BFI AS Study Day
2017
Uses and
Gratifications Theory - what attracts national and international audiences to a
British film?
Bridget Jones's
Baby
Star
Wars
High
Rise
I, Daniel
Blake
Class structure of
this country
Social
Realism
Quintissential
'Britishness' - tea and crumpets. Americans love this.
Adaptations of
famous books - Sense & Sensibility - films are franchises with a pre-built
international audiences
2014 most
successful year ever for UK independent film - 16% of overall box office
receipts.
Marketing - use
terminology in exam:
Arthouse
Multiplex
Prestige
Concepts to
use:
Exchange - what the
consumer gives and what they get in return
Traditional cinema
model is consumer ays money for cinema ticket, dvd, dowload, etc. Get the cinema
experience.
What else do they
get?
Information/education - how other British people live,
issues affecting UK - I Daniel Blake
Interaction - crowd
pleasers (social viewing) - Bridget Jones's Baby; Oscar nominations
(conversation point)
Personal
identification - national pride, solidarity, aspiration, glamourisation,
reinforcing or rejecting values - James Bond glamourises Britishness; gay
culture - challenging or reinforcing ideas
Pure entertainment
- spectacle, escapism, adrenaline (thriller/horror), catharsis (emotional
intensity) - Star Wars
For international
audiences, also:
Information/education - The Queen more successful in
America than was in UK.
Social Interaction
- crowd pleasers (Harry Potter)
Personal
identification - sub-culture cinema, such as ravers, mods or hippies - The
Football Factory
Pure
entertainment
Institutions -
Theatrical Distribution
Arthouse
Small, independent
cinemas
Low budget,
foreign, speciality cinema
Multiplex
Large, part of a
chain - Odeon, Cineplex, often part of a shopping mall, blockbusters and
mainstream or Oscar nominated such as 12 Years A Slave
Crossover
'Prestige' cinema -
award nominations
Serious topics,
non-Hollywood genre, big actor in low budget/eccentric production, e.g. Under
The Skin starring Scarlett Johansen
British
Sub-Genres
Franchise - Bond,
Potter, Star Wars, Dark Knight
Special effects in
Rogue One were done in London
Costume Dramas
'Heritage' cinema like The king's Speech
Social realism,
e.g. Kes, Fish Tank, The Selfish Giant, I, Daniel Blake
Horror, e.g.
Hammer, Hellraiser, 28 Days Later, Woman in Black
'Urban Fairytale'
romcom e.g. Love Actually, Bridget Jones' Baby
What audience
pleasures are provided by these films?
Franchise: Bond and
beyond
Offers similar
pleasures to other blockbuster film franchises
Familiar characters
and situations
Stereotypes of
'Britishness'
Patriotic pride for
UK audiences
Fulfils
expectations of international audiences, too
Spectre
$135,446,386 Box Office
Star Wars: The
Force Awakens over $176,000,000
Popularity inspired
two other 2015 movies : The Man from UNCLE and Kingsman: The Secret Service
sequel due for release in June
Kingsman
$24,160,744 Box Offie - Colin Firth & Samuel L Jackson - Crossover film -
high budget action movie with very cool effects and mainstream appeal in Bond
mould, played up by trailer. International audience might like it - rags to
riches story where character starts in poverty but through skill, talent and
tenacity make it big; universal appeal
'Heritage'
film
Nostalgic,
rose-tinted view of British history.
UK film used to
reinforce patriotism for domestic audience.
UK film used as
tourist marketing strategy for foreign audiences.
Presents the past
as a 'spectacle' - 'museum aesthetic' where the past is displayed for visual
pleasure.
Films "half in love
with fancy frocks and immaculate cutlery" e.e. Mise-en-scene becomes more
significant than narrative or characters.
The past, and our
relationship with it, is not questioned or criticised.
Example - Love
& Friendship - based on Jane Austen's Lady Susan, Stephen Fry, Kate
Beckinsale star - Crossover film targeting older audience, Oscar nomination and
Bafta winner. Hybrid genre - 'Heritage' movie but also very witty and funny,
quite'modern' issues; international audience would enjoy stereotypical English
history, a form of escapism for many audiences.
Social Realism - I,
Daniel Blake
Opposite of
Heritage cinema, critical of British life, not reinforcing patriotic values
(Trainspotting - It's shite to be Scottish), unflinching
reality
Damian Gree,
secretary for Work and Pensions, criticised the film - touched a
nerve
Shocking eamination
of dark side of human behaviour: explicit sex, violence,
drugs.
Deals with social
problems - drugs, poverty, child abuse, unemplyment - explicitly but with
complexity
Often focuses on
working or underclass characters
Winner of Cannes
Festival Palme D Or.
'An immediate
classic' The Times
Horror - The Girl
With All The Gifts
Tradition of
'gothic' - back to Shelley and Stoker
Hammer films in
1960s and 70s, offered 'costume' dramas with added sex and
violence
Rivalled US horror
which had stricter censorship
Modern British
horror often aims to make something more intelligent or morally complex than US
horror (which often signed up to the Hays Code which avoided anything too
shocking)
Fans often want
something a little bit more intelligent, original and
thought-provoking
Described as 'the
best zombie film ever' also won Palme D'Or at Cannes.
Urban Fairytale
Romcom - Bridget Jones' Baby
Often made by
Working Title - brand, Richard Curtis director
Typical love story
conventonns: mismatched couple who don't immediately get on, obstacles to
relationship that are overcome, close knit group of friends
Set in contemporary
London or other recognisable locations - lots of tourist landmarks; middle class
neighbourhoods; 'sanitised' version of urban life
Matthew Hall's
website and facebook group - www.lensflaretheory.com
Case studies for
exams
Vertigo
Formed
2002
To produce The
Football Factory and It's All Gone Pete Tong
Two subculture
movies; one about football hooliganism and the other about Ibiza rave
DJs
Allan Niblo, had
previously produced Human Traffic, also about rave subculture.
Easy to market to
football or rave fans, but also universal themes of violence, hedonism,
etc
Today vertigo wants
to make 'commercially sustainable independent films'
Mission statement
to identify new talent
Ensure films are
distributed
Gareth Edwards,
director of Monsters (2008) with budget of $500,000
Domestic box office
£237,301
International box
office %5,402,429
Incredibly
commercially successful film
Edwards' next film
Godzilla had $160m budget, then Rogue One $200m.
Vertigo released
Monsters 2 in 2015 then Kill Command in 2016
Post-production
(incl 3D): 'Post Republic' in Berlin for editing and special effects, popular
internationally
Sales and
distribution: Protagonist (in association with Channel 4) - really good
collaborations with distribution copanies, all Vertigo films shown on Channel
4
'Ancillary' sales -
DVD, pay-per-view, TV - as relevant as theatrical box office - Vertigo has films
on Netflix, too
The Football
Factory is still biggest-selling independent DVD
Vertigo founder
Allan Niblo:
Anyone can make a
film and distribute it on the internet
Yet ensuring films
reach audience rmeans "a Hurculean effort"
So Vertigo doesnt
produce presige' films or limited to genres and audience - instead to a range of
products.
'Lad'thrillers: The
Business, Outlaws
Horror: The
Children, The Facility, Kill Command
Family-friendly:
Horrid Henry, Moomins on the Riviera
Eccentric indie: In
Search of a mIdnight Kiss, Safety Not Guaranteed
Cross-media Synergy
- teamed up with SyCo Simon Cowell's production company, developing BGT winners
such as Streetdance 3D - $6,700,000 budget most expensive Vertigo production to
date, but UK no 1 in first week and global total of over $17m - extremely
successful - British audience loved the setting, BGT link, relatable characters;
international audience also - trailer had lots of shots of the Gerkin, London
Eye, tourist attractions; soundtrack very popular music Pixie Lott, Cheryl Cole.
Similar to Step Up. Lots of universal themes.
Warp
Films
Founded
2001
Off-shoot of
successful electronic music record label
"Bedroom producer
ethos" - challenging and experimental music
Distribution
network already established with record shops and DJs
First ever 'DVD
single' - Chris Morris short film, won a BAFTA
Unlike Vertigo,
very clear brand
Northern English
(first office in Sheffield). THis Is England
"Distinctive auteur
filmmaking with a market" - Shane Meadows very distinctive directorial style
that also sells
"Artist-driven
content": profit participation scheme where cast and crew get share of profit -
quiet socialist way of making films
Crossover between
arthouse and multiplex
Aphex Twin: "Come
To Daddy"
Case study: Dead
Man's Shoes (Shane Meadows, 2006) - largely improvised, no shooting script, shot
chronologically and creative decisions improvised- very low budget but more
creative freedom.
"Punk rock"
attitude to filmmaking - CEO Mark Herbert
Won several awards
(see trailer)
Warp Films:
Developing Talent
Music video like
short film
Calling cards for
new directors
Used to raise
funding - proof of skill and 'distinctive vision'
Off-shoot Warp X
works with FilmFour and Screen Yorkshire - plafrorm for
distribution
£400,000 to
£800,000 budgets
Main aim is to
reinforce brand identity rather than make profit.
Shane Meadows also
making This Is England epic TV series
Contrast Vertigo
discuise low budget, whereas Warp uses low budget to inspire creative freedom.
Sticks to small casts to save money, more tightly focused and more creative
freedom
Cross-media synergy
- lots of TV products - This Is England 86, 88, 90, BBC Grow Your Own, short
films for Sky, The Last Panthers film for Sky.
Case Study: Bunny
and the Bull (Paul King, 2010)
'71
Producer Robin
Gutch - interview
Job is to start off
the production of the film, first in and last out. Develop idea, script, get
money, director, post production, delivery and afterlife of the film, approve
marketing, look at how film is performing, deal with press, after main festival
premiere then involvement pretty low. Fundamentally it's the people who make the
film happen!
As independent film
producer, contrasts with global institution like Disney in some ways - Disney
producers fight a film through the system and their company sits within the
Disney studio while some are employed by the studio but will only make films for
the studio. Whereas WARP will make films for different clients. '71 was
FilmFour, BFI, Studiocanal and Screen Yorkshire. Cross-media synergy: companies
like Film Four would invest in a film like '71 as part of its remit to
commission certain independent work, as is BBC Films and BFI - talent is
critical. Yan the director had already done outstanding TV work, but this was
his first film - his talent was what attracted funding.
In contrast,
currently in production Ghost Stories - based on West End play, with two
writer-directors, investors are Lionsgate and Screen Yorkshire - much more of a
commercial project.
Other producer,
Angus, had personal experience of a school friend who had similar experience as
the soldier in '71. Film set over one night. Good but simple idea. Gregory Burke
theatre scriptwriter wrote the screenplay. Film Four liked it and said if you
can get a director we like we'll back it.
Northern Ireland
not a setting which conventionally attracts investors, so needed much enthusiasm
to drive the film.
Production runner,
production coordinator, production manager, working upwards over years, usually
having studied film technically in some way, or TV. Can start as script editors
then begin to be in charge of scripts and come up that way - might have had a
more academic training. Some are lawyers who know people with money, or people
with access to money!
Shortage of
accountants in film! Very busy and expanding industry, especially TV. TV and
film no longer separate worlds as they were 10 years ago. Budgets for Netflix
and HBO can be enormous such as 'The Crown'. Studios focus on 'tentpole films'.
Lots of writers, directors, actors who would have been working in independent
film now work in TV, too. Aesthetic differences between watching film and tv,
though. Directors' ambition is to work in film where audience is focused and
doesn't have to be spoon-fed. Netflix fund films directly with brief theatrical
life. Amazon do more traditional film finance like 'Manchester By The Sea' won
BAFTAs, Oscar nominated, funded by Amazon but promoted as theatrical
film.
'71 budget £5.5m,
made £1.2m in UK box office. Was theatrically released in US, had amazing
reviews, but difficult British period to watch.
Skillset and BFI
involve young people. Industry more open than it was 20-30 years ago. BBC was
and still is biggest employer, but people joined for life. Now labour force is
more casualised, more open, more insecure. BFI film academy runs every autumn,
16-19 year olds, competitive and selective. Need more people to work in
animation in London to stop the work moving back to the US!
