Case StudyLO - Study of a Film Production

Company

Exam

• Like TV Drama, this is a 45 minute essay done under exam conditions.

• However on this occasion you will write about a specific case-study explored in class and through 'independent study'.

Marketing.

• The theatrical trailer is often the first chance to promote a movie to its target audience.

• Starting up to a year before the release of a major studio movie, distributors run movie trailers that are meticulously edited and audience-tested.

Marketing.

• The theatrical trailer is often the first chance to promote a movie to its target audience.

• Starting up to a year before the release of a major studio movie, distributors run movie trailers that are meticulously edited and audience-tested.

Marketing.

• About the same time that the first trailers hit the cinemas, the movie studio will unveil an official Web site for the film.

• As the release date of the film draws closer, movie marketers try to get early favourable press coverage in newspapers, magazines and on entertainment TV shows.

Marketing

• The main movie publicity tactic is something called a press junket.

• At a press junket, journalists, entertainment reporters and movie critics are flown out to a special location for a day or weekend of interviews with the stars and creators of the film (highly controlled environments, often interviewee is shown with film poster in background)

Marketing

• Several weeks before the release:• Movie marketers will plaster the sides of buses

with huge ads, place billboards all around the city, run tons of teaser trailers on TV, place full-page ads in major newspapers and magazines, and the movie's stars will show up on all of the major talk shows.

• Internet is used heavily nowadays (website, youtube)

Marketing

• Another popular strategy is to use highly visible product tie-ins and corporate partnerships.

• One final movie marketing strategy is the publicity stunt, an orchestrated media event where someone does something incredibly silly, dangerous or spectacular to draw further attention to the opening of the movie.

• An example is when the promoters of "The Simpsons Movie" transformed dozens of nationwide 7-Eleven convenience stores into replica's of Springfield's own Kwik-E Mart .

• Watch the 2 trailers for 'The Boat That Rocked' below.

• One is for US release and the other for British release.

• Can you tell which one is for which audience?

• What are the differences? • What does this tell us about audiences

and institutions?

Exam Style Question

• Discuss the issues raised by an institution’s (company-WTF) need to target specific audiences within a media industry (film) which you have studied.

Homework

• So that your answer is not too narrowly based be able to make comparisons with a US film institution and film for production, distribution and exhibition.

• This will give your British case study a wider context and you will be better placed to argue how film practices in the British Film Industry are directly affected by the giant US conglomerates based in Hollywood.