Evaluation - Question 3

"What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?"

There are two ways of looking at our film - from the perspective of an amateur film and from the perspective of a real film.

If it were treated like an amateur film (such as it is) then it could be entered into a student film festival such as Exposures:
http://www.exposuresfilmfestival.co.uk/.
This is the UK's largest festival of film and image work. However, our project would likely do alot better in a less profile festival such as a competition. There are plenty of these around (for example, last year's Orange 60 Seconds of Fame sponsored by Bafta). However, sometimes these require regulations we cannot fit (for example, our film is two minutes, not one). The most likely distributor of our amateur film would probably be an institution specialist to horror. Here is a low-profile film festival I found in the US, dedicated to horror films:
http://www.britfilms.com/festivals/browse/?id=042A214607a4929CEDnPtJ8CF234.

Something like this in Britian would be ideal, especially one dedicated to modern niche horror. The best one I could find was this film festival in Nottingham held over Halloween week in a special arts centre, screening hundreds of student horror films:
http://www.mayhemhorrorfest.co.uk/festival.html.
This seems ideal for our piece, Reservation.

Example of a poster for a film festival - Eerie Horror Fest 2007:

Thinking about our film as a real film in the real film world, it would be distributed by bigger institutions. Our actors are unknowns and not "stars" - actors used to sell a movie as a blockbuster (e.g. Brad Pitt). We chose our actors as to not distract viewers from the story because if was the killer he would be known as Johnny Depp and not as a messed up individual character with depth ('Michael Myers' in 'Halloween' was not a well known actor but became a classic horror character, which was more our intention). Our film would not get the publicity of a blockbuster but I believe it has the potential to be shown in a normal mulitplex cinema.

Our film company, 'Live Wire', would finance some of the distribution as would our production company 'Wall & Bayliss Productions'. 'Live Wire' would finance the makings of many films, from action thrillers to teen movis. 'Wall & Bayliss' are more specific to this particular dark subgenre - they are a modern horror film production organisation. Other companies likely to be interested in maybe joint-financing our film would be the likes of 'Twisted Pictures' and 'Lions Gate Films' ('Saw' & 'Hostel'), as they are similar films and likely to be endorsed and advertised in the same way. Like these two films, our film is not mainstream but is part of a new breed of modern niche horror, which is very popular with a certain audience. It has unique selling points such as the artistic blue tint and unique storyline breaking conventions. It also has many similarities to real films (this trailer of 'Hostel' being close to how our film would be advertised:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JBxOjTaUpFM).

'Saw' was extremely successful as it firstly appealed to horror enthusiasts before it became a huge film brand ('Saw V' recieved the highest box-office ratings this Autumn in Britain, 2008). There is no reason why our film could not enjoy success in big cinemas such as Cineworld and The Odeon, as it would benefit from past successes in the subgenre, and would offer a new exciting approach for the horror lovers of the cinema.

To get our film into the cinemas we would need to link up with a distributor to sell our film to the big cinemas (the cinemas are owned by the exhibitor companies, who show the films). 'Lions Gate UK' is part of 'Lions Gate Films' who distributes in the UK, so we could have a good link there. We would not be likely to gain the services of a big distributor such as 'Universal' but could target smaller ones such as 'Revolver Entertainment' who do specifically thrillers or 'Tartan films' who have distributed low-budget horror films such as 'Black Christmas (Morgan, 2006)'.

The distributer could firstly distribute to cinemas in London and see how viewings are for a week. The results of this would control whether we began distributing to other regions in the South and then into the North. A good advertising campaing and strong word of mouth could help profoundly. Lastly, we could promote our films in targeted countries such as Japan who are renowned for horror-making. The more successful our film is in these countries the closer we could come to releasing across the rest of Europe and even in America. Global success would be unlikely for the first film release by the production and film company, but the potential could possibly be enhanced by solid advertising and good links with other companies.

Our film would be likely to be released on DVD after cinema showing, depending on the success of the movie. Any DVD-writing company such as 'Excelsior Film & Video', who transfer from cine to DVD as well as duplicating the DVD's:

http://www.videostudio.co.uk/.

With the backing of raised finances from cinema screenings of the film, and the production companies, we could distribute our DVD's across the UK if our film was successful (maybe across London if our film was not so successful).

To summarise, as an amateur film ours would be screened at a student film festival specifically for low-budget horror films in the UK. This could be shown in a special arts cinema. As a real film, our production and film companies could link up with bigger companies of similar genres to add finance backing and increase the potential of people our film could reach by good promotion and advertising. It would be distibuted by a distributo specific to horror and fairly cheap. The success of the film would depend on how far it would spread across the country and globally - and also if the film would be released on DVD after with the help of a platform converter company (from cine to DVD). With a good distribution strategy and relations between bigger institutions our film would have the potential to challenge the successes of the likes of 'Saw' and 'Hostel'.

Target Audience

Now our group has finished editing and we have until this Wednesday to edit, I have looked back at all my individual blog posts and re-done the labels to tidy the whole thing up.

One thing I have realised I have not cleared up on this blog was the intended audience for our film, which is a typical horror audience. We thought 18-30's (teenagers and young adults) would probably be the most likely audience with our film meriting an 18 rating due to the horrific violence. However, this does not mean people over 30 cannot watch our film, as I am sure they would. Also, I am sure many under 18's would get hold of the film somehow on DVD and could certainly become popular with younger "hardcore" kids. Simply, the main bulk of our audience would come from the 18-30 bracket. Gender-wise, I think both genders would watch our film even though it could be seen as more male-orientated (actors, violence and plot). Alot of girls I know are into this kind of horror anyway and have an attitude in which they enjoy scaring themselves with their friends. Boys would simply watch it for the gore element and narrative. Many couples would also probably go and see a film like this as horror gives them the opputunity to "snuggle up", so I think there would be an even spread across both genders.

All in all, thrill seekers and horror enthusiasts (especially those of the gore subgenre) are our core target audience, with fans of the Saw and Hostel films being typical target-ees. Our film however, is open to all ages, genders and anyone who wants to come along for the ride!

DVD Cover Analysis

Seeing as part of my project may involve creating a DVD cover for my film, I thought I would briefly look at how DVD covers for horror films are put together. On looking around my house at the many horror DVD's I had I decided to split them into two categories; covers with "stars" and covers with "icons". I will analyse to DVD covers, (both of the horror genre), showing an example of how each type would be used.

1) Using "stars"

DVD Cover - 'The Sixth Sense' (M. Night Shyamalan - 1999)

The main selling point of this cover is the "star", Bruce Willis. He is the name everyone will have heard of and will recognise when seeing this cover - and that is how putting "stars" on covers works - just stick a dominating image of that character on the cover or of all the main characters, and put their name in bold letters somewhere near the image. Here, Bruce Willis' name is at the top where the title should be and is the first thing we read, so it is in our brains that we want to watch this film because of this actor. Two of the main characters appear on the front cover; Bruce Willis being the bigger presence, and the main character (the boy) also appearing but without a cast name due to his name being far less famous. However he plays an integral role in the film and therefore earns an image on the front cover. Both photos are at low key lighting and show terror and determination. The boys appears to be looking down in fright, with a supernatural light beaming down on him. Bruce Willis is looking into the distance with almost menace. The images give nothing away about the story, with the darkness and bright orangery colours giving the sense of a dark, scary but powerful film, setting the scene. The only information shown on the front cover is the title, certificate, DVD logo, a quote ("the no.1 thriller of all time") and an oscar nominated sticker. On the side cover is exactly the same except for a wide screen logo and another company logo. The rest of the information is on the back cover - including images of the film in action, a blurb, the full cast, DVD requirements and the bar code.

2) Using "icons"

DVD Cover - 'The Blair Witch Project' (Daniel Myrick - 1999)

The main selling point of this cover is not the "star" (because there are no well know names in this film) but the iconography, with all the well-known icons being immediately associated with 'The Blair Witch Project'. This is so people will see the cover and immediately know what the film is and will buy it for that reason - it will stand out in stores - instead of people buying it because of the main casting role. The three main pieces of inconography in this film are all featured on the front; the black and white forest, the 5 pointed star and the top half of the mans head - all images we see and know what film it is from. The black and white forest is slightly blurred because it is taken directly from raw handheld footage, which sets the tone of the whole film, all of which is shot in this handheld style. The forest is the unique setting of this film, with the creepy shapes made by the trees iconic to the movie. This is above the title to set the tone. Below the title is the most fmaous image in the movie of the top half of the mans head (see my post titled 'top 10 horror film icons'). This is an easily recognisable image. The 5 pointed star is the sign of the 'Blair Witch' and acts as the film logo alongside the title, with the colours red and white standing out on the dark background. The only information given by the front and side covers are the title, certificate, DVD logo and production company ('Pathe!'). The back cover holds the rest of the information needed - special features, blurb, quotes, full cast, requirements and bar code.

Overall, both formats are almost identical except the image. The main image either has to be the main "star" or "stars" with their actor/actress name, or the main icon or icons. A film using "stars" is more likely to have a slogan or quote on the front cover with films using "icons" leaving the image on the front as the main focus in order to reduce detail lost by attention being taken away from the iconic thing/s.

Promotional Materials

Aside from word of mouth, I believe the 2 most successful types of promotion and advertising nowadays are creating a cult fanbase and spreading visual awareness. Here are 2 examples of both these methods and how they are good at promoting a film or TV series.


1) Website - creating a cult fanbase

I researched a website promoting the new 'Dead Set' series on E4. Although this is not a film, it works closely with film conventions as it is a 5 part TV horror drama with a total running time of 3 hours (later to be released as a 2-part film on DVD). A large proportion of its huge cult fanbase has been created by the website found at http://www.e4.com/deadset/index2.html.

This is the first thing you see on the website, and is silent. The big brother eye covered in blood is the series logo, and keeps blurring slightly whilst the web page crackles to disorientate you. The warning pepares you for what might be in the website. It is meant to be scary and depict horror and danger, whilst unsettling you with the silence and confusion of the illusion the blurring logo creates. I clicked enter at the bottom of the page.


Next you see the home page (right) accompanied by eery music with bits of silence and unsettling noises such as wind, water and growls. Every 30 or so seconds there is a break in the signal of the website like a television, with a split second image of a zombie. This is designed to shock you and continues throughout the website. There is a faded image below the writing of an empty big brother house covered in dripping blood - which sets the scene of the show and completes the eery atmosphere. The big brother logo and house are clever in being familiar to millions of big brother house, but strangely different without the charizma and style of a normal big brother website. Something is missing and it is unsettling. One by one, I visited each page of the website along the bottom of this home page.

This is the page titled 'story'. This simply gives an overview of the synopsis of the show so you know exactly what the website is promoting, and that it is not just a hoax. The E4 logo also helps promote the fact that it is a TV show and that you must watch E4 to view it. The plot summary does not give everything away but simply introduces the setting and situation, with a picture of the housemates and another of the main character (who is not a housemate) to help visualise what the show is all about.

This is the page titled 'cast & crew'. It is very clever in giving an overview of each main character but not in a direct factfile. It also helps give clues about the storyline. The character in the image is the main character 'Kelly' and shown is an email she sent to a friend along with her reply, and her job card. The card gives her name and occupation as production runner on the big brother set, whilst the email gives some vital personal information about her boyfriend Riq and how she feels towards him. The friends reply seems to suggest Kelly has been chating with a boy called Danny. These are not facts but simply guesses or assumptions we make but we want to find out more by watching the show. The other characters except Riq and Patrick are housemates, and we find out a little about each one by clues given in a newspaper or magazine article about each one (shown as past cutouts) - again not direct facts. Patrick is the big brother producer and we find out more about him through a newspaper interview he gave, whilst all we see of boyfriend Riq is his facebook page, giving clues about his paranoid relationship state and that he is or was a DJ. I found this very interesting but wanted to know more about each character. The idea of scattered articles and letters also gave an abandoned feel, like litter scattered in a desolate place.

This page titled 'videos' simply shows a list of different trailers and teasers. The trailers were the trailers shown on E4 and channel 4 the week before the shows launch, whilst the teasers just showed random clips of big brother live inside the house, with the characters shwon being zombies. The video player required 'Flash'.



This page was titled 'gallery' and simply showed a montage of images of the tv drama in full action. The images could be enlargened, and on the right there were little teasers of significant images released one by one leading up to the shows release. The latest one shown was an image of Davina Mccall as a zombie - to show the hunour of the show and its cultural but very real reference to the big brother show.


Aside from the 'win stuff' page (a show competition) this was the last page titled 'get infected'. This seemed ambiguous at first so I clicked on it to see what it was. The title was intriguing and I wanted to know how I could get infected. The page tells you about a shocking video captured from in the big brother house, which makes you very curious as to what this is. It is also very chilling shown by the image and the description of the "disturbing video". It tells you to type in your name and date of birth so I did both and clicked 'take me to unseenscreen' (I had to give a false date of birth as it would not let under 18's in to the sight).



The link took me to a fake but very real looking video website like 'youtube' accompanied by fake video comments and fake peoples usernames. The video itself was very disturbing footage of a woman bleeding and stuck in the diary room of the big brother house (where the chair had been turned aside). She wrote on the back wall in blood the words 'help me kristian'. Obviously that was the name I has stated beforehand so this was simply just a scare tactic, and it worked because it really freaked me out at first! The video works as a very clever way of spreading show awareness. I could not embed the video as it is not a youtube video.


Immediately after the video had finished the following appeared on the screen. It gave you the option of sending the video link to your friends email addresses (obviously putting their name in order to scare them). I tried this and it worked. The emails I sent to some friends showed them the video with their name written in blood on the back wall. This really freaked them out before they got the option of sending it on, as a well as a link to the website to show what it was all about. I believe this to be a very strong way of spreading awareness as people will keep sending the video on, and a sa result more people will look at the very cleverly constructed website. Overall, this helps to create a very strong cult fanbase for the show 'Dead Set' in a similar way to what extent a horror film could. In the modern day, advertising by internet technology can be very effective; especially as I have seen many advertisements on MSN, Facebook and Myspace linking directly to the website I have just analysed. It spreads very quickly, and as a result, many more people will watch the show. I certianly will!



2) Poster - spreading awareness

This is a poster for the 2006 remake film, 'The Omen', a good example of a blockbuster film revelling in promotion for the best part of a year before its release. What was special and put this film aside from all others, was its release date. The date had to be exactly the 06.06.06 for the advertising to work, giving it almost a year of advertising before it even premiered. This poster is an example of a teaser poster, simply spreading awareness of a film before its big release.

The poster is just a big image. This image is very powerful. It is in a very eery setting, in a misty forest or park. Like all film posters, the main character is the focus of the poster, but usually this actor/actress takes up more of the poster than 'Damien' (the boys character name) actually does. This is because the boy already has such a presense. He is very sinister looking, his eyes follow you as he swings on the swings, and he holds the evil look of a man who has plans to kill and to cause chaos. This is unusual coming from a young boy, but it works here simply because 'The Omen' already was a well known film, and the audience knew that this boy is the devil in human form. The bright background makes the boy almost an ambiguous silohette, but we can still see his eyes. Our attention is firmly on his eyes, but is taken away by the title below too, which stands out in dark contrast to the background. It sticks out from the rest of the writing due to its slight yellow-gold highlight, and the cross logo stemming from the 'O' (one of the icons from the original 'Omen' film) representing a graveyard, fallen christ or simply death and evil. It is all very sinister. The poster is a teaser poster with some but not many details such as cast and producers along the bottom in boring white font. This is not the main focus at the bottom of the poster. What stands out here is the 6+6_06 in brihgt yellow, which outlines the release date of the film; the 6th June 2006. The date is a play on the devils number (666) and links to the famous film quote (or slogan) at the top of the poster. "The prophesy is clear. The signs are unmistakable. On the 6th day of the 6th month in the year 2006 his day will come." These are very sinister words, and without giving much away seem to summarise the plot of the film - that this child is the devil and he will rise on the release date of the film (e.g. the film shows his rise to power). The poster is very clear, and makes you so intrigued to see just what it is that is supposed to happen on this cursed day. This poster will have been placed everywhere on the films release; bus stops, billboards, cinemas, shopping centres etc. It is an extremely good way in spreading visual awareness to go with word of mouth and really make you want to go to see the movie.

Wow! This is gonna be amazing... why didn't i think of it first!
Even though it isn't a film but a TV drama, this may come in useful later on in my project as it is simple but effective, and focuses on the horror genre. It is also a great example of cult ideas that may stir up public interest... we'll see.

Go to http://www.unseenscreen.com and type in your name - its a really good example for promotion.

The real website can be find at http://www.e4.com/deadset

Launching Films

Here are some notes on a series of 14 video clips from http://www.launchingfilms.tv/, which give low budget film makers advise on filmmaking, and information behind the launch and release of films from a filmmakers point of view.


1) Release of a Film

- Filmmakers first identify the ‘marketability’ of a film by deciding on its most suitable audience.
- From there, they have to create a campaign best suited to appeal to this audience.
- In making this campaign the filmmakers decide on a suitable budget, based on the estimated box office hits etc.
- The marketing/promotion team have talks with different people within the media, such as on the radio and television.
- They then have to concentrate on mainly a premier, as well as posters, adverts and a website.
- The main thing is to decide on the best and most effective way to reach your target audience through the various forms of media.

2) Positioning & Audiences

- Define the target audience by deciding on the genre and the message behind it i.e. who the film is speaking to age-wise.
- Different directors appeal to different age groups, with particular directors/actors appealing to more film literate audiences who know a lot about the history of film or them as actors/directors.

3) Target Audience

- Small films have to rely specify a particular target audience.
- Firstly you research past films and how they have tackled target audience, as well what people watched these films, how they watched them and when etc.
- You have to be 100% sure with the target audience, as a lot of money has to be spent on promotion to this audience, which can be a gamble.
- Adults usually view advertising on television and take a week or so to make a decision as to whether they will bother and see a film.
- Teenagers turn up at a cinema to see what films are on and make a decision there and then, so cinematic advertising is more effective for this audience.

4) Competition

- You need to stand out from the other films to be successful.
- Certain seasons are more competitive such as October half term, so you have to think about when you are going to release your film and how much competition there will be.
- In the winter, indoor television advertising is better, whilst the weather is not good outside.
- In the summer, outdoor advertising such as big posters are more effective in the good weather when everyone is out and about.

5) P&A Budget

- The first thing to think about is the cost of all the film prints/copies of the film, and the technical elements such as shipping.
- Then most importantly is the advertising costs, which involves everything from posters to trailers.
- You have to look for the best bargains, finding a balance between cheap and expensive advertising, whilst using your money wisely to make sure this advertising is extremely effective – low budget films are limited as to how they can advertise.

6) Word of Mouth

- With films that you know will stir up lots of interest and be very popular from the start, it is good to spread word of mouth early on as soon as you receive the film copy, by getting into contact with media partners such as newspapers etc.
- Advanced screening programs can be used to promote the film and create media interest with the incentive of watching a free film. If 100 people watch this film free they will each tell a few people to see the film, which can spread interest very fast.
- People are effected by their friends and what they say, so word of mouth is important.
- If you get the movie very late, you have to rely on the opening weekend of the film and the word of mouth from that point. This will either build a strong foundation for the film to last 8-10 weeks, or could be very week and prevent the film from lasting more than about 3-4 weeks.

7) Marketing Plan

- The main ways of marketing are through advertising and through press.
- Advertising is more expensive, using the multi-media slots for adverts.
- More free forms of advertising done through press and publicity, with support from the director/cast, or through sold stories about the film in the form of features or interviews.
- Outdoor advertising is also expensive but effective.
- Word of mouth is the best form of free advertising, boosted through free screenings.
- Internet can be used through viral campaigns on email, which can entice people to see your film.
- Word of mouth can make or break a film, as if the film plays well to the audience it doesn’t matter how much money you have, interest will spread really quickly.
- Bad word of mouth can kill the interest of a film.

8) Film Trailers

- The trailer is the most important key to sell a film, as it is the audience’s first and only exposure in the cinema form/environment as to what they are buying into.
- The trailer must have the right impact and message through the way graphics, sound and overall concept of the film are portrayed.

9) Link Between

- Video wouldn't play! :S

10) Digital Marketing

- Viral marketing is creating an element such as a game, video or quiz, which is good enough that when a person sees it they will send it on to show their friends.
- A personal recommendation from a friend is more valuable to you than anything you read in the press, so word of mouth is the most important way of advertising.
- Digital marketing such as viral marketing is like word of mouth in quick, digital form, so can spread even quicker by email etc.

11) Test Screenings

- Research done well in advance for screenings such as testing material, poster ideas, movie concepts and posters.
- You have to think about the visuals and whether this meets your target audiences expectations.
- For test screenings you get together people from your target audience to watch your film.
- The can fill in questionnaires or you can send focus groups them to share in more detail with about issues in the movie, what they liked or disliked etc. The director may sometimes alter the movie after listening to feedback from people who watched test screenings.

12) Persuading Cinemas

- The first step is to persuade the exhibitors/actual cinemas to take your film.
- This is easy when they know your film, such as if it is a big title.
- For more difficult/independent films you have to sell the film to the cinemas first, so you need to be to the point.

13) Opening Weekend

- The 3-day opening is the figures from the opening day on the Friday and then the Saturday and Sunday, with the Monday being the make or break point.
- On the Monday, the lowest seen films in a cinema are taken off screens after just a week and are called a ‘hold-over’.
- Whether or not your film carries on being screened is down to how much money it has made and how many times it has been viewed in relation to the other films shown at a cinema – this being decided on the Monday after the opening weekend.

14) Piracy

- Piracy has escalated in the last few years with 20% of all DVD sales being pirates in the UK in 2006.
- Consumers are getting ripped off as they are paying for lower quality, whilst the filmmakers lose out on views and money.
- What people do not know is the money people pay for pirate DVD’s may be contributing towards some criminal behaviour.