Often HALF of the budget for a blockbuster movie is spent on marketing and promotion. Promotion is often done through the use of:
-Trailers (advertised through the TV, Radio or Cinema)
-Posters
-Toys (eg. free McDonalds toys)
-Film websites
-Companies social network sites (twitter accounts, facebook advertising etc.)
-Youtube (interviews with actors, early viewers etc.)
Any company can associate with any other company. For example, Warner Bros, a huge marketing company that distributes films joined forces with a few different companies whilst promoting 'Batman: The Dark Knight Rises'. They joined up with:
-Toshiba Electronics- the company ran a six week campaign to win tickets to the European premier in London.
-Nokia- the release of their new phone the Nokia Lumia 900 came with limited edition batman branding on it, and came with exclusive movie content if you bought it.
-French Connection UK-the company sold limited edition T-shirts across 70 worldwide stores.
-Armani- the company provided clothes for the actors to wear during promotional events
Warner Bros also struck a partnership with Lego, so Lego made their own trailer for Batman but with with Lego figures, and Batman is now show in Legoland as a Lego version.
Marketing a big product like a movie can be a very expensive business, especially when that product has a limited shelf life. Movies have to be a hit on their opening weekend, often on their opening day, otherwise they tend to disappear very quickly, and the studio stands to make a loss on their investment. Due to a short shelf life the movie studio may begin marketing a movie as long as six to eight months before the release date, especially to create anticipation for an event movie, using teasers (enigmatic posters, short viral videos).
This would be key in our thriller as we are releasing a trailer, so our trailer needs to create great anticipation and provide teasers to become a good adverisement.
Monday 19 January 2015
The Kuleshov Effect
Kuleshov edited together a short film in which a shot of the expressionless face of a man was alternated with various other shots (a plate of soup, a girl in a coffin, a woman on a divan). The film was shown to an audience who believed that the expression on the man's face was different each time he appeared, depending on whether he was "looking at" the plate of soup, the girl in the coffin, or the woman on the divan, showing an expression of hunger, grief or desire, respectively. The footage of the man was actually the same shot each time.
This rule is key for our main thriller piece, and links into it as we now know the effect of cutaways and how they can be used effectively
This rule is key for our main thriller piece, and links into it as we now know the effect of cutaways and how they can be used effectively
Audience Theory
Cultivation theory:
In its most basic form, cultivation theory suggests that exposure to television, over time, subtly "cultivates" viewers' perceptions of reality.
George Gerbner came up with the Cultivation theory which examines the long term affect of watching TV. It splits the audience into 2 distinct catagories; heavy and light viewers.
A heavy viewer is classified as a heavy viewer as they watch more than 4 hours of TV a day and are affected by Mean World Syndrome- where "people who spend the most time in front of the TV develop an exaggerated belief in a mean and scary world."
A light viewer watches TV for less than 4 hours a day and will therefore not be as 'cultivated' by the TV, and therefore not as accepting as heavy viewers.
George Gerbner observed that in primetime, TV was 80% violence. So, heavy viewers was watching 80% violent TV, if his theory was correct, proving that the Heavy Viewers would get about 80% more violent due to their tolerance with violence in real life.
Hypodermic Needle Model:
According to the theory the media is like a syringe which injects ideas, attitudes and beliefs into the audience who as a powerless mass have little choice than to be influenced by it- in the past films (such as The Exorcist) have been banned in the past because it might encourage people to commit the crimes within them.
Made by Katz and developed by Lazarsfeld the 'Hypodermic Needle Theory' implied mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on the audience; as research methodology became more highly developed, it became apparent that the media had selective influences on people. The most famous incident often cited as an example for the hypodermic needle model was the 1938 broadcast of The War of the Worlds and the subsequent reaction of widespread panic among its American mass audience.
Another well known example was Hitler's monopolization of mass media (through posters and speeches being widespread via the media) to gain support for his Nazi party.
The theory suggests that the media could influence a very large group of people by 'injecting' them with appropriate messages designed to trigger a desired response.
This links to our thriller because if we promote violence, then our audience may think they are going to be a victim of crime, or if violence is promoted in a good way our audience may become violent.
In its most basic form, cultivation theory suggests that exposure to television, over time, subtly "cultivates" viewers' perceptions of reality.
George Gerbner came up with the Cultivation theory which examines the long term affect of watching TV. It splits the audience into 2 distinct catagories; heavy and light viewers.
A heavy viewer is classified as a heavy viewer as they watch more than 4 hours of TV a day and are affected by Mean World Syndrome- where "people who spend the most time in front of the TV develop an exaggerated belief in a mean and scary world."
A light viewer watches TV for less than 4 hours a day and will therefore not be as 'cultivated' by the TV, and therefore not as accepting as heavy viewers.
George Gerbner observed that in primetime, TV was 80% violence. So, heavy viewers was watching 80% violent TV, if his theory was correct, proving that the Heavy Viewers would get about 80% more violent due to their tolerance with violence in real life.
Hypodermic Needle Model:
According to the theory the media is like a syringe which injects ideas, attitudes and beliefs into the audience who as a powerless mass have little choice than to be influenced by it- in the past films (such as The Exorcist) have been banned in the past because it might encourage people to commit the crimes within them.
Made by Katz and developed by Lazarsfeld the 'Hypodermic Needle Theory' implied mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on the audience; as research methodology became more highly developed, it became apparent that the media had selective influences on people. The most famous incident often cited as an example for the hypodermic needle model was the 1938 broadcast of The War of the Worlds and the subsequent reaction of widespread panic among its American mass audience.
Another well known example was Hitler's monopolization of mass media (through posters and speeches being widespread via the media) to gain support for his Nazi party.
The theory suggests that the media could influence a very large group of people by 'injecting' them with appropriate messages designed to trigger a desired response.
This links to our thriller because if we promote violence, then our audience may think they are going to be a victim of crime, or if violence is promoted in a good way our audience may become violent.
Sunday 18 January 2015
Famous Director: Spielberg
Born December 8th, 1946 in Cincinnati, he is undoubtedly one of the most influential film personalities in the history of film. Steven Spielberg is perhaps Hollywood's best known director and one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world. Spielberg has directed Indiana Jones (probably his most well known film) along with many more top films, including:
-Jurassic Park
-Saving Private Ryan
-Catch Me If You Can
And the two infamous ET and Jaws.
Spielberg was the Director for Jaws, and introduced the idea of tense music with effect. The music used was simple, building tension as the notes used gradually got quicker in the build up to the climax.
He first gained attention from directing adventure films, but in recent years he has been seen to tackle emotionally powerful issues, such as the horrors of the Holocaust in Schindler's List, slavery in Amistad, hardships of war in Saving Private Ryan, and terrorism in Munich.
-Jurassic Park
-Saving Private Ryan
-Catch Me If You Can
And the two infamous ET and Jaws.
Spielberg was the Director for Jaws, and introduced the idea of tense music with effect. The music used was simple, building tension as the notes used gradually got quicker in the build up to the climax.
He first gained attention from directing adventure films, but in recent years he has been seen to tackle emotionally powerful issues, such as the horrors of the Holocaust in Schindler's List, slavery in Amistad, hardships of war in Saving Private Ryan, and terrorism in Munich.
Uses and Gratifications
In 1974 two theorists, Blumler and Katz developed a theory on Uses and Gratifications. This theory suggested that the audience use media texts for various reasons:
Diversion (escapism):
To escape from everyday life. Our thriller would help the audience to do this as the film would not raise any issues surrounding everyday life, but provide escapism for the viewer. Although there are moments of horror, it would not be sufficient to get deeply engrossed into any particular subject.
Personal Relationships (Social interaction):
Using the media text for emotional and other interaction, for example substituting soap operas for everyday life. Our film would be aimed at a variety of ages, attracting groups of people, drawing social interaction. The film would also provide mutual talking points, as the audience decide on who should be blamed for the downfall- the protagonist or the antagonist.
Personal Identity:
Create their own identity from characters/celebrities in media texts, and learning behaviors and values. The audience will be able to interact with the main character of our thriller, as he posses many qualities, some of which should be avoided, helping the audience to sympathize with his flaws.
Entertainment:
As a means of relaxation, enjoyment and emotional release. Purely for the 'fun' of the experience. Our thriller would be perfect for entertainment as it has the stereotypical hero vs villain, and has elements of shock and horror.
Surveillance:
To gain information or knowledge.
Diversion (escapism):
To escape from everyday life. Our thriller would help the audience to do this as the film would not raise any issues surrounding everyday life, but provide escapism for the viewer. Although there are moments of horror, it would not be sufficient to get deeply engrossed into any particular subject.
Personal Relationships (Social interaction):
Using the media text for emotional and other interaction, for example substituting soap operas for everyday life. Our film would be aimed at a variety of ages, attracting groups of people, drawing social interaction. The film would also provide mutual talking points, as the audience decide on who should be blamed for the downfall- the protagonist or the antagonist.
Personal Identity:
Create their own identity from characters/celebrities in media texts, and learning behaviors and values. The audience will be able to interact with the main character of our thriller, as he posses many qualities, some of which should be avoided, helping the audience to sympathize with his flaws.
Entertainment:
As a means of relaxation, enjoyment and emotional release. Purely for the 'fun' of the experience. Our thriller would be perfect for entertainment as it has the stereotypical hero vs villain, and has elements of shock and horror.
Surveillance:
To gain information or knowledge.
Friday 16 January 2015
Schedule of Filming
Our schedule is:
Film half of the film on Saturday 17th, the other half will be filmed on the Wednesday 21st. We will leave enough time for extra shots to be filmed if there are any problems. Every shot will be filmed 3 times to iron out any errors that there may be to save time.
We have had to book out the equipment for these days.
Equipment and Location
We have decided to use:
-DSLR Camera for the best quality to shoot our film in.
-A tripod to hold the camera steady to get the best shots possible.
-A sound recorder to record the voices of our characters so they can be heard clearly.
We are filming at Reece's house as we feel it is the most appropriate for our viewers as it is an everyday house that our viewers can connect with; involving them in our opening.
Here is the house:
-DSLR Camera for the best quality to shoot our film in.
-A tripod to hold the camera steady to get the best shots possible.
-A sound recorder to record the voices of our characters so they can be heard clearly.
We are filming at Reece's house as we feel it is the most appropriate for our viewers as it is an everyday house that our viewers can connect with; involving them in our opening.
Here is the house:
Monday 12 January 2015
Thriller opening storyboard
This is the story board for our thriller that we will be doing.
It has helped us as it has given us a guideline on what shots to use, and how we will film our piece.
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