1. PR2: Same Film, Different Time and Place
Rec and Quarantine Research Task
Quarantine Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUw2zNR5Dzc
Task 1
Find out the following information:
Rec Quarantine
Director Jaume Balaguero John Erick Dowdle
Year of Production 2007 2008
Distributor Filmax International Screen Gens
Budget 1,500,000 12,000,000
Box office takings $32,492,948 $41,319,906
Sequels 2,3 and 4 is to be released 2
Read the interviews with John Erick Dowdle and Jaume Balaguero and answer the following
questions
http://totalscifionline.com/interviews/2761-john-erick-dowdle-quarantined
http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/865/865683p1.html
Task 2:
1. Explain Jaume Balagoro’s reasons for making REC in a handheld, documentary style

2. 2. Is it a coincidence that Cloverfield and Diary of Dead were released at the same time, or does
it relate to audience demand for horror filmed in this style?
3. Why do you think Screen Gems, the distributors of Quarantine wanted to get the remake
out so quickly?
For your article, you need to consider why film production companies produce remakes and the
factors that influence those remakes.
Factors which influenced the remake of REC
Financial factors
Trends
Genre and popularity
Synergy (related products such as DVD’s/books/TShirts)
Vertical integration (where a film company deals with the production, distribution and
consumption of a film)
In your magazine article you will need to comment upon all of the above
Task 3:
Jaume Balagoro wanted to film Rec handheld to ensure that everything retained the
highest possible credibility and preserved that dynamic live feeling, we had to shoot the
film as if it really were a live TV news report.
This was just a coincidence; they were two different films with similar themes that just
happened to be released at the same time.
So that it was as close to the release of REC as possible. This would help the film
generate more money.

3. In the box below, write your introduction to your article. Use your findings from Task 1 and 2 to
help you
P2 describe the
relationship between
films and their
production contexts
with some appropriate
use of subject
terminology [IE]
M2 explain the relationship
between films and their
production contexts with
reference to detailed
illustrative examples and
generally correct use of
subject terminology
D2 comprehensively explain the
relationship between films and
their production contexts with
elucidated examples and
consistently using subject
terminology correctly
Article intro:
P1. Introduce your article by giving the titles of the films covered and production factors which
influence remakes
P2. REC.
Relate factual information about REC ; director, release date, distributor, budget and box office
takings. Describe the production values and context (handheld documentary style/plot synopsis)
P3. Quarantine
Quarantine was an American bigger budget remake of the Spanish film REC which was a low
budget sleeper hit. Remakes are usually made once a film has become dated, as advances in
visual graphics allow films to be remade with a more modern look with younger actors/actresses.
The main purpose of remakes is to get the old fan base from the original film and to get a new
fan base with the current generation, then make that into the audience of the remake.
Rec is an unconventional low budget horror film which receive positive appraise worldwide, it
was director by Jaume Balaguero. The film is about a television reporter and camera man who
are following a group of fire fighters only to get trapped in an apartment building when it is
quarantined off from the rest of society. What makes this film stand out from other films of this
genre is the way it has been filmed in first person, we view the film as though we are watching
the footage the camera man filmed. This added a new element to the horror aspect as infected
individuals could come close up to the camera as though we were seeing them for ourselves.
Since the films released it has gathered a cult following and remains popular to this day with
film’s such as “Cloverfield” which uses the same person.

4. Relate factual information about Quarantine; director, release date, distributor, budget and box
office takings. Describe the production values and context (handheld documentary style/plot
synopsis. Explain similarities and differences with the original.
P4. Production Contexts
Explain why Quarantine was produced so soon after REC. Give examples concerning trends, genre
and financial factors.
P5.
Explain synergy and vertical integration and how Screen Gems are an example of a vertically
integrated company. Explain how Screen Gems have contributed to the overall success of REC due to
this.
Quarantine is the American remake of the very successful “REC” which was released one year prior to
Quarantines release (2007). Screen Gems the production company behind “REC” became a subsidiary of
Sony who decided that an English speaking remake would maximise profits worldwide as a lot of
audiences did not wish to watch a film in subtitles. Quarantine was financially successful earning
$41,319,906 at the box office, while it was on produced on a budget of $12,000,000.
After the success of REC the American remake with a bigger budget called Quarantine was released a
year later. Both films were released in a short amount of time of each other, this was to increase profits
for both films. Those who didn’t see the original REC would be interested in viewing that after seeing
Quarantine and visa versa with the people who originally watched REC first. Then additional profit would
come from all the merchandise and sequels of the films. These films created their own smaller sub-genre
within horror, with the trend of first person horror often with the plot point of “Found footage” such as
the film “The Blair Witch Project”.
Synergy is where the producing company use all available resources to gather as much profit as possible.
A way they do this is when they bring out merchandise for the film with things such as T-shirts, Posters,
Action figures etc. This increases awareness of the film overall and promotes it to a larger audience as
the general public will see the merchandise and might be interested in viewing the film.