evaluation q.2

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EVALUATION Q.2 EVALUATION Q.2 How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts? Beth Bodimeade

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my evaluation answer to question 2

Transcript of evaluation q.2

Page 1: evaluation q.2

EVALUATION Q.2 EVALUATION Q.2 How effective is the combination of your main product and

ancillary texts?

Beth Bodimeade

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The importance of marketing a The importance of marketing a film film The marketing of a film is just as important as the film itself, without the marketing

strategies used to push or pull the audience in there would be no views, and so no money made. In order to make back the money spent on creating the film and to make a profit, the marketing has to be very effective to the films target audience(s).

In order to do this the distribution company and film makers need to have a thorough and accurate understanding of their target audience and the type of films and ancillary texts they will be interested in. The target audience will often depend on age, gender and lifestyle.

The target audience will then effect how and where the marketing will be done and displayed. If the distributors are a wealthy, mainstream company there will be much more money put into the marketing- allowing more coverage and effective push strategies as bus billboards etc. Smaller independent companies depend more on clever, niche pull strategies such as Monsters (2010) ‘infected locations’.

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Target audience for ‘Dead Man’s Target audience for ‘Dead Man’s Hand’Hand’ Our film ‘Dead Man’s Hand’ will attract a primarily male audience, age range 15-25.

This target audience has been specified to this due to our main narrative of a bank heist, and the inclusion of death and violence. Because our main character is female I think this will attract both male and females, as women will enjoy seeing a strong female lead in a predominantly male genre.

Our target audience has been specified to 15+ as the violence shown is not appropriate for a younger audience. Our direct target audience stops at age 25, however our secondary off-shoot audience age goes up to 50. As the off-shoot audience we know they will consume the media, but will be perhaps more interested into the creation of the film- and so the ancillary texts such as interviews with the director will appeal.

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Promotion of our film Promotion of our film

‘Dead Man’s Hand’ will be produced by Miramax Films. Because our film is independent, but will attract a mainstream audience (due to the success of films such as ‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’) Miramax is perfect. When Miramax first started up they distributed independent films only, now because of their success they also distribute mainstream titles. Their mixture of both independent and mainstream corresponds well with our film.

Also due to their size and wealth we will be able to use more effective push strategies, so increasing the films revenue. Such as billboards, posters on buses/bus stops, additional film trailers (teaser) on television as well as the internet. On Miramax’s website there will also be information on release dates, screenings, interviews with actors/directors.

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Similar films: marketing through Similar films: marketing through posters posters

‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ was marketed by showing Vinnie Jones as the largest image on the cover of the film posters. This is because, as Guy Ritchie’s first film they could not base the marketing on him- instead they left that with Vinnie Jones as he was already famous. Although our director is also up and coming we will focus on that instead of discount it. This is because it is becoming more and more important to certain audiences the artistry behind the films- not just the feature itself.

‘Pulp Fiction’ was marketed in a similar way to how we will, by focusing on the director. However as Quentin Tarantino was an already well established director, it was much more likely to become a definite success. The characters in ‘Pulp Fiction’ are essentially played by also well established actors such as Bruce Willis and John Travolta.

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Other marketing strategies Other marketing strategies

As well as film posters and trailers there is much space for promotion over web 2.0- especially on social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter. These websites are most accessed by a younger age range and so because our film Dead Man’s Hand is targeted at the age range 15-25 this is a perfect way to let more people know of the films release, screenings and general information.

An example of a successful use of social media sites is the promotion Vertigo Films did through Foursquare. By posting to the Foursquare readers gradual information on their ‘infected areas’ it intrigued them to attend the events, which in turn increased the amount of people who watched the film at cinemas.

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Analysis of our trailerAnalysis of our trailer The first noise heard in our trailer is gun shots; straight

away the audience is pulled into the action. As our target audience is 15-25 males who are excited by crime genre and common crime conventions such as violence, the opening of our trailer is in keeping with these conventions.

• The first scene shown is the two bank robbers, holding a gun and running. Again straight away the crime genre is introduced to the audience. Further introduced with the next scene of a poker game.

By having the title quote ‘‘The new Guy Ritchie’ Sight and Sound Magazine’ appeals to the target audience of Guy Ritchie’s films, this is good for our film as we have been heavily influenced by Ritchie. By describing him as ‘new’ we will also attract those in our audience who are more interested in the creation and artistry behind the film.

The first character we introduce is our female lead Sam. As well as our male target audience this will also appeal to a female audience as, as stated before, women will enjoy seeing a strong female lead.

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Analysis of our trailer Analysis of our trailer • We used split screens to give our trailer a more

postmodern feel. This also enabled us to display our titles in an effective and interesting way.

• Our use of bold title cards help to create the excitement and tension that goes along with our fast paced shots. The flash between slides ‘thousands of pounds’ and ‘stolen.’ keeps the pace, and will keep the audiences attention.

• By using title cards along with the freeze frames the characters are being introduced quickly and clearly. By using the words ‘dopey’ and ‘grouchy’ the two men appear to be your typical dumb and violent gangsters.

• At the end of our trailer there is a more comic scene, of the two men silent in a lift- with lift music over the top. This will help attract a wider audience as it a more comic side to film is now suggested.

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Our film poster(s) Our film poster(s)

As our film will be distributed by a more mainstream company we will be able to afford the more effective push strategies of having our posters on big city billboards, on buses/bus stops and in magazines and newspapers.

Because posters are seen by everyone they will help attract a wider audience, not just our target audience. However the conventions, such as images/captions, of our poster will affect who our poster will appeal to.

Our poster will help to sell our USP(s) of a strong female lead and a new and upcoming director. To make these stand out to the audience we will have our female lead centred on the poster, and have the directors name big. The actors names will be smaller, this is because they are currently unknown, unestablished actors.

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Analysis of our poster Analysis of our poster

The main title is bold, and the white contrasts with the coloured image behind making it stand out even more.

The slogan is also bold, and in the next size down font. The slogan will jump out at the audience also as it is right under the main title.

We have introduce the main starring actor as her leading role ‘Smiley’

The image of ‘Smiley’ corresponds with the introducing title of her character. She is portrayed in this image as strong and in control, as she is holding a gun. Both these characteristics are seen on her in the trailer too.

Credits, giving information on the production company, actors names, directors name, editors, who the music is by etc.

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Similar film posters Similar film posters Central to the poster is the female lead, her stance and position of her head gives suggests to the audience that she is a strong character.

The title is very short, and so having it in such big lettering is very effective and eye catching.

Also in clear writing is the mention of the director Quentin Tarantino. This is essential for the promotion of the film as he is a well established and respected director.

Credit information is vital on the poster as a legal requirement, as it gives information on the distribution company etc.

Mention of the Kill Bill soundtrack is a clever promotional tactic. Because the producer knows the poster will be seen by thousands, it is a good way of selling an extra ancillary product.

The slogan is bold, big and short. This is perfect as it immediately introduces the audience to the genre and is quick and snappy to read.

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Our film magazine cover Our film magazine cover In order to attain further viewing of our film, we

will use the ancillary product of a film magazine and be featured as the main cover story. This magazine should be targeted at a similar audience as our film (male, 15-25) so that the readers will be interested and read the feature, and so more likely to watch the film.

We will be featured on Sight and Sound magazine because it is more likely to feature an independent film- but does also feature more mainstream films. This mixture of independent and mainstream corresponds with our distribution company Miramax and our film in itself.

The actual feature itself will be on/an interview with our films director. This is because Sight and Sound are interested more in the artistry, ideas and creation of film not the features themselves. The magazine is ideal for us because they often do features on directors, and as our director is new and up-coming it will be a good way of people finding out about him.

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Analysis of our magazine coverAnalysis of our magazine coverIntroduces the audience to the new and up-coming director of ‘Dead Man’s Hand’. As is often found on Sight & Sound magazine covers we have chosen our main feature to be focused on the director not the film itself. This will appeal to the more ‘film fanatic’ readership, which is appropriate for Sight & Sound as its readership statistics show the audience to be less mainstream and more interested in the artistry of films, not the CGI effects etc.

Individual interviews with the 3 main actors, these will spread word of mouth for them as actors as well as their characters in the film.

Because the director is currently unknown and hopes to gain his credibility through this film it made sense to introduce the films title as the largest type, not the directors name.

We have chosen to use Sight & Sound magazine as it often features both independent and mainstream films, and so works well with our film- a mixture of both.

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Similar magazine coversSimilar magazine coversThis lets the audience know Sight and Sound magazine are in relation to the British Film Institute.

Masthead- this is important as it will be what the audience will see first. As it is a more independent film magazine the masthead should stand out and be easily seen. It should also be the same on each magazine, a more mainstream magazine like Empire can afford to have the masthead partially hidden or designed differently each time.

By having the director as the chosen image, not the characters/actors shows the magazine is more interested in the creation behind the film. Not the celebrity actors involved.

Having Tarantino pointing and winking at the audience catches their attention and involves them more.

Having a twist on Tarantino’s film ‘Inglourious Basterds’ again tells the audience that the feature is on the director, not the film itself.

Introduces the other cover subject involved in this issue. The writing is less prominent showing it is Tarantino that will appeal most to the audience.

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How our trailer, poster, and magazine How our trailer, poster, and magazine cover work together cover work together Because the main title ‘Dead Man’s Hand’ is shown in the same font on both the film

trailer and the film poster, the audience will make the connection and immediately know they go together. Seeing one and then the other will reinforce their knowledge of the films existence. The font used for the title ‘Dead Man’s Hand’ is the same on each product making the connection easier for the audience to make, they will also be able to connect the ancillary products to the trailer and to each other by the imagery used- the props and character costumes in each poster/magazine cover relate back to the scenes in the trailer.

The imagery used in both the magazine cover and poster will also link back to the trailer, as we have used photographs of the characters/director in the character outfits and holding the film props. The image shown on the poster(s) is of our main characters in the outfits seen in the trailer, each holding a different prop. Our female lead is holding a gun, this corresponds with her strong and in control character in the trailer. The other two bank robbers are holding money and poker cards, these will also link back to the trailer as the poker scene and robbery include both. The image on the magazine cover is of our director, this is too introduce him as a new and up-coming director, and should help to gain credibility for the film as well as his directing career. This also adds scope to the marketing as the same image being used for both the poster and magazine is boring and not very enticing to the readers.