Independent Case Study

The basics1) What is the name of the film, the director and notable stars? 
Skyfall, the director is Sam Mendes and the main star of the film is Daniel Craig 

2) When was it released? 
It was released 26th October 2012 in the UK 

3) What genre is the film? What are the generic conventions that tell you the film belongs to this genre? 

Action, thriller, crime/spy fiction and adventure - this because the film is centred around James Bond investigating an attack of M16 and the use of this narrative helps develop insight into the world of being an agent 

4) What was the critical reception? What is the film rated on IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes? IMDB - 7.8 rating, Rotten Tomatoes - 92%. The film scored of 81 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 43 reviews. A number of critics, including Kate Muir, reviewing for The Times, Philip French, writing in The Observer, IGN's Daniel Krupa and the reviewers for the Irish Independent and the Daily Record, all asked whether Skyfall was the best Bond film produced.The Daily Telegraph '​s film reviewer, Robbie Collin, considered Skyfall to be "often dazzling, always audacious", with excellent action sequences in a film that contained humour and emotion.Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter thought that Skyfall was "dramatically gripping while still brandishing a droll undercurrent of humour"

Broadcast1) Write a close-textual analysis of the trailer using the MIGRAIN key concepts of Media Studies.The skyfall trailer is full of action and drama, as it is part of a very well known action based franchise 'James Bond'. The trailer starts with the main protagonist being shot, which immediately draws in the audience as they would want to know what happens next. The film is set in many different countries and locations, however the main location is London as most of the characters have british accents, and flags of the UK are shown in one scene. Considering there is a lot of action in the film, this may have more of a larger male audience, however there is some romance shown in the trailer which may attract the females.

2) Find examples of television promotion on YouTube (adverts, chat shows, ‘red carpet’ interviews etc.) and post them to your blog along with an explanation of how these promote the film.
-The red carpet interview helps promote the film as the main stars talk about why they think the movie is successful and they describe their characters, and how they tried to deliver all the best things in the film.

-The advert of an aston martin, however this is also promoting skyfall as the James Bond of the film, Daniel Craig is driving the car with the Skyflall theme song in the background, which almost makes this advert all about skyfall.

-This interview included most of the main characters, and it promotes the film as the cast is revealing secrets and saying what they think are the best parts of the film, and how they think this is the best possible way they could have made the film.                                                 

3) Does the broadcast promotion use stars to create interest in the film?
Yes, the broadcast promotion does use starts to create interest in the film, as the audience gets a fondness of the character and they talk about all the things they loved about the film, and what their characters are like. The stars let the audience know a few things about the film before they see it, which encourages the audience to want to watch it even more. 

Print1) Read at least THREE reviews of the film and provide a quote from each one.
Empire: ' 50 years old, still going strong'
The guardian:  'Despite the title, he is a hero who just keeps on defying gravity.'
Telegraph: 'For better or worse we live in the age of the superhero, and so Mendes’s film is less hardboiled spy saga than blistering comic-book escapade.'

2) Find examples of print promotion (e.g. film poster, billboard adverts etc.) on Google images and post them to your blog along with an explanation of how these promote the film.

Empire Mag is successful and promotes that nostalgia feel as well as hard-core action

3) Choose ONE print advert and write a textual analysis of what it communicates to the audience.

This film poster is black and white, which may seem dull, but for a film like this, which is part of the James Bond franchise, these seem perfect as they have that mysterious feel which James Bond has as a character. The character are all lined in a position where it may show their order of importance in the film, and they are in front of  the famous '007' which is almost shaped like a gun, which creates that action feel for the audience. Their isn't much text on this poster, which highlights the stars of the film more.

4) How is the film’s brand constructed? What does the brand connote? Does it remind you of any other brands or similar films?

The film belong to the franchise James Bond, so it is linked to all the previous bond films, the brand is very well known around the world, as most people know what '007' refers to. The brand does remind me of the Aston Martin cars, as Daniel Craig did an Advert as James Bond for those cars.

E-media

1) Research the film’s presence on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. How does the film’s social media presence help promote the film?
As this is a blockbuster film, social media sights such as Twitter, facebook and Instagram, will have promotional trailers or posters of the film, behind the scenes footage, interviews as millions of people use social networking sights, and they are good ways of promoting films. Celebrities also tweet or Instagram things about the film to engage more of an audience. 

2) Analyse the official website for the film. How does it use the film’s brand? What examples of synergy can you find with the other platforms? 
On the official website there are many similar things that link with other platforms, for instance the title on the website is "SKYFALL" and uses the same '007' phrases next to it so the audience are aware that Skyfall is part of the 007 brand. Also the colour scheme consists of blue, black and white - these are all sophisticated classy colours.

3) Did the film run any kind of e-media based campaign to generate interest in the film?
The hashtag #SKYFALL was trending on Twitter and was promoted by the James Bond brand itself so that audience awareness is increased. 

4) Can you find any examples of the two-step flow theory online – did celebrities or journalists tweet or post about the film in order to promote it to their followers?
Sam Mendes (the director) tweeted multiple times and celebrities such as Adele also tweeted as she herself contributed to the film by singing the soundtrack.


Audience1) Who is the target audience for this film? Demographics and psychographics.
Considering there is a lot of action in the film, this may have more of a larger male audience, however there is some romance shown in the trailer which may attract the females. This would attract ages 16-40+ and the demographics would be B/C1/C2/D/E. This would attract main streamers as they like to catch up on whatevers new, so they would definitely watch Skyfall. 

2)What audience pleasures does the film provide? Think about the BFI lecture on audience pleasures in British film.
The use of social media plays a huge role to entice the younger audience, such as students to become aware and generate an interest in the franchise. Facebook and Twitter are paid by the James Bond brand to display posts on everybody's timeline and this sets a reminder for people. In addition, TV adverts and YouTube ads are also a way to generate interest.
3)What similar films would the target audience enjoy? Justify your suggestions.
The target audience may enjoy action films, such as the previous James Bond Franchise, and film such as Die hard, The bourne identity. Also superhero films such as superman, batman and spider man.

Institution

1) Which film studio produced the film? What other films have they produced? Do they have a track record with this kind of film and this target audience?
The film  was produced by EON productions, a British film production company known for producing the James Bond film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom. They haven't produced any other films other than all the previous Bond movies, so they have a track record for the James Bond audience. 

2) Which company distributed the film in the UK? What other films have they distributed? 
This was distributed by columbia pictures

3) Do they have a track record with this kind of film and this target audience?
They do have a track record of releasing previous Bond films, and other action movies similar to this.

4)What was the budget for the film? 
$200 million dollars

5) How successful was the film financially? Why do you think this was? 
It made $1108.6 million dollars at Box Office. The movie is filmed in many prime landmarks in London, foreigners tend to love London because of the historical value behind landmarks such as Parliament Square. 

6) Was this film more successful in the UK or worldwide/USA? Why do you think this is? 
The film was more successful in the UK because it was premiered here a week early than the USA. The film carries British values, patriotism being the main one. Also, the MI6 is the biggest in the UK, especially security and the film promotes these concepts. Automatically, this attracts the British audience. 

7) What certificate was the film given (12A, 18 etc.)? What was the reason for this certificate? Is the certification important for this film in terms of targeting its audience? Why?
The film was given a 12A certificate


Representation

1) What representations of people, places or groups can be found in this film?
Predominantly British, as the cast members are of the same nationality and region.

2) What representation of ‘Britishness’ does the film contain?
Most of the character in the film are british in this fim

3) How does the representation of Britain differ to Ill Manors? 
Ill Manors is about the ghetto side of London

4) What values and ideologies can you find in your chosen film? (E.g. The King’s Speech is extremely patriotic, pro-monarchy etc.) 

Patriotic - fighting to save and protect your country -- MI6 victims the face of crime

Case study comparison

1) What similarities and differences can you find between Ill Manors, A Field In England and your chosen case study film? List all that apply.
James Bond is a high-budget film, unlike Ill Manors and A Field in England. Also, Skyfall is part of the James Bond franchise. Ill Manors and A Field in England have a much lower-budget and no main stars,

Double Page Draft 3

Tutorial targets 2.

Video:
- add titles in opening section.
- opening section shorter. 

Double page:
- more text to right hand side.
- different colour for questions.
- introductory standfirst paragraph.
- page numbers.
- text in italics at end ; broadcast details.  

A Field In England.

100 Word Summary

Ben Wheatley wanted to try and distribute the film ‘A Field in England’ across all the platforms in order for the audience to get easy access to it. The film was launched on VOD (4OD and iTunes), free broadcast TV (Film4), DVD, Blu-ray and cinema (17 picture house cinema’s). Through this they are expanding their audiences which will equal to higher revenue. Some people might not go to cinema and illegally stream the movie online; however the word will get around really quickly through family and friends. If the film is desired by the audience watching it, it will be promoted and more people will want to watch it.

How was A Field In England’s release different to typical film releases?

The films release was different to other films as they released it on many different platforms. this is usually not carried out by film distributors, however they have done this in order to expand the films audiences. This type of films are not promoted in cinema's or online long enough for audiences to franchise.

What are the advantages to releasing the film across all platforms on the same day?

The advantage of releasing this kind of film across different platforms is that audiences will be able to view it through on of the platforms. An independent film does not usually produce its film n a lot of different platforms and usually show at Arthouse cinema's. These cinema's are not very common as regular cinemas such as Vue and are not very local where as others are. Releasing it on a number of platforms enables this film to be promoted into a number of audiences.

What are the disadvantages to this approach?

The disadvantages to this is that the film may not receive the audience it may desire. It may not gain a high box-office as well. The film received a different reception as it was the first film to release on all the different platforms.

What target audience would A Field In England be aimed at? Demographics and Psychographics.

I think that this filmed would be aimed at an audience aged 21-35 and for the audience to be a majority of males. This is because the story line is quite moderate and it is during an older period of time (based in the 17th Century).

Do you think all films in future will be released across all platforms simultaneously in future?

I think that if a film had a high level of promotion of it's franchise, it can help a film be more successful when releasing it on many different platforms. I think some producers may do this, however due to the success rate of 'A Field in England', they may not carry out that this kind of method of distribution. 

Ill manors - Institutuion Research

Distribution research

• When launching a movie it's vital:

• identifying its audience
• considering why they'd go and see it
• estimating the revenue potential across all the formats of its release
• persuading exhibitors (cinema operators) to play the film
• developing plans and partnerships to build awareness of and interest in the film
• aiming to convert as much interest as possible into cinema visits
• Distributors sign a formal contract with the producer, sales agent or studio, specifying the rights they hold in respect of the title. These normally include the right to release it in UK cinemas and promote it in all media before and during its release.
• Digital transformation - The DCP (digital cinema printer) is ingested into a powerful server at the cinema and played out through a state-of-the-art digital projector.
• The job of a distributor is to create visibility and to raise enough awareness and interest in a film to persuade potential audiences to buy tickets to go and see it
• 'Quotes posters' are produced and disseminated to cinemas. These highlight a selection of glowing comments by critics or bloggers

Ill Manors: Funding and production budget

What was the estimated budget for Ill Manors? £100,000
Where did the money come from? Film London Microwave, Revolver Entertainment and BBC Films
How did the Ill Manors budget compare to a Hollywood blockbuster such as Skyfall? Skyfall's budget was estimated between $150-200 million dollars, this is because the film uses many prime locations (such as London and Turkey), features Daniel Craig who carried out the sequel to the well-established "James Bond" movies. 'Ill Manors' is an independent movie set in the suburban areas of London. 
Film London and Microwave Film

What is Film London and why does it exist?  Film London is the capital's film and media agency - sustaining, promoting and developing London as a major international film-making and film cultural capital. This includes all the screen industries based inLondon - film, television, video, commercials and new interactive media.
What is the purpose of Microwave Film? To fund films and to get a marketing campaign up and running.

Lilting 

Borrowed Time

Shifty 

'Shifty' is a film similar to 'Ill Manors' in many ways, for instance both films feature the actor Riz Ahmed, they're both low-budget films and both narratives are devised through the themes of violence and drugs. This film focuses more on cocaine more than anything, whereas 'Ill Manors' subtly uses this factor and includes more things such as drinking and murders.
Distributor: Revolver Entertainment

When was Revolver Entertainment created? Justin Marciano founded it in 1997 in the UK

 The Imposter 

This movie was successful because it's from an American-Gothic genre and is a documentary. It gained a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 95% and UK-based film magazine Total Film gave the film a five-star review (denoting 'outstanding'): "Creepier than Catfish and as cinematic as Man On Wire, this is an unnerving story immaculately told and a strong contender for doc of the year

Offender

Offender is a 2012 English action film which follows a hard grafting, 20-year-old working-class man, Tommy Nix, who while avoiding getting mixed up in the wrong crowd sees his girlfriend fall victim to a brutal attack. The film received a 4/5 rating from Heat Magazine stating "this bloody borstal drama makes quiet political points alongside a powerful revenge storyline" and a 4/5 rating from Sky Movies calling it an "admirably crafted a compelling drama."


Liberal Arts
 

Liberal Arts received mixed to positive reviews and has a rating of 70% on Rotten tomatoes based on 104 reviews with an average score of 6.6 out of 10.

'Offender' is the most similar movie to 'Ill Manors' because it uses the theme of violence, the setting is roughly the same (suburban areas of London) to develop that gritty feel.

Why did Revolver Entertainment go out of business in 2013? There was a few "cash-flow" problems and many off the staff were quitting
How is new technology changing the way films are being distributed? Piracy has always been the key issue, however newer developments in technology means that people can illegally view/download new releases of films online from 3rd-party websites such as PutLocker who provide links to many websites which have a copy available. In most cases, people may record films in the cinema and upload in to sites such as YouTube.
Gunslinger

Research the Gunslinger/Revolver film Shank. Embed the trailer in your blog and explain how it compares to Ill Manors (similarities and differences).

Shank

This movie is filmed in a similar setting to 'Ill Manors', there are many fast-paced shots to uplift the urban feel and the soundtrack is upbeat just like 'Ill Manors' itself. 
List other Gunslinger films that fit the UK urban drama genre. Why does Gunslinger focus on this genre in particular?

• Offender - this demonstrates the youth from a working class background and how certain events such as targeted attacks may lead to violent situations. This film could be a justification as to why certain people could be interpreted as targets in society.

Research the British social realism genre. How do Gunslinger films fit into the social realism genre?
Why does the UK urban drama genre appeal to an audience?
Social realism roots from raw attention to the everyday conditions of the working classes and the poor, and who are critical of the social structures that maintain these conditions. Guunslinger films accurately illustrates the working class as targets in society, this would appeal to the D/E demgraphic - unemployed/ uneducated people. Gunslinger films present how the working class are isolated from society and how violence/drugs drive the working classes to lead their lives and provide for themselves as well as their families.
Certification
One final aspect of institution is the certificate the film was awarded for exhibition. This is decided by the British Board of Film Classification.
How does the certification process work at the BBFC?  BBFC - responsible for the national classification and censorship of films within the United Kingdom, all films rated by the BBFC receive a certificate, along with "consumer advice" detailing references to sex, violence and coarse language. If a certificate specifies that a film or video game is only suitable for someone over a certain age, then only those over that age may buy it.
Think about the certificate of Ill Manors (18 certificate). What is deemed acceptable for an 18 certificate? Films under this category do not have limitation on the foul language that is used. Hard drugs are generally allowed, and explicit sex references along with detailed sexual activity are also allowed. Scenes of strong real sex may be permitted if justified by the context. Very strong, gory, and/or sadistic violence is usually permitted. Strong sexual violence is permitted unless it is eroticized or excessively graphic.
What is the difference between a 15 certificate and an 18 certificate? For a 15 film there is limited use of very strong language, strong violence and strong sex references, and nudity without graphic detail. Sexual activity may be portrayed but without any strong detail. Sexual violence may be shown if discreet and justified by context.
What are the advantages and disadvantages for a film in being given an 18 certificate?
The advantages of an 18 film is that there is no limit on strong language/violence or sex scenes, however a disadvantage could be that the freedom to illustrate explicit content with no limit could be uncomfortable for some viewers. Also, if an 18 films uses strong language for instance freely and a 15 year old cannot view the film because swearing is used a couple of times this is unfortunate and the film could lose mass profits from young viewers who are most likely to be the ones going cinema more often than 18+ adults.