Independent case study: peer assessment

1. Name of student whose blog you are assessing: Serenna
2. Name of film they have researched: The Inbetweeners
3. Have they covered all three platforms? Yes
4. Examples they have provided from print platform: Two posters and DVD cover
5. Examples they have provided from broadcast platform: 2 interviews 
6. Examples they have provided from e-media platform: Instagram, Facebook
7. What institutional information did they find out about the film? : Film Studio, distributor,budget, success rate, certificate
8. What issues did they find in terms of representation in the film they studied?: Predominately white British men and women, alternative side to Britain
9. What links or comparisons can you find between this case study and Ill Manors?: No similarities, differences: location, lifestyle,story line
10. Is there anything you can learn from this case study? What could you add to your own case study after looking at someone else's work? :  The Inbetweeners have different representations and the distribution methods are effective

MEST1 Section B: Independent case study:Belle

Case study research tasks

The basics

1) What is the name of the film, the director and notable stars? 

Film: Belle
Director: Amma Asante
Notable Stars: - Gugu Mbatha-Raw
                      -Tom Wilkinson
                      -Tom Felton

2) When was it released?

•               8 September 2013 (Toronto International Film Festival)
•               2 May 2014 (United States)
•              13 June 2014(United Kingdom)
• 
  

3) What genre is the film? What are the generic conventions that tell you the film belongs to this genre?

Genre: Period Drama Film


4) What was the critical reception? What is the film rated on IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes?

IMDB: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes:   -Critics: 7/10
                             -Audience: 4.1/5

Broadcast

1) Write a close-textual analysis of the trailer using the MIGRAIN key concepts of Media Studies.

The costumes used in the trailer is very iconic of a period film as it sets the scene to be in the late 1700s.This also allows the audience to see the strong racial discrimination that arose during this time period as despite Belle being from a high background, she is viewed as low due to the colour of her skin.
The lighting varies throughout the trailer to give different senses of the atmosphere during different parts. The diegetic dialogues along with some of the non diegetic music used accentuates the time period and allows the audience to feel engaged with the film.

2) Find examples of television promotion on YouTube (adverts, chat shows, ‘red carpet’ interviews etc.) and post them to your blog along with an explanation of how these promote the film.

  

Gives a brief overview of the film along with promoting the new actors of the film. Also the themes they want to express to the public are also stated

Shows Amma Asante, the producer's artistic views and goals along with exploring the main actress' perspective on her role in the film.

Gives the audience an overview of his character and what it was like on and off set.

3) Does the broadcast promotion use stars to create interest in the film?

The broadcast promotion includes a variety of well known actors such as Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson and Penelope Wilton who have filmed many different period films and TV shows. Tom Felton who may be the most well known in the film due to his role as Draco Malfoy in the popular Harry Potter films, is also included in the cast. The female protagonist of Belle, Gugu Mbatha-Raw also sparked a lot of interest as she had never filmed a period film or TV show unlike the other actors, therefore creating curiosity within the audience as they were interested in finding out how her performance would be. 


Print

1) Read at least THREE reviews of the film and provide a quote from each one.

Screen Daily: 'We are constantly aware that this is a world in which appearances and propriety are everything and where a woman’s status is measured by the fortune and title she might bring to a marriage.'

The Guardian:'Describing her film as a hybrid of "the Jane Austen elements we know so well – the marriage market, the lives of girls growing up into society ladies, the romantic longing – combined with a story about the end of slavery", Asante paints an enthralling portrait of a woman struggling to define her identity, caught between stairs in terms of social custom and protocol.'

The Independent: 'Perhaps today's British film industry has the same closed-minded attitudes about gender and race as the 18th-century high-society London recreated here.'


2) Find examples of print promotion (e.g. film poster, billboard adverts etc.) on Google images and post them to your blog along with an explanation of how these promote the film.

Shows the key characters and actors of the film to create interest from the audience.

Interview from Tom Felton, increases the anticipation of the film along with introducing the film to new audiences.

As the poster is in a train station, it would reach a wide audience and convey the key points of the film through the poster 

3) Choose ONE print advert and write a textual analysis of what it communicates to the audience.



This poster conveys to the audience who all the main characters included in the novel are, whilst also clearly displaying the protagonist by giving her more space on the poster. It includes the main important actors and also shows a review about the film to convince the audience to anticipate the actual release ( June 13) which is also displayed on the poster. The themes are very evident as the characters clothing is very visible, therefore giving the audience an insight the genre of the film .

4) How is the film’s brand constructed? What does the brand connote? Does it remind you of any other brands or similar films?

The brand is constructed by giving a black woman positive attributes despite the way they were viewed during that time period; dirty and unworthy of respect. The name 'Belle' has strong connotations of beauty and refinement which Gugu Mbatha-Raw portrays with her acting. Along with her beauty, she also shows the knowledge a black woman can have which overall gives a very positive perspective to them.

E-media

1) Research the film’s presence on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. How does the film’s social media presence help promote the film?

Twitter: No official Twitter but promotes the film through Amma Asante, the prodeucer's twitter account.

Facebook: Constant updates of the film along with displaying the awards they are nominated for

2) Analyse the official website for the film. How does it use the film’s brand? What examples of synergy can you find with the other platforms?

The website serves as an easy to use interface that allows the audience to not only have an overview of the main characters in the film but also includes several important features such as the trailer, clips and the background of the overall story. Surprisingly, the website also promotes the distributor, Fox Searchlight Pictures as the links to the social media are Fox Searchlight's You Tube, Twitter and Facebook pages and not the pages exclusive to Belle. The website also clearly displays the good reviews it has received and promotes the sale of the Blu Ray DVD. 


3) Did the film run any kind of e-media based campaign to generate interest in the film?

4) Can you find any examples of the two-step flow theory online – did celebrities or journalists tweet or post about the film in order to promote it to their followers?

Oprah Winfrey showed her love for the film and the actors as they represented the injustice of black women 

Audience

1) Who is the target audience for this film? Demographics and psychographics.

The target audience for the film is primarily the demographic of ABC1 with target audience ranging from 20 - 50 year olds. This is due to the period drama genre being more popular within older audiences however it might of had a certain extent of popularity within the younger audiences as Amma Asante particularly wanted to focus on the romance aspect rather than making the film a history lesson. The pschographics for the film would be mainstreamers and maybe resigned.

2) How does the cross-media promotional campaign target this audience?

The cross media promotion campaign would have targeted this audience through traditional methods of displaying adverts on TV and posters on streets to attract the key target audience. However, it could be considered that their activeness in e media may have been their method to attract a small proportion of the younger audience.
3) What audience pleasures does the film provide? Think about the BFI lecture on audience pleasures in British film.

The film could provide a sense of self identity for those who may have been discriminated due to their race. It also creates personal relationships with a few of the characters. As the film is a period drama, it may also act as a diversion for the audience from everyday life as the film was set a long time ago which makes the audience believe that the events that occur in the film would not happen much in daily life.
4) What similar films would the target audience enjoy? Justify your suggestions.

12 years a slave: Similar themes of slavery



Institution
1) Which film studio produced the film? What other films have they produced? Do they have a track record with this kind of film and this target audience?

Production Companies: -DJ Films

•                                      -Isle of Man Film
•                                      -Pinewood Pictures
•                                      -BFI

Pinewood Pictures: -Casino Royale

                            - Sky Fall

                            -Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2

                            -Sherlock Holmes

Pinewood Pictures does not have a track record with period films for the aimed target audience that Belle has, however, they have a lot of experience with big budget British films, the most well known being some of the James Bond films, therefore, they would try and help Belle reach the success rates that other movies have achieved.  

2) Which company distributed the film in the UK? What other films have they distributed? 

Fox Searchlight Pictures: - 12 Years A Slave
                                         - Black Nativity 

3) Do they have a track record with this kind of film and this target audience?

They have a track record of similar period films that include black people synch as 12 years a slave, which was a particular global success.

4)What was the budget for the film?

$11m 

5) How successful was the film financially? Why do you think this was?

The film was not very successful as despite it making around million dollars worldwide, The budget for the film was roughly 11million as well, meaning there wasnt much profit made.

6) Was this film more successful in the UK or worldwide/USA? Why do you think this is?

The film was more successful in USA more than the UK and the rest of the world. This is probably due to the topic of racism being very much relevant in America more than the UK. Also, Americans enjoy watching British heritage films as it gives them a perspective of how Britain was and how modern Britain may be very similar.

7) What certificate was the film given (12A, 18 etc.)? What was the reason for this certificate? Is the certification important for this film in terms of targeting its audience? Why?

the certificate belle recieved for the film was a 12 A. this is due to the small strong language used in the film. other than that, it is very  family friendly and suitable for all ages. 


Representation
1) What representations of people, places or groups can be found in this film?

The representation of black people in the society is very apparent as they are stereotyped to be low and dirty. Also with the representation of white british people is very negative as they have a deep representation of being racist against people of other colours even if they are blood relatives.

2) What representation of ‘Britishness’ does the film contain?

The film has a great representation of British heritage to be very sophisticated with class and status. However it also gives the representation that Britain had and may even still have racist opinions, similarly to the film, on coloured people.

3) How does the representation of Britain differ to Ill Manors? 

There is a strong representation of British society to be primarily full of people of from a high and wealthy background however there is a great sense of the racism that British people hold of people with different coloured skin such as black people, viewing them as Britain's pollution. 

4) What values and ideologies can you find in your chosen film? (E.g. The King’s Speech is extremely patriotic, pro-monarchy etc.) 

Belle discusses many different ideologies in the film with some being portrayed as positive whereas some having negative portrayals.

Case study comparison

1) What similarities and differences can you find between Ill Manors, A Field In England and your chosen case study film? List all that apply.

The similarities the film holds with Ill Manors and A Field in England is that all three films show different representations of Britain during different time periods. Despite being British films, all the films have vastly different genres that give different portrayals of Britain.

MEST1 Section B: index

Ill Manors: Film Review
Ill Manors: Trailer Analysis
Ill Manors: TEDx Lecture
Ill Manors: Music Video
Ill Manors: Broadcast Platform
Ill Manors: Print Platform
Ill Manors: Print Branding
Ill Manors: e-media Tag London Campaign
Ill Manors: e-media Social Networking Research
Ill Manors: Official Website Analysis
Ill Manors: Institution Research
A Field In England: Reading, Research and Questions

MEST1 Section B: A Field In England

• How was A Field In England’s release different to typical film releases

A Field in England was the first film in the UK to launch simultaneously across all platforms; VOD, free broadcast TV, DVD/Blu Ray and cinema. This is a great risk when it comes to making profit but further emphasizes the fact that the film is an art house film as their aim is not to generate revenue but to make their audience carefully consider the themes in the film and to convey the film maker's artistry or ideologies.

• What are the advantages to releasing the film across all platforms on the same day?

An advantage of releasing the film across all platforms on the same day is that it makes the day similar to an important event and it has a bigger impact on the audience. Although the film would have a shorter promotion period, the promotion is on a much larger scale due to the film being released on all platforms on the same day.

• What are the disadvantages to this approach?

The disadvantages of releasing a film on all platforms on the same day is that the promotion period would be shorter and unlike films that are released on different platforms on different days, after the release of the film, there would be no reason to mention the film again. 

• What target audience would A Field In England be aimed at? Demographics and Psychographics.

A field in England would be primarily aimed at a more mature audience who would have a better understanding of the film, along with students who would be interested in analysing the film. Therefore, the demographics would range from 16 - 50. The psychographics of the film would be mostly explorers and reformers as these groups would have a great interest in non mainstream media and try to apply the messages the film conveys to everyday life.

• Do you think all films in future will be released across all platforms simultaneously in future?

In my opinion, I don't think all films in the future will be released across all platforms simultaneously as the majority of films are created in order to earn a huge profit but releasing films on different platforms simultaneously will hinder the maximum profit that can be made as the hype over the film will die down after a short while. Also, due to the film being released on the same day on different platforms, people will be more likely to watch the film at home as it is more convenient and considerably cheaper, resulting in a loss of revenue. With the film being released across different platforms at different times, the popularity of the film will be dragged along a long period of time which will maximise profit for the film.

Ill Manors: Institution Research

Distribution research

• Summarise the 10 steps of film distribution in a list using your own words.

1. Finding a distributor to distribute the film
2. Identify how the film connects with the audience
3. Launch the film, hoping for consumers to receive and access the film
4. The UK has 6 major distributors and many independent distributors 
5. Distributors receive the films from third parties
6. Distributors sign a contract with the producers, hoping to gain all possible rights
7. Distribution is prepared after a consultation with the producers
8. Think about how to optimize success of the film through the distribution
9. Raise awareness and interest of the film
10. licensing films to gain permission to release it in theatres

Ill Manors: Funding and production budget

• What was the estimated budget for Ill Manors?

The estimated budget was £100,000

• Where did the money come from? List the different organisations and companies that contributed funding to Ill Manors.

Revolver entertainment

Film London

Microwave Film

Plan B

• How did the Ill Manors budget compare to a Hollywood blockbuster such as Skyfall?

The budget for Ill Manors is significantly lower than Skyfall as the budget for Skyfall was roughly $200 million whereas Ill Manors' budget was only £100,000

Film London and Microwave Film

• What is Film London and why does it exist?

Film London is a non-profit agency supported by the government which promotes London as a great location for filming. “London is one of the world’s most competitive and popular film, television & commercial production centres” Boris Johnson, Mayor of London

• What is the purpose of Microwave Film?

Microwave Film supports low budget productions in order to shine a light on film makers with great potential.

• List three other films funded by Microwave Film and embed their trailers in your blog.

                                     

 

• Choose one film funded by Microwave film and explain how it compares to Ill Manors (similarities and differences)

The film Shifty, has very strong similarities to Ill Manors due to the similar genre and themes it surrounds, therefore also having almost the same aimed target audiences. Riz Ahmed acts as the protagonist in both films and both the films feature music by Plan B. 

Despite the movies being very similar, Shifty seems to focus more of drugs where as Ill Manors, in addition to drugs, shows a broader outlook on street life. Also, Shifty seems to have comedic aspects to it, however Ill Manors has almost no comedy at all.

Distributor: Revolver Entertainment

• When was Revolver Entertainment created?

1997

• Revolver Entertainment enjoyed a lot of success with the UK urban drama genre. Find three Revolver films that fit that genre, embed the trailers from YouTube and write about why they were successful.

Shows the contrast of a rich and luxurious life with a life involved with criminal activity on the streets. The two widely different atmospheres allows the audience to differentiate the gang life and life of luxury.

Shows a female perspective on gang life. As the urban crime genre mostly focuses on the male perspective, a female perspective created a huge interest especially for the female viewers as it gave them characters that they can self identify with, if they came from similar backgrounds as the characters.

Gives a more mature approach to criminal activity as the actors are slightly older and a bit more stable, in comparison to other urban drama films. As most of the urban crime genre films such as Ill Manors focus on the impact of gang life and criminality on young adults, having an older perspective shows that these issues has a similar, yet different affect on adults with a relative amount of stability in their lives.

• Choose one film distributed by Revolver Entertainment and explain how it compares to Ill Manors (similarities and differences).

Pay Back Season can be seen as similar to Ill Manors as it has a sub genre of urban crime. It also involves a lot of gang violence and shows the difficulties of gang life.

However it is very different as Ill Manors doesn't change locations too much and sticks to an urban atmosphere whereas Pay Back Season has wealthy atmospheres included to enhance the contrast. Also, Pay Back Season seems to have some scenes that arent too heavy for the audience but Ill Manors, through out, leaves the audience at the edge of their seats.

• Why did Revolver Entertainment go out of business in 2013?

Revolver Entertainment were in a financial crisis and found it difficult to to pay their workers. As the DVD company, one of Revolver Entertainment's main sources of revenue, was falling and the competitiveness of the market was gradually increasing, Revolver Entertainment weren't generating enough profit to pay their workers.

• How is new technology changing the way films are being distributed?

Films now have many more platforms in which it can be promoted and distributed through however such as through video on demand sites such as BBC Iplayer and subscription sites such as Netflix, however this is decreasing the popularity of cinemas as it is much more convenient and maybe even cheaper, to access films on electronic devices.

Gunslinger

• Research the Gunslinger/Revolver film Shank. Embed the trailer in your blog and explain how it compares to Ill Manors (similarities and differences).

It is similar to Ill Manors as there are a lot of violent content with many urban crime themes surrounding it, however it is different as it seems the film centres on violence and does not include many other themes that Ill Manors does include. The film relies on the shock factor and acts more of an urban thriller.

• List other Gunslinger films that fit the UK urban drama genre. Why does Gunslinger focus on this genre in particular?

Anuvahood, Kidadulthood, Adulthood: Adds a sense of identification with the characters and narratives. Also, a distinct contrast is created with the stereotypical London which gives another outlook on life in the UK. 

• Research the British social realism genre. How do Gunslinger films fit into the social realism genre?

The social realism genre shines a light on the everyday conditions of the working classes and the poor. Gunslinger films always focuses on the different crises that can happen in reality of a working class person and makes these people have identification with the film. As the number of people who are of a working class or poor, having films that represents them is proven to be a good business move as their revenue would be very big as there is a large audience who would want to watch these types of films.

• Why does the UK urban drama genre appeal to an audience?

Domestically, there is strong identification created with the situations 

Internationally, shows a different perspective of the UK contrasting to the typical stereotypes

Certification

• How does the certification process work at the BBFC?

U= UNIVERSAL (ages 4 and over)

PG= PARENTAL GUIDANCE

12A = A film that requires an adult to be with the child if under 12 years old

12= 12 and over

15= 15 and over

18= 18 and over

R18 = Restricted due to explicit sexual content

These certifications are decided by extensive research of public opinions which accumulated over the years. This is so the BBFC can adhere to there 2 key principles:

• to protect children and vulnerable adults from potentially harmful or otherwise unsuitable content
• to empower consumers, particularly parents and those with responsibility for children, to make informed viewing decisions.

• Think about the certificate of Ill Manors (18 certificate). What is deemed acceptable for an 18 certificate? What is the difference between a 15 certificate and an 18 certificate?

The BBFC considers these to be the factors that are acceptable for an 18 certificate

•   very strong violence
•   frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***') and / or very strong language (e.g. ‘c***’)
•   strong portrayals of sexual activity
•   scenes of sexual violence
•   strong horror
•   strong blood and gore
•   real sex (in some circumstances)
•   discriminatory language and behaviour

The BBFC considers these to be the factors that are acceptable for a 15 certificate

Any of the following:

•   strong violence
•  frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***').
•   portrayals of sexual activity
•   strong verbal references to sex
•   sexual nudity
•   brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
•   discriminatory language or behaviour
•   drug taking

There isn't much difference between a 15 and 18 certificate as the content is very similar but films are categorized due to the severity of its content. An 18 film would have content that is more severe and explicit in comparison to a 15, which will probably have the aspects of an 18 films hinted at or shown inexplicitly.                                                                           

• What are the advantages and disadvantages for a film in being given an 18 certificate?

The advantages are that a mature audience would be viewing the film and as younger audiences would not be allowed to watch it , films would avoid negatively influencing them. It also may reach a larger audience as older audience members may be convinced that the film is definitely one that is aimed at adults.

However having an 18 certificate will greatly hinder the target audience and may make the film lose out on potential profit.