MEST 1 Cross Media Study-Toy Story 3

2) How are texts in the three platforms constructed?

Disney Pixar promote Toy Story 3 through print, broadcast and e-media. Print media such as colourful billboards and magazines are used to attract a young audience. Broadcast media such as trailers and cinema release dates are available online (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435761/releaseinfo). E-media such as Facebook and Twitter have Toy Story 3 sites which allow fans to interact.

Print:

The official Toy Story 3 magazine has easy to read formal language. This is because its targeted for children and specialises for their needs e.g. games, puzzles, interactive quizzes. The codes and conventions of a magazine is to inform as well as entertain children in particular. Empire magazine also conducted an interviw with Tom Hanks who plays Woody in Toy Story 3 (http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=24621). Reviews of the film also contain formal language as it targets adults more than children, examples are The Guardian (broadsheet newspaper) where information about the cast, certificate, narrative and ratings are given (http://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jul/18/toy-story-3-film-review). Within print, the official magazine is obviously promoted differently from the Empire magazine as they target different audiences. The Toy Story 3 magazine targets children and Empire targets an older C1-D audience.

Broadcast:

Talk radio interviews with director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla Anderson have taken place on BBC Radio 1Xtra (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00923z4). This is in the form of a question and answer interview, where exclusive information about the film can be revealed. Television also offers exclusive interviews with the cast along with behind the scenes on BBC One. Radio interviews tend to target an older aydience whereas children would be more interested in watching exclusive scenes on television.

E-Media:

YouTube offers several cast interviews and behind the scene exclusive footage. The Toy Story 3 website offers instant interaction with audiences e.g. games, competitions, video clips and quizzes. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter also offer interaction with an older audience as they have the chance to like pictures, videos and leave comments.  Reviews of the film also contain formal language as it targets adults more than children, examples are Rotten Tomatoes where information about the cast, certificate, narrative and ratings are given (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/toy_story_3/). The Toy Story 3 website targets children as it offers interactivity relevant for them e.g. games and competitions, whereas social networking sites target an older audience as they have the opportunity to leave comments and their thoughts on the film.

The similarities of the three broadcasts are that they all offer useful information to audiences related to Toy Story 3, e.g. TV and the internet show trailers and the official magazine offers information of the official website where the trailer can be watched. The differences between the broadcasts are the audiences that they target. For example online social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter reach a 15 and over audience, however the Toy Story 3 print magazine is made to target children. E-Media is better at reaching audiences rather than print as it is usually free, and widely/easily consumed.