RESEARCH: HOW DOES THE CAMPAIGN WORK?

Above the Line costs

These are known costs for creating marketing material (such as trailers) and buying media advertising (such as website banners, radio or TV spots or newspaper advertising) and creating an online presence for the film.

Below the Line costs

Publicity builds further awareness and interest in a film – and authored articles or editorial interviews are sometimes more ‘trusted’ than display advertising, which is paid for. With premières, the cost of getting the stars and director to attend and hopefully generate press coverage all have to be covered without any guarantee that the press will write about the film. Such events offer special access to film stars for fans waiting alongside the red carpet for selfies, short videos and autographs.

POSTER

• Posters need to engage audiences by showing key aspects of the film that distributors think the audiences will like, for example they would put key moments of the film, the stars, credits and often a taglines.  The iconic image or design in a film’s poster is central to the film’s identity (Which shows the key aspects of the film) and is an essential feature of its release campaign. A great poster is eye catching, and motivating, so that it can gain the viewers’ interest in the experience that’s promised by the film.

• When making posters for films, distributors have to plan how they are going to present the poster, depending on the type of film. For an original movie, the poster must consist of bold images, a key message or branding that will make the film stand out. For a squeal to a film, the poster has to recognisable to the franchise/ saga and ithas to have its own message that differs from the previous film, this is to continue to engage their audience.
• The message can be shown on a poster in a number of ways such as:
  
  
  • Quote(s) from the film that will inspire their audience and that will show the message of the film.
  • Through the image(s) on the poster.
  • The stars of the film (actors)
  • The use of colours, sizing and style
  • the certificate (rating)

TYPES OF RELEASE

• Most films released in the UK are launched on fewer than 100 digital copies 
• Only 5% of films are released with over 500 copies with P&A
• In 2014, distributors spent  £350 million on advertising their films. Around £190 million was invested in above-the-line media advertising, and the remainder on advertising production, cutting trailers, publicity junkets and materials, premieres, and producing and delivering DCP’s to be projected on screen.
• The more money that the distributor estimates will be made in the cinemas in box office ticket sales, the more they will invest in marketing the film. 
• The smaller the film the smaller the budget for spending 

ADVERTISING

The largest portion of the budget is spent on P&A, the budget will be on advertising a film. In the UK, media advertising is very expensive. The main advertising avenues open to any distributor are:

Posters,Trailers, Press advertising, T.V. advertising, Websites, Outdoor, Radio advertising, Merchandise/Cross-promotion, Online social media TYPES OF TRAILERS The film trailer is probably the most cost effective advertising technique available to the film distributor. It can give audiences a sense of genre, what the story is about, who is in the film and when it opens.  Trailers can be classified in three ways: The teaser trailer The full trailer The T.V. spot  On-set blogs posted by key cast or crew TRAILER ANALYSIS 1 - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies  How does the trailer show that this film is worth coming to see? The unique version of the well-known classic film sets the film apart from others in the same genre. As it is based on a well-known novel the readers will be intrigued to watch it.  What do you think is the hook of the trailer? The hook is the combination of zombies in a sophisticated seeming film, in the trailer there is a turning point in the middle from classic, relaxing music to rock style This mirrors the contrasting themes of the film  The empowerment of women seen as independent fighters who do not need a man to fight their battles which juxtaposes the message of Pride and Prejudice What are the features of a trailer? There is clever use of non-diagetic sound in dialogue to narrate us through the story Short, sharp clips are used to convey the most pivotal moments of the film The use of relaxing, elegant music of piano in the background at the beginning with a scenic scene tracking a horse sets out a contemporary film The subtle traditional lighting combined with dancing and extravagant furniture adds to the idealistic setting  The sharp rise in music adds tension to the gory image of the woman face as the camera pans to focus on it in full view  The black screen combined with the sarcastic tone of the voiceover is effective at retaining the audiences interest in the shocking change in convention  Violent sound effects such as blades and explosions to set a theme of combat and thrilling violence, the empowerment of women is risen which gains the readers interest and becomes effective at setting it apart from the novel it is based on We are not shown the story in narrative order They showcase the stars of the film  Some visual images stay on screen for only just enough time for our mind to realise what we are seeing TRAILER ANALYSIS 2 - In the heart of the sea  How does the trailer show that this film is worth coming to see? The inclusion of famous actors such as Chris Hemsworth playing the main role shows that the film will be of high quality, it is unique from other films in its genre such as Pirates of the Caribbean as its HD quality and sophisticated CGI makes it a film worth seeing.   What do you think is the hook of the trailer? The hook is that it is based on a true story, this makes the violent scenes and fires even more unbelievable, this draws in readers attention as it becomes more relatable Fans of Chris Hemsworth will want to see any film that he stars in The unusual setting in the sea and on a traditional ship sets it apart from other action films and gives the audience something unique  What are the features of a trailer? The use of black fad in and fade out transitions builds up tension and retains the audiences attention to what will happen next  Tracking shots to follow the movements of the ship cause the audience to feel like they are going on a journey with the characters  The slow pace of the music at the start which builds up quickly when they are faced with the sea creature draws attention to the danger they are facing The reaction shots of Chris Hemsworth focus on his main role in the film  The focus on the main colouring of blue and grey mirrors the life at sea that we are transported into A birds eye view of the sunset over the slowly waving sea is very scenic and makes the audience feel a sense of relaxation before things quickly change to a much more stressful atmosphere that leaves the audience on the edge of their seat Sudden pauses of music that cut out pivotal moments of life or death leave the audience wanting more to know the fate of the characters  On-line marketing Chris Beereling Digital strategy is at the fore front of our thinking The perception of the movie is shaped within the digital space Maintaining desired position throughout the marketing process is important to maintain  Engaging with consumers on a personal level By pushing users to engage with the digital content while fans and users generate their own content which is called viral marketing (free) Nowadays there is much more spend on digital marketing, being up to 15% of the budget compared to 0.5% before. Kezia Williams

• Digital marketing is the most important strategy and non-digital and digital seem to cross over each other
• Publicity activity; magazines and newspapers which will be available online as well
• Mobile and tablets are ubiquitous as users engage with content on their on a daily basis, this may be the first place that an audience would view a trailer rather than in the cinema like before. For example, Star Wars and Bond films 
• Online debut is important and ensuring it is available to an audience 
• Considering social media, apps and websites should be a priority 
• The power of online is potent because it generates conversation around a piece of content; for example trending hashtags on twitter, tagging people in trailer post - reach is huge. This can be enhances by putting more money into this marketing to push it further 

Trailer maker

Link to my trailer - http://www.thefilmspace.org/fda100/trailermaker/?t=tm-u9d5v4sm7h