This part of the blog is where I researched the marketing of films. To do this I went onto this website which is called How Stuff Works and there is a section on there which is talks about the marketing and strategies and techniques used to market films. From this, I learnt that according to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), this is how they allocated there marketing budget in 2007:
I also learnt from this that there are so many different aspects of the media which has to be targeted for your film to reach all kinds of people or even just your target market. For example, if your target market for a film is older people aged 65+ who don't leave this house as much as younger people, then you would focus more of your marketing budget on newspapers, TV, and radio rather then on billboards and posters. This is a link which leads to a video where Hugo Grumbar, who is a partner at Embankment Films and has been Joint Managing Director at Icon UK Group, President at Icon Film Distribution and Director of Marketing at Capitol Films, talking about the importance of finding your target audience.
The average marketing budget for a theatrical release from a major Hollywood studio was $35.9 million. This shows the enormity of most campaigns and how there is little space for error. They have to know exactly who the target audience is and how they are going to reach them. The more successful the campaign is, the more money they will make back on it through ticket sales. The opening weekend is key to the success of the film, its not uncommon that a company will make 40% of its gross profit in its first weekend of release.
Word of mouth is where people talk to their peers about a film. For example, if someone saw the advert on TV or on a poster, and then they brought it up in conversation the an other person would then know about it. This also emphasises the importance of how memorable your campaign needs to be to reach all kinds of people who aren't necessarily connected to the forms of media that you are targeting.
Analysis of Film Marketing Campaign
The film marketing campaign I have chose to research is a film called "The Campaign"This is the trailer of the film.
The USP (unique selling point) of the film is that it is a film about a political election but in a humorous light. This is a new type of film that hasn't been tried before. The target audience isn't very strict because many already appreciate Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis' comedy so people are likely to go and watch it simply due to the fact these two actors are in it.
These are a few posters that have been used in the marketing campaign of this film.
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Press Interviews
This is an interview with Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis where they are promoting the film. It shows how funny the two men are in real life and the kind of comedy you can expect if you can and watch the film. It also reflects the chemistry the two actors have off camera which is always key for a comedy film.
Website
This is the official website for "The Campaign". It has an about section which describes the film as well as character profiles, a gallery of screenshots from the film, all of the official trailers and a "sweepstakes" section which is where merchandise is available to win in competitions.Summary
I personally feel that this marketing campaign was extremely successful. I think this was mainly due to the fact that the two main characters are extremely famous in the world of comedy films and are highly likely to attract a large audience to any film they feature in because of there reliable reputation in past films. Nether-the-less, this campaign also reached its desired target audience and had the effect it intended, which was to be funny and make people laugh to give them a taste of what the film is like without reviling to many jokes.Research Into Film Posters
This is a "Word Cloud" that I created involving the key terms that are needed when creating a film Poster
This is a poster to the film "Apocolypto" which I have analysed.
Posters are extremely important to a film campaign because they are a very specific type of marketing in the way that they aren't shown through the TV. They are also important because they can be so mobile, for example on the side of a bus so they have the ability to reach a really wide market. Lee Jury, who is Marketing Director of BVI UK, once said whilst talking about film posters that you only have a few seconds to impress the audience, usually about 3-5 seconds because people will only glance at it. This means its important for it to stand out against competition in a crowded place.
Posters are extremely important to a film campaign because they are a very specific type of marketing in the way that they aren't shown through the TV. They are also important because they can be so mobile, for example on the side of a bus so they have the ability to reach a really wide market. Lee Jury, who is Marketing Director of BVI UK, once said whilst talking about film posters that you only have a few seconds to impress the audience, usually about 3-5 seconds because people will only glance at it. This means its important for it to stand out against competition in a crowded place.
Different Types of Posters
There is three main types of film poster; Teaser, Main Theatrical, Character
A teaser poster is an early promotional film poster which contains a basic image or design without revealing too much information about the plot, theme and characters. The Main Theatrical is the one that is most commonly used. This is the one which is most likely to appear on billboards or on the side of bus'. It is also likely to contain most of the colours that can be associated with the film. Character posters are a the final type of poster. This is where the main focus of the poster is of the main character. This can be useful because it can tell a story about the character in one image. This is achieved by the expressions and body language of the character and also the use of colour to create a certain mood. The teaser poster often consists of an iconic image that people can easily relate to the film by; icons such as a symbol or an item of iconic costume can often be used in these posters. Below are some examples of each type of poster.
Main Theatrical Poster
Teaser Poster
Character Poster
Main Theatrical PosterTeaser Poster
Character Poster
Film Magazines
This is a PowerPoint that I have created recording my research of 6 different film magazines.
Dan hughan film magazines from bir
In summery of this research I have found out that that most of the magazines have a main image of the main character of the film in a close up or medium close up on the front cover and that is the main focus of the cover. I have also learnt that nearly all film magazines are published monthly, this is because if they did it weekly then there wouldn't be enough new films out or coming soon that they could review or talk about. The price of the magazines were also around the £3.50 mark, this means there is a lot of content in them and adds an element of exclusivity. The target audience also varies depending on which films they cover but it is easily identified judging from the style, font and colour that the magazine takes on.
This is the theatrical trailer for the 2010 film The A Team. This trailer has iconic references all the way through; this is because “The A Team” as a brand is so recognisable, in particular the theme song, this is referenced throughout the trailer and is used as a USP because there was no other A Team film that was out at the time of release. I think that the trailer reveals too much about the storyline, in the way that you feel like you already know what is going to happen when you go and watch the film; this could potentially deter people from going to see the film. There is a lot of action in the trailer which shows the audience what they can expect from the film. There also seems to be a lot of humorous lines which is put into the trailer to show that it has maintained the witty atmosphere that the early television show had. The trailer would seem to attract the male genre which is made clear by the amount of violence, car and plane action, explosions and guns. We are also introduced to all of the main characters in the film with a snippet of footage from the film that describes what type of characters they are; this again lets us have an incite into what we can expect from the characters and the film.
In summery of this research I have found out that that most of the magazines have a main image of the main character of the film in a close up or medium close up on the front cover and that is the main focus of the cover. I have also learnt that nearly all film magazines are published monthly, this is because if they did it weekly then there wouldn't be enough new films out or coming soon that they could review or talk about. The price of the magazines were also around the £3.50 mark, this means there is a lot of content in them and adds an element of exclusivity. The target audience also varies depending on which films they cover but it is easily identified judging from the style, font and colour that the magazine takes on.
Analysis of Film Trailers
A Team Theatrical TrailerThis is the theatrical trailer for the 2010 film The A Team. This trailer has iconic references all the way through; this is because “The A Team” as a brand is so recognisable, in particular the theme song, this is referenced throughout the trailer and is used as a USP because there was no other A Team film that was out at the time of release. I think that the trailer reveals too much about the storyline, in the way that you feel like you already know what is going to happen when you go and watch the film; this could potentially deter people from going to see the film. There is a lot of action in the trailer which shows the audience what they can expect from the film. There also seems to be a lot of humorous lines which is put into the trailer to show that it has maintained the witty atmosphere that the early television show had. The trailer would seem to attract the male genre which is made clear by the amount of violence, car and plane action, explosions and guns. We are also introduced to all of the main characters in the film with a snippet of footage from the film that describes what type of characters they are; this again lets us have an incite into what we can expect from the characters and the film.
This is the trailer for the 2012 film “The Dark Knight
Rises”. This trailer has the American national anthem at the start; this
reflects the setting and the patriotism of the film. Throughout the trailer the
music reflects what is going on and has a powerful and rebellious nature. It also makes the trailer seem tenser and
therefore make people want to see the film. The film has a USP of being part of
the “Batman” franchise which is recognisable by the symbol of the “batman” and
the costume that he wears, this is why they show it in the trailer, so that
they can keep the fans of the original films and also attract more. It has
another USP of having so many big name actors such as Tom Hardy, Christian Bale
and Michael Cain. This is why they are showcased and often on screen. As well
as this, the Directors name, Christopher Nolan is put on screen early on by its
self; this is because he is world renowned as being a good director so people
will see this and be attracted to it. There is a lot of violence and explosions
again which would suggest that it is targeted at mainly the male market. The
lighting in this trailer is mainly dark. This is because of the atmosphere of
the film and it shows the audience that they can expect a sinister story line.
Genre Research
This is a mood board that I have created that reflects the genre that I want to create my trailer around, which is horror. It reflects the mystical and gothic atmosphere that we are hoping to create rather then the "scream" side of horror. The backgrounds of the majority of the images are either black or a dark colour. This is because it detracts the attention from that and puts the focus of the image on the close up of the character involved. There is also a sense of solidarity in each of the images, this creates a sense of suffering.
Survey Monkey Survey
This is a collection of pie charts showing my survey results that I have made so it is in a more organised format and it makes it easier to compere.
These results showed us that the majority of our target audience want the antagonist to be mysterious, this allows us to have an incite into where about in the trailer we should introduce the antagonist. It also showed us that a famous actor has an effect on almost everyone, this allowed us to choose if the actors should be the main focus of the magazine or poster because it is what attracts people to see a film. As well as this, the results showed us that people prefer a Gothic type of horror mixed with a bit of paranormal. This gives us a better idea of how to show our trailer and the impression we wish to give off.
This is a powerpoint presentation that I have created to analysis the conventions of three of film trailers that are horror genre. This is relevant because it means that they all have aspects of the trailer conventions which we are intending to use.
Survey Into Horror Genre
This is a survey that I created about people preferences into the horror genre to find out information about my target audience. I used the website SurveyMonkey to create this research.Survey Monkey Survey
This is a collection of pie charts showing my survey results that I have made so it is in a more organised format and it makes it easier to compere.
This is a powerpoint presentation that I have created to analysis the conventions of three of film trailers that are horror genre. This is relevant because it means that they all have aspects of the trailer conventions which we are intending to use.
Dan hughan film trailer analysis from bir
I have researched into "The Woman In Black" teaser and theatrical trailers in particular the dialogue and script that is used in them. Firstly, the teaser trailer has no dialogue in it at all. This might be so it has a greater impact on the audience and is more memorable. It does however have titles. The titles slowly fade in and out apart from the first one of "The most chilling ghost story". This is because it is the first title to appear on screen and therefore should have a striking impact about it rather then a smooth transition into it.The titles clearly portray the genre, this is through the transitions in which they appear and dissolve away as well as the font.The titles don't necessarily have to directly correlate to the image on screen, for example there doesn't have to be a shot-reverse-shot conversation, it often works better with other images from the film. The titles in this particular trailer enforce its USP that it is a book by saying "comes to life". As well as this, it also shows off the fact it has a big name actor by saying Daniel Radcliffe's name by its self on a black background so it is the sole attention of the shot. In the Theatrical trailer, the dialogue reveals the genre by using key words and the tone that it is spoken in. This makes it clear straight away for the audience what they can expect from the film. All of the dialogue used in the trailer is relevant to the story line and adds to the atmosphere and tension of the trailer all building up to the final "punch" of the trailer. The key concept of the Theatrical Trailer is that it raises questions that don't get answers, this is what creates the enigma and makes the audience want to see the film to maybe have a chance of getting these answers.
This is the script for the trailer.
Research Into Dialogue and Scripts
I have researched into "The Woman In Black" teaser and theatrical trailers in particular the dialogue and script that is used in them. Firstly, the teaser trailer has no dialogue in it at all. This might be so it has a greater impact on the audience and is more memorable. It does however have titles. The titles slowly fade in and out apart from the first one of "The most chilling ghost story". This is because it is the first title to appear on screen and therefore should have a striking impact about it rather then a smooth transition into it.The titles clearly portray the genre, this is through the transitions in which they appear and dissolve away as well as the font.The titles don't necessarily have to directly correlate to the image on screen, for example there doesn't have to be a shot-reverse-shot conversation, it often works better with other images from the film. The titles in this particular trailer enforce its USP that it is a book by saying "comes to life". As well as this, it also shows off the fact it has a big name actor by saying Daniel Radcliffe's name by its self on a black background so it is the sole attention of the shot. In the Theatrical trailer, the dialogue reveals the genre by using key words and the tone that it is spoken in. This makes it clear straight away for the audience what they can expect from the film. All of the dialogue used in the trailer is relevant to the story line and adds to the atmosphere and tension of the trailer all building up to the final "punch" of the trailer. The key concept of the Theatrical Trailer is that it raises questions that don't get answers, this is what creates the enigma and makes the audience want to see the film to maybe have a chance of getting these answers.
This is the script for the trailer.
This is my preliminary trailer.
This is my evaluation of my preliminary trailer,
