Sky fall Research

By Fatima Kadhem

What was the impact for marketing and consumption from the following aspects of distribution for your film?

Who were the distributors? The distributors were MGM and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

How well known is/was the company? These distribution companies are two of the biggest and most successful in America - they

have distributed other films such as The Hobbit and 2012.

What is their track record as distributors? MGM have distributed hundreds of films since the 1920s including some of the most

successful such as Legally Blonde and other films in the Bond franchise such as Die Another Day. Sony Pictures Entertainment are the same.

All of these questions link into the 1st area of the exam-the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary

Links to 6th area of the examWhat was the eventual release pattern nationally and locally? Below there is a chronological list of the release dates and countries. You can see that excluding the premiere, the film was first released in the UK , across Europe and smaller countries such as Bahrain. I believe this was done as there was extremely high demand for the film in the UK, and there were also links such as the fact that the premiere was in UK and also the woman who sang the soundtrack (Adele) was English. Other countries that saw the release after didn't have to wait long at all, it was no longer than a week or two - the film was released over a period of 3 months however most countries saw it in the first week that it was initially released, it was not a long period of time for people.

Linked to the 1st area of our exam

What deals were made for distribution abroad? Deals to worldwide cinemas were distributed at a later stage.

How easily were these deals secured?Many film companies have to go to film markets to seek distribution for certain countries they want

to release the film in. For much more popular film companies they are asked to do lots of interviews talking about the film.

Why did they at any stage change their plans for the release pattern, and if so, why?  There was no stage change of plans for the release pattern as it was clear exactly when the films

would be released in different countries. 

What was the marketing and advertising strategy for the film?Skyfall had many marketing and advertising strategies for the film which included stretching the

bus-side billboards and trailers that have been on rotation since spring. The dutch beer having stumped up over £28million covering almost a third of the film's estimated £93.7m production budget in the process.

Links to the 1st area of our examWas there a premiere, and if so, where?The film premiered in London at the Royal Albert Hall on 23rd October 2012 and was released in the

UK on the 26th October however in the US on 9th November.The premiere took place in the Royal Albert Hall and was attended by royalty such as Prince Charles

and Camilla-Duchess of Cornwall.

Was your film distributed to digital cinemas?Skyfall was the first James Bond film to be screened in IMAX cinemas although it was not filmed

with IMAX cameras. The release of the film was within the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series which began in 1962.

The film was successfully distributed as grossing $951million in the box office worldwide and therefore became the highest grossing film in the UK of all time and also the highest grossing film worldwide for Sony pictures.

When did it go to DVD, HD-DVD and what are the sales figures?The film was released in the UK on the 18th February 2013 on DVD and Blu-ray.It was also released

in North America on the 12th March 2013 by 20th century fox home entertainment. Skyfall was the fastest selling blue-ray of all time with 544,000 copies in the first week, ahead of Avatar's 428,000 and The Dark Knight rises with 285,000 first week totals.

Links to the 2nd and 3rd area of our examHow important are internet downloads and YOUTUBE?They were very important for viral campaigning, having an internet distribution of the trailer of

the film is a good way to attract wider range of audiences as the majority of people use the internet in their day-to-day routines.

How does the official film website market the film? Are there any official and blogs, etc.?Skyfall created an official website for the movie where updated news and pictures could be

posted about the film for the fans to follow this will allow excitement for the fans as they count down the days to the release of the film. This website was powered by Sony and it was a good viral campaign as there was access to all the news about the film and the official trailer. The website also provided the information about which cinemas are showing the film, what times and how to book tickets along with premiere information.

What other marketing schemes did the company employ?The company created a series of Skyfall posters that were advertised on billboards around the

centre of London, in tube stations and on buses all over London. Where Londoners could be aware of the film.

Links into the 3rd area of our examAnalysis of Skyfall poster

Title of film Release Date of film

Information on the movie (legal information)

Main image of the main character (James Bond) with a prop in his hand (the gun) which connotes many things – I will explain this in more detail

Black and white colour scheme

Background image of main location of film(London)

Links into the 3rd area of our exam Title- written in capitalised plain, white and simple font which stands out on

the poster it is also written in contrast to the dark coloured background. Its easy and clear to read to audiences that have a quick view of the poster as it will be situated in busy areas in London.

Black and white colour schemeThe simple colours used in this poster are black and white they look very smart

and professional in a way as it doesn't have any bright colours or child-like backgrounds therefore suggesting that it is a serious film. It symbolises the colour of James Bond’s suit as it is also black and white.

Links to the 3rd area of our examBackground Image: The image shown in the background is the prime location of the film-the city

of London. It is shown with a black and white filter however the flag of Great Britain is in colour. This emphasises the main setting and production of the film and British influences.

Main image- The main image of the poster is the main character of the film –James Bond played by Daniel Craig- he has been part of many of the bond films therefore seeing his face will attract attention to audience that another bond film is out. He is shown very powerfully on the poster with as smart suit and looking very professional suggesting the importance of his job in the film. The prop used is a gun this makes it easy for the audience to establish the genre or type of film. The connotations of a gun in an action/thriller is being the ‘hero’ of the film and fighting the enemies.

Links to the 3rd area of our examRelease date: This is the most important feature on a film poster as it is the

thing that the audience look for if they are interested in the film. It is written in capitalised orange font to stand out and contrast from the black and white colour scheme this makes it stand out.

Legal Information: This is advertising the production companies and producers that took part in the making of the film, it is written very small just above the release date and isn't very important as it doesn't have much of an impact of the people wanting to see the film, however it legally needs to be present.

Outlets used for film:

Links into the 2nd area of our exam

The most popular outlet that I will be focusing on is the James Bond fragrance it was created to evoke the sensual side of Bond that his strew of beautiful women adore.

Eon Productions, in charge of all James Bond movies, and Procter & Gamble Co. launched a new fragrance to celebrate 50 years of the James Bond film franchise and to announce the 23rd Bond movie- Skyfall.

TV spots were used for the James Bond 007 Cologne for Men.

TV advert was created:http://youtu.be/vjBCJl4dp-k

The audience for the perfume is targeted at the male audience as they have created a aftershave. Mainly for men in their 20s and 30s who love Bond, who love adventure, gadgets, travel, style and sophistication.

Other outletsThe film was advertised in multiple ways, and all of these ways helped it gain publicity massively. Firstly, Sony were linked with Skyfall as Sony Pictures Entertainment were it's distributors,  and they also released an advert promoting their own digital products whilst also promoting the film by adding parts of it into the advert. http://youtu.be/lsyfm2hVX1k

Aswell as Sony, coke were also linked with Skyfall and although I have no evidence they were also believed to be an advertising outlet. These advertisements have millions of viewers and the film would have gained lots of publicity.

Lastly,  Adele sang the soundtrack to the film which was a huge advertising outlet as it meant that the film was promoted to the whole of the music industry and also Adele's fanbase.

https://soundcloud.com/melissa-gimeda/adele-skyfall

There were other merchandising tie-ins included such as:

-USB flash drive to obtain secret information in seconds –the Limited Edition 007 Quantum of Solace 16GB Micro Vault Click USB

- In celebration of the James Bond film, Sony is presenting this limited VAIO TT notebook with engraved 007 Gun Logo.

What kind of press stories were released before and after the film came out?

There were many press stories released after the film came out about it's substantial success with awards such as the BAFTAs and also it's box office success, the success was so amazing that everyone was talking about it! There were also press stories released before the film came out especially about the cast, for example about the fact that Daniel Craig had landed the role of James Bond for his third time.