Timed Essay 1

 

Explain how the arrival of digitally convergent media platforms has impacted on film producers. Refer to Disney and its 1967 and 2016 versions of The Jungle Book to support your answer.

In this essay I will be looking at the impact digitally convergent media platforms have impacted on film producers and will refer to Disney 1967 and 2016 version of The Jungle Book to illustrate my answer.

When the original Jungle Book was released in 1967, there were very limited ways to promote movies. The main options were to play the trailers in the cinema or on the television and radio and then have posters in public places. The only way the movie itself could be watched is in the cinema as DVD’s were not around yet. By this point Disney had started to diversify, with the first Disneyland opening in 1955 but the first Disney shop didn’t open until 20 years after the first Jungle Book released, in 1987. Despite the lack of synergy and collaboration with other brands, Disney were still a very successful company. On a budget of $4 million, it made $11.5 million by the next year. In total, the movie has grossed $141 million in the U.S and Canada alone.

The live-action/CGI remake of the Jungle Book was released in 2016 where media platforms have become much more digitally convergent. With the launch of Web 2.0, the audience became more active and companies such as Disney realised that they could target the audience in a much more specific way. Disney started to target the audience through social media and as it became a lot easier to find out about people through their profiles. With the remake of the Jungle Book, Disney partnered with Snapchat to produce a filter which turns your face into that of Kaa, the snake from the movie. The introduction of social media allowed for groups of people to talk and interact because of shared interests, which is the basic idea of the fandom theory. This also allows for a more global social interaction, with people all across the globe being given the chance to hear about and discuss media products such as the Jungle Book. The audience no longer being passive also allows for people to create their own content, which could include fan pages about the movie, reviews and games related to it. The diversification of technology also led to DVD’s being released in 1996 and Blu-Ray’s in 2003, meaning the audience could now buy films such as The Jungle Book to watch at their own home, helping companies such as Disney to maximise their profits while also maximising their audience. This 2016 version of The Jungle Book was produced on a budget of $175,000,000 which shows that Disney had faith in the movie to make a profit, which it did, grossing $966,550,600 worldwide.

Whilst at the time of release, the original Jungle Book didn’t have as much merchandise, since Disney began opening stores, it would have made money off of the original Jungle Book toys and this would have helped to keep an audience for the 2016 remake of the film. Obviously, the original version of the Jungle Book has since been released on VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray. In 1991, when it was released on VHS, it grossed around $184 million and by the end of 1994, they had sold 24.5 million units worldwide. The film has also had several DVD releases to commemorate anniversaries and between 2007 and 2016, DVD and Blu-Ray releases had sold 12 million units and grossed $304 million as of August 2018. I believe that the constant popularity of the original movie also helped secure an audience for the remake, and Disney knowingly capitalised on the original films popularity when media platforms became more available.

In conclusion, digitally convergent media platforms have impacted film producers in a positive way as it allows for a film to reach a wider audience, appeal to more demographics and be promoted much easier, especially to target audiences. This is proven by the Jungle Book, as since DVD’s, Blu-Rays and merchandise came into play, more money has been made off of the original film which in turn helped the remake of the Jungle Book gain popularity, alongside the help of the movie being more readily available and being promoted to a wider audience.