Minecraft - Mojang

The story of Mojang

Minecraft is a sandbox game, created and developed by Swedish based Mojang Studios.

Minecraft’s Swedish creator, Markus “Notch” Persson started creating the game in May of 2009 

Minecraft’s initial reception wasn’t commercially viable, seen more
as a niche product for players with expert knowledge of computers and programming.

Without the commercial backing of a mainstream publisher, and no money spent on advertising revenue, the game relied on word of mouth between gamers 

Mojang Studios, which is now owned by Microsoft Studios, a division of the parent company, Microsoft. Mojang Studios is their only first-party studio in Europe. Given the nature of the parent company and the loyal fan base of PC gamers, it was in the company’s interest to invest US$2.5 billion to purchase Mojang for long term revenue.

Independent game festival march 2011 met Markus met the press and industry for the first time.

At Game Developers Choice Awards 2011, Minecraft won awards in the categories for Best Debut Game, Best Downloadable Game and Innovation Award, winning every award for which it was nominated.

Markus wanted to keep the company small to keep integrity and personality to his games. 

The Jungle Book Marketing

How has disney marketed the jungle book to maximese audience?

Disney maximized its audience for The Jungle Book 2016 through marketing strategies their first for the movie being during the D23 convention in Anaheim, California in 2015 for Disney fans they showed a sneak peek for the new upcoming jungle book to a 7800 seat arean in 2016 and handing out 1000s of posters. This was presented by 3 stars of the movie Lupita Nyong'o, Neel Sethi and Ben Kingsley who were very well received at the event. This meant that the first social media buzz would be created by the attendees of this convention which would be positive because it was delivered to Disney superfans making the initial responses to the film positive attracting audiences in. Similarly, JB16 used lots of star marketing by in the trailer having sections dedicated to listing all the big Hollywood stars involved and other previous successful movies the directors have worked on. A series of photos was also released in March before the movie’s release of the famous voice actors and their animated characters. This creates the impression to the audience that it must be good because it includes so many popular celebrities increasing the buzz to come and see it because people’s favorite actors are involved. To appeal specifically to adults Disney purposefully animated the characters in the most un-cartoon like way possible to ensure it looked darker and more adult. Jon Favreau made it known to entertainment news sites that it used sophisticated film making techniques to create the animals in order to attract an older audience, so it does not appear as solely a kid’s film. To appeal to teenagers maximizing the audience further, Disney packed the first trailer full of scary moments and hid the musical elements and baloos goofy moments as it was hoped it would spark interest in teens who would influence their younger siblings to see it. To maximize the audience even further Disney aggressively marketed towards men as generally speaking women are more interested by Disney. This included aligning the film with the director of iron man and an extended 3d trailer attached to Star Wars which has a 58% male audience. All these different marketing strategies had the intention of enticing in different groups within society by targeting them in different ways in order to maximizes the audience as widely as possible.

What impact has technology had on the marketing of the jungle book?

The advancements in technology away from traditional film marketing such as posters and trailera mean that audiences can be absolutly maximised. Through technology Disney has been able to reach out to differnet groups in society. For example Disney uploaded an interactive snapchat filter targetted towards teens and young adults. Using different social media platforms such as snapchat means they have a very wide reach to their audience. 

"What's interesting about the film is we are telling an old story with new technology, and that’s bled over into other aspects of film and promotion," Favreau said. "We had an extremely sophisticated technological landscape that we were dealing with day to day as we created the film. Now, as we explore the means by which we share it with people, technology seemed like a very inherent part of the whole live action jungle book movie."

Jungle Book Distribution

Ratings

Jungle Book 1967 : 87% rotten tomatoes

Jungle Book 2106 : 95% rotten tomatoes 

Release                                                                       
Both films were distributed by Disney as Disney own many subsidary brands to lower their costs.

The Jungle Book 1967 was distributed to cinemas and then later in 1999 released on DVD. The Jungle Book was released in the United States on VHS in 1991 as part of the Walt Disney Classics product line and in the United Kingdom in 1993. In the United States, the VHS release sold 7.4 million units and grossed $184,926,000 in 1991, making it the year's third best-selling home video release.Some copies of videotape reoleased at the time were in a double feature with Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar. Produced on a budget of $4 million, the film was a massive success grossing domestic rentals of $11.5 million by 1968. By 1970, the film had grossed $13 million in domestic rentals becoming the second highest-grossing animated film in the United States and Canada.            

The Jungle Book 2016 was also released in cinemas by Disney. The Jungle Book held its world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre on April 4, 2016. It was released on April 8 in 15 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Russia, Malaysia, and most notably in India a week ahead of its U.S. debut on April 15. The release date in India was strategic for the film as it coincided with the Indian New Year and was a holiday in most parts of the country. The film had a special Hindi version with famous actors giving their voices to the main characters, including  Priyanka Chopra as Ka. As the Japanese anime series Jungle Book Shōnen Mowgli had been immensely popular in India in the 1990s, Disney India also commissioned a contemporary recording of "Jungle Jungle Baat Chali Hai" (originally used for the popular Indian version of Jungle Book Shōnen Mowgli), overseen by the original Hindi song's composers Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar, and released it as part of the film's promotional campaign in India.

The Impact Of Competition On The Jungle Book

Disney and Warner Bros. announced their live action adaptation of Jungle Book almost at same time but Disney won the race, because of two reasons:

Disney was only converting their animation movie into live action. The script, treatment, shots etc. are almost mirror copy of the original Disney's Jungle Book (1967). Jon Farveou is a seasoned director who is known for swift production. He had a template to work on from beginning.

Warner Bros. Jungle Book Origins, unlike Disney's version, will be closely following the source material. Rudyard Kipling was a sympathesizer to third world in an imperial age and Jungle Book drew lot of parallels to situation of India during British Raj. The book has many shades and a dancing Baloo and satirical vultures are none of it. Hence WB, is taking its time to give audience an honest to book version of Jungle Book.

"The first trailer for Warner Bros Pictures’ Mowgli was released May 21 2018. Based on the famous Rudyard Kipling story, The Jungle Book, Mowgli mixes real actors with computer-generated animals to tell the fantasy-adventure tale of a boy raised by wolves in the jungles of India. If that sounds familiar, it’s probably because Disney made that exact movie, based on the same source material, in 2016, when it was called The Jungle Book (the same as Kipling’s story). That one was directed by Jon Favreau and featured the voices of Bill Murray, Scarlett Johannsson, and Idris Elba. It grossed nearly $1 billion at the global box office."

In the case of Mowgli, the film was in development before Disney’s The Jungle Book was even announced. But the Disney film was able to get made first, making Mowgli look like the duplicate. Having to essentially re-tell a story told just two years ago by Disney, however tonally different, will make it very difficult for Serkis’ film to perform as well at the box office as Favreau’s did.

Explain The Impact Of Patterns Of Ownership And Control On Film Production

The Jungle Book (1967) was the last film that Walt Disney himself was involoved in producing before his death. Walt Disney was very in  tight control of all aspects of production. Walt wanted The Jungle Book to me a light hearted, musical, family friendly film. So much that he had to drop his original team as they did not fall in line with ideas of this family friendly film as they had made it a lot darker than walt intened. 

The Jungle Book (1967) was animated using the multiplane camera which was the height of technology at its time. The movements are calculated and photographed frame-by-frame, with the result being an illusion of depth by having several layers of artwork moving at different speeds: the further away from the camera, the slower the speed. The multiplane effect is sometimes referred to as a parallax process. Before the multiplane camera, animators found it difficult to create a successful tracking shot using traditional animation methods. Furthermore, the act of animating the forward motion was becoming increasingly costly and time-consuming. The multiplane camera answered this problem by creating a realistic sense of three dimensional depth in a cartoon setting. The multiplane camera also made way for new types of special effects in animated films, such as moving water and flickering light. The multiplane camera made it possible for them to create a more realistc animation with proper depth.

The Jungle Book (2016) however was produced by Jon Favreau. This remake of The Jungle Book has some similarites to the original. However the remake is a lot less child friendly as it has a much darker tone and less music. The remakes pull was also more drawn upon star marketing and focusing on advertsing the a list cast who were involved and rather than the story, because most people already know of the story.

The Jungle Book (2016) was animated using a mixture of CGI and live action, Mowgli being live action and all the animals and scenery being CGI. The film was shot almost entirely in a warehouse in Los Angeles. Jim Henson's Creature Shop was brought in to provide animal puppet figures for Sethi to act against, although none appear in the finished film. They used Maya animation software to create the complicated animal rigs and the RenderMan software, which was developed by Pixar, for the shading and lighting, which was immensely complicated for immersive jungle scenes. One of the most crucial parts of creating realistic CGI animals is getting the fur just right, which includes creating natural movement in real-time. Both movies 1967 and 2016 studied the movement of animals for the most realistic possible animation.

Jungle Book Production

Jungle Book 1967 Technologies

While many of the later Disney feature films had animators being responsible for single characters, in The Jungle Book the animators were in charge of whole sequences, since many have characters interacting with one another. The animation was done by xerography, with character design, led by Ken Anderson, employing rough, artistic edges in contrast to the round animals seen in productions such as Dumbo.

Anderson also decided to make Shere Khan resemble his voice actor, George Sanders. Backgrounds were hand-painted — with exception of the waterfall, mostly consisting of footage of the Angel Falls - and sometimes scenery was used in both foreground and bottom to create a notion of depth. Following one of Reitherman's trademarks of reusing animation of his previous films, the wolf cubs are based on dogs from 101 Dalmatians. Animator Milt Kahl based Bagheera and Shere Khan's movements on live-action felines, which he saw in two Disney productions, A Tiger Walks and the "Jungle Cat" episode of True-Life Adventures.

Baloo was also based on footage of bears, even incorporating the animal's penchant for scratching. Since Kaa has no limbs, its design received big expressive eyes, and parts of Kaa's body did the action that normally would be done with hands. The monkeys' dance during "I Wan'na Be Like You" was partially inspired by a performance Louis Prima did with his band at Disney's soundstage to convince Walt Disney to cast him.

Jungle Book 1967 Reception

• The Jungle Book received positive reviews upon release, undoubtedly influenced by a nostalgic reaction to the death of Walt Disney. 
• It made $378 million at the box office during its release. 
• The song "The Bare Necessities" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 40th Academy Awards.

Jungle Book 2016 Technologies

he animal characters were created entirely in computer animation, with the assistance of footage of real animal movement, the actors recording their lines, and performance capture for reference. The production team underwent a thorough process to realistically convey the animals' speaking, while still making them perceptually believable to the audience. Favreau researched earlier films featuring anthropomorphic animals—including Walt Disney's animated features, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Bambi, as well as modern films such as Babe—and adopted certain techniques from those films into The Jungle Book. Nearly 70 separate species of animals native to India are featured in the film, with several species being portrayed as "150% larger" than their actual counterparts.

Jim Henson's Creature Shop was brought in to provide animal puppet figures for Sethi to act against, although none appear in the finished film. The animal puppets were performed by Artie Esposito, Sean Johnson, Allan Trautman, and April Warren. Favreau utilized motion capture with certain actors, expressing a desire to avoid overusing the technology in order to prevent evoking an uncanny valley effect. For instance, Bill Murray's lifted eyebrow was incorporated into Baloo's facial gestures. The Moving Picture Company MPC and Weta Digital created the film's visual effects. MPC developed new software for animating muscular structure in the animals.Around 1,000 remote jungle locations in India were photographed and used as reference in post-production. Favreau expressed desire in wanting the film's 3D shots to imbue the abilities of the multiplane camera system utilized in Disney's earlier animated films.

Jungle Book 2016 reception

• The film became a huge financial success. It briefly held the record for the biggest remake of all time until the studio's own Beauty and the Beast surpassed it the following year.
• It grossed $364 million in the United States and Canada and $602.5 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $966.6 million, against a budget of $175 million.
• In 2017 the film won the academy award for 'best visual effects'

How Might The Historical Context Of The Jungle Book (1967) And Jungle Book (2016) Have Influenced The Films? How Might This Account For The Differences In Production Of The Movies And How They Were Recieved?

The Jungle Book 1967 main audience was children. It was intended to be a light-hearted movie purely for the entertainment of children. Alleged making money was not the main priority. More imagination was needed in the production process because it was adapted from less light-hearted books, so it was reimagined into a musical children’s story. Due to the time of its release there was no social media or platforms similar to advertise, so advertisements were purply based on the film trailer played in cinema. Although well-known actors did voice characters that was not used as a marketing method. The Jungle book was Walt Disney’s last animation to produce before his death perhaps attracting audiences for the end of an era. The film was well received, it has been widely acclaimed by animators, with Eric Goldberg declaring The Jungle Book "boasts possibly the best character animation a studio has ever done".

On the other hand, The Jungle Book 2016 main audience is not children. The films are marketed towards all ages because of the childlike story however the pull of nostalgia to adults also. The style of animation used in this version is also fairly new and developing in the industry as computer animation and live action form a hybrid. However, when it comes to Disney’s remakes of old classics they are being criticized for lack of imagination as its just recycling old movies which they know will be successful because of the nostalgia. In 2016 there are multiple platforms to advertise on social media helping to create a buzz surrounding its release. Another key factor in their advertising was using big Hollywood names as a pull towards the film as they are associated with success.

What Accounts For Disney's Success? What Have They Done As An Industry To Achieve This?

Disney began his first series of fully animated films in 1927 featuring Oswald the lucky rabbit. Who was later reimaged to become the iconic character Mickey Mouse. Disney was a pioneer in the animation industry and led the way experimenting with new techniques which intrigued audiences because of the new modern technology appeal. They released the first synchronized sound animation with 'steamboat willie'. In 1937 Disney released the first colour animated full-length fil 'snow white and the seven dwarfs' The film was a tremendous critical success, with many reviewers hailing it as a genuine work of art, recommended for both children and adults. At the 11th Academy Awards, the film won an Academy Honorary Award for Walt Disney "as a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field". Then In 1940 Pinocchio furthered the standard for new animation with it being the first complex character rendered in lots of detail. Between 1940 - 1960 the company had a rough period with financial troubles and animators going on strike, that as well as world war 2 with animators being drafted to war. The Jungle Book was Walt Disney’s last film he was in control of before his death. Again, following this the company had a dip in producing hits as they went down more experimental routes with animation and audience targeting a more male dominated audience. However, when Jeffrey Katzenberg joined Disney that’s when things turned around and 'The little Mermaid’ in 1989 paved the way for a new style of successful Disney’s movie with the Disney princesses. Prior to Walt Disney’s death land had been purchased with the intentions of building Disneyland opened in 1955. Since then parks have been opened in Tokyo, Paris, Florida and Hong Kong. Million visit each year worldwide accumulating masses of profit for Disney. In the 21st century Disney has become much more commercialized with merchandising and cruises. Disney have achieved this success by being innovated and following new advances in technology to stay current and attractive to modern audiences. Particularly now in the present Disney is remaking old classics as it is a sure way for success from the feeling of nostalgia felt by those for the memory of the originals.

Evaluate The Relevance Of Livingstone And Lunts Theory Of Regualtion To Long Form Television Drama

Livingstone and Lunt’s theory of regulation argues that traditional regulation is being put at risk by increasingly globalized media industries, the rise of digital media and media convergence. The UK traditional media has government laws and regulation bodies put in place to regulate content that is broadcast to the public such as ofcom and the bbfc. However, the new media companies such as Netflix are globalized meaning that it makes it very difficult for the government to regulate because of the use of proxy servers and vpn which allow government regulations to be bypassed this puts traditional regulation at risk as media is becoming more difficult to regulate. This theory applies to stranger things because as of early 2018 the EU wanted to introduce new laws that breakdown geographical barriers for online subscription services like Netflix. This will give flexibility to customers and may persuade them to use services such as Netflix because of the increased accessibility. This type of accessibility challenges traditional regulation as it is breaking down the reginal laws regarding content to ensure it is accessible. This theory can also be applied to the killing because it was regulated to the standard of that of Danish tv producers DR however when it was purchased by amazon to air on amazon prime that opens it up to the whole world regardless of it meets that countries regulation standard as there are multiple ways in which these regulations can be bypassed through the internet. This disregards traditional media regulations as the globalized media industries introduce a new place of less regulated content.

Evaluate The Relevance Of Gauntletts Theory Of Identity To Long Form Television Drama

David Gauntletts theory of representations argues that the media have a complex relationship with identities. He believes audiences often get a sense of their own identity from the media they consume. Gauntlett also argues that in the past we used to see very straightforward representations especially concerning gender but now in terms of the new media we see much more complex diverse representations. In terms of stranger things this theory can be applied as Joyce Byers is represented as a struggling single working mum which subverts the traditional representations of women as domestic and living in nuclear families. In the first episode we see Joyce frantically trying to make it to work whilst her eldest son has been put in charge of feeding and taking his younger brother to school as she cannot. It shows that she is not a stereotypical domestic mother and she must make sacrifices to work hard to provide for her family. This creates a modern representation of single mothers which may resonate with the stranger things audience. Stranger things have also created a wider identity of people who grew up in the 80’s creating a nostalgic feeling of looking back on their childhood. Stranger Things makes them want to dig out old VHS tapes and go on adventures on your bike. There are so many references to, and similarities to films such as ET, Home Alone, Stand By Me, The X-Files and The Goonies. This generation loved them and its way to revive these memories and get a sense of their own personal identity from this media. This theory can similarly be applied to the killing as Sarah Lund is represented as a strong working woman but in doing so neglects her home life in place of her career. This also creates a modern representation of intelligent hard-working women however you could also argue this furthers the idea that women can not have both a successful career and home life as opposed to men who are often represented in the media as achieving both. Coinciding with Gauntletts theory this is a much more complex female character with perception and intellect rather than a stay at home domesticated woman whose mind and actions revolved around home life.

Stranger Things Overview

Ownership

Who is the owner?

• Stranger things is owned by Netflix a subscription based streaming service.
• Netflix produce many other 'Netflix originals' like stranger things such as 'Riverdale' and 'Dynasty' which have been similarly successful and popular.

How is it funded?

• Funding for 'Netflix originals' comes from the subscriptions that viewers pay monthly to watch Netflix content.
• Netflix diversified by introducing the 'Netflix originals ‘their first being 'house of cards' released in 2013.
• This is because Netflix must pay companies to stream content that doesn’t belong to the. By producing their own content, they can keep it on the site forever with no charge. This is an example of vertical integration.

What aspects of production, distribution and circulation do they own?

• Netflix is the only distributer of its original content.
• This helps fund their products because it attracts more people to watch more Netflix originals thus gaining subscribers to the      streaming service.

How do they reach their audience?

• Netflix has around 100 million subscribers with a global reach however content differs country to country,
• Within its first 35 days on the streaming service stranger things averaged 14.07 million adults aged 18-49.
• Audience is measured by the public by 'Nielsen ratings' as Netflix is based off subscribers not viewership.

How do they maintain their audience?

• Netflix maintains its audience by releasing new series constantly and releasing episodes weekly whilst keeping previous episodes up so you can start watching or re watch whenever you like.
• Netflix uses social media like Instagram, twitter and YouTube to market its content and they are successful in engaging with their audience.

Production

Who produced it?

• Stranger things was produced by 21 laps entertainment a commercial American film and television company.
• They have produced other tv series such as 'last man standing' and films such as 'night at the museum'.

 How much did it cost?

• Stranger things season 1 had about an approximate $48 million budget.
• The cast consisted of famous 80's stars such as Winona Rider and David Harbour. Alongside an unknow group of children such as Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard.
• 100s of crew members were involved in the making of stranger things.

Pre Production?

• Stranger Things was created by Matt and Ross Duffer, known professionally as the Duffer Brothers. The two had completed writing and producing their 2015 film Hidden, which they had tried to emulate the style of M. Night Shyamalan, however, due to changes at Warner Bros., its distributor, the film did not see a wide release and the Duffer Brothers were unsure of their future.
• The premise of stranger things was written around the Duffer Brothers fascination with the cold war and experiments that took place during the cold war such as project MKUltra a mind control experiment thus inspiring the character 11's mind control abilities.
• The concept of the 2013 film Prisoners, detailing the moral struggles a father goes through when his daughter is kidnapped was inspiration for the disappearance of Will and the effect that has on Joyce and Jonathan. 
• Other influences cited by the Duffer Brothers include Stephen King novels and films produced by Steven Spielberg. Such as 'it' and 'stand by me'.
• Stranger things is told throughout 8 episodes which would be unconventional for a regular broadcast tv series however With Netflix as the platform, the Duffer Brothers were not limited to a typical 22-episode format. Eight episodes allowed them to give time to characterization in addition to narrative development; if they had less time available, they would have had to remain committed to telling a horror film as soon as the monster was introduced and abandon the characterization.

Production?

• The filming of the first season began in November 2015.
• The brothers had desired to film the series around the Long Island area to match the initial Montauk concept. However it was difficult to shoot in Long Island in the cold weather, and the production started scouting locations in and around the Atlanta, Georgia area.
• Filming for the first season concluded in early 2016.
• Director of photography Tim Ives shot the first season with Leica lens and the 6K Red Scarlet Dragon to "make sure that our images had the soft and round tones that are in '80s films"; this is achieved through digital image processing. Ives said that these cameras allow them to create an adaptable quality to the recorded film that is adaptable to a wide range of viewing experiences, including support for newer and future television technologies such as high dynamic range video that was just becoming adopted at the time of filming.

Post Production?

• Season 1 was edited by Kevin Ross and Dean Zimmerman.
• To create the aged effect for the series, a film grain was added over the footage, which was captured by scanning in film stock from the 1980s.
• The brothers had wanted to avoid any computer-generated effects for the monster and other parts of the series and stay with practical effects, so they created an animatronic to play the part of the demogorgon. However, the six-month filming time left them little time to plan out and test practical effects rigs for some of the shots. 
• They went with a middle ground of using constructed props including one for the monster whenever they could, but for other shots, such as when the monster bursts through a wall, they opted to use digital effects. 
• Post-production on the first season was completed the week before it was released to Netflix

What was the distribution release strategy?

• The first 8 minutes of season 1 episode 1 was release on YouTube on July 14 2016.
• The whole season consisting of all 8 episodes was then release on July 15th 2016.
• The season was released in keeping with the premise of Netflix’s 'binge watching' nature.

Marketing

Who marketed it?

• Netflix is responsible for marketing surroundign all of their originals

What was the marketing strategy?

• By releasing the first 8 minutes on youtube this creates a cliff hanger enticing people to want to watch the whole series and creating a media 'buzz'. This is a traditional marketing tool.
• Stranger thigns was advertised on social media such as twitter and instagram launching specific stranger thigns pages for fans to interact on.
• The fist post on the 'strangerthingstv' instagram page was posted on the 14th june 2016 only 1 month prior to the 8 minute release on youtube.
• Posters for stranger things were made in the style of fmaous movie posters from the 80's to attract an older audience to feel nostalgic and ebcome interested in the series as it will take them back to the 80's.

What is the role of the audience in marketing?

• Fans become prosumers by creating memes and fan art that circulate the internet which in turn become free press.
• Trending twitter hasttags such as #justiceforbarb start an online buzz which is also free press.

Circulation

Release

• Within its first 35 days on the streaming service stranger things averaged 14.07 million adults aged 18-49.
• It was released in the UK on July 15th 2016
• Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season an approval rating of 96% based on 82 reviews, and a weighted average rating of 8.04/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Exciting, heartbreaking, and sometimes scary, Stranger Things acts as an addictive homage to Spielberg films and vintage 1980s television."
• Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker also applauded the series and wrote, "This is astoundingly efficient storytelling, eight hours that pass in a blink, with even minor characters getting sharp dialogue, dark humor, or moments of pathos."
• In a negative review, cultural critic Grafton Tanner called the series "wish fulfillment" and "a window through which the present-shocked can gaze at a clichéd past."Similarly, Marinna Guzy of The Establishment wrote: "When confronted with a story like Stranger Things, a recycled retelling of an old story being marketed as homage and good, clean nostalgia, one has to wonder whether or not studios and content creators like the Duffer Brothers ever ask themselves whether or not the story they are telling is the one that should be told. What purpose does Stranger Things serve beyond reinforcing the status quo in the media landscape and perpetuating the dangerous delusion that things were better way back when?"

How can it be viewed

• It can be viewed on Netflix.
• The series is released as a whole not by weekly installments.
• You can purhcase stranger things box set or on DVD.

Additional spin off material

• The stranger thigns mobile game was releaesed 4th October 2017. A second game was announced to be released following the 3rd season in 2019.
• Dark Horse Comics announced a partnership with Netflix for "a multi-year publishing line" of stories set in the Stranger Things world. The first title would be a four-issue miniseries written by Jody Houser and interior art by Stefani Martino. The story would be set during the events of season 1, showing Will's perspective throughout his time in the Upside Down. The first issue of the miniseries was released on September 26, 2018.
• With the release of the second season of the series, Netflix also released Beyond Stranger Things, an aftershow hosted by Jim Rash. The guests of the aftershow are composed of cast and crew from the series, including the Duffer Brothers and the series' stars, to discuss the development and behind-the-scenes production of the series and its larger mythology.

Role of the audience in circulation

• Online have created a plethora of digital tools to celebrate the hit show. One popular example, Make It Stranger, is a type generator that allows you to “strangify” any words you choose into the show title’s unique font. These images can then be downloaded, Tweeted, or shared on Facebook.
• The “Stranger Things” synth machine, means you can customize your version of the theme song with Robert Vinlaun’s ramsophone.
• On Reddit this hub of fan activity showcases everything from video essays on ‘80s pop culture to real tattoos that were inspired by the series.

The Killing Overview

Ownership

Who is the owner?

• The Killing is owned by DR which is the Danish broadcasting corporation. It is a public service organisation (similar to the BBC)
• DR have produced many other similar dramas to The Killing such as 'Borgen' and 'The Bridge'.

How is it funded?

• DR is funded through the media license, costing 2.492 DKK per year per household since 2017.
• Revenue also comes from commercial activities such as concerts and events in the Koncerthuset, from book, CD, and DVD sales, and from overseas sales of its catalogue of programmers.

What aspects of production, distribution and circulation do they own?

• DR owns the production and distribution of The Killing.
• It was produced by DR and initially released on DR1.
• Since its success it has been released on Amazon Prime.
• It has also been bought by the BBC and was shown on BBC4 in 2011.
• As well as the UK, DR also sold the series to a number of other broadcasters worldwide, and The Killing was eventually shown in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Russia and Spain with varying degrees of success.

How do they reach their audience?

• DR is a Danish National corporation that reaches all of Denmark.
• The Killing season 1 episode 1 on its release on 7th January 2007 amassed 1,550,000 Danish viewers.
• Season 1 in total amassed around 30 million views.

How do they maintain their audience?

• DR reaches its audience by trailers and advertisements on DRs channels to reach their core audience.

Production

Who produced it?

• It was produced by DR.
• DR is a nonprofit public broadcasting service.
• DR is the Danish national broadcasting service.

 How much did it cost?

• DR dramas typically come in at about €1m (US$1.1m) per episode.
• There is no significant cast member who would have required a large fee. The main cast is Inspector Sarah Lund: Sofie Gråbøl Inspector Jan Meyer: Søren Malling.
• Hundreds of crew members were involved in the production of The Killing.

Pre Production?

• Søren Sveistrup, series creator and head writer, worked closely with lead actress Sofie Gråbøl throughout the writing process to successfully develop the character of Detective Inspector Sarah Lund. 
• Gråbøl had a history of playing emotionally demonstrative characters on Danish television.
• The drama is told in 20, 50-minute episodes.

Production?

• The Killing was filmed in 2006.
• The Killing was filmed and set in Copenhagen.

Post Production

• Editors of the series include Elizabeth Kling and Amy Duddleston.

What was the distribution release strategy?

• DR distributed The Killing onto its main channel DR1.
• The first ten episodes were shown on DR1 each Sunday from early January to the middle of March 2007 and the intention was to show the remaining ten episodes in January–March 2008 however it was so popular in Denmark that in early March it was announced that the final ten episodes would be brought forward to the autumn of 2007 they were shown from late September to late November 2007.

Marketing

Who marketed it?

• DR was responsible for the marketing campaign.
• Traditional marketing tools such as trailers and posters were used.

What was the marketing strategy?

• Audiences were invited to engage and participate through a website made by DR which allowed viewers to answer polls on what they thought was going to happen next.

What is the role of the audience in marketing?

• Consumers of The Killing have answered to a blog set up by the guardian in the UK to discuss what Sarah Lund means to them which brings together a community of people all with a love of The Killing.

Circulation

Release

• The Killing was released in Denmark on 7th January 2007.
• It was released in the UK during the spring of 2011.
• The American version was made in 2011.

How can it be viewed

• The Killing can be viewed by purchasing the seasons.
• It can be viewed on amazon prime.
• On its original release one episode was released weekly on a Sunday.

Additional spin off material

• Due to the success of The Killing in the UK an American version was made by fox to broadcast in the US rather than the subtitled Danish version.

Role of the audience in circulation

• Prosumer content can be found online such as fan made merchandise.
• There is a community online for The Killing mainly located on forums such as Reddit to discuss plotlines and theories of what is going to happen next in the series.

Evaluate The Relevance Of Clay Shirkys 'End Of Audience' Theory To Long Form Television Drama

Clay Shirkys end of audience theory argues that in the 'new' media every consumer is now a producer. Behaviour is variable across different sites, with some of the audience creating content, some synthesizing content and some consuming content. According to this theory user generated content creates an emotional connection between people who care about something. The 'old' media created a mass audience. The 'new' media provides a platform for people to discuss. This theory applies to Stranger Things because fans have taken the content from Stranger Things and used it to produce their own content such as memes, fan art and edits. This is known as becoming a 'textual poacher'. Similarly, on twitter fans have created viral hashtags such as #justiceforbarb and #weareallbarb this allows an entire community to come together of people who all love Stranger Things who can discuss and share ideas and theories. This in turn develops a community known as a ‘fandom’. This can have a positive impact on Netflix because the content the prosumers create acts as free press for Stranger Things exposing the content to an even wider audience. On the other hand, this could also have a negative impact on Netflix because negative reviews and criticisms can also go viral quickly which may deter people from watching. Likewise, with The Killing DR have created their own webpage where viewers can take part in polls to see what the audience believes is going to happen next, however this platform was created by the producers of The Killing DR which does not make it fully audience driven. A blog was also made on The Guardian with this site for people to say what Sarah Lund meant to them, this again is allowing people to come toegther on the 'new' media to discuss their common interests and create a communtiy for The Killing.

The Impact Of Netflix

Netflix and other streaming services have changed the way in whcih we watch television and movies.

Opposed to having to wait every week for 1 episode you can now 'binge watch' entire series that have been uploaded to netflix over as much or as little time as possible.

However "Netflix generates on average roughly 38 minutes of viewing per day in households that have it, linear TV generates more like 3.5 hours of viewing per household on average and well over 2 hours a day even amongst the younger, so-called “Netflix generation”. A billion hours streamed by Netflix compares to 65 billion hours streamed (ok, broadcast…) by linear TV. And although Netflix offers a great service – simple, smart, easy to use and relatively inexpensive, and although some of its original programming is getting widely talked about and often praised for its quality, t here is little to suggest that people are, as yet, doing anything more revolutionary than adding it to their existing TV diet."

Because services like netflix make their revenue by monthly subscriptions, and only streaming content which they must pay to stream whilst also not being able to keep the content, Netlfix has began creating netflix originals such as 'stranger things' where it is produced and distributed solely by Netflix meaning they do not have to pay to stream it.

Stranger Things Advertising

• A variety of methods were used in advertising stranger things such as TV/social media/word of mouth

• Stranger Things created a mysteriously placed billboard for Hawkins Power & Light around New York and Los Angeles, and made it interactive with a working 1-800 number. Callers initially heard menu prompts and on-hold music -- which gave way to the Stranger Things theme and clues about season two.

• The 80’s music in Stranger Things 2 played an important role in setting the scene. With Spotify’s new campaign, you can find out your Stranger Things character match. Just log into Spotify at spotify-strangerthings.com and it will evaluate your music preferences and give you a playlist to listen to based on your character match.

• Stranger Things launched a 360-degree virtual reality video that boasts over 2 million views. It allows viewers to put themselves into one of the show's most famous sets. 

• Reebok’s reboot of its Ex-O-Fit shoes. Reebokteamed up with BAIT and Stranger Things to throw it back to when these sneakers were popular. Featuring Dustin’s Ghostbusters-inspired drawings

• The stranger things trailer was uploaded onto youtube to reach online viewers

• The first 8 minutes of episode 1 were also released on yotube before the series release on netflix

• Youtube was an ideal place for the distribution of advertisments as it is free for views to watch and be enticed in but then you must pay netflix to watch the whole series.

• The role of fans plays a bit part in advertising as they become prosumers by creating memes and fan art whci hin turn become free press as they circulate the internet.

• For the release of season 2 Netlflix teamed up with kellogs for a superbowl ad after kellogs eggos had featured in season 1 and although it was not paid promotional product placement the sales of eggos increased dramatically.This is known as synergy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Egf5U8xLo8