Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 (Disney/Marvel Studios)

Budget/marketing: $375 million
Projected global gross: $1.2 billion
Revenue analysis: May's biggest grosser is on track to generate
profits upward of $400 million for Marvel and Disney, even after
gross participants -- including Robert Downey Jr. -- take their
fees, along with the $90 million or so owed Paramount because
of its previous distribution deal with Marvel.
The following are how the film industry works and is controlled, dominated and influenced by
different aspects during pre-production, production and post-production, which affects how
successful the film will be.
The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;
Media ownership throughout the world has led many smaller film making companies and films to flop
and fail due to bigger film companies dominating the industry and preventing the smaller films and
production companies from being successful. The production companies that dominate and control
the market include 20th century fox, Time Warner, Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures,
Universal studios etc.

Mark Kermode strongly believe that if a film follows the following steps it is bound to be a success
even if the film is reviewed as poor by its audiences. If the film has a huge million pound budget and is
news worthy it is bound to get peoples attentions and by making the news it acts as free
advertisement globally. If the film includes lots of special effects and is made to look out of this world
by CGI it will also do well. The film must not be a comedy, as they noticeable dont do as well but that
not to say some comedies do not override this. Finally the film must include an A list actor to attract
peoples attention and make people go and watch the film by including his or hers name that is well
respected and regarded as a great actor or actress.
Blockbusters meet all the criteria set by Kermode, which is why they are so successful. Blockbusters
are not only another film but become a major event which all aged go to see as they meet all
quadrants in the four quadrant film criteria. This is why they make so much money due to all
audiences going to watch the film.
Iron Man 3 (2013) was a massive blockbuster and was the finale to the previous two films which had
already been a huge successes. Iron man 3 was produced by two big name production companies:
Marvel Studios and DMG Entertainment. These are both dominating production studios and are highly
renowned for their work. Marvel Studios is a subsidiary of Disney and was distributed by Walt Disney
Studios Motion Pictures. Due to the film having such a backing by two big name companies the film
budget was $200 million. This huge budget enabled the producer Kevin Fiege to but together a great
cast, director and have access to some of the best CGI and special effects. The cast included an A list
actor Robert Downey Jr who is the highest paid actor in the world and an incredible talented actor
who has played the part of Tony Stark and Iron Man in this film and the previous two. The Director
Shane Black is well respected and is known for his skill when directing Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. The film
had amazing special effects, which featured over 2,000 visual effects shots and was worked on by 17
studios. The studios shared some of their files to ensure consistency between the shots. For the Mark
42 and Iron Patriot armors, Legacy Effects constructed partial suits that were worn on set. This film
has a mass audience appeal, which is typical of Hollywood products. This film appeals to such a wide
audience as it meet the criteria of a four-quadrant movie, which means it appeals to males, female
under 25s and over 25s. This means all will enjoy viewing the film. Iron Man 3 appeals to a range of
different demographics by including characters from a mixture of age groups, ethnicities and genders.
The film is also pre-sold as it was based on successful comics by Marvel and here have been two
previous successful films (Iron man and Iron man 2). Iron man is a superhero, which makes it easier
to appeal to a global audience due to all audiences enjoying watching films that have super hero films
in them. Iron man 3 has met all of Mark Kermodes criteria for a successful film as it has a news
worthy budget at $200 million, it includes lots of special effects, in not a comedy but an a action,
adventure, superhero film and science fiction. The film also includes an A listed actor- Robert Downey
Jr. This entire put together made for a successful film which generated an amazing $1.215 billion at
the box office.
This benefits big and market dominating studios, but makes it very difficult for independent and
smaller, non-American films to achieve global success. This also reduces the variety of types of films
available to audiences. This is because market dominating studios make films that appeal to the mass
audience but for people that enjoy cult things they do not have as much choice as these films are not
made as frequently due to lower budgets and hard market to penetrate due big name studios.
The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and
marketing;
Synergy and cross media convergence involve 2 or more products being released together to gain
exposure from each other audiences.
Synergy can most often be used by bigger companies as different elements of them work together to
promote linked products across different media. They have afar more larger effect on the market and
gain a mutually beneficial relationship. Larger companies further benefit through synergy as it boots
there profit through diversity. Synergy works when different companies promote each other and work
together. Synergy is when I range of different companies help to create, manufacture and advertise

different products of the same subject. For example Iron Man 3 uses synergy for films, CDs, video
games etc. each distinct element helps to promote each other.
Media convergence is the combining of 2 or more mediums. Different mediums include TV/ films/
computer graphics/ websites/ advertisement etc. media convergence takes place in the film industry in
production, distribution and exhibition.
The differences between synergy and media convergence is that media convergence involves media
products and synergy can involve non media products such as merchandise.
Synergy and cross media convergence in Iron Man 3. Synergy and cross media convergence was
apparent and used frequently in the previous Iron man films. This time they had to come up with new
methods of cross media convergence and synergy and also use the successful elements of the last
film to help Iron Man 3 be just as successful. Synergy and cross media convergence was used in at
the San Diego comic-con international where a new iron man armour was featured a long side the
Iron mans armour in the previous town films which includes marks I- VII. Also it is present on a panel
where Shane Black, Robert Downey Jr, Don Cheadle, Jon Favreau and Kevie Friege discussed
making the film and several minutes of footage from the film was shown. The film was first advertised
on TV during the super bowl on CBS network in the United States.
Marvel is a Disney conglomerate subsidiary. A conglomerate is a company that comprises multiple
different corporations. The most common type of conglomerate is a parent company with one or more
subsidiaries, which are partially or wholly, owned companies. Walt Disney entertainment purchased
Marvel and now owns it. Marvel uses Disneys studios and facilities for production, distribution and
exhibition. Disney started to buy back distribution rights that Marvel previously sold to Paramount
meaning Marvel no longer needed Paramount for synergy and cross media convergence due to being
owned by Disney. Walt Disney entertainment have many subsidiarys which include, Walt Disney
Pictures, Lucas film ltd, Pixar Animation Studios and Marvel studios making it easy for films to use
synergy and cross media convergence to gain exposure from each others audiences. There are also
many divisions apart of Walt Disney.
Marvel and Disney revealed together on the official Iron Man Facebook page Iron Man 3: Armour
unlock to reveal suits that Tony Stark has made prior to the events in Iron Man 3. Disney also started
to promote at its domestic theme parks where at Walt Disney World Monorail System was given an
exterior Iron Man skin. In addition there was also a Iron Man simulator game which used technology
similar to Microsofts kinnect where you can become Iron Man. The game is voiced by JARVIS and is
based in Tony Starks workshop.
This demonstrates the way in which cross media convergence and synergy allow major
conglomerates to maximise revenue from a film brand, and help a range of subsidiaries to be
successful. The successful use of synergy through marketing and advertisement is another factor in
the continued dominance of the film industry by the Big Six studios, as independent companies do not
have the opportunity or resources to use synergy on the same scale as the studios do to promote
their films.

The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production,
distribution, marketing and exchange;
The introduction of colour to the film industry -Color motion picture film refers both to unexposed color
photographic film in a format suitable for use in a motion picture camera, and to finished motion
picture film, ready for use in a projector, which bears images in color. The first color cinematography
was by additive color systems such as the one patented by Edward Raymond Turner in 1899 and
tested in 1902.[A simplified additive system was successfully commercialized in 1909 as Kinemacolor.

The first motion pictures were photographed using a simple homogeneous photographic emulsion that
yielded a black-and-white imagethat is, an image in shades of gray, ranging from black to white,
corresponding to the luminous intensity of each point on the photographed subject. Light, shade, form
and movement were captured, but not color.With color motion picture film, information about the color
of the light at each image point is also captured. Current color films do this with three layers of
differently color-sensitive photographic emulsion coated on one strip of film base. Early processes
used color filters to photograph the color components as completely separate images or adjacent
microscopic image fragments in a one-layer black-and-white emulsion.
Technological developments include the use of 3D films. A 3D]is a motion picture that enhances the
illusion of depth perception. The most common approach to the production of 3D films is derived from
stereoscopic photography. In it, a regular motion picture camera system is used to record the images
as seen from two perspectives (or computer-generated imagery generates the two perspectives in
post-production), and special projection hardware and/or eyewear are used to provide the illusion of
depth when viewing the film. Some methods of producing 3D films do not require the use of two
images. 3D films have existed in some form since 1915, but had been largely relegated to a niche in
the motion picture industry because of the costly hardware and processes required to produce and
display a 3D film, and the lack of a standardized format for all segments of the entertainment
business. Nonetheless, 3D films were prominently featured in the 1950s in American cinema, and
later experienced a worldwide resurgence in the 1980s and 1990s driven by IMAX high-end theaters
and Disney themed-venues. 3D films became more and more successful throughout the 2000s,
culminating in the unprecedented success of 3D presentations of Avatar in December 2009 and
January 2010.
It also includes 4D films which is an entertainment presentation system combining a 3D film with
physical effects that occur in the theatre in synchronization with the film. Effects simulated in a 4D film
may include rain, wind, strobe lights, and vibration. Because physical effects can be expensive to
install, 4D films are most often presented in custom-built theatres at special venues such as theme
parks and amusement parks. However, some movie theatres have the ability to present 4D versions
of wide-release 3D films. The films Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) and Avatar (2009) are
among the films that have received a 4D treatment in certain theatres.
Blu-ray is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was designed to supersede the DVD format, in
that it is capable of storing high-definition video resolution (1080p). The name "Blu-ray" refers to the
blue laser (specifically, a violet laser) used to read the disc, which allows information to be stored at a
greater density than is possible with the longer-wavelength red laser used for DVDs. The main
application of Blu-ray is as a medium for video material such as feature films and physical distribution
of video games for the PlayStation 3, Wii U, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Besides the hardware
specifications, Blu-ray is associated with a set of multimedia formats. Sony unveiled the first Blu-ray
Disc prototypes in October 2000, and the first prototype player was released in April 2003. Afterwards,
it continued to be developed until its official release in June 2006. Blu-ray faces competition from
video on demand.
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while
being delivered by a provider. The verb "to stream" refers to the process of delivering media in this
manner; the term refers to the delivery method of the medium, rather than the medium itself, and is an
alternative to downloading. A client media player can begin to play the data (such as a movie) before
the entire file has been transmitted. Internet television is a common form of streamed media.
Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the application of computer graphics to create or contribute to
images. The term "CGI" is most commonly used to refer to 3D computer graphics used for creating
scenes or special effects in films and television. Computer graphics software is used to make
computer-generated imagery for films. CGI has become very common in big Hollywood studio
blockbuster such as Iron Man 3. CGI involve very high costs, which means that only major studio
productions can afford to use advanced special effects extensively, creating a barrier to entry to
independent producers.
How this effected the distribution of Iron Man 3. All of these types of multi media distributers and
technology had a large effect on the success of Iron Man 3.

 The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences;
Since the beginning of the making of films the film makers have constantly have to change the ways
in which their films can be shown to their audience. The ways in which the films consumers and
audiences watch the film is constantly changing. Films makers have to constantly keep on making
sure there film is available on nearly all of the media technologies so no audience and consumer is
left out so they cam make a higher profit. Old ways of viewing films include by tapes, traditional film
and videos but these ways of viewing films have been replaced by more modern and digital
technology meaning film makers need to ensure they adapt and meet there new market and
audiences. Common ways of viewing films in the modern day include: DVDs, Blue-rays, online
streaming, downloads and visiting the cinema. Film makers want everybody to watch their film and
especially big Hollywood blockbusters such as Iron Man 3 so to ensure they meet all audiences they
release there films on various different types of technology. People with lower income will also want to
watch the film so cheaper versions of the film are available such as on DVD, renting it or steaming
online. As Iron Man 3 was a big Hollywood blockbuster it was released on to all types of technology.
Firstly it was released in both 2D, 3D and is some specific cases in 4D to cinemas. Then it was
released on DVD and Blu-ray. Followed by being released onto online sites such as Netflix, Love film
which are classed on VOD which is video on demand. Technologies such as tablets, smartphones,
laptops, and smart TVs allow the audience to access film content via the internet which is widely
available meaning more people can view the film so the film makes a bigger profit.

The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences

Due to technological convergence technology and films constantly have to be related together in
every single aspect to ensure no market is left alone. Technology is constantly changing and the way
we can view and get involved with films are also changing due to the changes in technology. One
piece of technology, which is having a major impact on the film industry, is a smart phone. Smart
phones are now like mini computers in your pocket and which a touch of a button you can have
access to loads of information through the Internet, on the millions of apps available and other
aspects to the smart phone. The smart phone allows you to gain access to the news, film apps and
social media which all have a big impact on films in the present day due to nearly all films audiences
and customers having access to a smart phone. Technological convergence has lead to people can
now get VOD on their phone, access to social media apps such as Instagram, Tumbler, Facebook and
Twitter. Video on demand is now a present way to distribute films, which means a wide range of
technologies, have access to it. Popular VOD sites include Amazon Prime Instant Video, Netflix and
Love film. All three of these are available on tablets and smart phones. To ensure films are advertised
through cross media convergence such on the smart phone, films such as Iron Man 3 will need to
have many social media profiles. Iron Man 3 had many social media profiles, which included the latest
news, and behind the scenes Information and information about the film which including images. Iron
Man 3 had profiles on many social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and
Tumbler, this was to ensure that no audiences and potential audiences were left out so they could
maximise there profits. Social networks act as a free way of advertisement as for most it cost no
money to set up a page to display any subject which includes films such as Iron Man 3. As most
people are on multiple social networking sites it offers great opportunities for the film to be targeted to
audiences and for the audiences to be able to interact and respond to the film. Institutions are
constantly having to keep up and stay a head of the came when it come to technological convergence
meaning they often to have to make many changes to the way there film is viewed and advised
however this is of great benefit to the audience as it means that everything is available to them.

The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by
international or global institutions;

Iron Man 3 was released in two different versions. An international version which was produced,
distributed and marketed both the same in the UK and the US. There was also a special version
especially edited and produced for China where the production, distribution and marketing differ
compared to the international version. The main differences are explained below

Chinese version of Iron Man 3 has an extra four minutes of footage

Chinese actors and locations do not appear in the International version
Disney partnered with a Chinese production company to get around strict censorship laws
China co-production also ensures a bigger slice of the profits - 40 percent instead of 25
percent
Film has made almost $100m dollars in China so far in two weeks
China has second biggest film-going public in the world and Hollywood wants access to
billions of dollars for films that become hits

China has the second-largest cinema market in the world, so its no accident that Marvel Studios held
the world premiere of Iron Man 3 in Beijings Forbidden City. It was the first time a Hollywood movie
had been launched in the Chinese capital.
One way in which the film will attempt to outdo last years blockbuster event is by presenting an even
more action-packed finale than the New York battle of The Avengers. However, Iron Man 3 will also
broaden the scope from an American threat to a more global presence. This has, of course, been
somewhat assumed ever since The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) was confirmed to be the films primary
antagonist. That character has his roots in China, and in order to maintain a level of authenticity with
Shane Blacks superhero sequel, parts of Iron Man 3 were even filmed in the country. Commercially
speaking, this would also help the film earn a Chinese release, as the country only allows a limited
number of foreign movies. The film marks the latest entry in Marvels flagship franchise and its first
of two 2013 efforts, the other being Thor: The Dark World so overseas grosses, including those in
the growing Chinese film market, will be a critical part of the success. Therefore, the film will release
different versions in both the U.S. and China. Both will feature Chinese actor Wang Xuegi, but the
Chinese one will include scenes featuring actress Fan Bingbing and additional footage specifically
tailored for Chinese audiences.
From a marketing standpoint, this move is a no-brainer for Marvel. Given the central role that China
plays in The Mandarins backstory and Iron Man comics as a whole, it makes perfect sense for the
studio to release a slightly tailored version of the film that will play up those elements a bit more and
offer an incentive for Chinese audiences to see the film. Its also quite unlikely that any of this added
footage will drastically affect the story of the film or result in any foreshadowing button scenes that
will hint at whats to come in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Targeting and marketing to British audienceAudi has teamed with Disney to launch an integrated campaign to promote Iron Man 3, the Marvel film
which is set to launch next Thursday, 25 April.
This is the first time Marvel and Audi have activated their global promotional relationship in the UK,
which will see TV ads run from tomorrow, as well as a CRM campaign which will give Audi customers
the chance to attend one of 35 special preview screenings around in the UK before the film is
released nationwide.
The deal was developed by Disneymedia+, the integrated ad sales, promotions and marketing
solutions arm of Disney, UK and Ireland, and Audi.
Barnaby Rothwell, director of promotions at Disneymedia+ EMEA, said: As a slick, stylish and
adrenalin-fuelled brand, Audi is a great choice for us to work with alongside the UK release of
Marvels Iron Man 3. The exciting action-packed nature of the film and the Audi brand are both
reflected in the campaigns activity and we believe fans will enjoy these promotional offerings.
Further information on marketing to audienceshttp://www.slideshare.net/vividproduction/marketing-campaign-of-iron-man-3

 The ways in which the candidates own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider
patterns and trends of audience behaviour.
Refer to your own experience as a consumer. Your personal thoughts and opinion. Successful or not
etc.