What is the significance of the proliferation of hardware and content for institutions and audiences?

Proliferation
-The increase in the amount of hardware and content available to both audience and institutions through emergence of new and old media

Production :
Advantages 
-Major film companies can spend more money on production than independent British film companies
-They can have more tie ins and deals and therefore have more cross media promotion of a film.
-They can spend more money on advertising
-They can spend more money in technology within the film - 3D, special effects, CGI

Disadvantages
-There is a pressure to compete against all other films available in a highly saturates market, as audiences can consume films from numerous platforms, so there is a lot of pressure

Case Studies
Skyfall
Due to having a high budget of ……, the production company for sky fall was able to buy more cameras at a cheaper price meaning they could film the same action from multiple angles and shot types making the same action flow better and appear to have a higher production value
Ill Manors
Due to having a lower budget of ….., the producers were able to buy or rent high quality cameras, meaning their resultant footage was of a good quality and they were then able to make a budget

Distribution :
Advantages 
-Majors can spend more on advertising - TV, radio, billboards
-They can use synergy more effectively - video games, DVDs, CDs, books
They can develop more advanced web interactivity
They can print more copies of a film
-Smaller companies can use the internet, TV, mobile, to target niche audience demographics in order to compete with the majors and gain as big an audience as they can.

Disadvantages
-Smaller companies may not be able to print many copies as they may not be able to take the risk without knowing box office returns

Case Studies
Disney
-Disney is a conglomerate in vertical integration. This is because they own lots of different companies in the field. Therefore, when producing, distributing and exhibiting they are able to do it all in the same company. This is cheaper, and easier as they already have access to the different sectors.

Exhibition :
Advantages 
-Proliferation of Hardware and Content is good for Exhibitors because they have access to improved technology such as D-BOX seating and 3D viewing, this is good for them because although it initially costs them a lot to put these features in, it will then return them a good profit.

Disadvantages
-The amount of consumers going to the cinema is reduced because it is now easier to consume media through other devices such as phones, tablets, laptops and even gaming consoles through software such as 'Netflix', 'Love Film', 'Show Box' and many others.

Case Studies
-D-BOX seating - mainly found in London and Glasgow, offers viewers the opportunity to 'feel' what they are viewing

Audiences :
Advantages
 -To watch films before proliferation of hardware you would have to; wait until the film came out in the cinema, wait until in came onto video or DVD to watch at home, film and video was not on demand, you did not have instant access to films, you could not watch films wherever you wanted, you could not watch them on other devices such phones and iPods on public travel etc.
-Audiences can watch films on demand due to advances in internet technology providing us with 'Netflix' and 'Lovefilm'

Disadvantages 

Case Studies