Avengers AssembleThe Avengers (original title)

GENRE: Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi

SYNOPSIS: Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki and his army.

CAST:

·         Robert Downey Jr. – Iron Man

·         Chris Evans – Captain America

·         Mark Ruffalo – The Hulk

·         Chris Hemsworth – Thor

·         Scarlett Johansson – Black Widow

·         Jeremy Renner – Hawkeye

·         Tom Hiddleston – Loki

·         Samuel L. Jackson – Nick Fury

Many of the characters have previous starred in their own feature film, for example;

·         Iron Man, Iron Man 2 (Robert Downey Jr. + introduction to Scarlett Johansson)

·         Captain America: The First Avenger (Chris Evans)

·         The Hulk (The actor playing Bruce Banner has changed from the 2008 film starring Edward Norton, and is now Mark Ruffalo, which could confuse viewers)

·         Thor (Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston + small introduction to Jeremy Renner)

Nick Fury has appeared in all of these films, either at the end or after the titles in a short 'sneak peak' clip that most cinema-goers wouldn't have seen. He recruits each hero into his team to create the Avengers ensemble like in Stan Lee's comics.

The film already has the fan bases of each film and more promintently, each character. These characters have featured in comics for decades and have appeared in children's TV series and have a huge comic fanbase. Because of this, these fans will be intrigued to see how the Avengers are portrayed in a huge Hollywood film, therefore generating prospective viewers before they have seen any form of trailer.

The film has been anticipated for a few years after the hints and connections were made in films such as Iron Man and Iron Man 2 in which Captain America's sheild was in Tony Stark's possession. In Captain America, Tony Stark's father played a key roll, and in Thor, Hawkeye was already working towards stopping Thor from revealing himself.

Paranormal Activity

The impact of new technology on media industries...
With the introduction of many new technologies over the past years, media industries such as the film industry have suffered noticeably. I believe that this is primarily because of the Internet. Films are so widely available on the Internet on websites such as Lovefilm and Blockbuster where the public can order a film which is delivered to their door, meaning they don't even have to leave their homes unlike going to the cinema to see a film. Piracy has also become a lot more prominent, whether that is in the form of a copy DVD or films be leaked on internet websites where they can be watched by anyone. This therefore disuades people from going to the cinema to see a movie, which can also be quite expensive, and not worth the hassle. Because of this, production companies have to come up with new techniques and exciting concepts in order to appeal to the public. To do this, they have made the most of new technologies such as social networking to appeal to as many people as possible worldwide.

The use of new technology to facilitate more accurate targeting of specific audiences...
As each new technology is introduced, the media industry try to incorporate each one into their distribution in order to gain the attention of a wider audience. Things such as iPhones and iPads from Apple have brought about the production of apps, which have revolutionised technology, giving the public quick and easy access to almost anything on their mobile phone. Many production companies create apps that are related in some way to their soon to be released film, in order to generate interest. Also, social networking sites have played a huge part in distribution as they are the prime tools to use to advertise a film. Just one person hearing about a new film and posting a status can be broadcasted to hundreds, and on websites such as Facebook, groups and pages can be made for films which can be liked/followed by anyone worldwide, updating each person's news feed with news of the film. Using Paranormal Activity as an example, they made the use of Twitter in order to advertise, resulting in the hype of the film's experience trending worldwide for several days.