Unit 26 Assignment 3

Film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt2

Movie posters:

 

Film pictures: 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt2 trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NYt1qirBWg

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt2 trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_kDb-pRCds

The target audience for Harry Potter as whole film series were originally aimed at Children, it is just a happy accident that they are now popular with a wide spectrum of ages.

Because Harry Potter has many different elements in it's storyline that can be liked by all, the films aren't aimed at a specific genre or age.

The Genre for this film has been described as Fantasy. But there are also some comedy, thriller and horror elements to it.

The plot of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt2: "The final chapter begins as Harry, Ron, and Hermione continue their quest of finding and destroying the Dark Lord's three remaining Horcruxes, the magical items responsible for his immortality. But as the mystical Deathly Hallows are uncovered, and Voldemort finds out about their mission, the biggest battle begins and life as they know it will never be the same again." - IMDB plot summary

The psychographics of Harry Potter are that they are aspires and mainstreamers.

Marketing and Success

 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt2 Ron
(x)

This poster has definitely been altered to appeal to a certain audience. 

The 'IT ALL ENDS' font looks slightly chiseled, kind of like the sort of font that you would usually see on a gravestone. And of course the actual text 'It all ends' signifies that this is the pinnacle film. The fact that the Harry Potter films already have a really large fanbase means that some aspects of the poster were altered to make it appeal to that already existing fan base. 

The red fire setting in the background connotates to meaning danger or action. This is giving a good indication of the genre of the film, action. In this poster of Ron Weasley we can see that he is looking into the off screen space. This intrigues the audience as to what exactly he is looking at. His facial expression is quite serious, showing that this isn't going to be a comedy type of film, it's appealing to action fans. Ron has been altered to look rugged and attractive. This is to draw in younger females and get them interested in the film because they see something that they like. Also for guys it could be something that they see and want to aspire to be like. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt2 Hermione
(x)

This poster has a close up view of a youngish womans (Hermione) face. The picture has obviously been altered for the same reason that the first poster was, to draw in younger males and get them interested. For females they will see this girl looking attractive and pretty and want to aspire to be like her. Again the main focus in this poster is Hermione. She is looking into the offscreen space. This gives off an air of mystery as you don't know what she is looking at, but if you go and see the film then you can find out. The scenery behind her is ruins of a building this intrigues the audience because they want to know why the buildings are in ruins. It excites them because it gives the impression that there has been quite a lot of action for the scene to get in such a broken way. The 'It all ends' text size is big and silver to stand out and draw the already existing fan base in that have been there for the start and are beyond excited to see it end. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt2 Harry
(x)

This poster has a very close up, altered view of Harry Potter, the main stars, face. He is a handsome young man with no visible flaws. This is because they have been edited off. The lightning scar on his forehead is there to excited the already existing fan base. The scar is very prominent and means a lot to the fan base. Again, Harry is looking into the off screen space, this makes the audience wonder what he is looking at. Harrys face is very dirty and it looks as though he has been through a lot. This gives the indication that there will be a lot of action scenes in this film, which makes us go on further to say that it will be an action film. The lightning scar on his forehead also isn't something that you would normally see, there is an air of fantasy about it because you don't usually get lightning shaped scars on peoples foreheads. This is appealing to the fantasy loving audience.


Overall I think these film posters were majorly successful. Obviously the fact that there was already a huge existing fan base helped a lot in drawing in new people because of the hype that surrounded the films. People that weren't perviously interested may have been draw into watching it due to the fact that this was the last film for it. The film posters have quite a simplistic design, like it's not loads of different things that you have to focus on it's quite clear and straight forward what the film poster is advertising and that it's the last one in the series. The genre can quite easily be guessed in these posters even if you have never seen the films before. These are a couple of reasons as to why I think that these film posters were successful.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt2 sales figures:
Opening weekend US/Canada: $169,189,427
Opening weekend Worldwide $483,189,427
News stories about all night queues: (X), (X), (X)


Comparison

I am going to compare Harry Potter to Twilight.

Twilight and Harry Potter get compared all of the time, perhaps because of how similar their marketing campaigns were.

For example, Twilights movie posters featured the young attractive cast all flawless looking and stuff. As did Harry Potters. Here is a couple of Twilight posters.

As you can see the Twilight movie posters are all very heavily edited to make the characters look young and attractive. They are trying to appeal to younger members of the public so that they will see these young attractive people and aspire to be like them. Making them want to go and see the film because they feel like they can relate as they are young as well.

The psychographics of Twilight are Aspirers and Mainstreamers.

They used Posters, Press Junkets, Trailers and Competitions.
Also special events, all over different cinemas they played all the Twilight films in order and then at midnight they premiered the last ever Twilight film. This created a lot of hype and lead to more people going to see the last film.

Overall I would say that this campaign was successful because a lot of work went into marketing it. Even a big news story about Kristen Steward cheating on Robert Patterson with the Director (or something) of the film and even though this was a bad thing it still made a lot of people who hadn't seen the film before want to go and see it purely because of this. But yes the marketing was very big and it was hard to not know what Twilight was during the time of cinema release.


audience reactions;

Reviews

Audience responses

Fans review/reaction to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows PT 2: (X) (X)

Articles about Harry Potter fans: (X) (X) (X)

Audience theory

The Harry Potter fandom identify themselves as Potterheads.

The fans have made so much Harry Potter related content themselves here are just a few examples:

A very potter musical: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmwM_AKeMCk

A very potter sequel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OepW-AG-Ris

A very potter senior year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a81FO-2TxNg

There are many different Harry Potter conventions going on around the world. Even more so now that the films and books have ended. Here are a few of the conventions that take place every year:

The leaky cauldron convention: http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/conventions

The Misti convention: http://www.misti-con.org

A guide to Harry Potter conventions: http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/conguide.shtml

Harry Potter theme park in Universal Orlando Studios: https://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/

Fans like Harry Potter because they see it as an escape from the real world. Here are a few quotes from Harry Potter fans as to why they like the films and books:

"I like Harry Potter because it transports me to another time and place. It creates a world separate from this one that I can escape to and join in on adventures with the famous trio. It also has an element of realism to it that I find refreshing. Main Characters can die, and you never know what can happen next. The magic that surrounds the series is utterly amazing."

"I love Harry Potter because my family grew up with it..I was very little when the first book came out and everyone would read the book in my family and we all loved it. Everyday that a new movie comes out we go and see it the very first day..it's kind of like a tradition! I have now read all the books and own all the books and movies and I will be there at the grand opening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and so will the rest of my family. Because this series has been going on for so long you start to feel like you know the characters and when it's over, i'll be sad. This probably sounded really cheezy but my Harry Potter loving family and friends agree 100% haha."

"The HP saga is an amazing story of courage. Harry grows from the ignored little boy that he was to an icon of courage as he realizes into what place he has been put regardless of whether he chose it or not. He faces this with resolve, even if he has some stumbles along the way. And, he does this with two of the most loyal friends ever written."

The fans have so much power on their hands that they could even drastically change a film if they really wanted to. They go from being the audience to being the film makers themselves.
An example of this is when Warner Brothers announced Ben Affleck to play the new batman. Hundreds of Batman fans protested and made petitions online and all of this chaos happened overnight.
If fans don't like something and they give a strong enough reaction to it then they have the power to change it. The audience are all film critcits and if they don't like something then the film will crash and burn and the producers wont make as much money.

IMPROVEMENTS:

Trailer analysation:


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt2 trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NYt1qirBWg

00:08: The logo for Warner Brothers appears but it's been edited to look very dark and rusty and gothic, this backs up the impression that it's going to be quite a dark film and would interested people who are into those types of films.

00:17 and 00:27: The text on screen reads 'Every moment he's lived (00:17) has lead to this (00:27) This appeals to the already existing fan base of Harry Potter. This reminds viewers of the trailer that it is definitely the last film in the Harry Potter series. Usually last films get more hype around them so this was a good move as it gives off an air of excitement about how the whole series is coming to an end.

0:28 to 0:32: It shows the Quidditch pitch in the first film, which may bring back some nostalgia to the already existing fans of the film, then after it shows that Quidditch pitch burning down. This is a shock tactic that's meant to surprise the fans and entice them into wanting to go and see it more.

1:09: It shows a very small clip of the 3 main characters (Harry, Ron and Hermione) standing in a sort of triangle trio type way. You can see all of them even though they are meant to look dishevelled and dirty they still all look quite perfect and attractive. They are also young. This appeals to the aspirers of the films because they see them looking young and attractive and want to be like them. Therefore they will go and see the film because they feel some sort of connection to them.

 The sound throughout the second half of the trailer is really violin heavy and the pace of the music is quite fast and dramatic. This gets people pumped up to see the film and along with the scenes on screen it fits quite well with the music and further gives the impression of an action heavy film. This appeals to Action fans who may see this trailer and then go on to see the film because they know from the sound and the action on screen that they will probably like this movie.

The colour throughout the trailer (for example at 1:10) follows a really dark gloomy theme the whole time. The colour wash in this trailer all the way through is a mix of greys and blacks and really dark subtle faded blue. This further backs up the impression that the film is not going to be a happy friendly film it's definitely going to be a sad angry action fighty type genre. This will entice people who like that type of genre into actually going and watching the full film.

The camera shots throughout this trailer make the younger actors in this film the main focus point on the shot. This is to interest people who see this trailer and may subconsciously want to go and see the film because they want to be like the actors in this film. This technique appeals to the films main psychographics which are aspirers and mainstreamers.


More examples of competitions and other techniques the film producers used to market the films, merchandising and tie ins with other products:

Competitions: 

Harry Potter studio tour: http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/win-a-trip - This is a contest to win a trip round the harry potter studio tour in London.

Win a trip to the HP Theme Park: http://harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/harrypottercompetition - This is a contest to win a trip to the Harry Potter theme park in Orlando

Win a wand: http://the-leaky-cauldron.org/fun/contests/monthlywandgiveaway - This is a contest to win a pre-crafted wand will be randomly chosen by Wizard Wood Wands each month.

Merchandise Tie-ins: 

Iphone and Galaxy phone cases from the official Warner Brothers website:

Harry Potter Ipad skin: 

Harry Potter macbook laptop skin:  

Fandom:

A fandom is a large group of people who all admire and are fans of a particular thing. You can have many different types of fandoms for example fans of a film, fans of a person, fans of a book. You can even have a bedroom fandom.

A fandom isn't merely just being a fan of something. People who are in a fandom usually immerse themselves in that fandom. For example the Harry Potter fandom has a lot of different types of fans in that fandom. You get the people who are just a fan of the films and books. Then on the other side of the scale you get full on obsessive fans.

Wikepida explains very well fan activity in a fandom:

"Members of a fandom associate with one another, often attending fan conventions and publishing and exchanging fanzines and newsletters. Originally using print-based media, these sub-cultures have migrated much of their communications and interaction onto the internet, which they also use for the purpose of archiving detailed information pertinent to their given fanbase.

Some fans write fan fiction, stories based on the universe and characters of their chosen fandom. This fan fiction can take the form of video-making as well as writing. Some also dress in costumes("cosplay") or recite lines of dialogue either out-of-context or as part of a group reenactment. Others create fan vids, or analytical music videos focusing on the source fandom, and yet others create fan art. Such activities are sometimes known as "fan labor" or "fanac", an abbreviated form of the phrase "fan activity." The advent of the internet has significantly facilitated fan association and activities. Activities that have been aided by the internet includes the creation of fan "shrines" dedicated to favourite characters, computer screen wallpapers, avatars. Furthermore, the advent of the internet has resulted in the creation of online fan networks who help facilitate the exchange of fan works.

Fandom is sometimes caricatured as religious faith, as the interest of fans sometimes grows to dominate their lifestyle and fans are often very obstinate in professing (and refusing to change) their beliefs about their fandom. However, society at large does not treat fandom with the same weight as organized religion." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fandom

You can find great examples of different fandom's on certain websites. For example there is a website called Tumblr where many fans come together and share things that they have made for a particular fandom. Other members of this fandom will see this and 'reblog' (share it on their blog page) this picture to share with other people. If you go to Tumblr there is a search bar in the top right corner of the page and searching 'Harry Potter' will bring up posts that people have made about Harry Potter to contribute to the fandom. 

It is important for films to create a fan base for their films because fans are basically what holds a film together and what determines a films success rate. If a film has no fans then it won't be successful therefore it will crash and burn and they will lose more money than they will make. Also if they don't have a fan base for the film then their film will be quickly forgotten and a sequel won't really ever be successful. 

Whereas, if they do have a fan base, then they can definitely make a lot of money off of the fan base. If they have a fan base their film will be very popular and attract a lot of attention from people not in that fan base who may wonder why this film is as popular is it is. More attention means more viewers and more viewers means more money. If they have a big fan base they can milk the life out of that film and sell every type of merchandise under the sun. For example, shirts, posters, toys, bedding etc. This could also make a sequel work. And all of this will just make them piles and piles of money. Which is what they want. 

So this is why I think that films need to have a fan base. 

Fans love for Harry Potter:

There is a whole blog page for why people love Harry Potter, they post different images like these: 

These images have been made based on messages that they get from fans saying why they love Harry Potter. (Blog: (X)

Here is a really long blog post about why this particular fan loves Harry Potter so much: (X)

A tribute to 33 things a fandom loves about Harry Potter: (X)

I think that Harry Potter fans have engaged so much with this film because firstly it's a good film series and quite easy to like. There are many aspects that can be liked by all. For instance if you don't like the films then you can always read the books. 

Also I think fans of the film have engaged with it because they feel like it's an escape from the real world and it's also a way to meet new people. They like it a lot because magic isn't real but the books and films take the reality away from that and it opens up an exciting new world for the fans. The fans can create so much content of their own through this film. For example, they can do fan art of the film. They can write stories of their own like spin off short stories. They can do fan made videos. They can cosplay. 

I just know that a lot of people really like Harry Potter and it's made their lives a lot better and this is all down to how well it was marketed because if there was no marketing for Harry Potter then not a lot of people would of even known about this book and wouldn't of been able to become that engaged in the film.

Overall I think Harry Potter has an excessively large fan base and it's not going to be a film that will be forgotten thanks to the great marketing campaigns and all of the publicity it has gotten.