Story Boards

Film Poster - Draft Drawing

Magazine Cover - Draft Drawing

Location Release Form

Minor Release Form - Mason Coleman

Recces

Evaluation Question 2 - Combination of Main Product and Ancillary Texts

Magazine Cover - Aperture

Film Poster - Hangman

Film Distribution and Marketing

Film Distribution and Marketing

The distribution and marketing of a film is an incredibly important task. Film distribution is the process of making a movie made viewable by an audience. The task in hand, belongs to the film distributor, who decides the film’s marketing strategy. He decides the release date for the film, and it’s availability on DVD or Blu-Ray releases. The film may in fact, go straight to DVD release, thus missing out on it full, cinematic and theatrical release.

The development and growth of television and technology has changed the world of film. In the 1950’s, all full-length films were shown within a film, showing a rapid shift in the ideology and monetary situation between then and now. Particularly with horror, video nasties, or television movies can easily be created, taking focus away from a theatrical release, and making the movie easily accessible by the audience/consumer.

A business model regulates the standard release routine for a main movie. These “release windows”, as they’re called, was initially created in the 1980’s, on the brink of the home entertainment market. The reason for this, is for the film to avoid competition at the same time, as well as allowing it be broadcast across different mediums (TV, Film, etc.). This could also enhance financial profits, with people wanting to eagerly watch the film at cinema, having to watch it, within this release window.

After approximately two years of release, the film is available on free-to-air television.

A simultaneous release is when the film’s released on multiple platforms at the same time. The film could be distributed at the theatre, television, internet etc. This release significantly benefits the consumer, allowing them freedom of choice, to what medium they want to watch the film in.  However, the profit is much less with simultaneous releases, thus making less common, particularly within Hollywood (It’s all about the money!).

Technically, film distribution and marketing are different, yet they work in co-operation with each other. Film marketing, also known as film promotion, includes theatrical trailers, press releases, merchandising, franchising and media, as well as interviews with star names. The marketing is incredibly important for the overall success of the film. With filmmakers pumping millions into marketing, in order to expand their target audience, as well as spreading the name of the “brand”.

There are 7 aspects to audience research, in which most film distributor’s abide by.

·         -  Positioning studies versus other films that will premiere at the same time

·         - Test screenings of finished or nearly finished films; this is the most well-known

·         - Testing of audience response to advertising materials

·        -  Tracking surveys of audience awareness of a film starting six weeks before premiere

·        -  Exit surveys questionng film goers about their demographic makeup and effectiveness of marketing

·        -  Title testing in an early stage

·        -  Concept testing that would occur in development phase of a film before it is produced.

Advertising – How the product is displayed (Film Poster, Trailer etc.)

Publicity – The attention and hype of the product, created by the media

Promotion – An activity that enhances the awareness of the product to increase public knowledge

Evaluation Question 3 - Audience Feedback

Evaluation Question 4 - How Technologies Were Used

What I Have Learnt From My Research

What I have learnt from my Research:

My research and planning for my main product has significantly enhanced my understanding of media theory, genre conventions and the marketing aspects of film.

The Final Girl theory, by Carol Glover, helped me understand gender stereotypes, and that social and educational background impacts massively on the characters outcome. The survival of a character is very much dependent on the ideology at the time, and in most cases, has become a typical genre convention that only one female survives. House of Wax is a prime example in reflecting this theory, with the character focus being on education and non-promiscuous activities, giving her survival. Others who partake in sexual acts, alcohol, drugs and those with low class education are usually killed off, because of this stereotypical, dominant ideology. Before hand, I had little understand of the segregation between female and males, with the males holding more physical and educational power, leading to their survival.

Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze Theory is another component into a horror films. The act of voyeurism and gazing upon a female from the male perspective is a common trait and convention within horror films. The typical audience for horror is 18-24 year old males, of which is a target audience to consider for our final product. I learnt the true extent of this theory, simply by watching horror films and trailers. The Crazies, Halloween, Wong Turn 2 and House of Wax all includes aspects of sexual objectification and the male gaze. These are usually achieved by POV shots and low-cut shots, to reflect areas of the female figure, which deem, “sexually pleasing” to the male.

Jeremy Tunstall’s theory of women’s roles was one areas I haven’t come across before. After learning and reading this theory, almost every horror film classifies women into one of these 4 roles. Marital, Consumer, Sexual and Domestic. These all emphasis women’s role and importance in society, highlighting they are inferior and subordinate to men.

A typical convention of horror films is the inclusion of the jump-scare. The jump-scare is usually a close-up shot in rapid succession with short musical stings to create a sudden horror expression. These conventions were the sole focus of horror within the films, because there unexpected, catching the audience off guard. A jump-scare is certainly an aspect to include to my trailer.

The History of Horror presentation helped me know and understand the different sub-genres of horror, as well as how these have changed throughout the years. From the start of German expressionism to the Occult Horror Cycle, horror has evolved throughout the year, as well as the technology accompanying it.

Overall, the research has made me learn the theories necessary as well as the true meaning and history behind the horror genre.

Evaluation Question 1 - Challenging and Developing Conventions

Finalised Trailer - Hangman

Chosen Group Idea and Shot's List

Research into Existing Products and Media Theory

Planning Record Sheets

How Audience Research Affected our Idea - Questionnaire Results and Feedback

Risk Assessment

Production Schedule