Film Distribution

Film Distributors: §A film distributor is a company/ individual who is accountable for the advertising of a film. The distributor may set the release date of a film and the way in which a film shall be displayed/ made available for viewing. The best examples of this are: video on demand (VoD), DVD/Blu-ray, TV and download. A distributor may well do this independently, but this is only if they own theatres to do so otherwise it will be done through other theatrical exhibitors.

What are the film distributors main objectives?: The main objective of a distributor is to persuade the exhibitor to essentially ‘buy’ a film. With this in mind, a distributor will often organize industry screenings for exhibitors, and will use other marketing techniques that will make the exhibitor a) want to show the film and b) make a profit from the film

What else do film distributors do?: After this, the distributor will:

-Secure a written contract, which specifies the amount of the gross ticket sales to be paid to the distributor

-Collect the money

-Review the exhibitor's ticket sales (this is to ensure the gross informed by the exhibitor is precise)

-Secure the distributor's share, and diffuse the remaining money to the production company/others

-In most cases this is a set amount but may be varied depending on the film.

Distributing for everyone to see: -The Film distributor must therefore create enough advertising for their film. They may do this such as advertising on media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, etc Thet may also put adverts on buses, at bus stops, hand out leaflets, packages, merchandise and more. 

Here are some adverts on the way Harry Potter has distributed their movie: 

Film Premiers are also a great way to promote the movie because it brings together all the fans and if they enjoyed this event then they can pass it on their friends and other people, creating interest in a larger number of people, thus spreading the word of the film.

What must a film distributor think about?:  §A film’s first weekend in cinemas is vital for further success; most films gain 30% or more of its entire box office during the first three days, which is why it is important to get the marketing correct.

§Film distributors must think about:

§Who is the audience?

§Who does the film speak to?

§Do the story, characters and situation attract the audience?

§Does the film make up for the cost (risk) of a theatrical release?

§What sort of audiences have similar films attracted recently?

§These are all very important and explains why many distributors may only release  1-2 a year and others may release 20-30.

The different scenes and settings of distribution:§Different releases are accomplished in diverse ways. A blockbuster release may open simultaneously on 1000 screens UK-wide playing at two or more screens per multiplex: this includes large scale sequels or star led holiday releases  and therefore helps to accommodate mass audiences eager to see a film at the earliest opportunity. Sometimes, a single print can service multiple screens if they are ‘interlocked’.

Distribution Openings

As our genre is between romantic and a coming of age genre, me and my group wanted the distribution opening to be creative and interactive, which would capture the audience's attention immediately but also be creative as well. For example, looking at some of the major distribution companies, their opeinings prior to the actual movie is very creative.
This is the way Dreamworks Pictures open:

I really like this opening theme because what we see is parallel to their title' Dreamworks' and the use of the colours blue & white and puffy clouds creates this dreamy feeling. It also has a calm and soothing effect which is important because Dreamworks  films are animation and adventure movies aimed at young people, therefore this suits nicely for their type of audience and genre. 



Below is the Paramount Pictures opening theme for their 100th Anniversary: 

I thought again this was very creative, and the use of pink sky, beautiful mountain and lake, this helps to create a sense of enchantment , which is effective because this could be what their movies are about.  For example films like Transformers and Iron Man 2 are distributed by Paramount Pictures, and are adventure films. Therefore, this is effective in creating this feeling and it is something we also want to create in our opening sequence. We want it to be exciting right from the start, preparing our audience to feel in a thrilling/ happy mood. 

Credits

This week and next week we need to start creating our credits to go into our opening sequence. I have found some examples below which I enjoy and think are effective: 

 Lord of War

Although the credits are very basic and just appear in standard font and are of one colour, I think this is effective because it doesn't distract the attention of the visually creative and entertaining action in the background.  Some of the letters actually appear quite long and straight with no swirly letters which you might see in a romantic or chick flick genre; therefore this is perfect for this type of genre and target audience who might be older. The bright font is easy to see from the dark/ uncanny atmosphere we are being shown in the background which makes it easier to see but the style is not too distracting so that viewers do not miss the important action. 

Thank you for smoking 

 

I found the credits on this opening sequence very visually creative and entertaining to watch. I liked how the credits appeared on the vintage cigarette packets which is effective because it matches the title of the movie, which is obviously referring to cigarettes. The names of all the people are in different fonts, shapes, colours and sizes which I also found effective because although there is no particular important action, the fast pacing of the credits and different colours capture the readers attention, drawing them in to want to watch more. Overall, I liked the whole idea of the way they presented the credits and I think it  was different from any other opening sequence I have watched. The fact that it is so original is what makes it unique and interesting.

The Notebook

The title credits for The Notebook are very simple and basic, which is effective because they aren't distracting from the enchanting and breathtaking scenery we are presented with. They also very small and usually at side of the corner which I thought was very unusual. I liked the simple and elegance to these credits although I did find this a bit boring because I thought it dragged on for too long. In order to make our opening sequence enteratining I think we should make our credits for eye-capturing and entertaining which is unique. This way people can be drawn in, because the opening sequence is what will determine whetehr people will wathc the movie.

Progress

Today in lesson we had to review each others opening sequences and look at rough cuts of what it might look like as a finished sequence. I found this lesson effective because some of the people gave us some really constrictive criticism which me and my group will take on board in order to improve our opening sequence. 

Overall, we got some very positive feedback from others. They particularly liked the match on action from the girls dress into the boys hair product and they said it was very creative. They also said that it was easy to understand and none of the parts were ambiguous or difficult to understand. This was particularly important for us because we want to create an sequence which our viewers and others can understand, because if they don't then they will easily get bored or distracted.

However, we did get some criticisms such as the beginning the of the party was slightly darker and so they couldn't see the characters as well. Although being the party this was the effect we were going for, we will try to improve this by adding some light from final cut and making the whole scene easier to see. Also, some of the people said that when Ruby was talking on the phone, the extreme close-up of her face was slightly off frame so we will try to re-film that part in order to improve it.

Re-filming

We have finished re-filming the parts we had to do of the main girl and the establishing shot. I think overall it went well because this time we had managed to show close-up shots of Ruby's face which is just what we needed. 
Tomorrow we just need to edit these into our opening sequence and start adding in the music which is important in order to get a sense of realism in this sequence.

4/ 2/ 2013

Progress-

In today's lesson we had completed the opening sequence as a rough cut in order to see the overall flow of it and what else we still need to re-film. As we are re-filming some of the main girls part's today, we shall replace the old footage from our opening sequence and edit in the new ones.
A problem is that our opening sequence is quite long at the moment (3 minutes), exceeding our maximum of it being around 2 minutes long. In order to reduce these we have found that some of the shots we had which weren't as vital were too lengthy so during this week of editing we shall need to cut these down so it fastens the editing pace. In a way this can be effective because during the inter-cutting between the characters we do want to maintain a fast pace in order to keep the viewers entertained and create a sense of excitement.
We still haven't found the right music and we have found that quite challenging because the music we have created on garageband so far is like club music and not house party and so we would need to try and find some vocals in order to fit in with our edited music.

Representation- Stereotypes

In most romantic/ coming of age films there are particular stereotypes that make up these movies, such as the representation of the characters. For example, in the film Mean Girls 2, the girls are being presented as being these really materialistic, stereotypical girls who wear excessive amount of pink, have the 'perfect hair' and the latest designer clothes. In this film, they are referred to as the 'plastics' because they obsess about being an ideal and 'perfect' image which constitutes to their Barbie-like image. They are presented as having really shallow, personalities, adding to their 'mean' character and therefore makes the viewers watching feel less sympathy for them. However, the other girls around them, who are less popular than them, stereotypically wear less trendy clothes which appear dull; this is effective because it makes these 'plastic' girls stand out the most as they draw the most attention. Normally, as these popular girls stand out so much and differ from everyone else, this is an effective way of giving them more power and individuality than others, making them appear as these really confident girls who frequently boast about their fortunate lifestyles. 

Below are the outfits worn by the major characters of this movie: 

The three girls on the far right hand side are refered to as the 'plastics' because everything about them is made to perfection, creating this stereotypical girly role. Their fashion style mainly consists of purple and pink which again adds to the femininity of their characters and the floral detailing on their dresses could be a way of making them appear more prettier than everyone else, like a flower.  Through the use of accessories and high heeled shoes, this again creates these stereotypical female characters and so the viewers can immediately distinguish them from the other characters. However, we can see that the girls on the left hand side are 'less popular' because their outfits are less girly and much duller than the materialistic girls. As they wear boots, this shows that they are ordinary school girls which make the audience appeal to them more as they appear realistic than the others, who are far too made up.  As these type of girls are usually less powerful than girls like the plastics, we are able to sympathise with them more because they deal with issues probably many teenage girls watching are able to relate to them. Stereotypically  these characters also endure many hardships and there is usually competition between the popular and unpopular characters, because although the plastics have trendiest clothes, not many people like them because of their unkind behaviour towards others. Therefore, by the end of these type of movies there is a drastic change in character, where the unpopular girls rise in their status or become more well-known, whereas the popular plastics are despised by many of the characters, causing them to become less powerful.

How distribution works

Here's the path a film usually takes to get to your local theater:

• Someone has an idea for a movie.
• They create an outline and use it to promote interest in the idea.
• A studio or independent investor decides to purchase rights to the film.
• People are brought together to make the film (screenwriter, producer, director, cast, crew).
• The film is completed and sent to the studio.
• The studio makes a licensing agreement with a distribution company.
• The distribution company determines how many copies (prints) of the film to make.
• The distribution company shows the movie (screening) to prospective buyers representing the theaters.
• The buyers negotiate with the distribution company on which movies they wish to lease and the terms of the lease agreement.
• The prints are sent to the theaters a few days before the opening day.
• The theater shows the movie for a specified number of weeks (engagement).
• You buy a ticket and watch the movie.
• At the end of the engagement, the theater sends the print back to the distribution company and makes payment on the lease agreement.

It has been said that making a movie is not nearly as difficult as getting it distributed. Because of the enormous amount of cost in money and time involved in distributing a movie, a distributor must feel confident that they can make a sufficient return on their investment. Having the backing of a major studio or a well known director or star can greatly improve the chances of securing a good distribution deal. Independent filmmakers often use film festivals as an opportunity to get the attention of distributors. Once a distributor is interested in a film, the two parties arrive at a distribution agreement based on one of two financial models:

• Leasing
• Profit sharing

When a distributor has leased a movie, they will try to determine the best strategy for opening the movie. Opening refers to the official debut of a movie. There are several factors to consider:

• Studio
• Target Audience
• Star power
• Buzz
• Season

While first run movies that have just been released are loss leaders, movies that have been out for a while can be profitable for the theaters that show them. Second run theaters often get very attractive leasing terms from the distributor. These theaters are facing increasing competition though, as first run theaters continue to show more movies past the traditional four to six week time frame.

Music

The music we have first created on Garageband was good but we all agree that it all sounded too much like club music so currently we are trying to make new music which would be suited more for a house party.
We have found some really cool loops which we have combined together so I think that overall the music we are creating  now would be more suited for our opening sequence and create the right atmosphere for being in a house party.

Credits

For the opening sequence it would be best if the credits for our opening sequence are shown onto the products of the girl and boy getting ready. 
For example, for the girl's parts, while she is putting on her make-up some of the credits could be on her blusher, mascara, lipstick etc while the boys credits could be on his hairspray. I think this is effective because I found that while looking at some films which have their credits with no background action which I found very boring and ineffective. However, I think that for our target audience of 15- 25 year olds who are mainly girls, we need to make sure that we make it as interesting as possible in order to attain their attention and avoid making it boring.

For example, the pictures on this post is where the credits will go on top of them when showing the inter-cutting of both the two main characters. This also sets the scene as well because while looking at the girly products of different make-up and hair products, the audience would immediately know that this would be stereotypically a girl's bedroom. The use of colours therefore can give vital information away; such as whenever we've used pink and light colours, this represent the girls and the more darker colours represent the boy. This also makes it easily recognizable by the audience and we do not need to show their faces in order to tell them who is getting ready or which character we are showing.

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Sound

We have been starting to look for music which might fit in nicely with our opening sequence when the girl and boy are getting ready and there is a inter-cutting between the two main characters. What would be ideal is something which creates a positive energy as it is an important aspect of most romantic or coming of age films in order to captivate the audience and make them feel intrigued to watch.

 For example, in Legally Blonde, the lyrics of the song at the beginning' Perfect Day' is a parallel match to what we actually see. The atmosphere looks pleasant, it's sunny, everyone is having a good time, smiles on their faces and so this all makes us feel the same way also. It is also quite upbeat and this is something we want to create in our opening sequence also. As the singer is also a female, this is why this would be ideal to be shown when the girl in our sequence is getting ready, however, when the boy is getting ready we were going to use music which appears more suited that a guy would listen- fulfilling the stereotypical  characters. 
Overall, I think the sound used in Legally Blonde is effective because for the target audience of 15-25 year olds, who are mainly girls, this would satisfy them and make them feel in a position where they would be happy to want to know more. The music used also aids them to feel in a satisfied, jolly mood, which is something we would like to create with our opening sequence.

Opening Sequence

Pre-Production

Before actually starting to film I had to research on the characters of different romantic films in order to see the way they have been represented such as the type of clothes females and males wear, their usual location, types of shots, music and lighting they used.

Costume

Normally, in romantic movies a girl would wear really fashionable, trendy and girly clothes, especially the main character in order to look appealing. Also, as she is the main chcracter, girls who might be watching this may be able to get advice on some of the things they can wear or relate to them because they enjoy the fashion style the main character is wearing. Below is a picture of Rachel McAdams who plays the main girl chcracter of the film 'The Notebook'. She is wearing formal wear but also looks pretty and elegant at the same time, making her look attractive and the right fit for the role of a man who falls in love with her. This is why in our opening sequence we have also decided to make our main girl look very pretty with a nice 'girly' dress which stereotypically defines a teenage girl.


Locations

Normally in romantic films the locations of the place have really beautiful scenary in them in order to make it more romantic between the two people. It also creates a really great and positive atmosphere, which is an important aspect needed to be considered for the target audience as they enjoy these type of aspects. SOme of the locations I have found are below:

Some of the scenes in the film 'Marley and Me' were filmed on the beach which contains beautiful scenery which does appear romantic.

The film 'New Years Eve' (2011) was filmed at New York city in times square which is effective because the whole lights and 'buzzing' atmosphere makes the film interesting and again can be great for filming romantic films

 Lighting

In contrast to horror movies, romantic movies have really nright, high-key lighting in order to create a really upbeat, positive energy and for the audience to associate the film with happier times. this is important because romantic filmes are about showing a relationship between two people, and so in order to create a sense of intimacy between them, the lighting needs to be bright,, where not tension/ eeriness or suspense is being created. The light lighitng also makes the scene appear really normal and ordinary like, where the audience can relate to these characters and make them want to be in a situation like them.

Storyboard

Pre-Production

Before filming the actual footage for our opening sequence, we have created a storyboard which is part of our pre-production stage.
Creating a storyboard helped us immensely when it came to filming because the first day of filming we were still have did not complete our storyboard so had trouble finding the right type of shots to film. This was also not ideal because it wasted a lot of time. SO we then created a storyboard and the weekend period of shooting the opening sequence (26-27th January) we had all the shots we needed, and dealing with so many people we were able to be more organized and confident in what we needed.

Here is the storyboard we had created: (although during the filming day we did add more shots we thought would be good at that time)

Target Audience

Target Audience:
 From the research I have been doing on watching many romantic/ coming of age opening sequences, I think that the target audience for our project of romantic genre will be aimed at young people aged 15- 25 years old who are mainly girls.From asking people around the school we asked them why they preferred it and many of the girls said that they can relate to it, they enjoyed watching romantic films and especially with other people i.e. their friends or boyfriend. Some of the people also said that they enjoyed when there was eye-contact within the two main characters, so in order to fulfill our target audience's expectations, we have made sure that when the girl and boy meet in our opening sequence there is eye contact.
We also found that this type of genre was popular with couples, where this type of genre created a pleasant atmosphere in which the couple can watch and relate to the people they see on the screen. 

We decided to do a questionnaire which is aimed at young people in order to find whether they enjoy watching romantic films and we found out that predominantly the girls said they enjoyed watching them, whereas the boys didn't.  Other comments which they put down was also useful to us as criticism from audiences which our movie is targeted at will make us improve our opening sequence in order for them to enjoy it more.

 Some of the people we had given this questionnaire to said that most of the story-lines were repetitive and  so we have tried to make ours different and  hopefully the young people we have aimed this to can relate to them. Also, many of them suggested that most of the romantic movies they saw was 'boring' and so to improve ours we need to make sure that we vary the shots and use interesting shots we have learnt such as graphic match in order to make our opening sequence more visually interesting + entertaining to watch.

 In our questionnaires we try to use both qualitative and quantitative data in order to analyse the results easier, such as by ticking a Yes or No answer, whereas the qualitative data allowed us to see how our target audience felt about this particular genre, any criticism they have and what they would like to see. This made it useful for us because we would take it on board in order to make them watch it.

Research for Romantic genre

The way romantic genre films open (Credits/ Titles)
27 Dresses                     

 Summary: Jane is idealistic, romantic and completely selfless--a perennial bridesmaid whose own happy ending is nowhere in sight. But when younger sister Tess captures the heart of Jane's boss--with whom she is secretly in love--Jane begins to reexamine her "always-a-bridesmaid..." lifestyle.

Opening: The movie begins with a voice over with the main character which immediately introduces us to her life and starts off with a flashback of her being a small child at a wedding. The setting is in a church where someone is about to get married and this is effective because it links back to the title '27 Dresses'. Overall, the use of flashback and narration are effective because this makes us want to see what will happen to the little girl and how her life will turn out to be, making us want to watch the movie.
                 


What Happens in Vegas

Summary: Set in Sin City, story revolves around two people who discover they've gotten married following a night of debauchery, with one of them winning a huge jackpot after playing the other's quarter. Unhappy pair try to undermine each other and get their hands on the money -- falling in love along the way

Opening: It starts off with really upbeat music which set an easy-going atmosphere and a happy, excited mood, which is necessary when watching a romantic film. The establishing shot introduces us to the city of Vegas- where the film is predominantly shot. As we get closer to the city and the camera zooms in, the credits/ titles appear in a chunky and bright colours which go well with the setting of Vegas but also make them more visually interesting than plain text.


 The Bounty Hunter
Summary: A bounty hunter learns that his next target is his ex-wife, a reporter working on a murder cover-up. Soon after their reunion, the always-at-odds duo find themselves on a run-for-their-lives adventure.

Opening: We are introduced to the 'bounty hunter' through a close-up shot through his car window. The music has a fun yet jumpy beat to it which creates a sense of excitation and a positive movie right from the start. 
The credits appear by freezing the action which makes it visually interesting and we are also able to see clearly who they are referring to. The extra line they have i.e.'The wanted felon' after the name of the character's name adds some humour and engage the audience into wanting to know why she is wanted.

A Walk to Remember

Summary:
n Beaufort,North Carolina, a prank on a student goes terribly wrong and puts the student in the hospital. Landon Carter, a popular student with no defined plans for the future, is held responsible and forced to participate in after-school community service activities as punishment, which include starring as the lead in the school play. Also participating in these activities is Jamie Sullivan, the reverend's daughter who has great ambitions and nothing in common with Landon. When Landon decides he wants to take his activities seriously, he asks Jamie for help and begins to spend most of his time with her. But he starts to develop strong feelings for her, something he did not expect to do. The two start a relationship, much to the chagrin of Landon's old popular friends and Jamie's strict reverend father. But when a heart-breaking secret becomes known that puts their relationship to the test, it is then that Landon and Jamie realize the true meaning of love and fate.

Opening: This begins with all the titles/ credits before the actual movie and the screen is pitch black with the titles being white. The music is upbeat which can put the audience in a happier mood but I found that it was quite boring because we didn't see any action in the background and it was just writing for about 1 minute which made it seem a bit boring.

Definitely, Maybe

Summary:A political consultant tries to explain his impending divorce and past relationships to his 11-year-old daughter.

Opening:  The opening of this movie begins with the main character is an office. The titles and credits interestingly happen one after the other, such as they will show a bit of the action and then a bitch black screen with the credits. This did make it more interesting and so I thought it was effective because of the different style in which these credits appeared.
The use of the voice over is also effective while we see the main character because there is some level of humour and therefore we get the impression that the character is funny; which is appealing to watch. The rest of the credits and titles also appear when the man is walking which appears in New York City; the vibrant use of colours in the background and great music add to the excitement of the movie.