CTEC Media Production – Y2

AfL: Unit 10 – Media Adaptations

Task 1: Case Studies

Produce a detailed comparative analysis of a range of media adaptations. You must explore a minimum of three case studies.

Case Study 1: World of Warcraft

Original Text Original Target Adaptation New Target Audience Key Changes in genre, style, form etc. Legal/ethical Issues
Audience
World of Warcraft World of Warcraft World of Warcraft The game was turned into a film
is a game that had has a target was turned into a The target so the film can reach out to a There are no legal issues
been released in audience of 18-30 film but it was audience would younger audience because the because of the team that
2004. World of years old because it originally a game realistically stay game was targeted at 18-30 year created the game co-
Warcraft is a part requires a payment developed by the same because it olds. The film also may not reach signed to create this film
of the Warcraft via credit card Blizzard. The game is showing the that target audience because of because they saw this as a
series and was which is £60 a was turned into a same kind of videos the level of detail that they have business change
developed by month. World of film from the game and images that kept the same from the game and
Blizzard. Warcraft is a global on the date of May would be seen in incorporated that into the film.
game that can be the 30th 2016. The the game, meaning
played anywhere. film had a budget that the level of
of 160 million detail of things
dollars and was such as blood will
direct by Duncan remain the same as
Jones. the game.

Notes on overall success of the transmedia adaptation:

Popularity / Wider audience / New franchise / Financial Success / Reviews etc
The popularity of World of Warcraft has grown significantly throughout the years of gaming meaning that the large audience of the game will then be
enticed to come and watch the film that the game was adapted into. The wider audience of the game helps the film because it will help to ensure the
film’s financial success because they are meeting the audience’s needs by following the story line of the game and by also including that storyline into
the film to help the references be exact.
CTEC Media Production – Y2
AfL: Unit 10 – Media Adaptations

Case Study 2: Of Mice and Men

Original Text Original Target Adaptation New Target Audience Key Changes in genre, style, form etc. Legal/ethical Issues
Audience

The original The target The adaptation The new target The key changes in this There will not be any legal
adaptation was a audience was that has come from audience seems to adaptation is that the adaptation issues because the film
book that is generally for an this book is a film. be lower in age and now helps the audience to feel states that it is based off
generally used in audience that was Of mice and men appeals to 13-25 sympathy for the main character of the book and does not
English literature caught up in the was turned into a year olds generally. in the film. The film also now intend on hurting the
today simply great depression to film using all of the The reason that the entices the audience into feeling image portrayed by the
because of the help to narrate a key elements from target audience has anger and betrayal for George book that was written.
scenarios of the part of their lives the book however changed for a (the one who shoots Lenny).
book. The book but as the book has different parts have younger audience
consists of 2 main gotten older the been portrayed is because of the
characters traveling book has appealed differently to try to way that Lenny
the different to a 15 – 30 year entice a larger (one of the main
ranches around old target audience. characters) is
America during the audience. portrayed.
great depression.

Notes on overall success of the transmedia adaptation:

Popularity / Wider audience / New franchise / Financial Success / Reviews etc
The popularity of this film is generally based off of the popularity for the book because most of the audience has read the book and is now wanting a
clear image of the whole book being mapped out and made into a film. The film will also reach a larger audience because of the child friendly scenes
that are found within the film. Whereas, the description of the scenes in the book are less prone to appeal to a younger target audience. The financial
success of the film is based on the book because of the amount of people that enjoy the book and are wanting to explore similar areas as the book.
CTEC Media Production – Y2
AfL: Unit 10 – Media Adaptations

Case Study 3: The Harry Potter Franchise

Original Text Original Target Adaptation New Target Audience Key Changes in genre, style, form etc. Legal/ethical Issues
Audience
The Harry Potter The original target The books were The films had The Harry There are no copyright
franchise was audience of the turned into several appeared to a Potter issues because Rowling is
originally a Harry Potter movies that were target audience of series is a a producer of the film
collection of books franchise wasn’t just as successful as 6 years old to 12 fantasy series meaning that no
that were written thought about the books if not years old, and the fiction copyright issues will
by J.K Rowling that when Rowling better. The movies target audience for collection occur. The classification
are the adventures wrote the books were an easier way this film is also not and the for the Harry Potter
of Harry Potter and but the target for people to be stated because the books are franchise is PG, all of the
his friends. The audience rather able to understand target audience the same movies are PG meaning
books were that found themselves the Harry Potter was not thought therefore that they are successful
good that they in the books and franchise in a about in the the changes among the young
were then turned they turned out to smaller amount of production of the are none. audience.
into movies which be mostly young time. 8 films were films. The films can There haven’t been any changes Rowling got payed 73
were also as audiences. made and were appear to any apart from the media adaptation million mostly from the
successful as the made in 2001, gender of the from book to movie. release of The Cursed
books if not better. 2002, 2004, 2005, audience and it is a Child.
2007, 2009, 2010 global series.
and 2011.
Notes on overall success of the transmedia adaptation:
Popularity / Wider audience / New franchise / Financial Success / Reviews etc
The movies have increased the popularity of the franchise as well as the revenue that they bring in. The revenue that the films alone have brought in
adds up to $7.7 billion. The movies first got their popularity from the books because of the large audience that were reading the books generally are
found to have enjoyed the films too. The films help to reach a wider audience because when the film is screened it shows many child friendly scenes
that can generally be found to entertain younger audiences.
CTEC Media Production – Y2
AfL: Unit 10 – Media Adaptations
Task 2: Adaptation Ideas
Select one creative product. Generate three potential adaptation ideas. Produce either a written report or a detailed graphic organiser.
Consider:

 The original creative

 The most suitable medium for your adaptation
 The feasibility of adaptation (e.g. budget, locations, number of characters etc.)
 Technological limitations (e.g. for creating imaginary worlds)
 Main facts of historical events/true life events (e.g. specific locations, timeline, main protagonists),
 New opportunities
 Use of new technology/effects
 New possible interpretations of creative product or part of it
 New characters/characterisation
 Additional storylines etc.
 New audiences - age, gender, interests, spending power, lifestyle
First Idea:

My first idea of a game that will then be adapted into a film, the game will be Counter Strike: Global Offensive and it is a 5v5 game which will consist of 10 people putting on
the virtual reality and going into the game to constantly fight one another. 5 of the people will be Terrorists who are needing to plant a bomb on either bomb site A or
bomb site B, and the other 5 will be Counter Terrorists that will work to defend the bomb site and to defuse the bomb if they fail to defend the bomb site. There is a similar
idea to the one that I’m thinking of and that is ‘Ready Player One’. However; the similar idea is not exactly what I want to do because I want to turn one game into a film
whereas they’ve gotten multiple aspects of the gaming industry and put it into one film. I will be using unity to create the imaginary worlds for the film. There wouldn’t be
any need to have a large budget for this adaptation because most of the film would be computer generated images. There will not need to be any specific location because
the majority of the filming will be in front of a green screen. The amount of characters that I will use will be a maximum of 10, 5 of each side. There will be one main
character which is named Henry and he grows up in poverty and gets the game for his 18th birthday. There will be new opportunities to allow the film to have realistic
affects that they cannot have in the game because when the game was produced CGI wasn’t as good as it is right now. The audience for the adaptation will stay the same as
the film because the game still has a decent target audience which is 13+.
CTEC Media Production – Y2
AfL: Unit 10 – Media Adaptations
Second Idea:

My second idea consist of an adaptation of a film into a book. There will not be a large budget as it is a film being turned into a book. There is no technological limitations as
it is simply a write up of the story and the characters into a book. There is no filming needed as the film would be turned into a book and there will be no characters needed
only the ones that consist in the story. There will be a lower target audience for this book rather than the film because the reader will not be seeing any graphical content
and will be able to read the book without watching anything.

Third Idea:

My third idea will be adapting a game into a book, the game will be Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The book will follow the same storyline as the games do to help
establish a link between the game and the book. There will not be a large budget as it is a book that is being produced not a film. Technological limitations are none
because I am not going to be editing anything or trying to capture any kind of video. The characters that are used in the book will only be the ones that are used in the game
to help create the sense of realism, the main characters will be captain price and soap. The target audience for the books would stay the same as the games because I feel
like that is a suitable target audience for the content of the book.