Film IndustryCase Study

Case Study – Monsters (2010)• G322 Key Media Concepts (TV Drama)• Section B: Institutions and Audiences1. AUDIENCE - UK film aimed at a international audience2. PRODUCTION – Very low budget production – produced by Vertigo

Films – untypical independent UK film funding – traditional film genre – guerrilla style filming

3. DISTRIBUTION – Vertigo Films (UK) - Magnet Releasing (US)4. MARKETING - Interesting use film festivals to gain an international

audience – interesting use of foursquare social networking5. EXHIBITION – Exhibitors helped with localised marketing of the film6. DIGITAL – use of digital cameras to film – guerrilla style filming feasible

as cameras very light -

Case Study - Monsters• STORYLINE• Six years ago previously, a NASA probe returning to

earth with samples of an alien life form, crashed over Central America. Soon after, new life forms began to appear, and half of Mexico was quarantined as an INFECTED ZONE. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain "the creatures"... The story begins when a US journalist agrees to escort a shaken American tourist through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border.

• PRODUCTION• The film was devised, storyboarded and directed by Gareth

Edwards, who also worked as the visual effects artist. • Allan Niblo and James Richardson of Vertigo Films work as

producers on the production.• The filming equipment cost approximately $15,000, with the

budget coming in at under $500,000. • USE OF DIGITAL - The film was able to be made on such a low

budget due to the use of prosumer (Professional grade/Consumer cost) cameras to capture digital video rather than more expensive 35mm film.

• Any settings featured in the film were real locations often used without permission and the extras were just people who happened to be there at the time.

Case Study - Monsters

• PRODUCTION – GUERRILLA FILMMAKING• “We really set out to try and take a different

approach with making this film. It’s all shot very guerrilla-style, and apart from our main actors, everyone else is just ‘real people’ going about their real lives, with the crazy sci-fi elements added later in the computer. The final effect is something very subtle that I’m really proud of, but it’s hard to explain to people who haven’t seen it...”

Case Study - Monsters

• INDEPENDENT, LOW-BUDGET PRODUCTION IS EASIER• “When you have a big crew, it becomes a bit restrictive. Shooting

everything guerrilla-style means you can go with the flow and have ideas on the spot. The best, most realistic stuff in the film came from moments that happened by accident as we were shooting. Because of my background in digital effects, I could just roll with it, knowing I’d be able to manipulate scenes later in the computer to better fit our sci-fi/horror genre.”

• THE TYPICAL BIG-BUDGET MOVIE• "Sometimes you'd have 100 people on the set and you'd ask, 'Can we

do this? Can we do that?' And they'd say, 'No, we can't, because we'd have to move all these people. It's too expensive and it would take too long.' That felt very back to front: to be told you can't do something because you're spending too much money. Shouldn't it be the other way round?"

Case Study - Monsters

Case Study - Monsters• PRODUCTION• The film was shot in Belize, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica

and Texas over three weeks. • For about 90% of the filming the crew comprised seven

people transported in one van: Ian Maclagan (sound operator), Jim Spencer (line producer), Verity Oswin, the Mexican 'fixer', the director, a driver, and Able and McNairy, the stars.

• As the low-budget production didn't run to a camera dolly, Edwards made do by sticking the camera out of the van window, cushioned on some bundled-up clothing.

Case Study - Monsters• PRODUCTION• Most of the extras were non-actors who were persuaded to be in

the film.• "As a result of all this random behaviour, the idea of scripting the

film went out of the window. Instead I had a loose paragraph describing the scene with just the main points that had to be hit; how the actors carried this out was left up to them."

• Each night during the shooting period, the editor Colin Goudie and his assistant Justin Hall would download the day's footage so the memory sticks could be cleared and ready for the next day's filming.

• While new footage was being captured, the previously captured footage was being edited back at the hotel in which the production team was staying.

• SWSX FILM FESTIVAL PREMIERE• “I’m a massive fanboy myself, and genuinely

can’t think of a better audience to premiere this film to. I don’t believe our film really hangs on a particular detail or piece of information; it’s a lot more about the atmosphere and journey of following these characters through this crazy situation.”

Case Study - Monsters

• WHAT IS THE SXSW FILM FESTIVAL• The first South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW)

was held in 1987 in Austin, Texas. The music event has grown from 700 registrants in 1987 to over 16,000 registrants. As Austin has grown and diversified, film companies and high-tech companies have played a major role in the Austin and the Texas economies.

• In 1994, SXSW added a film and interactive component to accommodate these growth industries. SXSW's original goal was to create an event that would act as a tool for creative people and the companies they work with to develop their careers, to bring together people from a wide area to meet and share ideas. That continues to be the goal today whether it is music, film or the internet.

Case Study - Monsters

Case Study - Monsters• HOW THE FILM GOT AN AMERICAN DISTRIBUTOR• Within hours of its world premiere at SXSW Film Festival - Monsters

was sold to the Wagner/Cuban Company's Magnet Releasing (genre arm of Magnolia Pictures) for North America and Mexico.

• "We were blown away by 'Monsters' - I can't think of a more exciting addition to the Magnet slate. Gareth Edwards is an extraordinary talent and we're thrilled to bring his vision to American audiences."

• Producers Allan Niblo and James Richardson commented: "Having kept the film a secret for so long, Vertigo is thrilled to have Magnet not only discover it at this year's SXSW but immediately become our US partner on this groundbreaking movie. We are all looking forward to releasing 'Monsters' together onto an unsuspecting world."

Case Study - Monsters• WHO ARE THE AMERICAN DISTRIBUTORS?• Magnolia Pictures (www.magpictures.com) is the theatrical

and home entertainment distribution arm of the Wagner/Cuban Companies, a vertically-integrated group of media properties co-owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban that also includes the Landmark Theatres chain, and the high definition cable network HDNet.

• Magnolia's releases include Lars Von Trier's Melancholia, Blackthorn starring Sam Shepard, Jo Nesbo's Headhunters, Marley the documentary, BAFTA winning Man on Wire, Bel Ami, etc.

• What kinds of films do they release?

Case Study - Monsters• US Box Office - $237,301• UK Box Office - $1,442,663• International Box Office - $2,668,337• Shown in 25 screens in US… !• Cost $500,000 to make – have they made a

profit?• What revenue can they add to International

Box Office?

Case Study - Monsters• WHO WAS THE UK DISTRIBUTOR?• Vertigo Films is a UK Media company founded in 2002 to create and

distribute commercially driven independent cinema. 2010 was a sensational year for Vertigo with Europe's first 3D live action movie, STREETDANCE 3D, entering the UK Box Office charts at No.1 beating Disney's Prince of Persia and becoming one of the most successful UK independent films of all time.

• In addition, Vertigo's co-production MONSTERS received exceptional buzz, acclaim and a host of awards including three British Independent Film Awards.

• Films in production in 2011 include a big screen adaptation of the much anticipated THE SWEENEY, written and directed by Nick Love and starring Ray Winstone and Plan B as the infamous Regan and Carter. And STREETDANCE 2 from the same team that brought you the original with glitzy European locations and the best dancers in the world.

Case Study - Monsters• PRODUCTION – HOW DIGITAL WILL CHANGE THINGS!

• “The history of cinema has always been an industrial process where you needed hundreds of people to make a movie, and that's just not true any more. Now you can just do it with a handful.”

Case Study - Monsters• PRODUCTION & DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY• “There's more processing power in a decent PC

now than it took to make Jurassic Park. Monsters was made using Adobe's After Effects software, a widely available cousin of Photoshop. Finding no plug-in for alien tentacles, I adapted a program that models rope. The CGI planes and cars you see were all bought off the internet.”

Case Study - Monsters• WHAT DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY OFFERS• “Anyone who says they know what's going to happen in

film-making is lying, but it's definitely changing. It reminds me of that era when people like Spielberg and Scorsese turned up, when the studios didn't understand this new young audience and all those people got a chance to play and make artistic films. No one's too sure what the future's going to be, so if you can grab a camera and tell a story, there's a good chance you can do something. In the chaos, there's always opportunity.”

Case Study - Monsters• PRODUCTION – THINGS ARE CHANGING…• Right now, there are a number of companies chasing

the success of last year's Paranormal Activity and District 9, realizing that the idea of what you can do on film and how much you can make certain films for has changed.

• Paramount's got a new division that wants to make ten movies for a total of a million dollars.

• This is what independent filmmaking in the 21st century is going to look like.

Case Study - Monsters• DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY - CGI• Once the film was locked, Edwards had five months

to create all 250 visual effects shots, a process he undertook in his bedroom.

• "[I was] churning out about two shots a day, which was fine until I got to the first creature shot. Then suddenly two months went by and I still hadn't finished a single creature shot; it turned out to be the hardest part of the whole process."

Case Study - Monsters• EXHIBITION• Monsters premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival on 13

March 2010. • On 17 March, Magnet Releasing acquired the rights for the North

American distribution. • In May, the film was screened at the Cannes Film Market.• Monsters had its UK premiere as part of the 64th Edinburgh

International Film Festival, on 18 June 2010. • The film's theatrical release took place in Russia on 30 September,

distributed by Volgafilm and was released in the UK on the 3rd December.

• Magnolia Pictures released Monsters in U.S. theatres on 29 October 2010.

Case Study - Monsters• DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY - VIRAL MARKETING • What is Foursquare? • Foursquare is a location-based social networking website

(www.foursquare.com) and set of mobile applications. • The concept is for users with GPS-enabled smartphones to

‘check-in’ when they are at certain venues. This allows their friends to see where they are or have been, and lets people leave tips and reviews about places they have visited.

• Along with the social interactions, it also allows users to interact with venues - who can track the visits, and also offer incentives for visitors and repeat visits

Case Study - Monsters• DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY - VIRAL MARKETING• To promote the theatrical release, the film’s distributor,

Vertigo Films, teamed up with the digital agency Thinkjam to conceive a location-based campaign that would draw on the film’s central themes.

• The activity was through the location-based social networking site Foursquare, and was designed to boost overall visibility of the film and add an element of something new and exciting to the main, more traditional PR campaign, which tied in with the ‘infected zones’ elements of the film.

• All activity was intended to drive people to the cinema on the night of release on December 3rd.

Case Study - Monsters• Key aims were: • a presence on the latest platform in social networking • continuous direct communication with customers • to raise awareness of cinemas showing the film and

their locations • to encourage bookings at those cinemas • to have the option for developing further promotions

for members • and also encourage new members

Case Study - Monsters• Wider aims included:

1. fuelling debate and discussion around the film 2. highlighting the film’s originality and unique

filmmaking process 3. pushing Gareth Edwards as a talented director

to watch 4. generating sustained coverage on both

mainstream and niche tastemaker sites

Case Study - Monsters• Campaign Stage 1: Education / teaser • The teaser press release was sent out to notify

online publications of the Foursquare initiative. Information remained vague at this stage, with fans only being made aware of ‘infected zones’ being created in select Vue and Cineworld venues across the country, as well as a number of independent zones.

Case Study - Monsters• Campaign Stage 2: Adventure • Week 2 users were engaging with the promotion,

logging in to infected zones across the country. Random prizes were awarded to those who emailed the email address left in all infected zone tips.

• To reward early adopters, an exclusive clip was made available through Foursquare. The exclusive clip also warranted a second press release which helped entice publications to push to the Foursquare profile for readers to catch a sneak peak.

Case Study - Monsters• Campaign Stage 3: The Big Reveal • For the week before release, the 10 swarm

sites that would be giving users the discount code were revealed. This was done via the full trade press release as well as a general PR release which generated further news stories.

Case Study - Monsters• Campaign Stage 4: Swarm! • For the week of release, the campaign

unleashed limited infected zones that, when checking in as part of a group or ‘Swarm’ and unlocking a badge, allowed bulk discount on tickets. All PR messaging included links and information of the Foursquare presence. The activity was covered by select press invited down to Vue Westfield.

Case Study - Monsters• PROBLEMS WITH THE INNOVATIVE MARKETING• The key promotion for the release was to run the Foursquare activity

over consecutive weeks and although the end result was not what Vertigo had hoped for, it still raised awareness, generated PR coverage and drummed up a wealth of buzz in appropriate forums.

• The campaign required early buy-in from exhibitors, as specific sites needed to be identified for Foursquare set-up.

• This was a problem as the exhibitors were yet to adopt Foursquare and the site list was not confirmed with Vertigo until two weeks prior to release.

• Vertigo found exhibitors sceptical to begin with, but they achieved buy-in from Vue and Cineworld.

• Despite this, in the end the biggest problem on the release date was the weather, with up to 10cm of snow causing major transport issues and low turnouts for films across the board.

Case Study - Monsters• RESULTS• The film’s box office for the opening weekend was just over £1m.

Overall performance of the film was affected by the extreme weather. For the weekend of release there were no prints in Ireland or Edinburgh due to courier deliveries being suspended. Vertigo estimate to have lost 30% of opening Box Office due to the weather.

• Although the night of 3rd December didn’t produce the number of check-ins to the cinemas that had been anticipated, the overall coverage it received, and its contribution to the increase in awareness of the film in the run-up to the release, was a huge success.

• Vue Westfield was the most successful with 42 check-ins on the evening, despite very poor weather conditions. There were also increased check-ins at Vue Leeds, Vue Bristol and Cineworld Edinburgh.

Case Study - Monsters• Q. What was it that lead what should've been a big hit, to be just a sleeper hit?• In short, the film didn't have enough marketing muscle behind it. • It takes a lot of effort and money to generate awareness and interest for a film, especially

if that film is 1) an original property 2) lacks a major director or stars 3) has a difficult or uninteresting premise and 4) lacks a natural audience that will see the film.

• The film was fraught with challenges. • It's a ‘monster movie’ but not really. It's supposed to have monsters but you can't see any

in the marketing materials (e.g. trailer). Lastly, is the film supposed to be an action movie/road movie/adventure/romantic drama?

• Clearly, the former is the most commercial sell but that goes against what the film truly is.• Generally speaking, if audiences can't grasp what it is you're selling, they will not vote

with their wallet.• Unless the film is truly great and generates substantial word-of-mouth, a small-scale film

won't remain in cinemas very long because exhibitors will replace it in favour of something that will make money (thereby sealing its fate).