Bums on seats
In this assignment I am going to talk about film marketing and publicity. Film marketing and publicity is about how the media industry works to make movies and distribute them in a way that will generate the most money in return. Hollywood has millions of dollars to pay individual actors that are A-list actors and that is a start for the films to make sales.
The producer will know what is currently popular and send the movies round in a rotation to keep it new, for example there will be a period when a lot of Slasher movies are been made and then it will go into a sort of zombie genre then in to something about ghosts or aliens, this is called cycles. This will keep the movies fresh and the sales up. The audience is researched so that the films that are being made are being aimed towards the highest demographic and to also try to grab more people it. Films will do this by making extra sub plots to the narrative for an example an action film will typically appeal to a man but the movie will also have a romance sub plot involving the main character.
The producer will know what is currently popular and send the movies round in a rotation to keep it new, for example there will be a period when a lot of Slasher movies are been made and then it will go into a sort of zombie genre then in to something about ghosts or aliens, this is called cycles. This will keep the movies fresh and the sales up. The audience is researched so that the films that are being made are being aimed towards the highest demographic and to also try to grab more people it. Films will do this by making extra sub plots to the narrative for an example an action film will typically appeal to a man but the movie will also have a romance sub plot involving the main character.
In film marketing they will use techniques to make people interested in the film like making fake websites that are mentioned in the film, online games about the film or make an advert for a toy that is in the film, this is known as viral marketing. Machete (2010) had a trailer for the film before it was even going to be made. It was part of a production called “Grind house”. Grind house was making movie trailers about film that were that bad and cheesy and the audience wouldn’t know the difference between a serious real film and this fake film, but the film trailer got a lot of attention on the internet and a buzz was created and people where talking about it wanting to know when it was coming out so the film needed to be made because of its large audience.
Film posters are also a good way of getting people interested in a film. We see them everywhere and wont even notice most of them. They can be found at bus stops, on billboards, sides of a bus and at the cinema. Film posters can lure you in from an early stage with a teaser poster that will show you almost nothing about the film but will have you asking questions about it, but when the main poster comes out and you have seen the movies trailer you will have more of an understanding of the movie and want to watch it more.
Film Publicity is created from how well the film is marketed. But not all film publicity is done by marketing, it also needs to get attention in Newspapers so editors will write articles about the films and the target audience will read it. If a film gets noticed by a film festival and it gets put up for awards or has won any the names of these will be put on posters and DVD boxes to promote the film and get people to buy it, watch it and talk about it. The Hurt locker (2009) Won an academy award in 2009 so its going to be on the DVD box and this will have a big effect the amount of sales it has.
The UK Film Council will conduct research for marketing information to give to marketing participants. If there is a change in the statistics in the audience the next generation of film will be aimed towards them because more money is been made from them currently. Information about the customers, competitors, and market will be used to create a profile of the audience and their purpose and behavior. The UK Film council collect information about the sales of UK films. The aims of the UK film council are:
- To gather and maintain up-to-date market intelligence on film in the UK and internationally, and respond to enquiries about the data.
- To undertake research projects to support and inform UK Film Council strategic development.
- To disseminate research and market intelligence to interested stakeholders, including government departments, the film industry, the wider research community and the media.
- To develop strong links, and effective working relationships, with UK and international stakeholders.
Prints and advertising are Hollywood’s biggest ways of advertising with spending on average 50% of the production cost. They will have interviews already planned with magazines and newspapers and news shows showing them trying to gain a higher status as an actor in an attempt to get more money. Celebrities will attend movie premiers and this will create news stories and it creates even more publicity for the film. With guest celebrities been invited to movie premiers it can be used as a way of saying, “come watch this film because such a person came to watch it”, This will help generate a lot of buzz for a film because it will have coverage in newspapers and on TV news, people will gather round the cinema when celebrities are walking in to get a look at them talk to them or ask them questions. British cinema cannot compete with Hollywood because it doesn't have the popularity and the big money budgets to put into a movie to buy the big actors like Tom Cruise and Matt Damon that sell films with there name or face on the posters.
Film magazines will write reviews on upcoming movies and give it a good review if they like it but also if they are reviewing a film that is from a big director but they dont like the film they will go easy on it and not be harsh with the review so they dont cut off contacts with the famous people so they can continue to get exclusive content to hell the magazine company to boost sales. Directors and actors will have interviews with the magazine companies that are going to put them in a good light, this will raise the status of the actor. If the magazine said bad things about a film the people in it will not want to be associated with them and they will loose more readers with out the celebrity appearances.
Film magazines will write reviews on upcoming movies and give it a good review if they like it but also if they are reviewing a film that is from a big director but they dont like the film they will go easy on it and not be harsh with the review so they dont cut off contacts with the famous people so they can continue to get exclusive content to hell the magazine company to boost sales. Directors and actors will have interviews with the magazine companies that are going to put them in a good light, this will raise the status of the actor. If the magazine said bad things about a film the people in it will not want to be associated with them and they will loose more readers with out the celebrity appearances.
“Making of” documentaries will give views a look at how much work was put into the movie. An example of this is watchmen (2009). They had documentaries showing how they made an entire city for the film to made, and how they did the special effects on the film. This gave the viewers of the film more understanding and this lead to a more satisfying viewing because you knew what was happening behind the camera.
I think that Hollywood has grown faster than british cinema and any other cinema that now its become such a powerhouse that nobody can compete with the funding it has and it will continue to make the most expensive but not necessarily the best movies. British cinema should continue to produce small movies and distribute them in britain because there is no point in it try to compete and make sales in america because its not going to have the setting or the special effect. it should continue to make the movies more character based because it makes the movies more fresh.
I think that Hollywood has grown faster than british cinema and any other cinema that now its become such a powerhouse that nobody can compete with the funding it has and it will continue to make the most expensive but not necessarily the best movies. British cinema should continue to produce small movies and distribute them in britain because there is no point in it try to compete and make sales in america because its not going to have the setting or the special effect. it should continue to make the movies more character based because it makes the movies more fresh.
