Globalisation and Social Media

              The professional community I choose to be apart of is the film community, where our common interest is our love for films that brings us together. 

This large community can be divided into smaller communities depending on the specific job I may have, my location and/or the projects I may be working on at that given time. 

There is no limit to the number of communities one may be apart of and you do not have to leave one to join another. 

For example my job at my father’s production company connect me to the film community but allows me to be apart of that specific companies’ community. 

From this connection I was able to get a job working on the set of an independent film for the summer. 

For that period I was apart of the film crew and so apart of their community, we were all brought together by our one common goal. I no longer speak with the crewmembers but they are a source that I am able to contact in pursuit of other jobs and continue to branch out in the film community and join other smaller groups. 

A great site for those interested in becoming apart of the community and making contacts with others is to join Filmcommunity.com, “The Global Platform for the Film Industry”. 

Here it allows you to search members, find and post upcoming events, read blogs and about films and their festivals. 

There are an unlimited number of sites that surround the film industry so depending on your personal interest it is important to find the one best for you and that will meet your professional needs. 

When looking for a job, ProductionHub.com, is a very credible and reliable source. Crewmembers are able to search and apply for jobs in the specific department, which they have experience.

             Already it is easy to see that the crewmembers are the colleagues in this industry, but with globalization and social media, the term colleagues is extended to large organizations and different social media sites. 

Large organizations stem from the production companies that create certain films to the distributors. 

Flew supports this by saying that globalization is making sense of a series of interrelated processes such as the rise of multinational corporations and that strong arguments that support globalization are the shift in social relations (Flew).

Mashable.com describes this shift vividly, “Classical Hollywood has the star system and fan magazines. Modern Hollywood has Facebook, Twitter and mobile phones.” 

Social media has become one of the most important colleges in the film industry especially when it comes to marketing. 

Not all films are released everywhere if at all and the Internet has become a great tool to locate where a type of film would most likely do well. 

“One of the best examples of this strategy was for Paramount’s Paranormal Activity. The film, which was made for less than $15,000 went on to gross more than $150 million at the box office.” 

Facebook was used to promote the film as well as asking “would-be” fans to request screenings in their hometowns. Most companies are marketing their films through different social media sites and providing them with links to view trailers before they play on TV or in the theatres. 

The film The Social Network wasn’t allowed to use Facebook to promote the film, but that hardly put limits on the types of social media that were available for them to use.

            One of the most interesting sites is Socialmediafilmfestival.com, which is a site for film lovers to join a community in a very globalized way. 

MISSION STATEMENT: The Social Media Film Festival is an international film festival with films about social media, social change and technology. 

It’s more than a film festival. It’s a movement. Being Social. Going Global!

Here filmmakers presented films, which showed how using technology could advance the human kind. 

By participating in a film, submitting a film, reading the site or going to the festival you have made yourself apart of this unique film community.

“As technology is ever-changing, our need as artists, filmmakers and human beings to connect with each other in business and our personal lives is constantly growing and evolving” (SMFF).

Reference List:

Flew, T., (2007). New Media: an Introduction.

Martin, R.H., (2012). Social Media Film Festival. Retrieved from http://socialmediafilmfestival.com/

Warren, C. (2010). How Social Media Is Changing the Way Movies are Promoted. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2010/11/29/social-media-movie-marketing/