with the audio of the music. 

   We think that the film is executed well. We have interesting angles, the scenes are clear, the audio is clear. Our story is clear, as it is about a girl getting ready to go to a heist. We watched the film over and we both believe that the story executes what we learned in this class well as the elements of film which are is sound, misc en scene, editing, and camera angles, which we tested and preformed (what we believe is) efficiently. 

2/2 - Review of Case Study Discussion

   To end our Case Study period, we did a discussion. This was the prompt:

• What is a case study?
• Why is it important in media? 
• Name some companies you researched for this assisgnment and why you chose them.
• What was your case study on?
• Briefly define convergence and synergy, horizontal and vertical integration, cross-media, globalization. 
• Do you feel you learned anything new about media and how it works? Elaborate. 

My response:

A case study is an observing of how a motion picture is produced, created, and the business behind it. Case studies are important in media because they analyze the motion of films in the industry and their influence with audiences, businesses, and the industry itself. Some companies I researched was Warners Bros., which was the main production company for the Harry Potter series, which is what me and my partner did our case study on. Convergence is the blending of media platforms. Synergy is the interaction between two different productions within media. Horizontal integration is where a company acquires or merges with competitors at the same level of the supply chain. Vertical integration is where a company owns or controls multiple stages of the supply chain, such as production, distribution, and exhibition. Cross-media is distributing content across multiple channels. Globalization is which media content, technologies, and corporations cross national boundaries, creating an interconnected global media landscape. Yes, I learned the business behind the making of Harry Potter, which was interesting to learn how much of everything went into making these films. 

1/30 - Case Study Presentation Final

    These past few weeks, me and my partner worked on our case study presentation. We did a mock presentation and ours was about The Marketing and Branding of Harry Potter. 

Slide 1: What is Harry Potter? We talked about the fantasy series following young Harry Potter and how it got adapted from the books. We mentioned that this series turned into and franchise worth $25 billion globally

Slide 2: The Production of Harry Potter. We talked about how the series produced by Warner Bros Pictures, filmed in the U.K., had a large budget, and the involvement of the actors to keep up the hype of the series

Slide 3: The Issues Raised By Media Ownership and Funding in Contemporary Media Practice. We talked about how Warner Bros is a major company that had high funding to promote the series globally and have a high production quality. We talked about the difference between Warner Bros and other companies

Slide 4: The Importance of Cross-Media Convergence and Synergy in Production, Distribution, and Marketing. We talked about how this story became a franchise that ranked from not only the book and movies, but also games, theme parks, toys, etc. This is called synergy because the Harry Potter brand is working together with other businesses to promote their series

Slide 5: The Technologies That Have Been Introduced in Recent Years at the Levels of Production, Distribution, Marketing, and at the Point of Consumption. The production of Harry Potter was high budget because of the CGI, digital effects, and the motion capture. The distribution of the films went from books (physical) to DVD’s, blue-ray, and streaming (HBO MAX). Because of this more people are able to consume the series as the audience can watch it from TV’s to laptops to phones. 

Slide 6: The Significance of the Spread of Such Technologies for Institutions and Audiences. We talked about how this series became something that people globally can enjoy and engage with, and that because of this worldwide love for the series, the expectations are high. 

Slide 7: The Importance of Technological Convergence for Institutions and Audiences. Audiences can easily get access to the films, which increases engagement and loyalty with the series 

Slide 8: The Issues Raised in the Targeting of National and Local Audiences by International or Global Institutions. We talked about how the films have subtitles and dubbing. The films encouraged foreign interaction and influence, but feared Western cultural dominance

Slide 9: The Ways in Which the Candidates’ Own Experiences of Media Consumption Illustrate Wider Patterns and Trends in Audience Behavior. For this final slide, we talked about the fact that because this series became something popular, it had such a big influence on the audience. This was highlighted by the fandom, the fan pages, the edits, memes, basically create an an entire online world, further building this already huge world, turning it into one of the biggest series in the world

  Overall, I learned so much about my favorite movies series. I never put much thought into the marketing and branding of the Harry Potter films. I truly think Warner Bros did such a good job of adapting this series and turning it into a franchise that will live forever.