This is England - Case Study

·         Optimum Releasing (2006) (UK) (theatrical) was the main distributor for This is England (2006). Optimum Releasing have distributed many films and are a Studio Canal Company (French).

·         The UK release date was 27/04/07.

·         Hot Fuzz (WT) was released a week previously.

·         £207,676 (UK) (29 April 2007) (62 Screens) – Opening Weekend

·         35 mm (blow-up) - Printed film format; a grant from the UK Film Council (of around £90,000) allowed Warp to generate about 60 prints and distribute them to over 20 territories.

·         Warp is only a small institution and so they would have made the film with a low budget (therefore making it a grass roots event) and would have had a low budget marketing campaign; mainly depending on the below the line advertising methods (mouth of word, reviews etc.)

·         The main publicity that would have been created for the film would have come from the fact that it was based around the director’s experiences and people’s experiences that would be recognised (social realism genre).

·         The main targeted audience were suppose to be 15+ but because of one scene, the classification of the film was raised to 18 and so the initial targeted audience (teenagers) was lost.

·         The budget of the film was around £1,500,000 (estimate).

  ·         The film posters clearly show the genre of the film because they are all standing in a line posing; which portrays the skinhead theme and the social realism genre. If it was an action film, then a striking image (key frame in the film) would have been used to attract the audience. The spray-painted text behind the character also insinuates the genre and the time period that it is set in (80’s). The audience will then be drawn towards the poster because of the culture (skinhead) that would appeal and interest them. The bright blue coloured background would attract the audience as well because it is vibrant and stands out. If it was a big theatrical poster (in a cinema) then it would be really clear and stands out to the audience, making them acknowledge it and maybe go to see it if the genre appeals to them.

·         The trailer really shows the audience because it would have been only viewed after the watershed (TV) and when showing a 15/18 film (cinemas); because of the language. There is a montage of related clips from the 80’s that introduces the time period of the film before the main character is introduced (Shaun). The music portrays the skinhead culture as well and keeps the trailer flowing. The trailer is broken down by the review comments to create tension and keep the audience interested. Also, the title has the British flag colours to stand out and relate to the film.

Distribution - Case Study

Distribution and exhibition

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Film Distribution Questions

Film Distribution Worksheet

1.       A film studio makes money by the percentage of royalties that it has for every DVD, VCR and Cinema ticket sold. Merchandise and pre-sales can also be a method of gaining money for a studio after the film has been produced.

2.       The money mainly comes from the audience themselves, which is why an institutions needs to make sure that their film is suitable for the targeted audience and that their advertising is sufficient. If not, then the film will not be sold and profit will not be made.

3.       The producer is the person that has the idea for a film, but it is the director and financers that carry the project ahead.

4.       Financing can be one of the most difficult stages of film production. Many methods to raise funding can be done such as: pre-sales, money from the parent company (if in a conglomerate), government grants, tax shelters or individual investors.

5.       If for example Working Title were to produce a new idea for a film, they can gain funding by using the profits from a previous successful film and carry that money over to the next project. This method would ensure some money because they know exactly how much they have made previously and also can use the film’s success to judge which ideas work best for the targeted audience. It would be a better idea to have more than one investor/funding source so that one investor does not own a too large percent of the film and so that if one drops out then the production can still fall back onto the remaining ones.

6.       In the 1920s and 1930s, some studios started achieving vertical integration by constructing theatre chains. Paramount, Warner and Fox were some of the studios that owned the “Big-Five” theatre chains.

7.       In 1948, these chains were broken up due to the US Supreme Court’s antitrust case called the United States V. Paramount Pictures, Inc. case.

8.       The studios make money from DVD and Video sales by the percentage of royalties that they get from each sale. Each product is given extra value as it goes down the chain of production (manufacturer of product – studio royalty – shipping and transport – place of retail’s profit). That is why if the audience by a DVD from Amazon, they can get it for a cheaper price as the product is sent straight from the warehouse to your address via a currier rather than it being sent to the shops. The laws revolving around copyright surround DVD rentals so that they cannot be copied – because this does not give the studio any money for what they have produced.

9.       The main way that a studio can ensure that they make profit from a film is by pre-sales and making sure that their advertising is good enough to promote a film. Also, including famous cast/directors gives the film extra promotion to the audience. Creating a moral panic can also promote the film to the audience by using the hypodermic needle model (like 2012 did through billboards).

10.   Studios can also make money by using synergy methods (like Orange Wednesdays) or creating merchandise associated with the film. Film awards/festivals can also promote the film because the audience will be able to see which films are worth going to see. Toys could be created (for children’s films such as Shrek) in order to make extra money and profit for the studio because of the copyright of the idea/characters.