A2 MEDIA STUDIES CASE STUDY HARRY POTTER 8 - OFFICIAL TRAILER

Transcription

1 A2 MEDIA STUDIES CASE STUDY HARRY POTTER 8 - OFFICIAL TRAILER

2 INDUSTRY - BACKGROUND The Harry Potter film franchise is based on the popular series of 7 novels written by British author, JK Rowling. A potted history of the books can be gathered by watching the trailers to all 8 films (book7 was split in two). Harry Potter - all 8 trailers

3 Harry Potter - all 8 trailers

4 GENRE IMDB lists the film as Fantasy / Adventure / Drama It has at its heart a host of Generic conventions that place it in the Fantasy genre. The main characters are young Wizards, aided by older Sage-like mentors using spectacular Magic spells to battle supernatural monsters and evil Wizards. The locations visited are a mixture of magical and mundane. The narrative is a classic Good vs Evil struggle, full of emotional drama with moving life and death struggles. The film is full of Iconography associated with Fantasy, castles, forests, magicians with wands, special effects heavy magical duels, supernatural creatures.

5 NARRATIVE Summary This film is the last instalment of the major Hollywood tent pole series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is a 2011 epic fantasy film directed by David Yates and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the second of two cinematic parts based on the novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling. The epic story continues to follow young Hero, Harry Potter s quest to find and destroy the evil Villain, Lord Voldemort s Horcruxes as the Dark Lord and his minions try to destroy Harry Potter and his outnumbered allies. The story combines magical elements of High Fantasy, quest aspects of adventure, coupled with intense emotional Drama with beloved character deaths. The film has a large ensemble cast, and stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry s best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

6 NARRATIVE Structure Exposition: Harry and friends go to Gringotts to get a Horcrux Development: Harry and friends apparate to Hogsmede and meet more allies to help them liberate Hogwarts. Complication: Voldemort s army besieges Hogwarts. Complication: Malfoy almost stops Harry destroying a Horcrux. Complication: Voldemort kills Snape & Harry learns the truth about having to die. Complication: Harry meets Voldemort and is killed by him, chats to dead Dumbledoor. Climax: Voldemort storms Hogwarts, Harry returns and battles Voldemort and the villains are finally defeated. Resolution: In an epilogue set 20 years later Harry + Ginny, and Ron + Hermione send their kids to Hogwarts. Conventions Narrative codes

7 REPRESENTATION People: Whilst there is a traditional view of the text, with the audience being positioned behind the central characters of Harry, Ron & Hermione, along with the rest of the most popular house, Gryffindor, there are those who see the antagonists as being portrayed positively as interesting villains. Gender representation is mixed. There are traditional aspects, the main hero, villain & false hero are male, whereas other roles are shared; there are male and female sidekicks, father figures. The representation is that of the central characters being young and cool whereas the older generation of wizards are represented in a more traditional and old fashioned manner. The Places seen in Harry Potter are a mixture of the everyday, the mundane, the world of the Muggles, and these are contrasted with the magical world, the places such as Hogwarts, Gringotts and the Ministry of Magic and exotic versions of real life, schools, banks, and the government. Try to apply the Propp character theory to Harry Potter 8

8 Hermione Bellatrix Professor Ron Lord Harry Granger Le Strange Snape Weasley Voldemort Potter

9 9 How Many of You Have already heard of Harry Potter?

10 10 How Many of You Heard of Harry Potter from A friend, A colleague, A family member, A stranger, Or by any other source other than an ad or marketing effort?

11 That Tells Us Harry Potter grew to be a global phenomenon through word-of-mouth marketing by consumers. 11

12 The Boy Who Lived It all started with a train ride 12

13 Add a few Dashes of Serendipity 13

14 Dash #1: The Idea The purest stroke of inspiration I ve ever had in my life. - J.K. Rowling 1990: 24-year old Joanne Rowling imagines Harry Potter out of thin air. 1995: Destitute single-mother completes the final draft of the first Harry Potter book. 1996: Rowling visits the library to get publisher addresses. She submits Harry Potter to one and is rejected. The second accepts. 14

15 15 Dash #2: The Literary Agent Early 1996: Byrony Evans of the Christopher Little Agency notices Rowling s submission. Late 1996: After 12 publisher rejections, Barry Cunningham of Bloomsbury accepts Harry Potter and the Philosopher s Stone. 1997:Joanne becomes J.K. Rowling. 500 copies published for $6,500 advance.

16 16 Dash #3: The U.S. Publisher 1997: Arthur Levine of Scholastic stumbles on the first Harry Potter book. Pays $105,000 advance for U.S. publishing rights. Late 1997: 70,000 copies of the book sold in Great Britain ($7,500 to Rowling). July 1998: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets debuts in Great Britain at #1. August 1998: Book 1 released in U.S. as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer s Stone. Late 1998: 190,000 copies sold in U.S.

17 Sales keep going up July 1999: Scholastic release second book in U.S. and third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, released in Great Britain (sold more than 60,000 copies in first three days). September 1999: Third book released in U.S. Late 1999: Harry Potter books are worldwide bestsellers with nearly 30 million copies in print in 27 languages. Rowling receives first royalty check over $1 million. 17

18 Movie Studies Come Calling : Movie studios pitch Rowling who refuses offers from several studios. Warner Brothers agrees to meet her requirements and movie and merchandising contract signed for $1 million. July 8, 2000: Fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, released around the world at midnight. November 2001: First movie opens. November 2002: Second movie debuts. June 2003: At midnight around the world, book five, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, launches. Early 2004: Rowling launches website at jkrowling.com. June 2004: Third movie debuts. 18

19 Demand Continues to Rise July 2005: At midnight around the world, book six, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, launches. November 2005: Fourth movie debuts. May 2007: Wizarding World of Harry Potter announced. July 2007: Fifth movie debuts. November 2008: Sixth movie debuts. 2009: Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens. 2010: Seventh movie debuts. 2011: Eighth movie debuts. 2012: Pottermore launches. 19

20 20 Harry Potter Books by the Numbers U.S. only Book Date First Print Run Amazon / B&N Pre-orders First 24-hour Sales ,000 n/a Unknown ,000 n/a Unknown ,000 n/a Unknown million 760, million million 1.4 million 5.0 million million 1.5 million 6.9 million million 2.2 million 8.3 million

21 The Brand that lived I could not possibly have had the expectation that we d be printing 12 million copies for one book. That s beyond anyone s experience. I would have had to be literally insane. - Arthur Levine There is no financial reward in children s books. - Barry Cunningham 21

22 Selected Harry Potter Advertising Spending If Word of Mouth advertising is said to be the best form of advertising, why spend this much money on advertising your product? Source: Nielsen, July 2000 news release Book advertising = $3.5 million Movie advertising = $142.7 million DVD/video advertising = $68.5 million Merchandise/cross-promotion advertising = $54 million 22

23 1. Consumers Build Brands Emotional involvement Relationship brands Branded Experiences Consumer control, not company control Lead to Brand Loyalty, Brand Advocacy, and Word-of-Mouth Marketing 23

24 2. Word-of-mouth Marketing Start with a good product and a brand story to tell. Don t give it all away. Add a viral component. Allow a sense of community. Join the conversation. 24

25 Fans Take Control & Make Harry Potter Their Own 25

26 Social Media Embrace Influencers Fans sites, fan fiction, fan art, fan blogs, etc. Scholastic and Rowling originally sent cease and desist letters. Recognize and embrace influencers and advocates. With a multi-million dollar budget to spend as she pleased, Cindy Gordon of Universal Orlando Resort instead told just 7 people about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. And within just 24 hours 350 million people around the world heard the news. All by telling just 7 people.

27 4. Perpetual & Tease Marketing Heighten the online buzz and word-of-mouth Watch this space hooks online Countdown clocks online and in stores Midnight release parties and embargoed book deliveries Movie details released in bits and pieces Casting information Set stills Storyboards Limited appearances by J.K. Rowling 27

28 5. Integrated Marketing Unify efforts through consistent communications and messaging. Surround consumers with branded experiences so they can self-select how they want to interact with or experience the brand. Times Square Jumbotron ads Knight Bus in London The Apprentice Contests Artificial supply limitations led to massive pre-orders Price discounting, product tie-ins, and promotional discounts at store level for differentiation 28

29 People look for new ways to experience and share the brand. 29

30 30 Pull marketing as the catalyst. Customer demand drives sales, not marketing tactics. Harry Potter fans demanded more and more and more! Social media offers a place to listen to consumer demands.

31 6. Brand Consistency and Restraint All brand touch points must communicate consistent brand message, image and promise. J.K. Rowling as brand guardian and brand champion Brand restraint means not overextending the brand -- No Harry Potter on Happy Meals Less merchandised than many other brands at time such as Shrek and Cars Limiting brand extensions left fans wanting more and fed into pull marketing/tease and perpetual marketing strategies 31

32 Potter, Potter everywhere! 32

33 Consumers made Harry Potter a global phenomenon. 33

34 Content Creation & Curation Pottermore Content creation and curation Crowdsourcing Community development Little new content required for Pottermore to create virtual world. Doors open to create new content online and offline by J.K. Rowling, experts, celebrities, and so on. Examples: Financial sites, Web MD, Baby Center, AARP Content feeds integrated marketing. Curate and syndicate content from multiple sources like media sites do. The Daily Beast built its business from curation. Bloomberg uses Acquire Media for syndication. 34

35 crowdsourcing Not all content needs to be created by the brand or company. Benchmark American Express OPEN Forum, The Huffington Post. Crowdsource for Pinterest, Facebook, and more content 35

36 Community Development Communities used to exist on fan sites and at fan events. Pottermore puts some control back in the hands of the brand by bringing community to branded destination. Focus on growing relationships and emotional involvement through the Pottermore online community and beyond. 36

37 Pottermore s first 14 days Pottermore launched with content for the first book only and limited interactivity with a tease of more to come. First two weeks after Pottermore launched: 22 million visits 7 million unique visitors 1 billion page impressions Average visitor viewed 47 pages Average visitor spent 25 minutes on the site 5 million people registered 250,000 registered members had been sorted into Hogwarts houses. 37

38 What s Next for Harry Potter? Only J.K. Rowling knows what she s willing to allow for the Harry Potter brand. Consumers still want more from the brand. Confirmed brand extensions for the future include: Wizarding World of Harry Potter expansion in Florida coming soon! Wizarding World of Harry Potter brought 68% increase in attendance to Universal Orlando during first two years. Wizarding World of Harry Potter going to other Universal locations like Japan and Los Angeles. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a follow on 25 years later about Harry s children, initially to be run as a West End stage play, with the script released as a book but with no official plans for it to be turned into a film And then comes Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them A prequel set some 75 years in the past where characters like Albus Dumbledoor are in their youth. 38

39 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: The Marketing Campaign Teaser Poster Teaser Trailer Website Main Poster Full Trailer T.V. Spot Publicity and Promotion

40 The Teaser Poster 1 This poster shows the picture of Harry Potter; it will be instantly recognised by fans of the genre. The poster is very dark which represents evil, a major theme in the film, and Harry looks extremely distressed which shows that he is up against a great challenge. Very little is revealed in this poster which leaves the audience wanting to know more about the film, which may encourage them to visit the website shown at the bottom which builds synergy. Production companies are shown at the bottom which may be recognised. There are several other similar posters each with a separate character, which may encourage the audience to look out for the many varieties of the poster for their favourite character.

41 The Teaser Poster 2 This poster shows the destruction of Hogwarts, an established icon of the Harry Potter series. It would immediately catch the eye of the intended audience, and the special effects also make the poster stand out; for people who have come to love the series may be very shocked by this image, and it would be very memorable. The title is simply HP7, in the famous typeface Harry Potter. It keeps the poster simple and it is iconic, so it is easy to recognise it as another Harry Potter film even from a distance. The tagline emphasises the fact that this is the final instalment of the series, so people may be interested in seeing it to find out how the story ends. The release years for each part of the film are shown, so audience members can know when to see the film. The website is shown to generate synergy and production companies are given, as audience members may recognise them.

42 The Main Poster This poster depicts the three main Harry Potter characters running away from something. It is a very exciting and dynamic freeze frame and thus shows off the film s action elements. The desperation in the characters faces show that they are running for their lives which proves the film will be exciting to watch. The subtle red sparks on the picture represent danger which further shows how exciting the film should be. The tagline shows how this will be the epic finale of the series, which may encourage the audience to come and watch it to discover how the story ends; its other purpose is to remain in the minds of the audience so that they remember the film in future and a brand image can be built. The release date is given which allows the audience to know when they can see this film, and production companies are shown so the audience can see that the film is the work of professionals, so should be good. The title at the bottom uses an already established icon of the Harry Potter series so the audience can immediately know what film this poster is advertising. The poster was also adapted for use on busses to grab even more attention.

43 The Website The website experience begins with the film s full trailer to immediately grab the attention of visitors. There is a menu feature that allows visitors to simply explore the site. Every background on the site is one of the film posters, creating synergy. The consistent use of the HP7 symbol symbolises the film and may help the audience to remember the website later on. The about page consists of the film s synopsis, so visitors can find out what the film is about and make a judgement as to whether they should see it or not. It also includes a list of famous actors in the film, so visitors may recognise them and feel more inclined to see the film. The gallery page shows iconic screenshots from the film, where the downloads section allows visitors to customise their computer with Harry Potter themed images. This allows the visitor to remember the film well, and IM icons may also spread the word through social networks. The videos section shows Harry Potter trailers which are entertaining for the audience to watch and create synergy by leading the audience to this form of advertisement as well. Videos Downloads Gallery About

44 The Teaser Trailer This trailer gives a sneak preview of the film, with many iconic scenes so the audience can see roughly what the film will be like. It is used to inform the audience that the film is coming out soon, and to begin hype. It includes the release month, so the audience can know when it will come out. It doesn t tell much about the story so as not to give too much away, but it does show some scenes that establish the film s genre and themes. The use of wands and spells immediately evoke the genre of fantasy, and the theme of magic. The action adventure genre is represented by the depiction of chase scenes, fights and the large scale destruction, and the fast-paced scenes prove the film to be exciting.

45 The Full Trailer The full trailer is full of action scenes that show that the film is exciting, and immediately interests any action lovers in the audience. The fantasy genre and magic theme are set up with the use of wands and spells etc. There are many fast paced parts of the trailer which keep the audience interested; the fact that they enjoyed watching the trailer may mean that they want to see the movie itself. There are many scenes of conflict, especially between Harry and Voldemort giving an obvious good vs. evil idea to the film. The narration explains the story to the audience without revealing too much. The audience may recognise many of the characters, so if they liked the previous Harry Potter films, they may be more likely to watch this one. The trailer fills the audience in on all the important details. The release date is shown so the audience knows when they can watch the film, and the production companies involved are also depicted; the audience may be more likely to see a film by a well known production company like Warner Bros. The title is the same as on the poster to maintain the brand image, and the website address is given to create synergy, so the audience can find out more if they so wish.

46 The T.V. Spot The T.V. Spot is a summarised version of the full trailer so it can be shown on T.V. It shows snapshots of key scenes in the film in a more brief way than the full trailer. Airing it on T.V. would have attracted a very large amount of attention for the film, so most of the public knows about it. It shows all the necessary information, but faster so it can all be fit into a 30 second spot.

47 The Premiere The premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 was held on the 11 th November 2010, and featured many of the actors from the Harry Potter films. A lot of awareness is created for the film as many people went to the event to see the actors. This would have lead to huge media coverage on the topic, creating huge awareness of the film. The media spreads the news of it free of charge which makes it even better for the film s profits. Merchandise A lot of merchandise has been created, based upon the Harry Potter films to further increase their awareness and popularity. Examples include models of magic wands, sweets featured in the film (e.g. chocolate frogs) and Hogwarts uniforms. This mainly targets younger fans, but older collectors may also be interested. Merchandise develops popularity for the film, and creates interest about it among new audiences, in this case younger children. Purchasing the merchandise may make the buyer feel more a part of the story, so they may feel more inclined to see the film.

48 The Wizarding World of Harry Potter The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a theme park in Orlando, Florida, and not only brings in extra revenue for the film s creators, it provides great publicity for the Harry Potter movies with an entire themed castle and village. It helps to spark an interest in the film series saga in those who don t already like it, and it generally raises awareness especially through the large amount of news coverage on the subject; this is a brilliant method of publicity as the newspapers and news programmes don t even have to be paid to spread awareness of the Harry Potter series. This park allows fans of the series to discover the world that they have grown to love in fiction, but in reality. A lot of the merchandise mentioned previously is also be sold here to further excite Harry Potter fans. There is an Ollivander s wand shop, a Honeyduke s Sweet Shop, Zonko s Joke Shop, Dervish and Bange s Uniform Shop, Owl Post Office and The Three Broomsticks Restaurant as well as The Hog s Head Pub. All these authentic experiences allow existing fans and new ones to be invited into the world of Harry Potter, which will ultimately lead to a greater awareness and popularity of the Harry Potter films.

49 INDUSTRY - GLOBAL Box Office $1.3 Billion Budget $125 million FRANCHISE Box Office $7.7 billion FRANCHISE Budget $1.1 billion

50 INDUSTRY - REGULATION The BBFC pass this film uncut for 12 / 12A audience and make some comments about the nature of the violence, threat and language in the film: There are some sad moments, particularly when familiar characters are killed There is a sense of threat throughout there is quite a lot of blood on the victim's neck and on the wall behind a single and aggressively directed use of the word 'bitch', during a fight scene. But all fall within the 12A rubric.

51 AUDIENCE - TARGETING As Deathly Hallows is part 2 of a film it should in theory get fans from the first film, and then fans of the first 7 films. Also it can hope to draw in the fans of the successful book franchise. It can hope to draw in fans of the Fantasy genre. As it s a mainstream film release it can hope to bring in a mainstream audience, those want to see what with everyone is talking about. It is also launched as a family franchise, which is a big audience, as is the audience, of which the main characters are in that age bracket.

52 AUDIENCE - POSITIONING Like issues of representation, the majority of the audience are positioned to root for the underdog Harry Potter and his courageous Gryffindor friends. That said, there is a massive following for the bad guys of the films, with massive amounts of Slytherin merchandise being sold around the world.

53 AUDIENCE - SUCCESS Budget $125 million ($250 million for parts 1 & 2) Global Box Office $1.34 billion for part 2 alone. If this film made a $1 billion profit, why couldn t Submarine do the same thing, if it is also a literary adaptation with a British cast set in Britain, aimed at a British audience?

54 AUDIENCE GLOBAL SUCCESS Box Office $1.3 Billion Budget $125 million FRANCHISE Box Office $7.7 billion FRANCHISE Budget $1.1 billion

55 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 What are the reasons for the success of this film? Bullet point a list of reasons, with specific examples, from the following: 1. Genre (Fantasy) 2. Narrative (Climax) 3. Representation (Characters) 4. Industry (Production) 5. Marketing (Campaign) 6. Audience (Fan Base)