TRAILERS The It remake

This is a side-by-side comparison of the upcoming 2017 version and the original 1990 TV minseries, a useful example of how important UNoriginality plays in a film industry that recognises the difficulty in marketing new ideas, and seeks to draw in secondary older audiences through nostalgia.


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FILM pitching

Use your practice pitch, and notes/handouts to help develop a strong pitch - the process of presenting a film proposal to film financiers/distributors, trying to convince them to risk money on your movie.

Your pitch should be backed by a PowerPoint or video with plentiful, frequent, relevant illustration.

This needs to be emailed (a YouTube link if video) before the Friday 7th April lesson. You will also Monday's lesson to work on this.

It should address:

1: SYNOPSIS
In no more than 2 sentences, sum up the narrative.
State at least 2 films this has similarities to (explain how), noting their box office + which audience/s you think those examples appeal to.
RESEARCH TIP: if you google 'film title box office https://www.theguardian.com/uk/film' you might find useful analysis on the audience, or just try 'film title audience' - Avatar example1; example2.

TV Game Shows lists and clips

TBC

BBC game shows Wiki;
UK Game Shows (site dedicated to this);




CLIPS

EVERY SECOND COUNTS 1993


CATCHWORD 1989


PLAY YOUR CARDS RIGHT 1996


SPIN OFF


THE WALL 2011


PASSWORD 1950s


STRIKE IT LUCKY


FAMILY FORTUNES 2000s


FAMILY FEUD





 
SPORTS/PHYSICAL CHALLENGE GAME SHOWS
There have been many of these, from It's a Knockout to Channel 4's disastrous The Jump, a hybrid with reality TV in which contestants kept getting seriously injured (so it was axed).

GLADIATORS 1990s
This became a successful international format/franchise, and even saw international spin-offs, with various national champions facing off against each other.


THE KRYPTON FACTOR 1980/90s + SPECIALS



DATING SHOWS
A classic format, with Blind Date the queen of the format, fuelled by 60s pop star Cilla Black's catchphrases delivered in a broad scouse accent. Take Me Out is a more modern version, losing all the gentleness of its predecessors and putting an unsubtle meat market on screen. Mr and Mrs was a long running, very old-fashioned show.

TAKE ME OUT 2010s


BLIND DATE 1980s


MR AND MRS 1970/80s + 2010s CELEBRITY REMAKE


KIDS/TEENS GAME SHOWS
The format is adopted not just for mainstream mass 'family' audiences (primetime, teatime and lunchtime slots, not to mention endless re-runs throughout the day on channels such as Dave or Challenge, with very occasional post-watershed 'adult' shows too), but also for younger niche audiences. Runaround and Crackerjack are two classic examples, combining quiz and physical competition elements, and Crackerjack being something of a hybrid, almost a variety or chat show with its special guests. 

Blockbusters was a hugely popular quiz show in the 80s and 90s with school and uni students, featuring sixth formers (Year 12/13; age 16-19). Slightly older university level students have become a key part of the audience for other daytime quiz shows, not least Countdown.

RUNAROUND 1970s


CRACKERJACK 1982



BLOCKBUSTERS 1991

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MUSIC VIDEO audience research

These A2 students created a video survey, embedded below

As this is a new topic for GCSE here, there aren't any past examples to show you - but you can take inspiration from some A2 Media work.

This document, aimed at A2 students, sets out some of the ways you can evidence audience research:

MVid Audience research from DB3igs

Here's the video questionnaire created by some past IGS A2 students, the greenscreen dream team of Amber and Conal; you see further down an example of other students answering this. A video questionnaire is a great way of organising this: it creates buzz, you can open it up to others by sharing the link (ask respondents to simply to note their answers (numbered!) including DN for don't know), and it helps to get a specific focus on music video.


You need to show you TESTED your initial judgement on a suitable target audience, and gathering SOME survey data on whether teens (or others) recognise your genre, artist or specific track is a good starting point. Getting some brief descriptions of what those vaguely familiar with the genre/artist expect to see is also useful.

Warp v Working Title Film examples

EXPLORING THE FILM INDUSTRY FOR ASSIGNMENT 2

We'll watch and compare these two trailers shortly



You can find additional resources in these posts:

• Video of summer 2015 hits + the (UK Indie) posters/trailers from page2 of the handout
• Pitching pointers and gallery of hybrid movies

We'll focus on two contrasting companies to begin exploring this industry.

• Working Title is owned by a huge US conglomerate (company that owns other companies), and so can make high budget movies
• Warp is an Indie (not owned by a larger company), and so makes low budget films

You can see the trump cards below for a selection of these. NOTE: I've blogged on many of these films in much more detail over on my Cinema blog.

Here are the boxofficemojo links for each (this site gives budgets, box office figures):

WORKING TITLE

2 contrasting companies in trump cards (gallery further down)

Bridget Jones's Baby (Maguire, 2016)
Sequel to Bridget Jones' Diary and Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason
Green Zone (Greengrass, 2010)
Marketing of this action/spy thriller tried to tap into the Bond rip-off Bourne's success by focusing on Matt Damon, with disappointing resultd
Hot Fuzz (Wright, 2007)
Second of the 'Cornetto Trilogy' this cop buddy satire was a sizeable hit despite its low budget.
Legend (Helgeland, 2014)
International audiences just weren't familiar with the Kray Twins (real life post-war London gangsters), and so box office was low outwith the UK
Les Miserables (Hooper, 2012)

Global IP/brand + A-list stars = global hit!

The sort of A-list star-studded movie, based on a globally successful IP (the long-running musical), that Indies couldn't dream of, this was a solid success
Notting Hill (Michell, 1999)
The company's second global hit rom-com starred megastar Julia Roberts, and made a star of Hugh Grant, fresh of Four Weddings and a Funeral success.
Paul (Mottola, 2011)
Featuring the (British) Cornetto Trilogy leads, this sci-fi/comedy hybrid used an A-lister (Seth Rogen) and a US setting to boost its US and international appeal
Shaun of the Dead (Wright, 2004)
Still popular with today's teens, the zom-rom-com that kickstarted the Corentto Trilogy
The World's End (Wright, 2013)
The budget was much higher than the previous Cornetto Trilogy movies, but the box office wasn't - I've blogged on why in detail
Theory of Everything (Marsh, 2014)
Typical Working Title: well off white southern English characters in a grand setting, with the romance framework boosting appeal to this biopic of Stephen Hawking.

Budget: just £48k!

WARP FILMS/WARP X
'71 (Demange, 2014)
Set at the start of the Northern Ireland 'Troubles' (armed conflict verging on civil war), this action/thriller could have been a hit with a star or two
Four Lions (Morris, 2010)
Such a bizarre idea: a comedy about a su*icide b*mber! A suprise hit in the UK, but it didn't do well in the US
She a Chinese (Xiaolu, 2011) [no entry]
You can't get much more uncommercial (unlikely to make money) than this: a Chinese woman illegally stays in Britain after running off from an official tour
Submarine (Ayaode, 2010)
Ingenious Welsh teen rom-com
This is England (Meadows, 2006)
The franchise continued on TV, with 3 series of sometimes brutal social realist drama
Tyrannosaur (Considine, 2011)
Another dark drama, despite the (sort-of) romance, it proved a hard sell with its two unglamorous middle-aged leads
Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee (Meadows, 2009)
Shane Meadows shot this mockumentary in just 5 days! Its entire budget wouldn't cover the catering on some tentpole Hollywood shoots!