The Film Industry – Institutional Research & Planning Tasks

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USP

The actors starring in, or the director of a film, may be its unique selling point, as the audience will expect their level of work to be consistently good. Many directors are associated with a particular genre, for example the Wachowski Brothers with Science Fiction/action after their success with the Matrix trilogy. Given this success, it would be fair to expect that the film they are currently working on-‘Cloud Atlas’-will also be a success. The USP for a film may also be that it is based on a popular book, just as ‘Cloud Atlas’ is. An example specific to the thriller genre is Alfred Hitchcock; he is seen as a pioneer and known as ‘The Master of Suspense’, so his work is obviously of quality. These factors will affect how the film is publicised and sold.

Find out which media institutions might produce, distribute & exhibit

A such as Se7en (big budget Hollywood thriller)

Distributor: New Line Cinema

Budget: $33 million

Gross box office takings: $100,125,643

Number of screens released on: 2,528

A big budget British film such as Casino Royale (big budget British thriller)

Distributor: Columbia Pictures

Gross box office takings: $167,445,960

Number of screens released on: 3,443

Budget: $150 million

A low budget British thriller such as The Disappearance of Alice Creed

Distributor: Isle of Man Film and CinemaNX

Gross box office takings: $166,980

Number of screens released on: 12 theaters

Budget: N/A

Pulp Fiction

Distributor: Miramax Films

Gross box office takings: $107,928,762

Number of screens released on: 1,494

Budget: $8 million

Q. You can use these examples but find others too. What does it show you about the production, distribution & exhibition systems and how Hollywood and the UK film industry are interlinked?

A. Films are usually produced by film studios and with a partnership with the distributer. Famous distributers such as 20th Century Fox usually invest in films with a very large budget. Those that don’t, such as ‘The Disappearance of Alice Creed’, usually obtain funding from either Film4, The National Lottery, or The British Film Institute who now administer the funding that used to come from the UK Film Council.

It is obvious that films funded by larger, more well known companies will be more successful than independent film. An example of this can be seen in the comparison of ‘Shutter Island’ and ‘The Disappearance of Alice Creed’: ‘Shutter Island’ took $294,804,195 worldwide, had a budget of $40,000,000 and its largest release was in 3,356 theatres. ‘The Disappearance of Alice Creed’, on the other hand, took just $867,714 worldwide, had a significantly lower budget and had a widest release of 12 theatres.

Q. Look at the posters and trailers for these films save and analyze the logos the companies have used here. How have they signified their genre in these designs? Upload logos of companies who would produce and distribute your film

Optimum Releasing’s logo is comprised of various shades of black and white signifying the binary opposition of crime and the law, with a grey background behind the word ‘canal’. This links to the conventions of the thriller genre, as they often use chiaroscuro lighting. The swirling pattern creates a sense of movement and looks very similar to that seen in the opening credits of ‘Vertigo’ and  the word ‘optimum’ implies that they produce the best films released as a subsidiary of Studio Canal.

Q. Think about the type of thriller you want to make and who would produce and distribute your film, stating why they would be appropriate.

A. I would choose Optimum Releasing, as they are well established and have had recent success with films such as ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’, especially since it win several awards at the Baftas, as well as success in the past with films such as ‘Man Hunt’. These things would increase the potntial audience and therefore profit, something that is important as the film indstry is a business. Another option would be Miramax films, who have lots of experience with the crime thriller sub-genre, with films such as Pulp Fiction and No Country For Old Men.