1. AS AUDIENCES AND
INSTITUTIONS:
QUICK-FIRE REVISION KKS

2. TASK:
Add the following terms to your
GLOSSARY and find definitions for
each:
 Blu ray
 Vertical Integration
 Digital Distribution
 Above the line marketing
 35mm reels
 Below the line marketing
 Independent cinema
 Synergy marketing
 Mainstream cinema
 Merchandising
 Piracy
 Viral marketing
 Niche audience
 Conglomerate
 CGI
 Subsidiary
 Proliferation
 DSN – Digital Screen
Network  Word of mouth advertising
 HD – High definition

3. Working Title films:
Additional info for your notes

4. Working Title and finance
beyond Universal
 In fact, WT toppers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner have bought a measure of
freedom to pursue their own instincts for offbeat material and new talent by
laying off as much as half the risk through co-financing deals with France's
StudioCanal and various U.K. tax funds.
 StudioCanal's contribution to WT's budgets and overheads is believed to be
in the region of 25%, getting all French rights and a worldwide backend
position in return.
 Working Title also has tapped the new breed of U.K. tax finance, known as
GAAP funds, for most of its slate in the past couple of years. These deals
typically provide equity worth 25%-30% of budgets. Its regular partner is
Scion Films, which did tax deals for "Pride & Prejudice," "Catch a Fire,"
"Gone," "Smokin' Aces," "Mr. Bean's Holiday," "The Golden Age" and
"Atonement."

5. Why bother with co-
production?
 Co-production has long been a method of sharing risk within the film
industry, and when Working Title began its life, co-production was
merely another revenue stream that often involved pre-sale or pre-
distribution deals on world or national rights.
 Since one of Working Title’s principal partners was Channel Four , and
Channel Four pioneered international co-production in the UK, it is no
surprise that Working Title adopted and extended the model.
 Working Title took co-production further when formalizing their
relationship with PolyGram (later Universal ) where US investment of
30% did not prevent them from obtaining EU/UK tax advantages. A 30%
stake in the budget + Hollywood support clearly stimulates other
investors willingness to get involved in a film. It is this advance in the
model that radically enhanced the production processes and values in
Working Title films.

6. Secret of success:
 The most important part of the business is developing scripts.
 They usually have around 40 - 50 projects in development at
any time and their average spend on development is around
$250,000 to $500,000 per script.
 They aim to make around 5 to 10 films a year, spread across
different budget sizes (with an average of $30 to $40 million)
and genres.
 For eg: released in 2009/10 are 10 films including the Richard
Curtis comedy The Boat That Rocked , political thriller State
of Play and Green Zone , an Iraq war thriller.

7. The Boat that Rocked
 Released in the UK on April 1st 2009
 Budget of $50 million
 Richard Curtis romantic comedies have traditionally done very
well at the box office
 Typical Working Title co-production with Universal and Canal+
 Familiar Working Title faces and some up-and-coming talent
 Famous US star
 Traditional marketing campaign with synergistic merchandising
and tie-ins – soundtrack released on Mercury Records owned by
Universal…
 Increasingly traditional digital marketing strategies…
 Large scale release - 400+ screens in UK
 Medium scale release in US – 800+ screens
 It died in the UK yet it still did quite well in the US

8. Boat That Rocked Marketing Plan:
 Teaser Poster & trailer…
 It got a different name in the US:
 Main Poster & trailer… Pirate Radio.
 Character posters…  During the 7 month delay in its
 Here’s our Working Title famous US arrival in the US, both DVD and Blu-
star… Ray versions of the film came out in
 Soundtrack synergy… non-American markets, ensuring
that U.S. viewers would have access
 Digital marketing – the film used via the Internet to copies.
Spotify to create playlists for each of
the 9 DJs featured in the film.  In fact, a cam version debuted on
Piratebay soon after theatrical
 iPhone app… release, with DVD and Blu-Ray rips
 Something viral… appeared in mid-August, eminently
available to anybody around the
 But it got terrible reviews which world with an Internet connection.
tend to turn into terrible word of
mouth…  While its gross intake was relatively
modest, at just under $3 million
(over 800+ cinemas) Pirate Radio
actually did very well on a per-
But the film faired better in cinema average which put it in third
place among films in wide-release
the US...... for the weekend.

9. What is Synergy and Cross
Media/ technological
Convergence?
 http://www.scribd.com/doc/14824216/Synergy-
and-Cross-Media-Convergence

10. The importance of cross media convergence
and synergy in production, distribution
and marketing.
What does convergence mean and why is it
important?
 When two or more technologies come together
to create a new technology.
 Audiences: Everything in one product.
 Institutions: Audiences tied to one product.

11. Synergy:
The integration of media ownership

12. Star-performer-product
synergy
Development of a star persona across a range of
media sites.
A pop star releases albums
works on film soundtrack/scores
write books
use song in advert
involved in rock documentaries etc

13. Production synergy
The Harry Potter effect...
 Film giant Warner Brothers buying
Leavesden Studios - the home of Harry
Potter.
 http://www.economist.com/node/853542

14. Slumdog and Production innovation: how
convergence/ digital technology has had
an impact on film making
 Danny Boyle, director of "Slumdog Millionaire" discusses new technology that
he used on the film while on set in India.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbu3GmiWF68&feature=player_embedde
d#at=56
 Many of the fast-paced chase scenes and game show set were shot with the SI-
2K Digital Cinema Camera, developed by Silicon Imaging of Niskayuna, New
York.
 “We needed a digital camera with enough latitude to hold highlights and
something very small so we could enter the children’s world at their level.”
 Up to 4-hours of continuous footage are captured on a single 160GB notebook
drive; this is the equivalent of 14-reels of 35mm film which has an associated
cost exceeding $25,000 for materials and processing. The recorded files, can be
immediately played with the target colour look at full resolution, without the
need for film scanning, tape ingest, format conversions or off-line proxies.
 Also it could withstand the sweltering temperatures of Mumbai!

15. Distribution and Marketing
Synergy:
Sony example:
Tonight I could watch a Sony produced film
(Godzilla) on my Sony DVD player and 32 in Sony
TV. Later I could listen to the Sony produced
soundtrack featuring Jamiroquai, a Sony recording
artist on my Sony CD player. Later, I could research
the film on my Sony laptop and call someone to
discuss the film on my Sony phone and just before I
go to sleep I could play the Sony produced Godzilla
game on my Sony playstation...........

16. The importance of cross media convergence and
synergy in production, distribution and
marketing.
Egs:
Disney:
High School Musical – on stage, on ice, music videos, soundtrack,
website, etc
Working Title:
The soundtrack to the film O Brother, Where Art Thou became a best
seller in the USA, certified eight times platinum as of October 2007 with
sales of 7,421,000 copies in the US up to November 2008. It won the
Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2002.
How might have had some synergetic benefit for WTF?

17. Slumdog Millionaire key
points:
Distribution:
How "Slumdog Millionaire was promoted through Creative Search Marketing
(Technological convergence) :
 "Tug" in the use of search marketing for Pathe to publicise Slumdog Millionaire using online
marketing on the Internet to drive traffic.
 This allowed for niche audiences to be targeted: "Indian moviegoers and Danny Boyle
enthusiasts".
 Tug launched targeted banners across the Google Content network to build
awareness of the film on a cost per click model. Eye balls were free.
 Tug worked with Google to create click to play trailer ads. Pathe only paid
when the surfer clicked through to the microsite. Banner and even trailer views were free!
 Tug tested and improved ad copy weekly and included Bafta award and box office hit
messaging when the movie met these milestones.
 A tactical SEO programme was also put in place concentrating on the film name to ensure
top positioning for the difficult to index, flash microsite.

18. Success:
 It drove over 75,000 new visitors to ‘SlumdogMillionaireMovie.co.uk’
 More than 21 Million ad impressions were served and viewed by
targeted audiences – for free. On a blind network at £5 CPM that
would have cost over£100K!
 73,000 movie goers engaged with and viewed the video trailer
 These results cost a mere £13,000 in media spend over a 5 week
burst.
 To support their above the line advertising, Pathe developed a suite
of online marketing collateral including a viral, a widget and a trailer
focused microsite

19. Hollywood and Synergy
 These humongous-sized mammoths are able to use their size
and ownership of a wide range of media to cross promote their
films (and other media) across their wide media empires. The
synergies of cross-promotion that can be created by
these media organisations is mind-boggling.
 For 20th Century Fox's Avatar it resulted in the greatest 'word-of-
mouth' ever generated for a big budget film and no doubt
this helped the film become a blockbuster. (Fox with-holding the
trailer from the summer and early Autumn also created an itch to
see film and this also added to the 'word-of -mouth'.) Such are
the benefits of cross-media ownership by these giant institutions.
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/giants/

20. The importance of technological
convergence for institutions
and audiences
Positive
More people have access to films
Negative
Piracy

21. Technological Convergence and
Exhibition
 In the film industry the number of platforms where you can
view films is proliferating all the time; audiences can also
watch films in a variety of ways WHEN THEY WANT TO.
 You can use digital technology to:
download a film or TV programme onto your mobile
phone, laptop, I-Pad or PC; you can watch it on your flat-
screen TV; you can also connect your HD TV to the Internet
and watch the film on You Tube; of course, you can see the
film on Blue Ray or ordinary DVDs; some might prefer to
watch the film on Playstation or X Box; you could, perhaps,
download it on Pirate Bay or other sites and consume it at a
time that suits you.

22. New Technologies:

23. The technologies that have been introduced
in recent years at the levels of production,
distribution, marketing and exchange:
New Technologies:  Distribution/Marketing
 Internet/Downloading  Watch films on the internet,
 Mobile Phones  mobile phones,
 Ipods  ipads
 Games Consoles  Viral marketing
Exhibition/Exchange:
Production:  Channel 4, Film Four
Exchange
 Digital cameras
 Cinema – 3D, Multiplexes,
 HD cameras Arthouse Cinemas, IMAX
 Home – DVD/Blu Ray/HD, TV,
Sky/Cable. Pay per view, VoD

24. How have new technologies affected the
film? Are these effects positive or
negative?
New technologies:
 CGI and Special Effects
 Growth of affordable digital technology to increase film making
opportunities
Production:
Positive or negative?
Consumption:
Increase of technology Blu-Ray, Home Cinema, DVD, PVRs
Convergence of products to watch them on
Piracy
Positive or negative?

25. Digital technology and
cinemas
 Technological convergence or simply 'convergence‘ is changing the ways
in which films are being produced, distributed and consumed.
 The old 35mm films will end up in museums with cheaper digital
downloads offering an immersive experience far greater than before on
new digital screens in multiplexes.
 Watch the following short film so that you will know how to discuss
'convergence' in the consumption/exhibition part of your essays and be
able to discuss the changes that digital technology will bring about in
cinemas and the benefits cinema-goers.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJUP4BouGVY&feature=player_em
bedded

26. New Hardware and content:

27. The significance of proliferation in
hardware and content for institutions and
audiences
Proliferation:
A sudden increase in the amount or number of something
Proliferation (through technology)
 Downloading – itunes, ipod, apple TV
 Digital Piracy – DVD’s, filesharing
 Social Networking Sites – marketing and buzz
 Accessibility – everywhere???
 Control – industry/audiences

28. The significance of proliferation in
hardware and content for institutions
and audiences
Significance for Institutions:
 Cameras
 Ipads
 Internet
 Mobile phones
= an increase in the number of people that can be reached through marketing
Significance for Audiences:
 Exposure to rapid increase of technology
 Pressure to buy the latest products?
 More mobile technology available and able to consume films at a faster more
convenient rate

29. How ‘Avatar’ is an example of how audiences
use technological convergence on the Net for
exchangeis increasingly important for modern action adventure movies.
Digital technology
E.g. the new Sherlock Holmes film used digital effects to evoke Victorian London as an evolving city.
But it is also impacting how we SHARE and watch films:
Watch the following film from Russia, where digital technology has been used to edit and create a
series of images from "Avatar" with several songs from the film's soundtrack; they have also used digital
technology and the Net to upload this on YouTube for others to see and comment on.
This is a good example of exchange -the creative work of members of the public and unintended by the
film-makers and distributors.
The comments and probable answering videos may lead to endless exchange. To see comments on
YouTube simply click on the image. By today it had more than 284,588 views!
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeYLjhWTZVM&feature=player_embedded

30. Exhibition Issues for "The Boat That
Rocked" - Audience reception and digital
piracy
 The importance of comments made after the Official trailer
on YouTube:
 Several, "spam" comments, refer to websites where you
can download the film free online.
 This is one of the results of WEB 2.0 and the interactive
nature of digital technology. It's a form of piracy, of course,
and another example of technological convergence -
something which can cut both ways for the distribution of
the film - profitably and unprofitably.
 The spam is aimed at young people who are "time rich and
cash poor".

31. Hollywood
 http://www.slideshare.net/belair1981/distribu
tion-3499494
 Additional info