Tuesday 11th MayAS Level Media StudiesMarketing
Aims:
To be able to understand and identify a variety of marketing strategies in Working Title Films.
To be able to understand and identify film release patterns.
To be able to analyse film trailers as persuasive texts.

The marketing of a film release revolves around two key questions: 'When?' and 'How?'

Film Fridays
In the UK, new films are released theatrically on Fridays. Why?
The schedule for forthcoming releases is coordinated and published by the Film Distributors Association. A distributor will assess this schedule to identify a Friday release date where there are only a few films scheduled for release. Why?

Also considered are...
Seasonality of the film
The distributor will try to position the film distinctively and avoid a release date occupied by other films with similar traits (story, subject, country of origin).

November 2003 Releases

P+A
The costs of theatrical distribution, met by local
distributors, are often referred to as 'P&A', or
Prints and Advertising.
P&A are the nuts and bolts of marketing and
distributing films into cinemas, the tools used by
the distributor to create a public for its film.
P&A also represent the bulk of the distributor's
investment.

Art House Films
An art film is typically a serious, non commercial, non-pornographic, independently madefilm aimed at a niche audience rather than a mass audience.[1
Art film producers usually present their films at specialty theatres (and film festivals.
Art films are aimed at small niche market audiences, which means they can rarely get the financial backing which will permit large production budgets, expensive special effects, costly celebrity actors, or huge advertising campaigns, as are used in widely-released mainstream blockbuster films.
Art film directors make up for these constraints by creating a different type of film, which typically uses lesser-known film actors (or even amateur actors) and modest sets to make films which focus much more on developing ideas or exploring new narrative techniques or filmmaking conventions.

Art House Film Example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4EjX_bywCU

Distributors for Atonement
Distributed by
Focus Features (USA)
Universal Pictures (UK)
StudioCanal (France)

Distributors for Atonement
Focus Features (formerly USA Films, Universal Focus and Good Machine) is the art house films division of NBC Universal's Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distributor for foreign films.

Distributors for Atonement
Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal City Studios or Universal for short), a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the six major American movie studios. Its main motion picture production/distribution arm is called Universal Pictures.

Distributors for Atonement
Studio Canal
Studio Canal Image S.A. (aka Le Studio Canal+,
Canal Plus, Canal + Distribution, Canal +
Production, and Canal+ Image), is a French
based production and distribution company that
owns the third-largest film library in the world.
The company is part of the Canal+ Group,
owned by Vivendi SA.

Country /Date
SwedenAugust 2007 (Malm)
Italy29 August2007 (Venice Film Festival)
GreeceSeptember 2007 (Athens Film Festival)
UK7 September2007
Canada10 September2007 (Toronto International Film Festival)
Belgium11 September2007 (Filmfestival Oostende)
Italy21 September2007
Netherlands21 September2007 (Film by the Sea Film Festival)
Finland25 September2007 (Helsinki International Film Festival)

Press materials, clips reels, images, press previews, screener tapes:
For the majority of releases, favourable press response is a key factor in developing the profile and desirability of a film.
Distributors consider both the quality and breadth of coverage, and this is often inscribed into the nature and scale of a press campaign.
Screener tapes are a version of a movie sent to reviewers or 'screeners' prior to release into a theater/cinema.

The design and printing of posters and other promotional artwork:
The cinema poster - in the UK this means the standard 30" x 40" 'quad' format - is still the cornerstone of theatrical release campaigns. Distributors will also consider other poster campaigns, ranging from Underground advertising to billboards.

Advertising campaign - locations, ad size and frequency:
For mainstream films, scale and high visibility is the key.
In order to extend the reach of advertising and develop more effective communication with audiences at low cost, distributors are looking increasingly to 'viral marketing' - different forms of electronic word-of-mouth via the internet, email and mobile phones.

Travel agencies expect The Edge of Reason to bring hordes of tourists to London to follow Bridget's footsteps from her Southwark mansion flat by the railway line through the Borough vegetable market and over London Bridge, stopping in M & S en route to pick up some big pants. www.theindependent.co.uk

Those famous magic knickers.
Marks & Spencer are in a prime spot flogging their "magic" knickers as worn by our heroine and adored by Trinny and Susannah as the answer to a flabby midriff in What Not to Wear.

Those famous magic knickers.
In the first six months of delivering internationally, demand for M&S online is greatest in France, where sales are 40% stronger than the next best selling nation Australia. Customers in France are snapping up that Bridget Jones favourite, Magic Knickers, with control-wear sales stronger than any other nation.

Distributors Bridget Joness Diary
Miramax Films (2001) (USA) (theatrical)
Universal Studios (2001) (Non-USA) (all media)
Mars Distribution (2001) (France) (theatrical)

Press campaign / contracting a PR agency:
Many independent distributors in particular do not have press departments, and will consequently hire a press agency to run a pre-release campaign. This is especially the case if the distributor brings over key talent for press interviews to support the release.

Interview with Jonathan Ross

Atonement starts principal photography
June 19th 2006. Working Title Films is delighted to announce the start of principal photography on ATONEMENT, directed by Joe Wright, starring KeiraKnightley, James McAvoy and RomolaGarai.
Shooting will take place in Shropshire, London, Grimsby and the Teeside town of Redcar which will become Dunkirk in 1940.

Arranging visit by talent from the film:
The use of talent - usually the director and/or lead actors - wins significant editorial coverage to support a release. The volume of coverage can far outweigh the cost of talent visits.

Other preview screenings:
A distributor will consider the use of advance public screenings to create word-of-mouth and advance 'buzz' around a film.

Film Release Patterns

Wide Release
The most common release pattern, in which the film is released nationally in all markets. This is the pattern used by the majors, since this type of release pattern requires a heavy investment in prints and national advertising, which while having reach into all markets, is expensive.
With a wide release, the producers and distributors can gain revenues to recoup their investment in a shorter time period (provided that the film is successful).
Finally, revenues from videocassette/DVD sales can also be released faster from a quickly-executed theatrical release (the shorter the time period between the theatrical release and the videocassette/DVD release, the greater the potential for videocassette/DVD income).

The Modified Wide Release
The film will open in a few major markets and expand week by week to build awareness and allow positive word-of-mouth reputation to develop.
This type of release would initially be supported spot advertising (advertising in a specific geographical area, such as a city) and may move to national advertising once it expands to other markets.

Exclusive and Limited Runs
Exclusive and limited runs begin with engagements at a limited number of screens, traditionally in large urban areas, such as Toronto. Based on favourable reviews and positive word-of-mouth, the film may move slowly to additional theatres.
This release pattern is almost always used for upscale 'arthouse' or foreign films and may be part of a platforming strategy, where critical acclaim in an important market will assist in providing momentum for a wide release.

Territorial Saturation
Territorial saturation involves saturating a territory with bookings, heavy advertising and promotion, before moving on to another territory. This method would be used for films tailored to specific markets.
In Canada, this would be seen with French-language films, which primarily would be well-received only in Quebec. It is also used by independent distributors for exploitation or family movies.

Film trailers and their importance for distribution and marketing

Trailers
Quite simply film trailers ARE the most important part of a marketing campaign undertaken by a film distributor.The first thing you need to do is establish the type of film trailer you are analysing"Is it:
a. A teaser?b. Theatrical trailer?c. A TV spot advertising the film on release?

You then need to note down answers to the following questions:
What is the film's USP? ( Its unique selling point?) In other words how are the distributors positioning the film in the marketplace?Which elements in the film's genre is the distributor highlighting which sets the film aside from other films in its genre.What are the messages in the film's trailer and what do they say about the film?Remember that the type of release ( wide, limited, universal ) and the date of release will have been carefully planned to maximise potential audiences.

Genre (is the film animated, drama, documentary, comedy, sci-fi, adolescent, horror, etc.)
Narrative(how is the story told?)
Location(how does the trailer reveal location? what clues tell you so?)
Characters(describe the people portrayed in the trailer based on the info in the trailer)
Voice Over (who is the narrator? )
Theme(identify at least one theme based on the trailer)

Pacing(how is the trailer paced: fast, medium, slow? what impact might pacing have?)
On-screen graphics(what kind of info is revealed--be specific)
Editing & post production (can include special effects)
Music and other sound effects (what role do they play?)

Questions to consider:1. How does the trailer begin and end? Was it effectively edited?
2. What film studio is releasing the trailer? What might you know about them and their previously released films?
3. Why is this trailer being played before the specific film you are about to view?
4. Who creates trailers?
5. Do trailers always tell you everything you need to know about the film? (if not, where can you get more information?)

The Boat That Rocked
Watch the 2 trailers for 'The Boat That Rocked' below. One is for US release and the other for British release.
Can you tell which one is for which audience?
What are the differences?
What does this tell us about audiences and institutions?

The Boat that rocked trailers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnQc3lO4JDs&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoPamVXU-gM

Homework due Tuesday 18th May
Complete worksheet on analysing film trailers comparing THREE Working Title trailers and answer the additional questions below the worksheet.