‘Breaking Bad’ is an American film released from January 20^th in 2008.  The film is a crime drama that revolves around manufacturing and selling drugs in Albuquerque.  The series centers on the story of Walter White a depressed and struggling high school chemistry teacher who was diagnosed with lung cancer (AMC, nd). Mr. White joined his former student Jesse Pinkman to crime life of manufacture and selling crystallized Methamphetamine to save his family from poverty before he dies. More so, the drama series was created by a brilliant scriptwriter, Vince Gilligan and appeared on AMC Television for five seasons. Vince Gilligan produced the film in association with Sony Picture Television. Most of the scenes were filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Gilligan felt political, medical or cop drama would be less effective to save the world, he came up with a thought of creating a series of the protagonist who became the antagonist. Devotion to a family forced a stage 3 lung cancer patient to venture in the production of crystal meth to secure his family finances (Gooner, 2014). As the business progresses, Walter White gain a notorious reputation under the name of “Heisenberg,” famous criminal in the drug business.

The debut of the American Television drama series “Breaking Bad” premiered in 2008 with seven episodes each running approximately 48 minutes. Later, the episodes could be accessed on Netflix, streaming online. Between 2007 to 2008 Writers Guild of America strike reduced production of the first season from nine episodes to seven. The first version of the script was set in Riverside, California but Sony suggested Albuquerque was the selected location due to financial condition offered by State of New Mexico.

There were various technologies employed to facilitate an effective process of film production and marketing. AMC digital entertainment release series of content online such as games, merchandise, and podcasts. Additionally, the Youtube website was used to promote the film. The digital comics were created for smartphone users while graphic novel was published to suspense to the target audience. The digital comic book of Breaking Bad with a recaps first four and half seasons showed transition of main actor Walter white from decent mannered to drug kingpin.  The AMC website encouraged fan activities through publishing trailers and short clips of the next productions. YouTube websites were used to allow more viewers to access films from different parts of the world.

The Sony technology was crucial in producing High Definition pictures improving the visual quality of the film. Additionally, film production was boosted by Netflix sponsorship. The deal encompasses production integration, wireless application, off-channel platforms and TV commercial, on-air and online sponsorships. The technologies applied during the processes of film making and marketing made Breaking Bad start with high ratings. Breaking bad is acclaimed as the greatest television show of all time. Surprisingly, the show attained best rating of 9.6 out of 10. The series is the most watched cable show in American with viewer doubling from fourth to the fifth season The American film maintained the highest rating for AMC drama premiere in five years. As a result of innovative marketing techniques and production of quality film, Breaking Bad garnered awards such as Emmy Awards, Peabody Awards, satellite awards, Golden Globe Award, Critics’ Choice Award. Also, as outstanding drama series, the film garnered nominations such as Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in Drama series, Saturn Award for the best actor on Television and Critics’ Choice Television Award best actor in a drama series. Additionally, the crew received recognition from various business companies to feature in product adverts.

The technologies used in the production and marketing of the crime drama created both positive and negative implication to society. Firstly, technology is a crucial enabler of reaching high population through websites. YouTube and Netflix facilitated subscription Television drama from any part of the world. The quality of picture and brilliant scriptwriter and director created interesting scenes that attracted young and middle-aged populations. The technology also played a significance in cutting the cost film production. Additionally, marketing quality film to the target population through the internet made a significant difference in terms of increasing views. As a result, the series received high ratings compared to other series aired during the same period. Conversely, the digital content is easily accessible to young generations who may be lured by characters of Walter white and Pinkmann to engage in criminal activities. According to Stevenson (2017), despite huge fan base, to the crime drama has the prospects of propagating immorality in the society.

In relation to what we discussed in the class, the film industry use innovation and technological solutions to create or produce digital content that can be easily access by the target audience. More so, the film production requires the scriptwriter to understand the viewers. In Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan developed his characters to represent reality struggles and criminal activities affecting our economy, due to illegal business practices. The film focuses on proving a point on how circumstances push people to engage in criminal dealing. The drama tries to teach the viewers in implications of vice in the society.

References

AMC Inc. (n.d.). Breaking Bad. Retrieved from https://www.amc.com/shows/breaking-bad/exclusives/about

Gooner, R. (2014, July 31). What is the overall plot of Breaking Bad? Retrieved from https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-overall-plot-of-Breaking-Bad

Stevenson, M. (2017). Breaking bad: Mechanisms of social influence and the path to criminality in juvenile jails. Review of Economics and Statistics, 99(5), 824-838.