Research how a well known film was marketed and promoted

The film I have chosen to research is Toy Story.

One way in which Toy Story 3 has been promoted was through a teaser poster which only consisted of the number 3 written in the classic typeface and colours (yellow and blue) that many people associate with toy story films, the poster only had a date and the tag line along with the number. The tagline was 'no toy gets left behind' this tagline gives the audience an idea of what is going to happen in the last film however it is not specific enough to give the audience an exact answer creating an enigma code, capturing the audience's attention and keeping them interested in what is to come. The tagline also links in the other films where one of the toys has to be rescued by the others.

Other posters when then released showing traditional characters that the audience would expect to see in the toy story films, characters such as Woody, Buzz and Rex. This allowed the original audience to know that the film still contained all the characters that they know and love.

These adverts didn't tell the audience any information just that the main characters from the previous films would be returning for the third instalment of the film.

Another set of posters were released showing new characters getting the new younger audience excited in the film meaning that the film gained a dual audience of new younger viewers and older viewers who watched the first two films when they first came out.

Another way in which the film was marketed was with a teaser trailer. The teaser trailer only showed the original characters and showed them as how older audience would expect them to be, for example Woody being quite bossy and taking control of the situation. This again captures to older audience as they see the characters that they remember from their childhood and how this film will take them back to their childhood


When the official trailer was released it gave the audience a better idea of what the film would be about. It linked in with the other film through the use of what looks like old family footage this allows the older audience member to remember the scene from the previous films but it also allowed the younger audience member to get some background information of the main human character as well as the toys in the film. It shows the audience what happens to the toys with the film and gives the audience some idea of the kind of problems the toys will face throughout the film.


A third way in which Toy Story 3 was marketed and promoted was through the creation of a website specifically for Toy Story.

This website offered fans information about all of the well known characters, it also told audiences how each character was made and the website contain video clips of all the characters that are not part of the films and were purely made of the website

The website also contained information about the new toys featuring within the film. The website contained games that would appeal to the younger audience as they were mainly aimed at them. The website also contains a store where old and new fans of the films can purchase anything from mouse mat to small figurines. The website allowed the audience to keep up to date with everything that was going on with the film and helped remind them of things that happened in the first 2 films. 

Another way Toy Story 3 was promoted was through cross promotion. This came in the form of Toys-R-Us dedication sections of their stores to selling Toy Story Products or McDonald's giving away Toy story characters as part or their happy meal or  Kellogg's creating a limited edition of a cereal for the programme.  All of these made the film stand out and made the film well known as these are all common things that are bought or places that are visited by thousands daily meaning that the film was being promoted in multiple different place not just on billboards meaning that the film was seen by more people than just its traditional viewing audience meaning that lots more new viewers will be interested in seeing the film 

Advertising was very important in promoting the third toy story film however the billboard posters and posters that featured on the side of public transport where very plain mainly featuring just one character and the number 3. This simple design made the poster stand out and as it was a design that people are not used to seeing when the film is an animated people expect to see quite a busy poster with lots of the characters appearing on it. On some buses the poster would take up the whole buses event the windows this would make the poster stand out to drivers as if you were behind the bus or to the side then you could see the poster and it would capture the audience's attention. The poster that featured on the outside of the toys-r- us was the biggest of the toy story 3 posters as it covered all 3 of the front windows and was different to all the other poster as it looked like all the characters where up against the window and then the 2 main characters (Woody and Buzz) then featured on the remaining 2 videos.

A way that the third film was promoted was during Pixar's appearance at Comic-con when they introduced the new characters and the people doing their voices. They also revealed that the first 2 films would be re-released in 3d to join the third film. These where special announcements that were only released at comic-con making it extra special for the fan that were at Comic-con as they where the first to know all of this new information.

Pixar also offered the chance for college students to see the first 65 minutes of the film before anyone else this was done through more advertising as the location and time of the film was shown of flyers for 'pizza planet' a kid restaurant that featured in the first film. meaning that only real fans of the film got the reference and went to see the secret screening. However only college students could see the screening as they had to register on the Facebook page using their valid college student id. This is very clever marketing.

Sexuality in Fingersmith

In this clip the audience are presented with the issue of women, the time period that this clip appears to be set in, around the Victorian era, where same sex relationships were not allowed.  The use of voice overs has been used to give the audience a special relationship with Maude which makes the audience feel sympathetic towards her because she is having to contain her feelings and cannot let the be shown, the voice over also makes the audience feel like Maude is entrusting the audience with all her feelings that she has not told anyone else. The use of non-diegetic sounds of instruments such as a piano and a violin are used to show that there is a sense of desire from Maude to the other women, this gives the audience the idea the Maude is a homosexual. The scene where the two women are in the bed, the use of the white glove is used to show that Maude is pure and innocent and has never interacted with a person in the way she is, the fact that Maude is also only skimming over the other woman’s body also suggests to the audience that Maude know what she is doing is considered wrong however she wants to do it anyway. The zoom in the follow Maude’s hand down the other lady is used to show that Maude is resisting temptation and not touching her however the fact that they are so close to each other reinforces the fact that Maude has romantic feelings towards the woman. The fact that Maude is still wearing her glove in bed and when she is trying to touch the other women could highlight the fact that she has to keep her sexuality hidden and cannot let it be seen. A fade is used to transition from one scene to another, the fade has been used to provide sympathy towards Maude because she cannot be who she wants to be the fade out may also suggest to the audience that something else happened. The next scene begins with a close up of Maude used to show the emotion on her face as appears to be painting and looking at the woman asleep in the sun, the fact that Maude is painting a natural setting could suggest that her feelings towards the other females character are also natural. The introduction of a male character now gives the audience the idea that a heterosexual relationship could occur as the only romantic relationship the audience has been give up to this point is a homosexual  relationship. The close up of the back of Maude’s body when the man goes to touch her is used to show her flinch and move away from him suggesting that she is uncomfortable with being touched by him and does not want him anywhere near her, this also reinforces the fact that she appears to be heterosexual. The use of the words ‘she must think we love one another’ suggests to the audience that either he knows she is a homosexual or is suspicious of why she is not interested in him, as she continuous to ignore he begins to get more annoyed with this may give the audience the idea that something bad may happen between the two of them.  The first time we heard Maude speak to the male character it is about the other female character showing the audience that she cares about the other female character but not so much the male character as she does not speak to him. The shot reverse shot between the sleeping woman and Maude reinforces the idea that Maude is a homosexual due to the fact that the she is looking at her chest and her hands that close up of Maude’s face allows the audience to see her reaction of what she is looking at. The medium shot of the man looking at Maude shows his reaction when he sees Maude looking at the other female character. The shot reverse shot sequence between Maude, Maude’s dress, the other female character and the male character has been used to make it clear what each character is looking at it, it has also been used to allow the audience to see the multiple things going on in the scene in a very short amount of time. The red paint dripping onto her dress could be foreshadowing that something bad or dangerous is going to happen to Maude as bad and dangerous are both connotations of the colour red. The tracking shot of the man pulling Maude away from the painting has been used to show the haste that the man is pulling Maude away with, like he needs to talk to her urgently.  The man places his hand around Maude’s neck showing that danger that was foreshadowed just a few shots before.  The medium close up of the male character going into kiss Maude and her turning her head shows that she is only doing this so that he does not out her to the other female character, the fact that she will not let him kiss her reinforces to the audience that she is homosexual and does not want to be involved in a heterosexual relationship. As the man removes Maude’s glove it is as though he is riding her of her innocence and purity, however the glove is not fully removed from Maude’s hand suggesting that not all of her innocence and purity have been taken away some of her innocence and purity still remains. The shot reverse shot has been used again here to go from the man to Maude and then back to the man has been used to show how uncomfortable she is with the situation that she is. The scene then fades out to another scene where a point of view shot has been used to show the audience exactly what Maude is looking at, the clip then changes angles to Maude so that the audience it is Maude looking at the girl before returning to the shot of the other woman. The scene ends with a close up of Maude with her gloved hand in front of her face which seems to suggest that she wishes she had her innocence back and had not let the man take it.

Ethnicity in Hotel Babylon

Ethnicity in Hotel Babylon

The clip begins with an establishing shot show a smartly dressed man doing his day to day routine at work. The male is a black male but does not follow the stereotypical view that many people hold towards black people. This is shown through his costuming, the fact that he is wearing a suit and the fact that he appears to be very kind and caring. However another male then enters the scene and this character seems to conform to the stereotypes that many people have about black people. This is shown through the way he speaks as he tends to speak using slang and the fact that he talks about drugs. The men contrast each other from the way that they speak, one very formal the other very informal, to their hair ,one is short and the others hair is in plaits. Shot reverse shot is used to show the conversation going on between the 2 characters. Their facial expression also add to the conversation but also how the characters feel it is obvious that the man in the suit is uncomfortable with what the other man is talking about and does not really want to be involved in the conversation that is going on as it is about a part of his life he is obviously trying to forget due to how different the men are from each other. The costumes that both the characters are wearing also links to the fact that they are either conforming or opposing the stereotypes applied to their ethnic group. The man in the suit is represented positively because he looks very professional and is giving people the opinion that he has worked hard to get away for the stereotypes that everyone has about his ethnic group whereas the other character is conforming to the stereotype that people have about his ethnic group meaning he is negatively represented.

In the second narrative introduces 2 female characters, they are shown working as cleaners which many people associate as a job that many foreign people hold. This is a negative representation of them as not all foreign work in the service industry.  As they begin to speak and two foreign accents can be heard clearly showing the audience their ethnicity. One of the ladies is very nervous compared to the other one suggesting that one is used to the situation that they are both in whereas the other is not. Multiple shots are used to give the impression that the cleaners are doing something that they should not be, something sexual, this is shown through the medium close up of the man in a dressing gown sitting on the bed and the close up of the money. The fact that one of them runs out of the room shows her positively as she is leaving the stereotypes behind and does not want to be seen as all the other people that fall into her ethnic group however the fact that the other maid stays into the room shows that she is happy to falling into that ethnic group as she wants the money due to the kind of job she is currently employed in. This is a negative representation as it shows the women to be so desperate for money that she will do anything to get a bit extra. The location and costuming reinforce that the women are still at work due to the fact that it is set in a hotel and are both still wearing their uniform

The third narrative code is introduced through a conversation between a 2 smartly dressed characters one male and one female, their conversation appears to be about other workers at the hotel, the female character appears to have a higher status than the male character because she tell him that he is worrying to much showing that she has the power over him but also that she is not worried about the other workers situation. When they enter both chefs are working on different sides of the room and are wearing different colours, one is wearing white while the other is wearing black, this reinforces the fact that they don’t get along and that they don’t want to be in each other’s company. When the chef in the black outfit speaks a foreign accent can be heard this shows that he is from a different county however when the chef in the white speaks a British accent can be clearly heard. The chefs appear to get along with each other while the two authority figures are in the room but as soon they leave both the chefs begin arguing. The foreign chef appears to be more dominance in the kitchen due to the fact the smartly dressed women calls him ‘Mr’ as a sign of respect.  The fact that they start arguing represents both the ethnic groups in a negative way due to the that they argue and makes them look very argumentative and difficult to work with which a stereotype that many people have about working with foreign people.  The close up of the knife in the foreign chefs hands also has a negative effect on his ethnic group as they are then seen as violent and a thread as it is implied that he is threatening the other chefs life due to the fact that the chefs are in an argument when he picks up the knife.