jungle book recap #3

DIGITAL CONVERGENCE: production, distribution & exhibition

digital convergence - the ability to view the same multimedia content from different types devices, thanks to the digitization of content (movies, pictures, music, voice, text) and the development of connections methods.

Jungle Book 2016

• Streaming Services
• Disney +
• Digital Copies
• Saturation Distribution
• Digital convergent media is very prevalent in people's lives across the globe in 2016
• CGI
• Social Media
• Trailers on YouTube
• Website - 3D Experience of the set
• Older Audiences, Male 

The use of digital convergence presented by The Jungle Book 2016 is one of the factors that positively impacted its success and profit rates. The wide range of technological options and reach increased their ability to produce, distribute and exhibit towards a large audience - thus increasing their profits.

• Word of Mouth
• They could hype up the movie too much
• Lack of regulation
• Piracy

Jungle Book 1967

• Physical Copies
• No DVDs for some time after release
• Human-driven technologies - hand-drawn cel animation
• Multi-plane
• Xerography
• Exhibition dictated by prevalence of technologies in people's homes

The lack of digital convergence presented by The Jungle Book 1967 - directed by Wolfgang Reitherman - is one of the factors that negatively impacted its success and profit rates. The lack of technological options hindered their ability to produce, distribute and exhibit towards a large audience - thus lowering their profits. 

Explain how the arrival of digitally convergent media platforms has impacted on film producers. Refer to Disney and its 1967 and 2016 version of The Jungle Book in your answer.

Digital convergence refers to the ability to view the same multimedia content from different types devices, thanks to the digitization of content and the development of connections methods. The eras in which Disney's Jungle Book movies were produced, distributed, and exhibited influence the amount of digital convergence, if any, they incorporated - thus impacting their success and profit rates.

The lack of digital convergence presented by The Jungle Book 1967 - directed by Wolfgang Reitherman - is on of the factors that negatively impacted its success and profit rates. The extreme lack of technological options in that era hindered their ability to produce, distribute and exhibit towards a large audience - thus lowering their profits. During its production, the film was only able to use human-driven technologies, hand-drawn cel animation such as multi-plane animation and xerography. This proved to be very time consuming and increased the costs of production rates. Moreover, this resulted in only physical copies of the film, that were then distributed to a select few cinemas for exhibition. This hindered their reach for a larger audience, as the physical copies could only go so far and be used for so long. Furthermore, the creation of DVDs was not prevalent until many years after the release of the movie, thus allowing the film to perhaps lose its relevance and hype. With this, it is known that the home exhibition of said DVDs was dictated by the prevalence of technologies in people's homes. 

The use of digital convergence presented by The Jungle Book 2016 - directed by Jon Favreau - is one of the factors that positively impacted its success and profit rates. The wide range of technological options and reach in that era increased their ability to produce, distribute and exhibit towards a large audience - thus increasing their profits. During its production, the film was able to use high quality technologies such as CGI, allowing them to create a more realistic and action filled movie that appeals to a large audience demographic - older audiences as well as younger audiences, and male as well as female audiences. Moreover, their exposure to a wide range of technologies allowed them to produce digital copies (rather than the 1967 version) that then went through saturation distribution in order to exhibit the film at a large number of cinemas and exhibition centers. Another way they used digital convergence to exceed their profit rates, was through social media. By exhibiting trailers through platforms such as YouTube and creating a 3D panorama experience of behind the scenes on Facebook, this allowed Disney to market the movie to a wide range of potential audiences, as well as drawing other demographics that are familiar with these platforms. The 3D experience also appeals to a male, older audience that may be interested in footage of the creation of movies. Another thing that boosted their audience numbers is the fact that digitally convergent media was very prevalent in people's lives across the globe in 2016. Furthermore, their more recent use of streaming services such as Disney + allow them to produce an income from the monthly/ yearly subscriptions and home exhibition (which is arguably more relevant and convenient). Despite this, some negative impacts of this include piracy and a lack of regulation.

In conclusion, digitally convergent media products have proven to have a very significant impact on a movie's profit rates and audience numbers. Despite The Jungle Book 1967's lack of technology - compared to the 2016 version - some of the animating techniques that they used were very new at the time and allowed them to cater the movie to their intended, younger audience.