Objective

• Understand how film producers use different types of advertising to market their products

• Be able to explain what above-the-line and below-the-line means in terms of film-making

Make a list of all the ways a film can be marketed (advertised) and place it on the chart on the board

based on how effective you think it is.

Effective

Ineffective

THE FILM PROCESS

PRODUCTION

DISTRIBUTION

EXHIBITION

There are three distinct areas of the film industry.Each one of these could be viewed as a type of

media institution.

What would you expect to happen at each stage?

Q2 – Overview: The Production CycleYou are expected to know what happens in each of these 4 stages of a film’s life:

1. Film Production

2. Film Distribution

3. Film Exhibition

***Film Marketing

Choose genre, director, stars, SFX, & film it!

£1000 Film reels produced & sent to as many cinemas as

possible

Get film into multiplexes & TV deals

Advertise the film as widely as possible (Synergy?)

Above, below or through the line?

ImpersonalMass market so mass media‘Traditional’ advertisingExpensive because wide audience (agency make money)

PersonalTarget a specific group so more direct More subtle – you may hardly even notice itDisguised as something else

Through the line = mix of both

Production (making it)

Distribution (showing it)

Publicity (shouting about

it)

Merchandising (cashing in on its

popularity)

New Film

The ideal scenario would be...

ProductionHow much did the film cost to make?

How much did it make at the box office?

DistributionWhen and how was your film released?

If released in the cinema, how long did it run?

PublicityWhat were the main ways the film was publicized?

Who was the target audience for the film? How can you tell this?

Merchandising

Did your film have any merchandising tie-ins?(spin-offs, sequels, toys, happy meals etc…)

ProductionHow much did the film cost to make?

How much did it make at the box office?

DistributionWhen and how was your film released?

If released in the cinema, how long did it run?

PublicityWhat were the main ways the film was publicized?

Who was the target audience for the film? How can you tell this?

Merchandising

Did your film have any merchandising tie-ins?(spin-offs, sequels, toys, happy meals etc…)

Production (making it)Cost £3.5m (relatively expensive!)

Box-office revenue £45m

Distribution (showing it)August 2011 – January 2012 (yes, still

showing in some small cinemas)Exceeded usual three-week run

Publicity (shouting about it)Target audience = fans of show

(teenagers, hence 15 certificate)But also attracted range of other fans from older age groups because film

was funny

Merchandising (cashing in on its popularity)

DVD sales of the TV series increased dramatically

Sales of soundtrack on iTunesSequels?

The Inbetweeners Movie

Case study for this... The Inbetweeners!

Production (making it)Budget = $11m

Box-office = $775m (first film)Lucas heavily in debt when he made the film

Distribution (showing it)Queuing round the block

Dominated cinemas wordwideAt one time, highest grossing film in cinema

history

Publicity (shouting about it)Change to posters – disliked it

EVERYWHEREWord-of-mouth; sheer popularity

Merchandising (cashing in on its popularity)Actor deal/director deal (AG = 2% of 40% paid

to GL)Sales of toys/merchandise top $8bn per

annum even nowGL net worth now... $4bn

Star Wars (first film, 1977)

Case study for this... Star Wars!

Original Film

Merchandising (e.g. Products connected directly to the film)

Licensing (e.g. Using characters from the film to promote other things)

SYNERGY = In media economics, synergy is the promotion and sale of a product (and all its versions) throughout the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate, e.g. films, soundtracks or video games. Walt Disney pioneered synergistic marketing techniques in the 1930s by granting dozens of firms the right to use his Mickey Mouse character in products and ads, and continued to market Disney media through licensing arrangements. These products can help advertise the film itself and thus help to increase the film's sales.

Skyfall (2012)How much synergy was used to make Skyfall the success it has become?

TASK:

Research the film Skyfall and create a presentation detailing the ways in which the film was marketed and licensed using synergy.

You should attempt to answer the following question in your response:• Which production company financed the film?• How much did it cost to make?• How much of the film’s budget was spent on marketing?• What were the THREE main ways the film was promoted? E.g. TV spots (ads). • How much money has Skyfall made at the Box Office so far (both domestically and

internationally)?• Is Skyfall a successful film? Why? What role did synergy play in this?