Regional Identity Essay - Doc Martin

Task 10

Intro what is film distribution?

Film distribution is the process of making a movie available for viewing by an audience. This is normally the task of a professional film distributor, who would determine the marketing strategy for the film, the media by which a film is to be exhibited or made available for viewing, and who may set the release date and other matters. Distribution involves advertising.

What is the distributor's role?

A distributor will work out who will want to see a film, how it should be distributed and why.

What's a distribution plan?

The plan a distributor would make when considering how to market the film. They would consider audience and genre along with marketing techniques.

What's a P + A budget?

This is called a print and advertising budget. It is the budget a distribution company would use for marketing.

What is the average distribution cost for a big six film?

The average cost is around $50 million.

What does the distribution budget include?

Advertisements, commercials, radio adverts, posters, billboards, press release, online adds,

What is a simultaneous release?

This is a new method of releasing films. Some companies have decided to release there film on DVD and in Cinemas at the same time. Or online and in Cinemas ect.

What are some main distribution companies?

20th Century Fox Film Co. Ltd.

Aardman Animations

Artificial Eye

Axiom Films

Ayngaran International (Tamil films only)

Buena Vista International

Cinema International Corporation (CIC)

Columbia Pictures

What do you think is the link between audiences and distribution?

A distributor has to highly consider audience when marketing the film. If the advertisements aren't going to reach the target audience then no one will be able to see the film.

Define target market audience? What's audience positioning?

A target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message. In marketing and advertising, it is a specific group of people within the target market at which a product or the marketing message of a product is aimed. With audience positioning - Created by Stuart Hall who was a cultural theorist, it has 3 objectives:

1. To understand the relationship between the audience and the media text

2. To understand the position that the audience will take dependent on certain factors

3. To understand how audience are constructed by media producers

Why is the release date crucial?

People want to release films around the same time as holidays and school breaks so that children will go and see there film in this period. Batman Vs Superman was released on Good Friday which is good as it allowed people to go and watch the film throughout the Easter holidays.

What is self distribution?

People who distribute film themselves by handing out leaflets and advertising online for free by themselves.

Torchwood Clip

Merlin Essay

Merlin Essay - 45 minutes.

Merlin represents class and status in many different ways. It uses Mise en Scene, Camera, Editing and Sound throughout the clip to reflect on different classes and statuses. In the first scene the costumes reflect that there are a difference in classes between Merlin himself and the women. The lady is wearing a long dress with different types of jewelry which portray her as a rich and wealthy member of society, which is seen as the upper class. In contrast there is Merlin who is wearing brown rags which small tears in them, this shows his lack of wealth and this leads the audience seeing him as a lower class citizen.
Also in the first scene there was a significant difference in screen time. The lady was given a considerable amount of screen time compared to Merlin. This would reflect how that she is of more importance and therefore a higher class to the undermined Merlin. The lady is reflected to have higher authority over Merlin.
As Merlin leaves this upper class building, the camera shot is a long shot of Merlin and is tilted down onto him, making him out to be smaller than he actually is. Almost showing that people inside the building look down on him as he is of a lower class.
Although when he starts the fight then the two fighters are given the same amount of screen time, this is due to them portraying them as being equals in a fight,

Task 9 - Terminology for Exam

Terminology List :

Mainstream – mainstream films are the big blockbuster films that the majority of the public will watch or at least know about. These are often high budget and is produced by the big six – often used by ordinary people for escapism.

Independent – contrasting with the mainstream, independent films are more intellectual and often focuses on social issues. They are less known, low budget and targeted at niche audiences. These are often produced by small independent companies although not always.

Production (stages) – there are three stages of production – pre production which is deciding the genre of the film, casting, writing the script, setting the budget etc. Actual production would be filming the scenes. Post production would be editing.

Distribution – launching and sustaining films in the market place.

Marketing – advertising the film to the public to attract the intended or a wide target audience – usually through the use of billboards, social media, posters, trailers 

Exchange – how a product has reached the consumer.

Multinational Conglomerate - a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate group.

Monopoly – when one company dominates the market.

Oligopoly – the control of a market for a particular product by a small group of companies in which no one is dominant.

Name the Big Six (90% of box office takings) – Paramount Pictures, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros Pictures, Walt Disney, Columbia Pictures

Horizontal Integration - this is where an organisation develops by buying another company within the same section of the market at the same stage of production (also known as cross media ownership).

Vertical Integration – when two firms in the same industry come together but at different stages so for example, a television studio may buy a production company to produce some of its television programmes.

Synergy – the interaction of two or more forces working together to create a larger effect in comparison to working independently. For example, an artist may sing the theme song of a movie and the song is repeatedly featured in the film – they are both promoting each other.

Merchandising – selling a variety of products that is related or is focused on a specific film to maintain the popularity of the film as well as adding to the profit made e.g. clothing, household items

Ultra Violet – allows consumers to have a proof-of-purchase so that they are able to view the content in a variety of different devices – also allows users to share their library with up to 5 people.

Above the line- All the objects you pay for in marketing/the budget.

Below the line- Free adverting- word of mouth/Peoples tweets about the film.

Technological Convergence/Cross media convergence – when different types of technology come together to create a new technology.

Consumption – how much people buy at the cinema – e.g. tickets, food, drinks

Exhibition – showing films in cinemas or on DVD – making the film available on different platforms.

Piracy – the act of stealing, copying, distributing movies.

Hollywood Franchise 4S Model – synergy, spectacle, sequelisation, story

Tie-In – the creation of marketing synergy between two products so for example a book and a film - a book that inspired or was inspired by a motion picture.

Task 8

Task 7

When do audiences go to the cinema?

Most people go to the cinema during the weekend because they have these days free from their working weeks or school weeks. There is also incentive to visit the cinema during the week when there are certain deals and subsidies, such as Orange 2 for 1 Wednesdays.

What are the most popular genres?

The most popular genres are generally used by blockbuster films and these tend to be Action, Comedy and Animated films. These seem to be the most mainstream movies.

What was the top film in each of these genres?

Action - Fast And Furious 7: An extremely popular series, and this installment was in the memory of the late Paul Walker and so any Fast and Furious, or Paul Walker fans would've watched the film.

Comedy - Minions: Very popular for younger children, based on the success of the previous films 'Despicable Me' 1 & 2. Released in children school holidays which means that it can be viewed by a larger volume of people.

Animated - Inside out: Appeals to families and younger children, meaning a larger audience went to see the film. Once again it was released in children school holidays which means that it can be viewed by a larger volume of people.

How do audiences hear about films?

Most poeple now hear about movies online, via social media, such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. This is because most people nowadays use social media everyday and it provides companies with below the line advertisement.

Another way however, is trailers before watching the film itself in the cinema

Do audiences prefer US, UK or other nationality films?

The biggest film production and distribution industries are in the UK and the US, so popularity varies between the two.

But since 90% of cinema viewings are The Big Six films, these companies are American, which may increase the territories film popularity.

Do audiences like 3D films?

Most cinema goers prefer the 2D experience rather than three dimensional due to wearing the glasses which may cause annoyance when watching a film in the cinema.

What other ways do audiences watch film aside from the cinema?

The way in which the audience watch films alternatively involve monthly subscription to Netflix or buying films at home through Sky Store or Amazon Prime.

However, the majority of audiences can watch movies through illegal sites such as Putlocker which means the cinema industry are losing money.

Who do audiences go to the cinema with?

The cinema is very socially orientated which means that audiences tend to visit the cinema with friends as an outing. It is relatively cheap and is suitable for everybody.

Depending on the target audience of the film, parents can take their families to see more family orientated films or a group of friends could go and see a horror film etc.

When and where are most audiences likely to go to the cinema?

Many audience members tend to visit a local mainstream cinema. This would include for instance "The Odeon" for Chelmsford. This is due to the amount of available screenings they can have at one time and the wide range of films they can show.