BLK feedback

Excellent analysis and reflections on your horror shot - super work Mel!

Great films chosen as faves; looking forward to seeing your chosen clips too (why not analyse THE Harry met Sally scene!!)

Can you add some film websites to your links list?

FDA Video Notes

These notes are a summary of video clips found on www.launchingfilms.tv

Release Of a Film:

Identify the films TA.
Then choose how much money to spend on marketing by deciding how much money the film will make at the box office, and setting a realistic budget.
Decide how to market the film, talk to third parties e.g. Radio & Newspapers, and make sure the cast of the film are willing to promote the film.
Choose what media you’re going to spend money on, internet becoming increasingly important.
Ultimately, you have to decide on the best ways to communicate with the TA in the most effective way.

Target Audience:

With smaller films, you really have to decide exactly who your TA is and have to focus on targeting tem well. Use data from past, similar films to help with finding out about the audience, and how to target them.
You can never be 100% sure about who your TA is, so targeting one audience can be a gamble.
Different audiences need to be targeted differently, their whole approach to deciding what film to see and when is very different e.g. teenagers go to the cinema and choose what to see there and then, whereas adults take up to a week or more to decide to see a film.

P&A Budget:

You need to think about the cost of printing the actual film including technical elements & shipping and, more importantly, advertising costs from posters to trailers.
Decide how best to use the budget.
Think about: Whats the TA? Where are they going to see the ad? Where’s the best place to put the advert?
Some advertising is too expensive, e.g. TV and if you have a low budget you have to do something else, e.g. Radio.

Marketing Plan:

You market films through advertising and through the press.
Advertising is expensive; you have to pay for ads in magazines, newspapers, on TV, on radio, on the internet etc.
You can use the internet by email or viral campaigns – in which you put something to create interest in the film, e.g. a clip of the film.
You can put features on the film in newspapers & magazines.
Advertising outside, including on buses, on bus shelters and on billboards is expensive.
Press ads are ‘free’ – includes interviews with the cast and/or director of the film, which can also be on TV or Radio.
The best form of free advertising is word of mouth; you do this by holding screening programs – free screenings of the film.
Word of mouth advertising is crucial; it can make or break the film.
If your film plays well to an audience word of mouth is the best form of advertising you can have, especially if you have a low budget.

Test Screenings:

Research is very important and comes into play at different times.
You can do research well in advance by testing visuals such as posters, trailers and even sometimes of film concept ideas
You have to make sure they meet people’s expectations and communicate to the audience in the way that they need to.
When the film’s finished you do test screenings, where you get a group of the TA to see the film and fill out questionnaires.
Some of the group stay behind for a focus group where they’re spoken to in more depth about the issues in the film and what they did and didn’t like. Studios will listen to the feedback and change parts of the film, even sometimes the ending.

Opening weekend:

The opening weekend is very important.
Exhibitors work on the three day figure which is from the Friday that the film opened to the Sunday.
Then on Monday morning you have a ‘holdover’, which is make or break for the film.
The film has to of been successful - made the most money out of all the films in that cinema.
If it’s made the least money then the film is taken off, which is why a film will sometimes only show for a week.

Positioning and Audiences:

Define the TA.
Does the film have a specific genre?
Does it speak to a certain age group?
Who’s the director?

Competition:

Film distribution is all about the competition.
You need to stand above other films to be noticed.
Need to think about:
Why would your film poster stand out from the rest in a cinema?
Why do the audience want to see your film?
Why is your poster more exciting than the one next to it?
Around times like October half term it’s very busy for all films that appeal to younger audiences because there’s nothing else to do due to the weather, it’s a good time to go to the cinema.
You have to think about all factors including holidays, weather and audience patterns.
For example, you wouldn’t do as much TV advertising in July and August because everyone’s outside so you do posters etc. because that’s where they’re more likely to see your advertising.

Word Of Mouth:

The word of mouth is critical for a film.
When you want the word of mouth to happen depends on the film.
Sometimes you have a film that you know will work well, and you get it very early.
In this case you work with media partners e.g. magazines to help provide advanced screenings. For example, put a phone number in a magazine that you call to get free tickets to one of twenty or so screenings.
The hope is that the people who watch the movie leave and tell everyone how great the film is and so increasing the interest in the film.
If you get the film late then you have to rely on the advertising money you have to ensure a successful opening weekend, and then the word of mouth happens after the film is in cinemas. In this case, word of mouth decides how long the film is going to play for.

Film Trailers:

The trailer is the most important key to selling the film.
It’s the first and generally only exposure in the cinema of what they’re actually going to be buying into.
The trailer is being watched in the same environment that they’re going to watch the film in and the screen is the same size as the one they’re going to watch the film on.
It’s very important that the trailer has the right impact and right message, right down to the way in which the graphics, sound and overall concept of the film are portrayed.

Digital Marketing:

Viral marketing is very simple.
It’s creating an element, e.g. game, video or quiz, that’s good enough for someone to send on to others.
The most effective way of marketing is still word of mouth.
The best way for communicating that a film is good is for someone, whose opinions you trust and value, to tell you.

Persuading Cinemas:

First major step is to convince cinemas to screen the film.
First you have to sell the film to the cinemas – especially with an independent film.
Theres a big difference with other products in that with films you have to find somewhere to put it.

Piracy:

Piracy in the UK has escalated over the last 5 years.
In 2006 piracy counts for 20% of all DVDs sold in the UK – a shockingly high number that are illegally sold.
It’s a big problem because the consumer thinks they are getting a bargain when in fact they are being ripped off by bad quality DVDs.
The money the consumer pays for the DVDs may be going towards various criminal elements that they may not be aware of.

THR Feedback

Loving the dark feel Mel! Your work is great - detailed and focused on technical codes and effects. Well done.

Horror Still Shot Analysis

1- Describe your shot and identify in what way it could be seen as representing horror.

- The shot is a LA, CU with low lighting. The lighting used way artificial. It is a shot of a white female teenager grabbing onto a metal fence. The shot has a frame within a frame, with the use of the fence. There is a shadow behind her of someone. The back ground of the shot is a white wall.

- The shot represents horror as it shows evidence of entrapment. Also the low lighting and expression on the girl's face, which is highlighted by the light, helps represent that the shot is a horror shot. The fact that the light is unnatural makes the shot feel unnatural. The light also exposes what's going on behind her and so creates a feeling of fear. The whites of her eyes are highlighted and so the fact that she looks scared is highlighted. The fact that the light is shining on her, and we see a shadow behind her, emphasises that she's the victim. Her unnatural, distorted position and her hands grabbing hold of the fence make us feel uneasy. The shot overall feels unnatural, which is disturbing and so represents horror.

2- What did you actually do to achieve the effect?

- We found an enclosed space, above the ground with a metal fence surrounding it. The actress (Alice) went inside while the person taking the shot (Matt) stayed on the outside. We cut out all light except one with we shone upwards from below the camera. We took the shot from a LA and did not use flash as it revealed too much of the background.

3- What is succesful about your shot?

- The shadow created from the light is successful, as is the low lighting which helped create the shadow. The angle of the shot works well as it seems unnatural, as it is a LA and is at a slightly distorted angle. The enclosed spaced was good, as it highlights the feeling that she is the victim. Also the distance works well, as it ensures that we can see the characters expression.

4- What would you do differently in hindsight?

- Looking back I think the shot needs more light focused on the hands so we can see them grabbing on a lot clearer. There is also a bit too much going on in the background, and too much of the white wall is showing. It also would have been better had the actress looked a bit more like a victim through the use of make-up, props and costume, for example if she had a bloody nose or cuts on her face. Also it would be better if we could see more of her face so that we could see her expression even more clearly.

Sin City Shot Sequence Analysis

Shot One - This shot is of a man lying on the ground, pointing a gun at and looking at the camera. He is wearing an expensive looking suit and tie. The HA makes it easier for us to see his face and the MCU ensures that we are not distracted by anything else in the shot. The light shining on the man's face and gun makes us look at the them. The man is holding his ear which suggests that he has been hurt. The shot makes us feel as if the man is looking directly at us, or that we are looking at him from someone else's perspective.

Shot Two - This HA, LS introduces us to another character. The new character, a man wearing a long, light coloured coat is pointing a gun at the man on the floor. The distance of the shot helps us to see both men clearly and enables us to see a bit more of the setting. We can also see that the man on the floor's hand has been severely injured and we can assume that the man standing over him has shot his hand as the light shines on his arm so we can see even clearer that his is pointing a gun at the man. The blood from the man's hand has been lit up so we can see it very clearly, therefore it causes our our eye to be drawn to it. The standing position allows us to assume that he is ready to shoot again.

Shot Three - This ELS, taken from the side, introduces us to two new characters. The two new characters are a man standing, wearing a long dark coat, and a little girl sitting on the floor. The girls legs appear to be tied up. the distance of the shot allows us to see more of the setting and the surrounding area looks deserted. From this shot we can assume that the girl has been kidnapped. The man on the ground appears to be trying to get up, or to talk, and the man standing over him is leaning in towards him, and seems to be talking to him. We can now see that the light is coming from lights in the distance and this helps the shot seem more natural. The light shines on the man in the dark coat's hand to show us that he is also carrying a gun.

Shot Four - Although still a long shot, this shot is a tighter version of the previous shot; we can no longer see the man in the dark coat. The man standing is now pointing the gun back at the man on the floor. This suggests that he is ready to shoot him again. The man on the floor has raised his injured hand, possibly an instictive reaction, or to plead with the man standing, not to shoot. The light shines on the damaged hand and reveals to us that it has been severed. The man standing's coat is being blown back by the wind which makes him seem powerful. It also has a heroic element about it and makes him seem more heroic than he first appeared. It is possible that he is there to save the little girl.

Shot Five - This is a CU of the little girl. The tight shot makes us focus on her face and her facial expression. The light shines on her eyes and cheek showing that she is crying, and she is obviously upset and scared which causes us to assume she is watching the man get shot. She seems to be leaning forward, maybe trying to get away from what she has seen but she appears to be tied up and so can't. This shot is very different to the other shots we have seen. It seems more 'real' than the other, as the men have seemed to not show any emotion in the past four shots.

Shot Six - The ELS shows us all four characters again. It is a LA shot so we are looking up at the characters. The man lying on the floor now appears to be dead as he's lying flat on the floor, whereas before his knees were raised. We now see some emotion from the man in the light coat. He is leaning onto something, and leaning forward. This shows that he is tired and his facial expression also shows this. His expression also suggests that he may feel bad about shooting the man. The man in the dark coat seems mysterious and sinister, watching the man in the light coat from further back. We still haven't seen his face but have seen all the other characters faces, this adds to the mysteriousness of the character. The blackness of his coat is highlighted by the white smoke behind him which again makes him seem sinister. As well as the smoke highlighting his dark coat, the coat highlights the white smoke. This causes us to notice it more and contrasts the (what appears to be) calm scene of the three living characters with the hectic, everyday business that is going on behind them.

The Whole Sequence - By moving the camera around so much in a very short sequence the director helps introduce us to the surroundings and the characters. It also helps us to understand what's happening better. By changing the distance of the shots more and more characters are introduced to us. This means that the audience is not sure whether any other characters are going to appear and so helps create more suspense. The shot distances also help to show which characters are the most important in this sequence. For example, the man in the light coat is more prominant in this sequence and so we can see that he is the most important character in the sequence and maybe in the rest of the film.