Sunday, February 14, 2016

WARP v WORKING TITLE WEB 2.0 comparing social media

Through various case studies I've noted a key difference between the two companies in how their social media operates: scale.

In theory, web 2.0 creates a potential level playing field for Indie minnow and (conglomerate subsidiary) mini-studio alike ... but it still takes skilled, paid operators to create and update content, and respond to user comments/posts ... not to mention doing so in multiple languages (Paul and Les Miserables are just two WT examples which had Facebook accounts in multiple languages; you have to look to the truly weird L for a Warp example: essentially a Greek film, its no surprise to find a Greek language presence!).

Although we do see some very smart content (the Le Donk Xmas card) on some Warp sites, the considerable investment that WT make (encroaching on traditional distributor territory in doing so) on content rich websites stands out: the huge interactive Tinker, Tailor... online/offline game, Hot Fuzz Pacman, Shaun of the Dead Space Invaders... even the Smokin' Aces comic book.

Three basic points:
  1. These combined materials are a vast learning resource freely available to you - the YouTube uploads especially
  2. Warp's shift towards TV (think convergence) is evident based on my sampling today (Feb 14th 2016), with This is England 90 and The Last Panthers most prominent
  3. As I note above, the lack of investment from Warp in maintaining these sites is also clear, with nobody updating the YouTube description for example for at least 6 months!
WARP
THIS BLOG TAG
WIKI 
IMDB (no separate TV division)
IMDB Warp Films US (limited brand)
IMDB Warp X
IMDB Warp Films Australia
THE-NUMBERS.COM
WEBSITE
YOUTUBE
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK 
WARP FILMS 10 (a dead link - they can't afford to maintain hosting fees?!)
TUMBLR (actually Warp Records, no separate Films site, another sign of limited funds; sample: '71 post)
TUMBLR TAG: warp films (plenty of UGC, and links from other companies, such as Australia's Madman Films (Snowtown, Shopping, Partisan all with Warp).

NEWS SITES
VARIETY Leading Hollywood trade magazine.
BFI (Google search) - see their review of 10 key Warp releases.

WORKING TITLE
THIS BLOG TAG
WIKI 
IMDB
IMDB WT2
IMDB WTTV 
IMDB WT AUSTRALIA
THE-NUMBERS.COM
WEBSITE
YOUTUBE
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
TUMBLR - no official page, but tagged a lot (including Working Title Korea) 

BFI 
VARIETY (also a simple search, brings up different results) 


COMPARING WARP/WT FOLLOWER NUMBERS:
Twitter Warp 30k v WT 8k
Facebook Warp 50k v WT 24k
YouTube Warp 666 v WT 388
Instagram Warp 4k v WT 4k
Tumblr numbers not shown
TOTALS: Warp 85k v WT 36k
BUT ... on YouTube views: Warp 159k v WT 466k (on a new channel, launched 2013, replacing previous channels)


WARP
THIS BLOG TAG
WIKI 

IMDB (no separate TV division)
The shift towards TV is clear

IMDB Warp Films US (limited brand)

IMDB Warp X

IMDB Warp Films Australia

THE-NUMBERS.COM
Notably this site only picks up on FOUR Warp films! An indication of their lack of US success (though the likes of TisEng are missing)

WEBSITE
Four social media outlets listed/linked.
Click on the 'read more' link for further screenshots, links and analysis

An ad for their latest TV show autoplays; text highlights the DVD is out March 7th.

A really simple site; scroll to see a screenshot of each production which is linked to a trailer, with further content below. 3 categories (the 3 music docs are under documentary).

Very interesting statement to look into: their TV partnership with ITV global could mark a new outlook, a more ambitious (a term they use here!) outlook ... more like Working Title? '71 was an £8.1m budget too!


YOUTUBE
Lack of updating: TisEng 90 'due to air September 2015'!

Their biggest franchise has the featured, autoplay video; its a TV focus, with Last Panthers focussed on immediately below

By chance I looked it up when they had hit 666
Most of their uploads date to the past 12 months; I've got more Warp trailers in my YouTube playlist than they have in their own channel! Note examples like the 2008 A Complete History..., its trailer only added here 5 months ago. No sign of anything on Partisan, their latest co-production with Australia's Madman Films. A missed opportunity here?


TWITTER
Their main social media? 30.2k followers (less than FB though). Again, a TV focus; US emphasis on the most recent post too, celebrating Warp getting on US TV, just as challenging as reaching US cinemas. Note the highlighted video - well worth a watch...

INSTAGRAM
Once again, a TV focus is clear. Note too: only 1/10th of the Twitter follower numbers.

 FACEBOOK
 Once more, TV to the fore. With 50k likes, this is more than YT (667!), Instagram (4k) and Twitter (30k) combined.

Great example of 'event cinema', and convergence: an all-night screening of the 3 TV series!


TUMBLR warp films TAG
They don't maintain a separate Tumblr account (film news comes from Warp Records Tumblr), but there are plenty of tagged posts, not just UGC but from partner companies, notably Madman Films.
 
I checked just to make sure!



VARIETY
Useful site for industry-focused news
BFI (Google search)
Lots of useful articles like this one from a main funding partner.





WORKING TITLE


THIS BLOG TAG
WIKI 

IMDB
Unlike Warp, WT can more comfortably manage to produce multiple movies and TV series simultaneously

IMDB WT2
2 serious hits from 10 low budget films, a decent return, yet they shelved the label a decade ago

IMDB WTTV 
There have been several TV spin-offs from WT movies: Fargo, About a Boy ... and more will certainly follow.
They've been in TV production for nearly 3 decades! Love Bites is another show they got to multiple series; they've also done historical dramas.

THE-NUMBERS.COM

A fragment of a very long list!
Just look at these numbers - wow!!! Average budget $23m, av US bo $26m, av worldwide bo $80m.




WEBSITE
The website has undergone multiple redesigns. Currently it features a scrolling gallery of recent films, with a thumbnail below of their back catalogue:
The thumbnail gallery includes films in production. You can also use a film picker at the bottom of the page - you'll generally find more than just galleries and trailer, though most also have standalone sites (typically a distributor's job, but WT often get involved in marketing themselves - and its clearly a successful policy).







YOUTUBE
They've launched a new channel from 2013.

Very telling self-description, stressing the awards ... and no mention at all of being British: global success is emphasised!!! Where Warp have particular success through Sundance and Toronto (TIFF), WT namecheck Berlin and Cannes.
 
Unlike Warp, they always have multiple productions to trail and promote



TWITTER - 8K followers

WT have glitz and glamour to the fore, not yet an option for Warp!
More updating; able to highlight multiple films in production/on release.

INSTAGRAM
Their branding includes featuring their extensive back catalogue


FACEBOOK
A lot of the content is shared with/from StudioCanal

They have the option of live streams for red carpets!

They also have separate pages for specific films/TV.

VARIETY
VERY useful to dip into!!!!

A simple search is also worth a try.

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