RESEARCH: HOW THE CAMPAIGN WORKS

Distributors will eventually look at how they distribute a film. They will need to focus on the cost of the campaign. The FDA website states that there are two important factors that distributors focus on when looking at the costs which are: 

ABOVE THE LINE COSTS

Above the line costs. These costs will be spent on creating marketing materials such as trailers and poster, purchasing media advertising such as websites, website banners, radio adverts or newspaper adverts etc. Finally is creating an online presence such as social media platforms that are commonly used, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

BELOW THE LINE COSTS

Below the line costs. When you are a public figure in a certain industry such as in the film industry, it builds further awareness and interest into a certain film. Some distributors use editorial interviews and authored articles are sometimes generally more trusted. Such events to build awareness could be special access to the stars and fans who wait alongside the red carpet for such things as, autographs and selfies.

ADVERTISING

Advertising a film will be the most expensive part of ant P&A budget. In the UK, rates for advertising are very expensive. The most common form of advertising option for distributors are:

 - TV advertising  - Social media networks - Press advertising  - Websites - Trailers - Posters - Radio advertising - Merchandise  - Cross-promotion

THE POSTER

The Image of the poster, just make thew audience aware of the existence of the film and entice us to go and watch it along with putting across ideas of what the film could possibly be about. Most posters want to include stars of the film,  credits and often if its effective the tag line.

The art and main image and design of a films poster is called 'ket art'. This is central to the films identity and an essential feature of its release campaign. An effective poster is able to catch the eye of a potential viewer and is able to temp the mind.

If the film follows a series of films or is a sequel, its poster must immediately make it similar and able to recognise it is a continuing series. If the film being release is an original, the poster has to be able to be bold and eye-catching and make their message and branding heard to anyone who witnesses.

The posters have the potential to put its message across in numerous ways such as:

 - The colours being used (and how bright they are)

 - The image or images used on the poster and the sizing o them

 - The size of specific eye-catching words on the poster 

 - The use of familiar faces of experienced and favourable actors.

 - The style of the poster such as the graphics and any other words used on the poster.

 - The certificate awarded.

POSTER ANALYSIS

TYPES OF TRAILER 

A film trailer is one of the most cost-effective ways of advertising in the film industry as they are shown in cinemas to an audience that will most likely be engaged by the following along with websites and TV. A trailer will give a brief insight into what to expect when watching. The trailer will be a selection of interesting and captivating clips to help grab and retain the audience's attention whilst creating awareness of the upcoming film and generating the 'must-see' attitude from audiences.
A trailer will give an audience:

- What the story will consist of/what it's about
- The talent of the film such as who is in the film
- The genre of the film
- Key dates such as when the film will be released

Trailers are generally categorised into four different ways:

- The T.V spot
- Teaser Trailer
- Full trailer
- On-set bios published by the key members of the cast or crew members

IMPORTANT!

Teaser trailers are released way before a full trailer to help build hype and anticipation generally a whole year before. A full trailer will help enhance that anticipation when it is released 1-2 months before release while TV spots place themselves at 1-2 weeks before initial release.

TRAILER ANALYSIS

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

The trailer is interesting to watch and high-quality production is clear when watching. Two main factors were editing and sound which helped to reinforce the genre of the film. By establishing the genre of the film it will help establish an audience that identifies itself with enjoying that specific genre. The clear hook and engagement of the film is the way women are portrayed, as strong and dominant figures going against what is socially acceptable at the time. Another hook is a familiar actor, Lily James who will help entice viewers who have previously enjoyed films she played a role in such as Cinderella. There is a deep and engaging contrast of the trailer starting with women doing usual women hobbies with calming classical music playing for it to change dramatically e.g. violence and a drastic change in music. 

In the heart of the sea

The sound that runs throughout the trailer is one that is quite and calm but slowly reaches a crescendo as the tension increases. To reinforce this crescendo, at the start you hear the natural dietetic sound of the ocean and the boat moving to then crashing sounds of the boat. The overall lighting is dark which makes It hard for the viewer to understand what is going on, almost as confused as the character at the start. One of the films major hooks is using very popular and recognisable actors such as Tom Holland and Chris Hemsworth. This will help draw in audiences who generally watch films they are in regardless of the story or genre. The pace of the editing is very fast and making it dramatic and captivating for thrill-seeking audiences.

The33

This trailer is about an emotional true story of those 33 men who were trapped underground in Chile. There was one very strong message that some audiences will be able to relate to and that's the government saying they will take action but never do. I think this story will mostly grab though seeking adventure thriller with a warm and happy ending into how 33 men work together for survival. The music being used is one that is recognised and known for its mention which further heightens the emotional tone of the trailer. The general lighting of the trailer is dark which helps create a deeper and realistic understanding and perception of what the miners were going through.

TRAILER MAKING

On the FDA website, you are able to put your creative skill to use and play around with the trailer making tool. The tasks were sliced up clips of the Suffragette film trailer and place them in an appropriate order and one that makes sense while adding sound alongside. One difficulty I did find was the smoothness of the transitions as we couldn't manually cut the clips ourselves such as in iMovie or FinalCut Pro but added to the challenge. 

RESEARCH: WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE

Kezia Williams is Head of Theatrical Distribution I Entertainment One UK, has explained that when it comes to defining a target audience it will affect the 'where' and 'how' of the marketing campaign. The first thing you can do is by looking and evaluating similar films in the past often referred to as 'comparable films'. After research and gathering lots of data they will be able to see the audience on similar films. The type of data they will look at is the demographic data such as if it is popular amongst males or females, what age group does it appeal to while also analysing cinema-going trends. Box office information is also important as it illustrates regional data. Once you understand the audience of those comparable films you can start to talk about the differences and similarities between those films and the film that you're working on.

RESEARCH: WHATS SETS A FILM APART?

What?

It is important to pick out the key themes and the hooks and what is going to really excite and engage your audience. You must be able to identify the selling points and the target audience fairly early on and also important to identify any challenges that you might need to overcome them. Once you have your strength and challenges outlined that will then allow you and determine how you can work to position your film in the market. the selling points could consist of the cast a director that may have a certain cache for a certain audience that you may want to be the spearhead of the campaign.

RESEARCH: THE ROLE OF THE DISTRIBUTOR

I looked at The Film Space from the FDA. Mark Batey who is the Chief Executive of the FDA showed us in his videos the essential roles of the distributor.

WHAT

Something to take into consideration is what is the film going to be about? Don't just focus on things such as the genre but how have other films similar and recent films performed. There must be a clear position of a film and state who it is for and what it is about.

WHO

Students and young adults such as those in their 20s make up most cinema-goers however it has recently been seen that the audience bracket has been widening from ages up to 8 years old to 80.

On-Page 71 statistics show that the age 16-34 age bracket is the largest audience sector. 91% of whom went to the cinema in 2018, which accumulated a total of 77 million visits. The FDA has realised that TV audiences are ageing (over half of TV audiences fit inside the over 54 category) whilst another survey by OFCOM found that 48% of 12-15-year-olds picked YouTube as their favourite and preferred platform and 19% chose Netflix. These figures will most likely have a huge influence on how distributors marketing their films to audiences.

WHEN

This is a very important decision as more than 700 feature films are realised every year, from little independent low budget films to big hitters such as big hitters like star wars and Spectre. This makes the market extremely competitive and means you must get your timing right to make urself stand out.

Outside factors can sometimes control how the box office works despite the very detailed planning. This can be shown from factors such as the weather or a football match due to the cinema market being product-driven. This was shown with the FIFA world cup fixtures competed for audiences from the cinema market. The third weekend in April had very nice warm and sunny weather after a cold winter, outside factors such as these control the demand and desire for cinema-goers.

HOW

How is a broad question as you need to ask equations such as, who is it for? How much can we afford to bring it to market and promote it? How many cinemas are willing to play it? It is all specific for that individual film how they can achieve the best distribution plan.

The FDA has estimated that UK film distributors investment in bringing 916 new titles to the market in 2018 which exceeded £350 million.

The FDA explains (page 77-79) the different types of marketing strategy: FDA estimates that UK film distributors’ investment in bringing 916 new titles to market in 2018 exceeded £350m. Around half of this is paid-for UK-wide advertising, using many digital, social and physical media outlets. The remainder is formed of many components: advertising, poster and trailer production; publicity and premiere costs; and digital cinema packages to be supplied to cinemas in many formats. The FDA added that although the UK is a large cinema territory in terms of box-office receipts, the high costs of marketing and distribution mean relatively low returns for the distributor. It is hard to 'cut through' in a congested marketplace and the fact that it is so crowded makes decisions on release dates very tough.

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RESEARCH: MOVIE TRAILER WEBSITES

iTunes

I use iTunes frequently not only due to the accessibility of me having an iPhone but the sheer high quality of trailers and the fact that there are no advertisements. However, it still isn't my first choice when wanting to view trailers as I am more comfortable and confident navigating other sources such as YouTube. I know however that it is popular amongst friends due to the reasons above and because of the sorting feature such as recently added, most popular, editors picks.

IMDb

I use IMBD not just due to them having many quick access trailers but they have a huge database of trailer and movie information. This in turn helps me reach a justified conclusion when picking a film this is right for me. One way IMDb has helped make a decision for when reading the reviews for the film Cats which score low reviews and 2.7 on IMDb.

YouTube

YouTube is generally a popular option as not only is there a huge variety of movie trailers and helpful filtering options to find more movie previews it also includes reviews and news reports about them. YouTube is generally my first port of call due to me using It a lot and used it to watch trailers such as 'Angel has fallen', which had very positive comments along with a high view count and many likes. YouTube has a more energetic community feel to it which enables you to interact with others who also have an interest in the film. Although there are advertisements sometime before during and after the video, this are generally specifically targeted at me, therefore, giving something else I can watch once done with the present trailer I am watching.

Rotten Tomatoes 

Rotten Tomatoes offer a very helpful categorising system so I can navigate easily through the site, along with this they also offer a very interesting rating system by their critics. This helpful categorising of the site and the highly-rated films makes me have an easy and stress-free navigation through this website.

The FDA Yearbook 2020 and now updated its information on how audiences use specific websites such as Youtube and the importance of social networking sites such as Twitter. All the info about how audiences use IMDB supports our opinion that it is more than just a database but alongside functional as a site that audiences use to view a trailer, with Joker, Avengers Endgame and KGF Chapter 1 top three.

RESEARCH: INTRODUCTION TO TRAILERS

How do you find out about films?

My favourite way of finding out about new films is at the cinema as you are in the perfect environment such as the Dolby Surround Sound and of course the large screen. Not only will most films have a bigger and more meaningful impact at the cinema but the choice of the being displayed before the film is tailored to my choice and liking, which keeps my cinema-going experience sustainable. I generally discover trailers however through YouTube. This is purely due to the accessibility and the way a person can simply navigate through its user-friendly layout. Finally is recommendations through friends and family this is one of the most effective ways to find out about films due to them knowing you better than any algorithm or suggestive comment.

What makes you want to see a film?

One of the biggest appeals a film has for me is the type of actors are in such as ones that I have established a relationship with in previous films. This is due to the standard that they have upheld is to my standard. An example of this is Tom Hanks as regardless of the genre the way he puts across the story and character helps me to be able to submerge into the action of the production. One of the best films I believe he was able to pull this off best was Captain Philips. Just as important however is a genre. This is also a significant factor as you are able to choose a genre which fits your presents needs and wants. If you are feeling relatively sad and want to cheer up you may pick a rom-com or a comedy to cheer you to help the escapism factor.

How do you know what to expect from a film?

Websites such as IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes are a good source of films and outline the baseline of a story before viewing. My most used way, however, is YouTube by viewing trailers and watching celebrity trailers and third part reviews. YouTube has a very active and accessible comment section which means you can contrast different views and perspectives about a film against one another.

What am I paying for when I buy a cinema ticket?

Two of the things I look for are the size and quality of the screen and the Dolby Surround Sound. The reason these two are important to me is due to these being the two single most important factors to that submerse experience that just can't be achieved at home. The second factor is comfort. You must be able to be in a position where you can sit in space for a prolonged period of time, I believe this is where cinemas have competition with watching films at home as there is no comfort like your own sofa. My preference is franchise's like Everyman for comfortability or little independents such as The Light Cinema.

Are there films I have to see in the cinema or does it not matter?

I do think that some films are made for the big screens generally action-packed films that take advantage of the large detailed screen and the Dolby Surround Sound. An example of this is the James Bond series where there are frequent explosions and action shots, I believe they are brought to life in this environment as the bassi surrounding sound and the bright glimmering explosions on the huge display fully immerse you in the action much more so than on a phone or tablet. I think some films such as comedies don't necessarily need that cinema experience as they don't need that subversive environment. This being said, the escapism experience is more likely to be broken in a home environment.