Planning Evaluation Questions

As a part of our evaluation question two we have to make some illustrations to see what our poster would look like when advertised in mainstream. As you can see above we are going to have to use photoshop to create illustrations of this. We are going to have to photoshop our image into the image of advertising on the 'Apple Movies' website and then make it blend in so you cannot tell that it has been edited and make it look as realistic as possible. It is important for us to do this in order to evaluate our products realistically because if it does not look good when on a website then it is not up to the standards of a professional movie poster. After importing our picture on to the website we are going to evaluate and compare it to the films next to it on this site.

We are going to do the same thing here. Taking our image and photoshopping it into the image of a bus shelter. Conventionally films are advertised at bus stops commonly and that is because it is a busy place that many people pass and use everyday so it gets a lot of attention and acknowledgement for the public. By advertising our poster at a bus stop we are following conventions a film and also allowing it to be viewed by a mainstream audience. We want our adverts to look as professional as possible so we are going to have to work very careful on photoshop to make it look real. The same process will be used as with the above image. The importance of advertising and marketing our film is that without effective marketing and advertising our film will not create a 'buzz' and we will not attract the audience that we are looking for.

Research On fIlm 4.

Film4 is a free digital television channel available in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, owned and operated by Channel 4, that screens films.

Film4 did not originally focus on broadcasting blockbusters, but nowadays broadcasts mainly mainstream Hollywood movies. The channel frequently has themed nights or seasons in which a number of films centred around one genre, director or actor are shown. As Channel 4 also owns a film production company, Film4 Productions, it shows many of its in-house productions. In the case of our genre of film, which comes in between horror and slasher, we feel Film Four would b a great place to broadcast our film. Another reason, is the channels ability to show films that are independent and not mainstream. Film 4 became digitally available to watch on cable TV as of 2006.

Film4 logo from 1996-2006

They are very popular in regards to the themed nights or seasons that could run from a week to a month following one genre of film whether it’s Romance, to British films and Horror. I have put up a selection of examples of Film4’s advertising for their famous themed nights and seasons.

The first example is Sci Fi season which see’s day to day people transform secretly into Sci Fi characters and this is a good way of interpreting science fiction because there are a lot of “geeks” who find themselves feeling connected to their favourite characters so the advertising technique used becomes more personal and persuasive.

Unlike the Sci Fi advert, this one lets us know what films are actually going to be shown during The British Connection themed season which focuses only on british films. It is also quite interesting that the directors and producers behind the advert used quite a few british conventions to shine through when this was broadcast. For example, the music playing in the background is from a British band, not steering away from the British theme, aswell as at the end, they play Olivers “Please sir, may I have some more”, which is a very popular quote. Aswell as Oliver asking for more, it’s a way of letting the audience know that they will be so excited by the movies that they will be wanting some more.

Even though technology is forever developing and now we are able to pause and record live television, Film4 as well as all of Channel4 Productions other channels, have an OnDemand channel, where all films broadcast can be shown online on the website.

The Film4 viewing figures from 1998 to 2008.

Since being available on digital television, more viewers have managed to tune in to the Channel.

By Fergine Nzita

Research On Sky Box Office.

Sky box office was launched in 1996 by BSyB which is a pay-per-view selection of channels. Although the main focus is movies, after its release in the cinema’s and befor they ar released on DVD, viewers are able to purchase and watch the movies on their televisions, Sky Box Office also shows sporting events on occasion for example, WWE and Boxing is frequently broadcast on Sky Box Office. On 1 February 2011, Sky Box Office was rebranded as Sky Movies Box Office.

Sky Box Office promo logo 1998

Films can be purchased directly through a Sky remote control. This can be accomplished by pressing "Box Office", purchase an event, confirm the order and enter the PIN if prompted. This system is an easy direction to film lovers.

WWE

Since 1997, the channel has also shown World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) (formerly World Wrestling Federation) events. From 1997 to 2003 it showed UK only WWF PPV events. However, when the deal with Channel 4 to show 4 WWE events (Royal Rumble, Backlash, Fully Loaded, and Armageddon) broke down in 2002, Sky picked up the 4 events and showed them on Sky Box Office, with a charge of £14.95 (or €21.95 in Ireland). As of 2006, eight WWE events are shown on the channel. The other five WWE PPVs are shown on Sky Sports. The price is now £14.95 even for WrestleMania, despite the fact that in the USA the WWE charges $54.95 (£35), and more for High Definition).

Four dedicated Sky Box Office channels were launched on 1 December 1997 on Sky Analogue. At this time multiple showings of selected movies, shown in advance of their broadcast on Sky's existing subscription movie channels, were added. Initial movies includedThe Long Kiss Goodnight and Courage Under Fire. However, at least one hour pre-ordering was required, and for most movies one purchase at £2.99 only bought one viewing. There are now over 70 Sky Box Office Channels available with multiple films screening

With the move to Sky Digital in 1998, where the Sky Digibox provided a data return path, events and movies - the latter now copy protected - could be bought minutes before or even during the event either by telephone or through an on-screen menu and PIN system.

Sources: Wikipedia

By Fergine Nzita

Possible Channels For Our Film.

Sky Box Office

Sky Box Office would be a possible channel for our film as it gives our production company a pay-per-view advantage. However, Sky Box Office is reported to be falling behind on pay-per-view customers as online DVD companys such as LoveFilm are making it cheaper and more accessible to watch films.

Film4

We feel as though Film4 could be one of the best places to broadcast our film as they are involved in themed weeks and seasons and if they were to have a Horror theme, our film would fit perfectibly as it would be a good chance for all horror lovers to come together and watch it. Film4 is also available on digital television and freeview, making it more accesible to more people. For example, being in university, you will not have SkyDigital in your rooms, however a FreeView box is affordable, making our film more accessible to others.

On Sky Movies however, our film will be less available, as a Sky customer, I am not subscribed to Sky Movies because it costs alot, many other people are not neither, narrowing our chances of a broader audience.

BBC

BBC does not have adverts thats are not to do with the BBC so an advert on our film will not be on the cards so less people are aware that it will be on, What I find is I would search the channels and a film would be on the BBC however, because there was no heads up about it, I would of missed an hour and not be bothered to watch the rest. The BBC would probably be at an advantage of broadcasting our film as they dont have any breaks and advertisement.

ITV/ITV2

ITV and ITV2 would be a good place to watch our film as they have advertisements for what is going to be on in the next week or that night. Just like Film4, ITV2 has theme's that last for a week or even a month on films of a particular genre therefore, if they did a horror theme, our film would be perfect to watch on their channel. ITV normally has a saturday night movie as regularly as possible, that is the reason we believe our film would be best watched their as it could be featured as a premiere and advertised well in order to pull in a bigger audience. What is also good about the ITV is that, many people spend most of their Saturday nights on the channel because of the popular television shows they host. For example, Take Me Out which pulls in an average 6million viewers and X Factor which has a minimum audience of 9million, after the show or during advertisements, they could be shown our film trailer and know that the film is being broadcast on ITV that very night, and possibly not change over. ITV's popularity therefore, enables for a mass audience.

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a sibling of Film4 so films on this channel are very regular on the weekend and occasionally on a Friday night. Channel can be well known for their films. In 2009, the broadcast Slumdog Millionaire only a year after its theathrical release which is rare for a cable channel to do as it should be only available on Sky Movies and DVD. Over 8 million viewers tuned in to watch the film on Channel 4. As they have already proved they can make headlines, Channel4 would be great for broadcasting our film because the advertisement so that people are made aware of the film will be done well and the channels popularity will also help to gain more viweres.

Five

Channel 5 is not as popular as it used to be. We also feel as though the channel's only watchable programmes is Five News, the Wright Stuff,Neighbours and all the CSI's. On a more positive side, Channel 5 does have weekends dedicated to film and does feature a range on horror movie's. As our trailer depicts, our film would include a lot of blood therefore could suit CSI fans who like mystery, blood and gore.

By Fergine Nzita

Distributing Our Film.

In terms of broadcasting our film, there are many different ways this can be produced where viewers can access our film.

Cinemas

The cinema is one of the most important and most popular film viewing there is. It allows for people to view trailers before hand in the cinema to get a good eyeful of any new film releases e.g. Teaser Trailers and Official Trailers. When if comes to broadcasting our film, it would probably be best to advertise and have an official release date if it was to be in the cinema. There would have to be trailers of our film in between screenings so people are aware what film is to come.


DVD
There is a straight to DVD film release that can be popular too. This makes the film available in most retail stores like HMV and supermarkets. Films that are released internationally and didn't do too well will tend to be released straight to DVD as there wouldnt be any need for a theathrical release in case people don't go and see it. An example I could give is Spread starring Ashton Kutcher. The film was not well released in America therefore, was released straight to DVD in the UK.

Television
Straight to television films can mostly be found on Channel 5 in the afternoon as they tend to broadcast these movies regularly. These films can be received positively but can sometimes cause a stir as they tend to focus on real life stories most of the time. An example of this is the just recently finished Amanda Knox film which is based on the murder on Meredith Kercher who was murdered while studying in Italy. The film stars Hayden Panetierre. This film is a straight to television release in the United States.

As our film is in the horror genre, horror tends to carry a lot of hype between friends, colleague's, partners and even family members on for example "who is brave enough to watch it" therefore, having a theatrical release would be best for our film because, horror carrys many different viewing attitudes and being in a cinema heigtens the fright and the adrenaline that comes with it, making people prefer it to watching a horror movie in their very own living room. On television, adverts and breaks can ruin the whole experience. On DVD it could carry a similar effect when watching the film as there are no breaks and you could dim the lights however when watching horror, you would like to share that experience with other people in a cinema just like the creators of Paranormal Activity did when they filmed their audience's reation throughout the film, it makes everything seem really exciting.

Technologies Used for Research.

In order for us to make our traielr, magazine front cover and poster, we has to do a lot of research. We had to use many technologies in order for us to be able to edit our trailer and the photographs.

To start with we had to do research on our chosen genre of film, which is horror, then we had to research in more depth so we research into our sub-genre, which is psychological horror. We knew what we wanted our film plot to be about we just needed to know in more detail what it had to contain and the conventions of this type of film. For this we used wikipedia and google to do our research. Google was the biggest help as it linked us to other helpful websites. Wikipedia also informed us of a lot of helpful things but we couldn't rely on it as anyone can edit the information put on there.