Social Network and the Film Industry

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Social Network and the Film Industry

             Perception is the identification, interpretation and the organization of information in an order that represents an understanding of something. The perception of one person has the ability to influence the point of view of another. Therefore, filmmakers now put more attention on the social media to understand the dynamics of the ever-changing taste and preferences of the society. Many people use the social media as a means of expressing their true thoughts. These expressions are about their perceptions of matters in the society. The social network is important in the film industry because it indicates the perception of the community. The most common social network sites are Facebook and Twitter.

             People discuss films and give their opinions on the latest trailers and the movies that are about to be released on the social media sites. Most users of social networks give their opinions in real time, meaning that the posting of these comments is simultaneous with their watching of the films (Deering). Therefore, the opinions put out are reactions to the quality of the scenes in the film. Filmmakers are very keen on these opinions because they influence the thoughts of people who have not seen the movie. If the information coming from the social network is good, then more people will be interested in watching the flick. Negative social network opinions will deter people from watching. Immediately after the release of a film, the filmmaking companies spend fortunes in trying to control its perception.

            Ratings are another reason why the social network is important to filmmakers. The ratings of a movie are polls that people vote on a scale of one to ten on how good it is. Most users on the social networks take time to look at the ratings of a movie first before deciding to watch it (Deering). If the ratings are below their expectations, they lose interest in it and decide to watch another film instead. Films that are rated are rated above nine are watched by all viewers disregarding their genre of interest in movies. Filmmakers rely on the opinions of people on social media to better their ratings of their next films.

            Filmmaking companies are now investing very heavily in marketing their films on social networks. The release of trailers is meant to preempt the viewer, to stir up excitement and desire to watch the film. Comments on the trailer on the social networks are always indicative of the reception that the movie is going to get on its release (Deering). This helps the filmmakers to manage their expectations about the film. One of the most anticipated films on social media was Fifty Shades of Grey in 2015. The movie had over 4 million tweets before its release. This was indicative of a film that was going to do very well on its release.

            Sixty-one percent of Twitter users in the United Kingdom admit that their decision to watch a movie is influenced more by the people they know and trust than what they are told by the critics. This means that people rely more on the content on social networks than the professional opinion of film critics. Social networks have the potential to make a film or break it. All these possibilities rely on the ability of filmmakers to control the perceptions of people about the movie. Good publicity is vital since the quality of a film is a matter of individual tastes and preferences. Some people might be pleased while others can never be pleased. However, a good perception is created when the negative opinions are overwhelmed by the positive opinions.

Works cited:

Deering, Sophie. “How Twitter Influences Cinema and the Movies #smlondon.” Social Media London Smlondon. N.p., 2016. Web. 02 Sept. 2016.