Task 2: Discuss Technology (P2:U24, M1:U24)

Learning Outcome 1 (U24):  Understand the products that are produced within and across media industries. 

P2 (U24): Explain the use of converging technologies within an identified sector.
M1 (U24): Discuss how the industry has utilized developments in technologies. 

Definition of converging technologies:

Technological convergence is the coming together of many technologies. These are then created into a product which its goal is to make people's life's easier but also very efficient for big industries. An example of this product is the smartphone. A smartphone can do many things, call people, use the internet, entertain, watch TV, calculator, maps, calendar and many more things which are convenient for every day life. This advancement shows the importance of technologies and how things can be done in a non-traditional way which is beneficial as it facilitates completing tasks.



Converging technologies are also used in the media industry for pre-production. There are many ways in which technologies facilitate and speed up work flow for employees. For example when creating forms like risk assessments, location recci's, mood-boards, scripts, storyboards and many more, a computer can be used which has features such as word documents, Photoshop and many more programs and apps that can speed up the work flow. An example is if the mood boards are hand drawn and the artist commits an error that means that they'd have to re-create it. 

But when using a program like Photoshop you can edit or rub out mistakes very quickly meaning that rectifying mistakes within the media industry can be cost and time effective as extra resources won't have to be used. The pre-production stage needs plenty of team work meaning that people have to access the same files and information in order to work and follow certain ideas. This can be done by using the internet which is another convergent technology. So for example if a risk assessment is conducted on the location which the company needs to film on, the staff entitled to making the set less of a hazardous place they can use the internet and access the same file and see what they need to do. Another project management tool can be a website called Monday.com which allows a team to see what task each person completed or need completing. This is very beneficial as it avoids confusion between people as it has a clear layout, this then means that the team won't lose time over things which can delay the production schedule and go off track. There are many more examples of project management programs and apps that can facilitate this stage called Wrike, WorkFront, Diligent and Smartsheet. A computer and smartphone are getting closer and closer meaning that eventually a smartphone can do all the tasks that a computer can do plus all the other tasks that a regular phone can do.

Production wise, convergence affects greatly many as many things can also be facilitated within this stage. Now to create an award winning film you don't the most expensive and big equipment as many filming companies want to be efficient and save as much possible money. Smartphones now days are getting better and better at filming. This means that if the production team is creating a low budget film this can be achieved by using a mobile phone as you can record in really high quality. You then can upload it from your phone to the internet where you can download onto a computer. Before computers were created editing was really hard and time consuming. Basically technological convergence allows for more freedom in the production stage and for a lot of funds to be saved if needed in other departments.


Finally for post-production there are many methods and tools that can help a team polish and finish their products. For example programs now allow you to cut, insert transitions and many other cool effects which a long time ago was not possible. Also with the boom of the internet you can find many free editing software's that are really good meaning that anyone can create a film. Also as mentioned before image editing programs such as Photoshop allow's people to create anything efficiently. The point is that all these things are accessed through one technology, making everything so much easier and cheaper for production companies. Programs in this stage can vary from Photoshop, Davinci which is a free video editing software, final cut pro, Sony Vegas, Lightroom for effects, Adobe Illustrator and Cinema 4D. All these programs are what shape films by adding gfx, sfx and many more features in the post-production stage. Without converging technologies none of these would exists meaning that many things in the film industry couldn't be done. 

Thanks to developments in technology in the recent years, advertising has changed for ever and can only keep improving. Today creating or advertising a product without technology is practically impossible. Advertising and production companies within the media industry have seen the potential with convergence which helps them deliver a better quality product to their audience but also means that they can reach more people around the world. Most of these platforms that these industries are using are cheap meaning that they can maximize profit and reach many people efficiently. New technologies are constantly developing and converging to make people's life's easier but also help everyone connect and create opportunities. The smartphone is basically an everyday device that society uses. For example an industry could use an app for basically every stage in production to complete a full video advertisement. Companies are always trying to develop new cameras that are ideally small whilst still having having the abilities of a proper camera. This will allow for equipment to not be a big problem when going somewhere to film, and also saves times when n filming because the camera will not need to be prepared of positioned, simply just picked up and filming can begin. It is also easier to get better shots from tricky angles when the cameras more convenient to carry. Some video makers, who are most likely to be on a low budget, can even do all the steps on a single piece of equipment, that being an iPhone or an iPad. All it takes to put together the whole advertisement is Apples iMovie application which allows users  to film a video, and allows them to edit the footage as well as add sound effects/ visual effects and more. They can even distribute using the same piece of equipment, by uploading the video to youtube and social media platforms.

Let's take an example like Marvel, they're a big brand and trying to promote their newest film of the 'Avengers'. They can advertise and promote all their products through one device such as a smartphone. A phone is connected to the internet which is how Marvel get their promotion across. Most technologies these days are connected to the internet meaning that they can get their product anywhere. This means that anyone living in a developed country has access to this information. Nonetheless, you can access many media's from within your phone. For example you can access social media, YouTube, E-commerce websites such as amazon where Marvel sell their merchandise, TV streaming, pop ups when browsing the internet, applications related to the film such as games which can push notifications to your phone and many more ways to promote their ways. There's also traditional ways of advertising such as posters and billboards but they still have references to their social media's, youtube or website. Technological convergence helps industries like Marvel to reach massive audiences through just one device meaning that its cheap and efficient for them. Also by reaching a vast audience this will increase sales and box office for the company. 

Without technological convergence things would be very expensive as back when technology didn't really exists the only way film industries could advertise their products was through traditional methods such as posters, newspaper adverts and many more that took plenty of time and resources as they didn't have efficient methods within pre-production, production and post production to do things faster and cost effective. As mentioned before convergence has made human life easier in general but even easier for big media companies to promote, produce and develop their product. 

Thanks to converging technologies now businesses and industries can reach many audiences really easy resulting in the increase in sales and profit. Another positive aspect for the marketing and advertising industry is that with converging technologies creating and promoting products is cheaper and more efficient than ever. The next  step is for example Adobe has been spending a lot of time integrating all of its acquired technologies into one solution. This will facilitate the rate of production but also will make the marketing and advertising industry more efficient as they'll be able to pump more products out and reach more people. Thanks to convergence now the industries can do things that you weren't be able to do 10 years ago. 

                  

Marketing products is now easier than ever thanks to convergence. Thanks to smartphones which has access to pretty much anything within modern world that companies can deliver all their products through one device. This is beneficial as companies can save a lot of advertising money in more traditional ways which aren't as effective as they once were. Radio, TV, News, Magazines and Newspapers can all be accessed digitally through a device making marketing easier and more effective than ever.