Film Industry: Chicken case study research
Funding
1) What was the budget for Chicken?
£110,000
2) How did Joe Stephenson end up raising the money to make the film?
Through private individuals and friends
3) How does the Chicken budget compare to a Hollywood-funded British blockbuster such as Spectre or Paddington 2?
Both ,movies had a significantly higher budget. Specter had a $230-300 milllion budget, paddington 2 had a £40 million budget.
4) Joe Stephenson tried to secure funding from organisations that help low-budget filmmakers. What is the BFI Film Fund and how does it contribute to the British film industry?
The BFI film fund is a lottery funded scheme developed to help fund British film. It's used as a non profit body to help those who lack funding and resources to develop their own films
5) Why do you think Chicken failed to secure funding from the BFI Film Fund?
The director was unheard of and had no real experience when it comes to film. That would have been the main reason.
Production
1) What difficulties did the film run into during production?
Most of the shots were filmed outside in natural environments, this meant they were victim to bad weather
2) How many days did the film take to shoot?
The film took 19 days to film
3) What scenes were particularly difficult for Joe Stephenson to film?
The chickens proved difficult to work with, so two different chickens were brought on for when they needed a calm and more aggressive chicken.
Distribution
1) Why did the film fail to secure a distribution deal when first made in 2014?
A distribution deal was hard to find due to the private funding and the unknown studio behind the production of the film
2) What film festivals did Chicken feature at between 2014-2016?
These are just some of the festivals that featured Chicken
3) Why are film festivals an effective way for a low-budget film to secure a distribution deal?
Critical acclaim shows that a movie is good, the more acclaim it has the better it is.
4) When was Chicken released in cinemas in the UK?
According to IMDB Chicken was released in May 2015
5) Why do you think film subscription service MUBI chose the film to feature on the service?
The international critical acclaim acted as a selling point for MUBI, hence they agreed to feature the film on their service.
6) Why was Film4 a good choice to give the film its UK television premiere?
Film4 is known for it's habit of showcasing low budget indie films, it seemed like an obvious choice.
7) When will the film be released on iTunes and other video-on-demand services in the USA and Canada?
UK DVD release distributed by Network Releasing. Digital distribution in USA/Canada – January 2018
Promotion
Note: some of these pages will be blocked in school - you will need to complete those particular questions at home.
1) What does the trailer suggest regarding genre and the potential audience pleasures of Chicken?
The trailer shows a gritty northern UK, this attracts niche, most likely more educated audiences. Adding all of those aspects together, the film is most likely primarily made for a middle class, high brow audience.
2) What synergy can you find between the trailer and other traditional marketing methods such as the film poster?
Both the trailer and the posters contained quotes the film achieved.
3) Why are reviews from industry figures such as Mark Kermode so important to a film's success?
Reviews from established critics such as Mark Kermode help establish the film as a must watch, if they liek it, so should the audience.4) How does the Chicken Twitter account create and maintain interest in the film?
The Chicken twitter account helps the film interact with a wider audience, the fact this form of advertising is also free makes a perfect option.
5) Who does the Twitter account re-tweet? How does this help to promote the film?
The twitter account retweets tweets from famous individuals saying they liked the film e.g Sir Ian Mckellen sent a tweet saying he loved the film.
6) How does the Chicken Facebook page use images and video content to promote the film?
Their facebook page is quite similar to their twitter page, the only real difference between the two is the fact that the facebook page tends to only promote their own created content.
7) What pages are liked by the Chicken Facebook page? What does this tell you about the film and potential target audience?
The pages that the facebook page like are mainly film niche groups, this shows that they are aiming at attracting a niche audience
8) Go to the B Good Picture Company's website page for Chicken. What celebrities are mentioned on the page? Why might they be highlighted?
Celebrities such as Stephen Frears, Karen Gillian and Noel Clark
9) Now go to the film's official website. What is the key purpose of the website and what does this tell you about the influence of new technology and how it is changing howpeople watch films?
The website acts as a house of information for not only the film, but also provides information for both the director and the production company. These elements combined result in a pretty effective marketing strategy.
10) Go to the B Good Picture Company YouTube channel. What videos feature on the channel? How do they help to promote Chicken?
The YouTube channel showcases some clips from the movie to help excite possible viewers. They also have some projects and interviews from sir Ian Mckellen. This also acts as form of advertising
Final reading: Media Magazine - the appeal of arthouse cinema
Complete the following tasks to improve your understanding of arthouse film and the possible audience pleasures that the genre offers:
Read Beyond Hollywood: Reading Arthouse Cinema. This is in MM45 on page 24 - go to our Media Magazine archive to find the article.
1) Summarise the article in 50 words.
Arthouse films are created to be artistic rather than commercial, The films are made to be slightly difficult to understand as the main goal of these films are reaction rather than action oriented scenes. The films also contain scenes where the twists can only be explained by the main characters subjectivity on the situation
2) What are some of the suggested audience pleasures for arthouse film?
Personal Identity and escapism
3) Why do some audiences struggle with arthouse film? Refer to some media theory here (there are some important media theories discussed in the article itself).
Arthouse film is not meant to be easily understandable, casual viewers of film may not be able to understand this
4) To what extent is arthouse film only for the middle classes and older audiences? Why might this be the case?
I believe that Arthouse film is accesible to all classes, middle classes and older audiences are most likely going to watch these films although due to the difficult nature of the films.
5) What type of audience would be interested in Chicken?
I believe that middle class older audiences are most likely to be interested in Chicken
1) What was the budget for Chicken?
£110,000
2) How did Joe Stephenson end up raising the money to make the film?
Through private individuals and friends
3) How does the Chicken budget compare to a Hollywood-funded British blockbuster such as Spectre or Paddington 2?
Both ,movies had a significantly higher budget. Specter had a $230-300 milllion budget, paddington 2 had a £40 million budget.
4) Joe Stephenson tried to secure funding from organisations that help low-budget filmmakers. What is the BFI Film Fund and how does it contribute to the British film industry?
The BFI film fund is a lottery funded scheme developed to help fund British film. It's used as a non profit body to help those who lack funding and resources to develop their own films
5) Why do you think Chicken failed to secure funding from the BFI Film Fund?
The director was unheard of and had no real experience when it comes to film. That would have been the main reason.
Production
1) What difficulties did the film run into during production?
Most of the shots were filmed outside in natural environments, this meant they were victim to bad weather
2) How many days did the film take to shoot?
The film took 19 days to film
3) What scenes were particularly difficult for Joe Stephenson to film?
The chickens proved difficult to work with, so two different chickens were brought on for when they needed a calm and more aggressive chicken.
Distribution
1) Why did the film fail to secure a distribution deal when first made in 2014?
A distribution deal was hard to find due to the private funding and the unknown studio behind the production of the film
2) What film festivals did Chicken feature at between 2014-2016?
These are just some of the festivals that featured Chicken
- Giffoni Film Festival
- New Hampshire Film Festival
- Edinburgh film festival
3) Why are film festivals an effective way for a low-budget film to secure a distribution deal?
Critical acclaim shows that a movie is good, the more acclaim it has the better it is.
4) When was Chicken released in cinemas in the UK?
According to IMDB Chicken was released in May 2015
5) Why do you think film subscription service MUBI chose the film to feature on the service?
The international critical acclaim acted as a selling point for MUBI, hence they agreed to feature the film on their service.
6) Why was Film4 a good choice to give the film its UK television premiere?
Film4 is known for it's habit of showcasing low budget indie films, it seemed like an obvious choice.
7) When will the film be released on iTunes and other video-on-demand services in the USA and Canada?
UK DVD release distributed by Network Releasing. Digital distribution in USA/Canada – January 2018
Promotion
Note: some of these pages will be blocked in school - you will need to complete those particular questions at home.
1) What does the trailer suggest regarding genre and the potential audience pleasures of Chicken?
The trailer shows a gritty northern UK, this attracts niche, most likely more educated audiences. Adding all of those aspects together, the film is most likely primarily made for a middle class, high brow audience.
2) What synergy can you find between the trailer and other traditional marketing methods such as the film poster?
Both the trailer and the posters contained quotes the film achieved.
3) Why are reviews from industry figures such as Mark Kermode so important to a film's success?
Reviews from established critics such as Mark Kermode help establish the film as a must watch, if they liek it, so should the audience.4) How does the Chicken Twitter account create and maintain interest in the film?
The Chicken twitter account helps the film interact with a wider audience, the fact this form of advertising is also free makes a perfect option.
5) Who does the Twitter account re-tweet? How does this help to promote the film?
The twitter account retweets tweets from famous individuals saying they liked the film e.g Sir Ian Mckellen sent a tweet saying he loved the film.
6) How does the Chicken Facebook page use images and video content to promote the film?
Their facebook page is quite similar to their twitter page, the only real difference between the two is the fact that the facebook page tends to only promote their own created content.
7) What pages are liked by the Chicken Facebook page? What does this tell you about the film and potential target audience?
The pages that the facebook page like are mainly film niche groups, this shows that they are aiming at attracting a niche audience
8) Go to the B Good Picture Company's website page for Chicken. What celebrities are mentioned on the page? Why might they be highlighted?
Celebrities such as Stephen Frears, Karen Gillian and Noel Clark
9) Now go to the film's official website. What is the key purpose of the website and what does this tell you about the influence of new technology and how it is changing howpeople watch films?
The website acts as a house of information for not only the film, but also provides information for both the director and the production company. These elements combined result in a pretty effective marketing strategy.
10) Go to the B Good Picture Company YouTube channel. What videos feature on the channel? How do they help to promote Chicken?
The YouTube channel showcases some clips from the movie to help excite possible viewers. They also have some projects and interviews from sir Ian Mckellen. This also acts as form of advertising
Final reading: Media Magazine - the appeal of arthouse cinema
Complete the following tasks to improve your understanding of arthouse film and the possible audience pleasures that the genre offers:
Read Beyond Hollywood: Reading Arthouse Cinema. This is in MM45 on page 24 - go to our Media Magazine archive to find the article.
1) Summarise the article in 50 words.
Arthouse films are created to be artistic rather than commercial, The films are made to be slightly difficult to understand as the main goal of these films are reaction rather than action oriented scenes. The films also contain scenes where the twists can only be explained by the main characters subjectivity on the situation
2) What are some of the suggested audience pleasures for arthouse film?
Personal Identity and escapism
3) Why do some audiences struggle with arthouse film? Refer to some media theory here (there are some important media theories discussed in the article itself).
Arthouse film is not meant to be easily understandable, casual viewers of film may not be able to understand this
4) To what extent is arthouse film only for the middle classes and older audiences? Why might this be the case?
I believe that Arthouse film is accesible to all classes, middle classes and older audiences are most likely going to watch these films although due to the difficult nature of the films.
5) What type of audience would be interested in Chicken?
I believe that middle class older audiences are most likely to be interested in Chicken
Comments
Post a Comment