Tuesday, 30 September 2014

The Film Chain: By Esther Asaolu

The film chain

The film industry consists of three principal economic activities:

  • Production       

  • Distribution

  • Marketing

  • Exhibition

Production 


In production, the video production/film is created and shot. Production is separated into multiple stages.

Before the actual production begins there is the PRE-PRODUCTION.

The Pre-production is initially where the planning for the production of the film begins.  During pre-production the script is usually broken down into story boards and other factors of the film such as cast members, locations, props, costumes, special/visual effects are established.



film animated GIF
Next, after the long thorough process of the pre-production is the actual PRODUCTION.

The production stage is the where the actual filming begins. Filming is the main part of the production all together and it is here where all the careful and through planning from the pre-production stage comes together and all the planned scenes  are carried out in each planned location.




film animated GIFFinally, the last stage is the POST-PRODUCTION. Here, the scenes filmed during the production is now assembled into the final film by the film editor. Elements of the film such sound effects, soundtracks, visual effect are added.





Distribution

Film distribution is the process of making a film available for viewing for audience.

movie animated GIFThe final film are usually sold to large distribution companies such as Time warner inc., Fox entertainment group, and the Universal studio group.                 

Independent film makers often use film festivals as an opportunity to get the attention of distributors. Once a distributor is interested in a film, the producers and the disturbers arrive at a distribution agreement often based on either leasing or profit sharing.

Marketing

The movie Frozen grossed $1,274,219,009 worldwide in 2013. One of the reasons films such as Frozen are so successful is their marketing schemes. Film Marketing is the art and science of convincing people to buy theatre tickets. 

Marketing is different from distribution because distribution is simply the process of getting the film into cinemas whereas marketing is the process of getting consumers to actually want to go out to cinemas and see the film. 

There are many different ways to promote a film and these include:


  • T.V adverts
  • Radio
  • Billboards
  • Newspapers
  • Magazines
  • Toys
  • Posters
  • Social Networking Sites



The Disney production Frozen has been a marketing success utilising gaming apps. For example, they have created...a Gaming app, Toys and they also got Disney star Demi Lovato
to release a song for the movie soundtrack: "Let it go"



image

Exhibition

Exhibition is the retail branch of the film industry. It involves not the product production or the distribution of motion pictures, but their public screening.

Audiences engages with films using:
  • The Cinema
  • Television
  • Youtube
  • Movie-streaming sites
  • Netflix
  • Lovefilm
  • DVD 
  • Blu-ray's

Box office is used to refer to the commercial success of a film. The box office return of a film is a good indicator of a film's success because the box office return shows the amount money raised by ticket sales.




The BFI


The BFI is the British film institute. They are a charitable organisation etablished by the Royal Charter to: Encourahe the development of the arts of film, television, and the moving image throughout the UK.
 
The BFI help the British film industry by funding and distributing UK films nationwide and internationally.













Abdul Ahmed: The Film Chain Homework


Production

The stages involved in producing a film is planning, filming and editing. The film must be planned well as this can effect how the final version of the film is made. Filming is the main part of producing a film as this is the part where you record scenes for the film. Lastly, there is the editing process which is done so your movie has no errors such as there being a bad cut or a jump cut. Also you can add SFX (special effects) to your film during the editing process.

The main producers of films in America are companies like:
  • Twentieth Century Fox                    
  • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer                      
  • Universal Studios
  • Paramount Pictures
  • Columbia Pictures
  • Tristar Pictures
  • Warner Bros
  • New Line Cinema
  • Walt Disney
  • Pixar
  • Marvel
  • Lionsgate

         

If a big company like Warner Bros or Twentieth Century Fox are the owners of the studio and a film is being produced under their name, the studio should expect to make a big-budget blockbuster that should sell well.  This is because they are a big studio and only greatness should come out from their studio so there is a sort of pressure.

An independent production is when something like a movie or video game is being produced by one person or a small group of people and is being made with usually low-mid budgets.

Distribution

The word distribution means to give out something across a huge number of people. In terms of media, this usually means giving out a movie across multiple cinemas.

Usually films are distributed by the studio where the film was made but in some cases, some movies are distributed by another studio. An example of this is Marvel. They produce films like Thor, Ironman and the upcoming Deadpool. But Marvel does not distribute their films.  Walt Disney does as they own Marvel Studios.


The traditional way of distributing a film is for the film distributor to release the film across cinemas.

Digital Distribution is a new form of film distribution. This is when you post your movie online for the whole world to see.

Film festivals are used to help indie producers distribute their film. An example of a film festival is the London Film Festival which shows a variety of independent films.

If an anticipated movie gets announced for a certain weekend and this movie is expected to be a huge success at the box office, a distributor might decide not to release their film alongside that blockbuster because it might make less money.

If a film cannot secure a distribution deal, then the chances of that movie getting released to cinemas can become very slim and almost next to nothing.

Marketing

Marketing is different to distribution because in marketing, it involves making promotional items such as toys or video games for movies like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Also, simple stuff like adverts and commercials are marketing as you are promoting the movie with an advert.

Different types of marketing include:

Toys for upcoming films like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Movie related video games like The Amazing Spider-man 2 game.



Advertisements on buses like the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire.



Lastly, you can release the soundtrack of a movie to market it. An Indonesian film called The Raid Redemption did this. Also they had Mike Shinoda From Linkin Park create the soundtrack so people who listen to Linkin Park may even be interested with the film.






Some films that are released in another country may find it hard to get the film successful in other countries but with some marketing techniques, the film can sell better. An example of a film that did this was The Raid Redemption. This is an Indonesian film but had a massive success around the world especially in UK and the US. The trailer had little speech and dialogue but the film clearly showed what it was all about and it was an action film. The trailer just showed scenes consisting of fighting and the scenes shown in the trailer could lure anyone as it looks very engaging and fun to watch. Also the end shows who the soundtrack was composed by and this could lure fans of the composer of the soundtrack.

Here is a link for the trailer: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkULMOFpuCo

Exhibition (Exchange)

We engage with films by:

  • Cinema
  • Television
  • Youtube
  • Movie-streaming sites
  • Netflix
  • Lovefilm
  • DVD 
  • Blu-ray's
          

The term Box Office is used to refer to the commercial success of a film.

A box office return is useful to identify the success of a film because if a film makes a lot of money during its first week on release, then you can say that the film has been very successful.

Then people who receive the money from the film are usually the executive producers and the director(s). 

Most cinemas make their money from the tickets the public buy to watch a film. From snacks such as popcorn, nachos, drinks etc. Also they can receive money from onscreen advertisements which play before the films start. 

Cinemas encourage people to watch films there rather than at home in many ways. One way is that you can get premium cards which allow you to watch a movie at a cheaper price and better seats for example, Cineworld have premium leather seats which have to be booked or can be used by premium card holders.

Ancillary markets are non-theatrical markets for feature films like home, TV, online or pay to view. These enable exhibition of a film's release at cinema as they help people who did not see the film get a chance to watch it.

BFI (British Film Institute)

British Film Institute logo.png

The BFI is the British film institute. The BFI encourage the development of film in the United Kingdom. This helps the British film industry because it creates more movies for the UK to watch and appreciate.






Wednesday, 24 September 2014

Upcoming Films: Task 3


The equaliser film is a big budget, hollywood film.

What We Did On Our Holiday is a big budget british film.

Salvatore Giuliano is a foreign indie film.

Ida is a foreign indie film.

I origins is a small budget indie film.

5 Facts: Task 2

The four stages of a film industry is the production stage, the distribution stage, the marketing stage and then the exhibition.

64% of cinema audiences are aged 7-34.

Saturday is the most popular day as it owns 24.1% of the box office.

The most popular genre at box office is action.

The least popular genre at box office is Rom Com.

The Group Photo: Task 1




Hey, this is group 11!
Naya, Ahmed, Helen and Esther.