Pick a Well Known Film and Research How it was Marketed and Promoted

The Simpsons Movie

After a 20 years of The Simpsons being aired as a TV show, in 2007 it was decided that a movie would be created, based upon the story of The Simpsons that so many had been familiar with and that had become a part of our culture. The movie had a production budget of $75,000,000 and on the first weekend grossed $183,132,370 in the USA and $13,626,583 in the UK (ranking 1st at the box office), and then following this grossed $526,745,137 worldwide; almost 7x the budget spent. Much of the movie's success was due to the effective marketing and promotional campaign that was used in order to create awareness of the film prior to it's July release. 20th Century Fox were responsible for the movie's distribution. Unlike many other of Hollywood's promotions, the marketing campaign for the Simpsons Movie went beyond generic billboard, print and television advertisement and was much more innovative and unique, utilising many other mediums of promotion that had not been used excessively before for any other film to any similar scale. It was this creativity and individuality that made the whole campaign so successful, as it was unlike anything that potential customers had seen before and were therefore keen to get involved.

 Firstly, 20th Century Fox used synergy as one way of promoting the movie. Synergy is the interaction or cooperation of two or more organisations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. There were many companies that 20th Century Fox worked together with in order to increase awareness of the project. One example of this was the collaboration with popular skateboarding shoe company Vans. 20th Century Fox teamed up with top designers for the company and produced a one-off limited edition line of Simpsons-themed Vans. Not only this, but Vans dedicated a whole page of their website to this collaboration, going further than the shoe designs and even recreating all of the sponsored skaters on the site into Simpsons character cartoon form. This whole stunt raised awareness of the movie release, as regular visitors to the website took notice of the collaboration, and buyers of the Simpsons-themed shoes were wearing them in public, creating curiosity amongst people and acting as another source of advertisement for the movie.


Another example of synergy and a similar collaboration was with famous American airway JetBlue. 20th Century Fox redesigned the exterior of one of the running jetliners, painting the entirety in 'Simpsons Yellow', with the Simpsons logo above the wings and paintings of the main four characters along the side of the plane.Initially the plane was opened with costumed Simpsons characters onboard, who were introduced on a yellow carpet. This received a huge amount of publicity and coverage in the media, promoting The Simpsons brand ready for the release of the movie a few months later. Other than this, JetBlue introduced The Simpsons into other areas of the company's operations. For a limited time, JetBlue revamped the website, making much of it Simpsons themed. The most well-recieved of these pages was the 'Destinations' page, where a character was placed next to each of the suggested destinations, giving their opinions on each of them. This brought the characters to life somewhat, making The Simpsons feel like a real part of people's every day lives. It was promotions like this that helped create the large following. Not only did these acts of collaboration benefit 20th Century Fox in the marketing campaign for the movie, but also helped increase sales and brand awareness for the partner company, as The Simpsons' publicity brought attention to them, making the public more aware of the brands.

The next company that 20th Century Fox collaborated with were Burger King. Burger King added an extension onto their website called 'SimpsonizeMe'. This gave users an opportunity to upload an image of theirselves to the site and then see it turned into a computer generated image in the style of a Simpsons character. This promotion was particularly effective as it allowed for involvement and interaction of the audience, which the other synergistic operations didn't so much. This meant that the audience felt more involved in the promotion as they were a real part of it, making them more likely to watch the film upon its release. Of course, the collaboration with the Burger King franchise also increased brand awareness as it meant that Burger King's customers came into contact with The Simpsons' promotions.

Next, 20th Century Fox set out on a whole different set of promotional activities. The idea of these, were to make The Simpsons emerge from a fantasy world into the real world. In order to do this, the distribution company recreated different culturally-popular elements from The Simpsons into real life. The most effective of these was the Kwik-E-Mart, a convenience store set in The Simpsons world, which was recreated to scale in 11 different locations in North America, such as Dallas, LA, Orlando, DC, New York, Vancouver and Las Vegas and acted as a real convenience store that customers could use and buy products (both from The Simpsons, such as Squishee's and Duff beer and from the real world). These stores were strategically placed in these areas, as they are all large cities or states containing a vast population. This way they could target and make as many people aware as possible. On top of this, Kwik-E-Mart gave makeovers to petrol pumps in stations. Once again, this publicity act created the impression that users were a part of the Simpsons world, making them more engrossed in the concept and therefore made them more likely to take part in watching the movie. Another way that The Simpsons movie gained audience engagement was through the use of competitions. The most famous of these was the competition for the winner to host the movie's premiere in their 'Springfield' hometown. This gained a huge following, as to enter the competition, candidates were seeing all of the other promotions around the movie and got equally involved in them all. There were also a number of one-off large scale publicity acts that received an abundance of media coverage and press attention in the run up to the movie release. One of these was the famous chalk-drawing known as 'Homer Erectus' on the side of a large hill in Cerne Abbas, in the UK. 

Each of the aforementioned acts worked together in order to create one of the largest marketing campaigns of any Hollywood film. The fact that the people had seen how much money, effort and resources had gone in to the whole procedure, was probably enough to make them go to see the film on their own. Finally, after the long run of these promotions, the typical movie promotion material was released. Such as the trailer and an extensive amount of movie posters. These topped off the whole campaign and gave the potential audiences a real feel for the movie's content, making the marketing campaign one of the most successful in film history.

Representation of Sexuality Homework

In this extract of TV Drama, Fingersmith, we are presented with three characters: a homosexual female (Maud), an assumably heterosexual female (Sue) and a heterosexual male. The producers have used camerawork, mise-en-scéne, sound and editing in order to represent the sexualities of these characters to the audience. In this essay i will be analysing examples of where they have done this.

Immediately, as the opening scene begins, a long shot is used which quickly cuts to a two shot to introduce the two female characters. We can see from these shots that one of the women, Maud, is appearing the help dress the other, Sue. From this we can see that she feels comfortable in touching her, showing the characters' close relationship. However, whilst Sue is making eye contact, the other girl denies herself from doing so until Sue's eye contact has broken. This may suggest that she feels uneasy or nervous in the situation. After this, a narrator that we can assume to be Maud, the woman at the back of the shot begins to speak (non-diegetic), saying "she looked so beautiful". This accompanied with the soft piano (also non-diegetic) background soundtrack - which could be considered to be of a romantic nature - could suggest that the woman is showing emotional affection towards Sue.  In many of the opening shots, Sue is placed at the front of the frame whilst the other woman (the lover) is placed behind her. This composition along her negative facial expression creates the impression that she feels secondary and insignificant in the relationship. Next, Sue says "oh my goodness miss. I look like a real lady". This makes Maud feel further discomfort and shame, shown by her giving a half smile in response to this statement. This is due to the use of the term "real lady" which Maud may have perceived to mean a heterosexual woman, something that she knows she is not. This may be considered to be conforming to the stereotype that homosexual people are often in denial of their sexuality.

In the following scene, a mid-long shot is used to show Sue asleep in bed whilst Maud is sat up next to her. During this scene, Maud places her hand just above Sue's body as though she has the desire to touch it, but is hesitant and doesn't fully commit to doing so. The use of a zooming followed by a tracking camera movement intensifies this action, and also allows us no observe the facial expression of her as the does this, which appears sad and almost desperate, giving us the impression that she wishes that she was touching Sue for real but she cannot bring herself to and she feels restricted. In addition, she closes her eyes during part of the movement, which gives us the idea that she is imagining touching Sue.  Furthermore, from observing Maud's costume, we can notice that she is wearing a glove. This could represent the barrier in between Sue and Maud's relationship, as it denies them direct skin-to-skin contact with one another. Now, the non-diegetic soundtrack makes use of stringed instruments, which are played in a minor key, further increase the emotion felt on behalf of Maud. In this scene there is only one single shot used, rather than cutting between many, that last approximately 25 seconds. This makes the pace of the scene extremely slow, which not only reflects Maud's relaxed state of mind, thinking of her ideal (to be touching Maud) but also the lust that she feels.

In the following scene, Maud is shown painting Sue whilst she sleeps. A dissolve is used between the two scenes implying softness, which could reflect that Maud feels content and relaxed as she is with Sue. Also helping create this relaxed atmosphere is the use of the asynchronous diegetic sound of birds tweeting, as it aids in giving the scene a very natural tone. Not only does the fact that Maud is painting Sue illustrate her affection for her, but also from the use of Close up shots of her face, we can see from her facial expression and body language that she is taking great care in producing the painting and we can see the detail and intricacy of the procedure, which again shows that she cares about making it good for Sue. Whilst she continues painting, she is interrupted by a man who violently removes her hand away from the canvas and says "she must think we love one another" before continuing to speak in an aggressive tone. These actions conform to the stereotype of heterosexual men, as it shows that the man considers himself to be dominant in the relationship. As this takes place on screen, the tension in the music increases, as it appears to become more minor. To this action from the man,  Maud fails to respond and a shot that was shown before the man was introduced is repeated (Close up of Maud's face) this re-use of the shot suggest that in her mind, she is not phased by the encounter and she wishes to carry on as previous. This implies that she does not care for being in a heterosexual relationship with the man, as she is already focussed on Sue. Her caring for Sue is further reinforced when she says "Wake her. She'll burn", as it shows that she feels responsibility to keep her safe and her well-being good. In return, a mid shot presents the man, who is now standing up, putting his finger in against his mouth and saying "shhh.". Here the non-diegetic soundtrack becomes more tense, as the more stringed instruments (cellos) are introduced. This is another example of where he considers himself dominant as a heterosexual man.

Just previous to this response, a shot reverse shot sequence is used, cutting from close ups of Maud's face to Sue's breasts and then her hands in her lap. When Maud's face is cut to for the third time, she licks her lips and flares her nostrils slightly. Culturally, this body language would indicate sexual arousal. This sequence suggests that she is also sexually attracted to Sue, not only due to this body language, but due to the close up shots of Maud's breasts and hands in the shot reverse shot (sexual body parts). After this, we are shown a series of close up action match shots of paint dripping from Maud's brush onto her dress. The dripping action of the paint had been slowed down somewhat in order to intensify it, so that it appears to become more dramatic to the viewer. This shot sequence tells us that she is completely in awe of Sue as looking at her has distracted her from what she is doing. Also, the slow pace of editing gives us the idea that this was taking place over a prolonged period of time, emphasising this fixation further. Eventually an eye-line match shows Maud and the man make eye contact. This editing process conveys that the man has figured out what's going on. As this happens, the music becomes more tense still, as a low-pitched piano is added. From here the pace of editing increases further as the man grabs Maud by the throat and holds her against a tree. Once again, the way in which the man is coming across in this violent way could be representative of the stereotypes of heterosexual men, that they can be overly dominant. When Maud says "I've lost heart for this" the man responds "lost it to a wretched little fingersmith". The way that he is cursing Sue by the use of the word "wretched" in his dialogue, may show that he is embarrassed about being replaced by a woman instead of a man. He then continues by saying things such as "she'd laugh in your face if she knew", acting as a way of trying to turn Maud against being a lesbian, presenting homosexuality as something that is looked down upon. This may be representative of the era in which the drama was set, as contextually, homosexuality was considered a taboo subject as it wasn't as widely accepted as it is now.

After this, the man leans in to kiss sue, and in return she refuses to make eye contact and then moves away. This shows that she is now accepting of her sexuality, as this is an indication that she has chosen to oppose heterosexuality. In this scene, the same shot is used for approximately 30 seconds, as the pace of editing decreases massively. This creates the impression that Maud's emotions have become more flat and bland as she is no longer around Sue. However, the pace of editing increases again towards the end, after a tilt shot is used to follow the man getting onto his knees before kissing sues hand. There are a series of very quick cuts between this and close ups of sue's face which represent her feelings of fear, discomfort and agitation.

Representation of Ethnicity Homework Question

There are a variety of ethnic groups presented in this extract from Hotel Babylon, a TV drama. The producers of the text have used a range of techniques in order to represent them in different ways. In this essay, I will be analysing how the producers have utilised camera work, sound, mise-en-scéne and editing in order to create these different representations of race and culture.

In the opening scene, the first character that is presented to us is a black male. Immediately, we can observe that he is dressed in formal attire, wearing a suit. From looking at this costume, we can assume that the character has a managerial or supervisory role within his workplace (which appears to be a hotel), this would make him a middle class citizen. This opposes the stereotype that ethnic minorities are generally hierarchically inferior in comparison to white British members of the community. In addition, the character uses politeness features in his dialogue, by saying "thank you very much" before saying "hello" to another passer-by, whilst smiling, showing that he is well-mannered. Also, a long tracking shot is used to show a complete profile of the character, where we can observe his body language. From doing this, we can see that the individual is upholding a strong posture and also the way he places his hand upon his tie suggests that he takes pride in his appearance. Both of these factors once again oppose the stereotype that ethnic minorities (young black males in particular) may not be considered to be as well presented as British working males, due to the ways in which they are often portrayed in the media, where they are commonly associated with wearing hoodies and baseball caps for example. 

After this, a long shot is used to show the man walking poolside when another black male climbs out of the swimming pool and approaches him. The use of this shot allows us to notice the composition of the frame, where we can see the new character climbing out of the pool on his hands and knees, giving us the idea that he has comparably less status than the managerial character, although they appear to be of a similar ethnicity. When the stands from the floor, we are shown a mid reaction shot of the suited man. The use of this shot enables us to notice that he is somewhat startled by this sudden approach. It may be assumed that many black males of this age and size would not be alarmed by an encounter like this, as many would have the preconceived idea that black males may be tougher than many from other ethnic backgrounds. 

After this,a shot reverse shot process (over the shoulder shots) is used to show the two men, who appear to be old friends', conversing. When we can see are shown the new character on screen, we can immediately note that he conforms to the obvious stereotype of a young black male, due to his braided hair style, baggy swimming shorts, bright silver jewellery and tattoos; each of which we might associate with someone with a more criminal or rough background. As he speaks we can notice certain aspects of his sociolect which would further support this, such as "bruv", "blud", "slicked up", "7 years 'man'", "bredrins", "booze", "girls" and "ganja". Meanwhile, the suited man is much more reserved and introvert and from his lack of speech and we can tell that he is the least powerful participant in the conversation, responding with answers such as "i don't know" rather than immediately agreeing. This is also reinforced with by his use of body language, as he often avoids eye contact and is seen scratching his head, showing that he is uncomfortable in the situation. There is a small zoom in the final shot which is complimented by a slight change in the non-diegetic background soundtrack, as it becomes more minor, empty and tense to emphasise this. Previously in the conversation, another long shot is used that allows us to also observe his body language, using his hands to point, as he tries to get away from the conversation. He says "look i better get back to the desk", again showing that he feels uneasy, but also that he is work-driven. However, he is unsuccessful, again showing that he is less dominant than the other male, although he is of a higher class. The use of cutting between the two characters frequently juxtaposes the characters well, and allows the audience to see that although both are of a similar ethnicity, one character conforms to the negative stereotypes of black males whilst the other challenges it.

In the next scene, the first shot is mid shot which is tilting camera movement is used (low to high) to show two women carting a trolley through the hotel corridor. The use of this movement draws attention to the fact that the trolley contains cleaning products, and that subsequently we can infer (also due to their costume) that the women are maids. When we hear the women converse, it becomes apparent that they are of an Eastern European background, which is stereotypically a common background for a maid or cleaner to be from as it is a routine, low-skilled occupation. As these characters are introduced, there is a change in the soundtrack, as it increases in tempo and makes us feel that something out of the ordinary is approaching. This is confirmed when a close up shot is used to show two stars written on a customer's room card which is being held by one of the maids, who says that the client is "paying double for double". This combined with a close up shot of a pile of cash on the counter inside the room suggests that the two women are driven by having money, which reflects the stereotype that many european workers are poorly paid. 

This is further reinforced when the women then go inside and begin to strip for an asian man who is sat inside the room, showing that they will go to all lengths in order to make money. As they do this, an upbeat, diegetic soundtrack is played as the man turns on the stereo system. As this music plays we are shown lots of close up reaction shots of the man, and the pace of editing increase as the shots become shorter (many around 1-2 seconds). Each of these factors reflect the excitement of the man, illustrating that he is adhering to the stereotype of asian men being very hyper sexual, having extreme sexual fantasies and desires. He doesn't speak throughout the whole scene and looks anxious as he goes to turn the stereo off, which is shown by a tilting close up reaction shot. This suggests that he is lacking in confidence. It is also a common stereotype that many asian men have these kind of personalities, whereby they are very timid and reserved, and he conforms with this. Also, regularly, the scene cuts to a long shot that is taken from behind the man, and shows his position in terms of composure in the room. From this we can see that he is sat down and is therefore lower to the standing women in the frame, giving us the idea that he is less dominant, which further reinforces that aforementioned statement. Throughout this scene, we are also shown close up reaction shots of one of the female maids. The use of this shot allows us to discover how the woman feels about what she is taking part in, which is uneasy and uncomfortable. She then leaves the room, which is shown by a long shot. This action shows us that she is challenging the stereotype, and that not all eastern european women are willing to go to such lengths to earn money.

In a later scene, we are introduced to a new set of characters; a white British male and a female. From the use of formal costume of the characters we can deduce that the male has a managerial position and that the good looking woman is his female assistant which is typical for British men within high male managerial roles. As the pair walk along the corridor, a long shot gives us a sense of their high status. This shot shows the two composed in the centre of the frame, whilst the uniformed subordinate workers walk around them. The couples' body language shows that they have no intention of letting others past them as they walk, and instead they make people go out of their way in order to get past them, such as at 2:28. This presents the British as being rude, inconsiderate and conceited, which is a common stereotype associated with them.

The two then walk in to a kitchen environment, where they are confronted by a chef who we can immediately infer to be Italian, from his accent. He is an extreme example of the stereotype for the Italian man. Firstly, we can see that he is a good cook, as his black costume suggests that he perhaps has the role of head chef in the kitchen. Also, he has the many mannerisms and idiosyncrasies of an Italian man given their culture, such as when he kisses his hand, which is a symbol that an Italian is enjoying the taste of their food and the way in which he is typically affectionate (as most Italians are thought to be) by the way he greets the woman and kisses the other male chef on the head, shown by a mid shot.


After the managers leave the room, some tension between the English and Italian chef arises. This is immediately introduced with a slight change of non-diegetic music tonally, as it becomes more minor in key. After this, a close up shot shows the English chef begin to direct abuse at the Italian. This could portray the stereotype that British like to start trouble. In reaction to this, we are shown a mid shot of the back of the Italian as he retaliates. The fact that he doesn't turn to the English chef shows that he isn't phased by the initial comment. In this retaliation, he remains calm and calls the other chef and 'English pleb'. Following this he states that the chef is an 'English Cretin'. The way he has foregrounded the fact that the chef is English is very stereotypical of those from other background, as generally it could be argued that the English are not very popular amongst other nationalities. In response to this the English chef immediately turns and confronts the man face to face, as the pace of editing increases. This perhaps suggests that the English are often very patriotic and do not take insults about their country lightly. This is emphasised by the use of a close up to show the character's reaction. Finally, we see a mid to long shot in the scene. This allows us to compare the size of the two competing characters, along side one another and makes it noticeable that the although the English man is much larger, the Italian man is still equally dominant, reflecting the stereotype that Italian's have large confidence.

To conclude, a variety of ethnicities are shown in this clip and many of them generally conform to the associated stereotype of each them, due to the way that they are represented using editing, camera work, sound and mise-en-scéne.