HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN PRODUCT AND ANCILLARY TEXTS?

Question 2

FILM AND TRAILEROne of our unique selling points is the fact we are a traditional British crime film. We have done this by using several different conventions such as a mostly male cast, weapons/violence, gritty locations etc. However, we also wanted to introduce the theme of revenge and betrayal. Upon thinking about this Adulthood “revenge is a dish best served cold” comes to mind with the main character being tracked down by people he had hurt in the past. This is very similar to our own plot. Our film also has dark comedy (not hinted at in the trailer to act as a surprise in the film and a talking point, so word of mouth, for when they leave) but is set in a perilous place and tense time, which gives it a unique and postmodern twist. Another USP is the fact independent films are regarded as being more narrative driven (“Arty”) and mainstream action driven but we are somewhere in the middle. Our narrative is a big part of the film but we also have action scenes using a motorbike and fight scenes. “A Brighton crime saga” is our tagline, this gives initial ideas for the audience to think about what the film is about and hints to the plot and characters. As the trailer is about crime, it could imply that multiple criminal activities/events are going to/have occurred in Brighton and that the city is a significant part of the film. Also the tagline pays homage to Heat’s by using pastiche/intertextuality. Heat’s being,” A Los Angles crime saga”. Some of the audience will see this tagline on the poster and expect to see similarities between the two.  Our target audience are people aged 12 – 35. Our film highlights the value of friendship and the journey people will endure for bittersweet revenge. This is something our target audience will feel they can understand/relate to, therefore feeling integrated into the film. The dark humor aspect in a gritty crime film may also be something that this particular target audience will relish then. This is similar to “Fight club”, which has a similar target audience to our own.  In our trailer our actor has a conversation (voiceover) with another actor that explains our film. This inspires people to comprehend the theme and purpose of what is occurring. We also use varied conventions to capture our target audience attention such as pulling off the “ultimate crime”, rags to riches, “all for one and one for all” etc. These are things young men and women admire.

POSTMODERN CONVENTIONS IN OUR TRAILERWe use time remapping in our trailer. At the beginning we have a time lapse of cars driving on a motorway. Also we have a shot that speeds up then slows down when panning up a character and another shot slows down. There is superimposition when our character puts on a mask and then the next shot is his face where the mask used to be. Near the end there is also a freeze frame.

Patterns of our target audienceOur target audience is aged 12 to 35. We are aiming mostly at males. Films that have inspired our own include Snatch, Layer cake, Fight club and Kidulthood. Snatch is a British crime film aimed at a similar audience. The relationship between “Pikeys” and the general public is portrayed well and something they would have experienced. Fight club is another film that has inspired us. They do have a complex non-linear narrative unlike our own. However, they do have dark humor. Black comedy can be enjoyed by wide range of people but usually not the very young because it can be inappropriate and not the elderly because it can be crude.

MEDIA PRODUCT CONSUMPTION PATTERNS.

Because our T.A is from 12 to 35 I had to do some research to determine what would be the most effective way to communicate and get their attention. The younger half of the T.A will be easiest to communicate with because of social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook etc.) Social media is a very accessible and instant route to the youth. Creating Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, Instagram hash tags and uploading content like interviews and trailer to YouTube will be great free ways of creating a “buzz” (publicity). The older half will be harder to communicate with. This means we will have to use newspapers, radio ads, billboards etc. to grab their attention. We would also like to grab the attract film lovers’/niche audiences. We will do this by utilizing websites such as IMDb and Rotten tomato. These sites are great free ways to publish because the people there are there for one reason only compared to sites like Facebook where people are there for several.  

TARGET AUDIENCE AND DISTRIBUTION. 

12 Spec “Moderate language (e.g. uses of terms such as ‘bitch’

and ‘twat’ at 12 or 12A). “Sex may be briefly and discreetly portrayed… There

may be nudity in 12A” “Moderate physical and psychological threat is

permitted at 12 or 12A” “Sexual violence, such as scenes of rape or assault,

may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated at 12A and 12.”

“Action sequences and weapons may be present at 12A or 12”

“At 12A, moderate violence is allowed but it should not dwell on detail”

We have given our film a classification of 12. Even though when we researched other films that had inspired ours there’s were 18, we decided to stick to 12 because the violence and language are “moderate”, there are no sexual scenes and there are no “physical and psychological threats”. Also by sticking to 12 instead of 15 we could include younger people, resulting in a wider audience meaning more people come to watch, so more revenue and exposure

ADVERTISINGOne place will premier our film is at Berlin Independent film festival (B.I.F.F), which takes place during the 11th to 17th of February. This is because this festival is for new up and coming/rising filmmakers to showcase their work and get themselves attention. It also means we can release the film at the beginning of the year. This means we have a solid good few months to advertise our film to be released in the summer. We can also get reviews that can be used for marketing our film in newspapers and billboards etc.  August 1st is when we will release our film. I chose this date because it’s near the end of the summer when not many big mainstream films are being released (because they were released leading up to/start of the summer) so we won’t be forgotten about and over shone by their multi million advertising campaigns that dominate over all the main platforms. This date doesn’t have any big films being released by conglomerates like Time Warner and The Walt Disney Disney Company, so the decreased competition increases our chances of ours being watched.

ATTRACTING THE WIDEST AUDIENCE FOR OUR FILM

We will use a vast array of media platforms/products to advertise because we have a wide T.A to reach. Our trailer will obviously be one of the main techniques we use. We will showcase our trailer using platforms like the Internet, which are a free and accessible way to advertise to younger audiences. Other ways include social media like creating Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and YouTube accounts to release our trailer too. This means we can invite/request people watch it and if they enjoy it they can recommend it, so talk about it and share it, which will act as great “word of mouth” and create a self-publishing chain. Young people also read magazines and the older generation tends to more, so I created a cover of Sight and sound magazine. A cover is the 1st thing you see on a magazine, so it’s very effective way to advertise. Especially if the magazines demographic are the same niche audience as some of your T.A. I also made a poster that will be used in independent cinemas and newspapers/magazines. Newspapers are a great way to advertise to the older generation. However, with our small budget will would only be able to get a small ad near the back but if we created a publicity stunt we could get an article/more press.

FILM POSTEROne purpose our poster has is getting our film “out there” AKA getting it known. We can use it in newspapers, magazines, billboards, social networking sites, TV ads etc. When we took the photos we made sure the actors facial expression looked like they were deep in thought. This suggests that they have a “troubled mind”; this could then intrigues the audience to why. Also we made sure to use different sized images. This could suggest that one character is more important, powerful or dangerous because he takes up more of the poster. This could then help the audience relate to a particular character depending on how they view themselves.  A key thing I wanted for the poster was for it to suggest that the characters on it had history/were linked. So I merged their faces together. This then becomes a very clear and obvious hint at our narrative. Another key thing I wanted was the poster to be recognized as paying homage to Heat’s. Therefore, the main image is similar, this then attracts audience because if they liked Heat’s they think they might like ours because the main image is the same, so the films may be too. Underneath is also a photo of one of the characters that’s pictured above, pointing a gun. This attracts audiences because the gun implies there are action scenes. This then suggests it will be a crime film because guns are synonymous with crime films.  The font is the same on the magazine for continuality and is intriguing and easy to read. This was because people tend to flick through magazines, so when they do the title will stand out and grab their attention. We have other info on it as well for once the attention has been grabbed like up and coming actors (a USP) and the tagline to hint at the narrative and intrigue.  The blue couloring connotes a dark, moody atmosphere commonly associated with the crime genre. This attracts audiences if they’re into that type of film. The location of the woods attracts and further implies it’s a crime film because woods are synonymous with crime films for where someone is buried/killed. In addition, isolated places are also where crimes are concealed.  Lastly, the overall links between Heat’s poster and our own, like how its dived into two parts, blue hue, similar tagline, red line under title etc. will attract audience because people will understand that we were inspired by their film/poster, intriguing them to watch ours to find out about the similarities and differences.

MAGAZINE COVERThe other ancillary product I made was a Sight and sound cover. They are a magazine that review new and upcoming films, then gives opinions that promote them. When I was creating the cover I wanted to keep continuality and the British crime theme by using a blue background. I was going to use red/white as well to represent the union jack but it became visually over whelming. The blue background again connotes a dark, moody atmosphere commonly associated with the crime genre and links to the plot. His facial expression is neutral, which is often the facial expression someone experiences when in shock. This implies he has gone through a very traumatic event, hinting at the storyline (sister getting shot). The high angle of the character (him looking down into the camera) suggests he is off high status and the “good guy”, hinting at him being the protagonist. Also the bright lighting reinforces this.  We want to grab the attention of many different types of audiences like mainstream and the elderly. However, Sight and Sound give us a great pathway to niche audiences and the independent world. Off course there are various ways we could join with mainstream audiences but we needed a Sight and Sound specifically as a gateway to the “underground”. They give us invaluable reviews from experts and people genuinely interested in that type of film. Therefore, if the reviews are good we have a higher chance of being successful in independent cinemas like Duke of York. Finally, Sight and Sound have an online magazine/archive and website, so accessibility is not an issue and increase the audience we can sell to.

CONCLUSION

The ancillary products we have created are fundamental and essential in our film awareness. Our poster allows our film to be advertised in many

different places like Billboards and magazines. Also it presents small pieces of information for the audience to understand. To accompany that

the magazine allows for an in depth description of the film and for opinions to be shared with our niche audience. Through social media we can effectively advertise to the mainstream audiences too. This might include a Facebook page where we post content, ticket offers, posters,

reviews etc. YouTube for exclusive interviews, videos about premiers and backstage/behind the scenes content that makes the audience feel part

of the process/creation. Websites like Rotten tomatoes will be a great way to interact with independent audiences and gain/build relationships with critics and movie professionals. However, because we have a very low

budget we will be unable to get TV interviews and merchandise etc. but we can adopt more unorthodox methods like fake publicity stunts to get

mainstream media attention.