Mainstream: Unlikely ever to view anything other than major Hollywood style blockbusters.
Mainstream plus: Generally mainstream but apt to see less mainstream films on a few occasions.
Aficionados: Tend to view a mix of films including major foreign language titles and can be encouraged to become even more adventurous in their viewing choices.
Film buffs: Eschew mainstream films in favour of more extreme, esoteric challenging and difficult subject matter/ specialised films.
To qualify as a British film the needs to meet three of the following six criteria:
- A British director
- A British producer
- Predominantly British cast
- British production company
- Subject matter that informs on the British experience
- British identity defined by the BFI in Sight and Sound
Co-productions with British input are often classed as British films.
BBFC - An independant, non-governmental body which classifies and censors film, video as well as computer and console - based games released in the UK.
British Council - The official UK agency for international cultural relations. Its film department promotes new British film internationally principally through festivals and showcases.
BFI - Aims to support, develop and promote the art forms of moving image.
UK Film Council - Promotes understanding and appreciation of Britain's rich film and TV heritage and culture.
British Film Council - Government backed agency for film in the UK ensuring that the econmoic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad.
What do the British Box Office figures tell us about the British Film Industry?
It shows that American films are more popular in Britain than British films. Due Date, Jackass 3D, Saw 3D and Paranormal Activity 2 are some of the most popular films at the moment. This is slightly unusual as they are not four-quadrant pictures however they are sequels of popular films which would have drawn people in. This shows that the British Film Industry produce more specialised/ niche films which don't appeal to wider and larger audiences which is why they get low box office figures both in the UK and the US.
What do stars bring to a film? Why do producers use certain stars?
- Guaranteed sales - good box office figures
- Brings in their fans
- Narrative image - star persona/ typecast
- Interest and attention from the press = publicity
- Expectations of genre
- Used as main market feature
Would the world be different if we relied only on the US film industry?
- US films about wealth/money
- White male dominance
- Foreigners/English are the bad guys
- Women are represented as skinny/ petit/ blonde/ lacking intelligence/ vulnerable
Hypodermic model - The audience is passive and are injected with ideas and beliefs by what they see.
If only American films were available we would lose British identity/culture. British Film Council offer grants to film makers to keep British culture "alive".
The producer (studio or production company) has to get all the funding for the production before the filming starts. There is always the problem of not knowing whether or not the film will make money - whether it will a success or a failure.
The Government sometimes provide grants for productions, they sometimes have schemes designed to encourage creativity and develop new talent.
A film production can benefit a country by:
- employment opportunities - in the production, catering, accomatation, transport etc.
- develops culture
- advertises the area/location to an international audience - promotes tourism. For example, the Twilight series increased the amount of tourists visiting Forks, where the book/film is set and filmed, considerably.
The UK Film Council used to offer subsidies to filmmakers in the UK meeting a certain criteria. The National Lottery also offers subsidies and grants to UK-based filmmakers.
The UK introduced the Producers' Tax Credit in 2007 to encourage film producers to film in the UK. This helped bring large scale productions to the UK. For example, The Dark Knight was filmed at Pinewood and Shepperton studios.
Pre-sales involves the producter selling the rights to distributors of the film before it is made, which is the most common method of film financing. In order to secure their investment, distributors expect certain elements that will guarantee success. For example, certain famous actors/ directors/ storyline etc. Pre-sales are usually done by region e.g. Europe, North America. They can also be made of DVD and TV distribution rights which is likely to be the case if the movie studio distributing the film is part of the same conglomerate as a TV station e.g. Horizonal Intergration. This also stops piracy.
Advertising
Above the line - is advertising through media like TV, cinema, radio, magazines/newspapers, web banners and web search engines. This type of advertising is conventional and is considered impersonal.
Below the line - is efficient and cost-effective for targeting limited and specific groups of the audience. This can be tie-ins with other products and companies.
The film distributor is responsible for releasing a film for public viewing either theatrically or for home viewing (TV/DVD/download etc)
A distributor might do this by directly distributing the film to their own theatres or they can send it to sub-distributors. If the distributors is working with a theatrical exhibitor the distributor will write a contract to say how much the exhibitor will pay them from the gross ticket sales. After the distributor gets their shares in the gross ticket sales they transmit the remainder of the profit to the production company.
Vertical Integration Distribution:
The stages of production and distribution are done by the same company e.g. large Hollywood production companies can afford and have the resources to do this
Horizontal Distribution:
One company produces the film then has another distribute the film. This allows the companies to share the risk of failure and if the film is a failure then it is less of a loss for the companies. This is done by the distributor acquiring the legal rights to show the film from the producers. British productions use this method. Independent producers have to sell their films to different distributors in each territory.
Local distributors only work in their country and will share the profits made in that country with the film maker. There are 90+ territories worldwide.
How are films usually launched?
Scheduling - Often come out on a Friday as it is the end of the week so children and adults will have the time to visit the cinema.
Film Distribution Association - work out how and when the film should be launched Seasonality, light weekends and other releases are considered before they agree on a time for the film to be launched to ensure optimum success.
There is usually about 10 releases in a week.
Prints - (old way of distributing film)
Independent/ specialised films made about 10 prints or less of a film and toured it over 6 month period to all areas around the UK. Mainstream films had about 200+ prints made which would be simultaneously shown in all major UK cities. Transportation around the world was expensive and difficult. The prints had to be hired by the exhibitor, they were easily damaged and expensive to store as they had to kept at a certain temperature and condition.
The success or failure of a cinema release determines when and how the DVD/ TV releases will happen.
5 major distributors will account for 90% of box office.
Wide Release - used for US major distributors/ films need £2 million+ to make a wide release. This type of release requires heavy investment in prints and national advertising. The producers and distributors can recuperate their investment quicker. Also the revenues from the DVD sales can be gained faster from a quickly-executed theatrical release. The shorter the time period between the theatrical release and the DVD release, the greater the potential for DVD income.
Modified Wide Release - The film will open in a few major markets and expand week by week to build up awareness and allow positive word-of-mouth reputation to develop. This type of release would initially be supported spot advertising in a certain area e.g. one city. It may then move to national advertising once it expands to other markets.
Exclusive and Limited Runs - Exclusive and limited runs begin with engagements at a limited number of screens, traditionally in large urban areas e.g. Toronto. Based on favourable reviews and positive word-of-mouth depends on whether or not the film will move to additional theatres. This release is usually used for upscale "art-house" or foreign films and may be part of a platforming strategy where critical acclaim in an important market will assist in providing momentum for a wide release.
Territorial Saturation - Territorial saturation involves saturating a territory with bookings, heavy advertising and promotion before moving on to another territory. This method would be used for films tailored to specific markets. In Canada this would be seen with French-language films, which primarily would be well-received only in Quebec. It is also used by independent distributors for exploitation or family movies.
Universal Release - The film is released in several countries on the same day. For instance a major blockbuster is sometimes released in the USA and the UK on the same date.
Digital Distribution - quicker/cheaper/gets straight to the audience who want to see it. Independent productions use this method. The main attraction to this type of distribution is the way it can get directly to the audience with minimum business overheads involved which makes it cheaper for the consumer. It has been blamed for media stores having to close down. DSN (Digital Screen Network) sites supports new facilities in 211 screens across the country (out of 33,000). This is a small but important step of change towards full digital cinema.
49% of all DVD rentals are now generated online.
Only Showcase remains in American hands but all the other chains are deeply committed to distributing American films.
How film makes its money back:
Promotional screens -> Cinema -> Hospitality (planes/hotels) -> DVD rental -> Pay TV/VOD -> DVD retail -> Free TV -> Library
Digital distribution is changing this order because it allows it to go straight from cinema to DVD retail, Pay TV and download at the same time.
A film recuperates most of its budget through DVD sales. From 40% of DVD sales 75% is from Retail and 25% is from Rental. 28% is made from TV, 25% from Cinema profits and 7% from other sources.
The more times and places a film is exhibited the move money it generates. There are around 45 international areas in which the rights to exhibit films are regularly traded. 20 major international marketplaces: Sundance - Utah, Cannes - France, Toronto Festival - Canada
Sales agents for film rights tend to use the same set of generic internal percentage to make estimates as to how a film will sell internationally.
Europe - 39%
North America - 33%
Far East - 16%
Latin America - 4%
Other - 9%
A film exhibition sale is generally a 75-25 split between a vendor (cinema/retailer/TV channel) and a distributor - who deducts 35% commission and costs "off the top".
Royalty Model - Distributor pay the producer a 35% royalty of the profits made
"Off the top" Model - Distributor takes 35% commissions + 25% of costs.
Cinema hasn't been seriously affected by the recession. As people still want to see films and go out for the cinema experience. The high months are May, July, August and Jan/Feb
40% of independent British films never gross more than 100k at the box office as opening in over 100 screens significantly increases the cost.
DVD Sales
Audio-video specialists - 35%
Supermarkets - 23%
Generalists - 18%
Mail order - 15%
Wholesalers - 9%
Supermarkets have come to dominate DVD sales pushing the average retail price of DVD to £7.42.
Pay-per-View & VOD tend to be more profitable as the costs of sale are born by the TV platform.
Subscription & free TV fired-fee licensing deals depend on the performance history of the film.
Producer - 60%
Distributor - 40%
Recoupment is organised into a corridor and made from a central collection account.
Film Marketing
The marketing campaign is the most expensive part.
- Posters/adverts in newspapers/TV/trailers
- New technologies - internet/websites
- Viral - quirky/odd
- Synergies - gets other companies/products involved
- Above the line/ Below the line
Independent distributors in particular don't have press departments and will hire a press agency to run a pre-release campaign.
Distributors will consider the use of advance public screenings to create word-of-mouth and an advance buzz about a film.