Impact of the internet on film and tv

The internet

• The rise in mainstream access to the internet and changes in e-technology is dramatically altering the media landscape.

One of the first films to use internet technology to promote itself before its cinema release was The Blair Witch Project (1999). Internet-chatter was encouraged through the creation of websites and email marketing which implied the film was not fictional at all and word-of-mouth communication spread quickly on the web generating an interest in the film (viral marketing). As an independent production, Blair Witch had a very limited promotions budget and using the internet kept costs down. This culminated in the film being one of the most profitable films in film history – it cost only $60,000 to make but made $30m in its opening weekend in the States alone.

• Films and television programmes are promoted on the internet in increasingly elaborate ways. Viral marketing is now a crucial aspect of film and television marketing and adds new dimensions to audience activity and behaviour.

Cult TV programmes had early web presences – often generated by fans rather than the production companies. These sites provided a communication medium between the audience and producers that had not been available before and in some cases have proved to be very influential. Producers could gauge audience reception of plot/character developments immediately and often use this information in further production developments. Web audiences can also be influential as they can mobilise large groups and several TV series have been re-commissioned following protests from fans after programmes have been cancelled. Family Guy has been saved several times in this way. The TV series Firefly was cancelled mid-way through its first season but on the strength of the fan community (and their dedication to DVD purchasing) Fox invested in a film version of the TV series called Serenity). Interestingly, box office takings were not as important for this product as DVD sales, making the film an advert for the DVD itself.

• A product’s media presence provides a longer shelf life for a media text as it can be available to audiences before and after the broadcast or cinema release dates.
• E-media can provide additional narrative information, wider audience pleasures, reach a broader audience base and be a platform for marketing other related products.
• Television broadcasters allow programmes to be watched on demand online giving wider access to programmes and freeing the audience from the broadcasting schedules.
• Film producers release a range of trailers on the web from initial teaser trailers (often released whilst the film is still in production) to full cinematic trailers which were previously only available in cinemas.
• Secondary texts are created to provide a broader fictional universe, each of which contains background and/or additional information to that found in the media product.
• E-media often promotes interactive audience activities such as games, competitions and forums creating a more active rather than passive audience.
• E-media texts offer rewards and create elite groups who have access to more information and are part of a community.

So – when considering any media text it is not enough to only look at the primary medium. When studying any text, you will need to analyse the primary text, but will also need to look closely at the related media that has been created to support it. Some texts are created by the audience and so social networking sites, blogs and fan-sites are all aspects of media texts. Media producers also use what are usually seen as user-generated content sites (e.g. YouTube) to connect with audiences.

This is applicable to all media forms – not just film and TV fiction. For example:

• Advertising now uses a range of platforms to reach its audience(s) – conventional advertising is becoming less effective whereas the use of internet and mobile phone technology makes it easier to reach specific target audiences.
• Newspapers and magazines offer online content which provides different gratifications to the audience.
• Music websites are as important to artists and record companies as radio play and MTV. The ability to download music has changed the way music is marketed and accessed by the audience.
• Reality TV relies on newspaper and magazine coverage as well as its broadcast programmes to generate audience interest. Websites offer further audience engagement with the text.

This article first appeared in MediaMagazine 29, September 2009.