The change of the film viewing experience

DISCUSS HOW THE FILM VIEWING EXPERIENCE HAS CHANGED WITH REFERENCE TO WARNER BROS. AND 'THE DARK KNIGHT RISES'. WHAT MAY THE FUTURE HOLD? (MAKE REFERENCE TO FINANCE, ORGANISATION, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, MARKETING AND EXHIBITION?) 


The change in the film viewing experience is undeniable. The amount of time, money, and effort put into to marketing (among other things) are incredible and have completely changed the way people watch movies.

The act of watching a film used to be simple. You heard about a new film (through word of mouth or perhaps an ad in the newspaper) and went to watch it. Now, production companies go to extreme measures to promote and advertise their upcoming movies, always trying to go further than the last. 'The Dark Knight Rises' is a perfect example of this. It's estimated budget was $250, 000, 000 of which a certain fraction was spent on marketing. Warner Bros. created a fake criminal investigation online, encouraging fans to go out looking for batman signs all around the world. Each time one was found, they unlocked a new frame of the trailer. They did multiple other similar things such as posting a encrypted audio file on their website for fans to figure out. They also collaborated with several companies and organisations, creating merchandise that helped with promotion. An example of this synergy is with Burger King, they created a burger called the 'Dark Whopper', advertising it with the slogan 'Bring out your dark side' (alluding to both the burger and the film). They also made clothes, toys, mugs etc. and put promotional posters everywhere. This builds up anticipation from the target audience months before and encourages them to watch the movie. When the time finally comes, an enormous amount of people who were attracted by all the advertising find the need to watch it, and most feel like they need to watch it in the cinema rather than at home which has become the norm. This makes me wonder whether the anticipation or the idea of a film is actually, in some cases, more important than the film itself.

That doesn't suggest that not as much money and effort go into the actual making of the film. Sticking to the example of 'The Dark Knight Rises', over 4 years passed between the moment Christopher Nolan started to write the first draft and the release of the final movie. The amount of thought put into the narrative is evident. Nolan refused to make a third movie unless he had a good enough story to tell. Although many fans were expecting to see the Riddler, he decided to go for a completely different villain: Bane. Bane was the first villain in the trilogy who actually presented a physical challenge for Batman and put his life in danger. This added to the excitement of the viewers, presenting the possibility that, since it was the final movie, Batman might actually die.