Attack the Block is Joe Cornish's first feature film, directed and written by him. It follows a gang in South London who defend their council estate from invading aliens. The film had a limited budget of £9m from independent studios and grossed £3.8m worldwide. It used new digital filming technologies and minimal CGI due to budget constraints. The film targeted a local British audience through its unique themes and London setting.

2. Joe Cornish is an English comedian, presenter, write
& director, made famous for the Adam & Joe show.
The films stars:
John Boyega as Moses. Jodie Whittaker as Sam.
Leeon Jones as Jerome. Alex Esmail as Pest.
Nick Frost as Ron. Franz Drameh as Dennis.
A film set on a council estate in South London,
as a gang defends their block from aliens –
obviously targets a very niche audience.
The film is distributed by Optimum releasing &
Studio Canal, produced by Big Talk Productions, &
financed by Film4 & The UK Film Council.
Attack the Block is a 2011 British Independent film.
It is written & directed by Joe Cornish, his first full length feature film.

4. The Five in the gang had little or no film experience.
Released: May 2011
Budget: £9mGrossed: £3.8m at the worldwide box office.
Facts:
• Joe Cornish was inspired to make ATB after he
was mugged in Brixton, South London.
• It was considered that the U.S release include
subtitles, as the U.S audience would not
understand the South London dialect.
Shot in Elephant & Castle/Kennington South London.
The same producers produced Shaun of the Dead.

6. Big Talk Productions is
25% owned by the BBC, &
75% independently.
Not being a subsidiary of
a Major results in limited
finances for production.
Big Talk Productions produced ATB. It is an independent
British film company, not owned by a Major.
Attack the Block was:
Financed by Film4 & The UK Film Council
& Distributed by Optimum Releasing (Studio Canal)

7. The limited film budget (compared to major
finances) demonstrates the obstacles
that stand in the way of producing, marketing
& distributing an independent film.
Not being owned by a major, means there is no
worldwide distribution network in place.
Released: May 2011
Budget: £9m
Grossed: £3.8m at the worldwide box office.

8. ‘Star Power’ was limited due to wages. Nick
Frost was hired to attract fans of the
successful film Shaun of the Dead (2004).
The principle cast were made up of
relatively unknown young actors.
Filming was restricted to one local
location (although relevant to the text).
The Heygate Estate in the Elephant &
Castle area of South London.
The use of CGI (Computer generated imagery) was kept to a minimum due to its high
costs. Joe Cornish hired Terry Notary to use "The creatures like shadow puppets“.

10. In contrast to the Batman trilogy, Big Talk
Productions shows similar patterns to most
small Independent British Films, in terms of
Marketing & Distribution- VERY LIMITED.
Distribution
Distribution relied heavily on word of mouth
& identifiable themes of the movie, rather
than CMC & Synergy.
Big Talk recognised Nick Frost, & promoting
ATB as from the same producers of Shaun
of the Dead, as a USP.
CMC & Synergy was used to a minimum:
The films soundtrack was composed &
distributed by UK group ‘Basement Jaxx’.
The film was released on DVD (+ 2-Disc),
Blu-ray, double play, but not triple play.

11. Marketing – PRODUCTS
An inventive poster campaign was
launched in support of the films box
office release.
The general public (mostly fans of the
Adam & Joe Show) were asked to hunt
down three posters which have been put
up around the UK. If found, they were
asked to post photos on the ATB’s
Facebook page.
Fans who posted, were given the chance
to win official Attack the Block hoodies.
Only two promotional posters were ever
released, a teaser & a theatrical. Both
designs conveyed the look & tone of ATB, &
were supported by key press quotes, &
focussed on the Shaun of the Dead link.

12. Marketing – POSTERS
Although a small /limited poster campaign,
Attack the Block fans created many ‘Fan Art’
pieces to help promote the film.

13. Marketing - Trailers
Only two trailers were ever released for
Attack the Block.
A full UK theatrical trailer
A full US theatrical trailer
The only differences between the two, were
different captions:
1.“London's roughest neighborhood” only
appear on the US version.
2.“I feel like going home… locking my door…
& playing FIFA” only appeared on the UK
version .
Both trailers display the same amount of
brand consistency with a single look & feel.
This same consistency creates synergy.

15. Examples of new technologies used in the
production stage of film making:
Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block.
Production
The majority of films are shot on
celluloid film but due the high costs, ATB
was shot digitally due to it being
cheaper than film.
By shooting on a digital format, Cornish was
able to easily review captured footage, &
edit on set, due to the versatile format.
This ground breaking movement is helping
independent film makers such as Joe
create films, even if on a tight budget.
Digital Filming

16. CGI ‘Computer Generated Imagery’ was
used to a minimum on Attack the Block,
The focus: Adapting the aliens for screen.
Production
Joe Cornish did not want to create 100% CGI
Aliens, but rather have them as existing
animals in the frame with the characters.
Due to ATB’s limited budget, this was a
cheaper option as CGI is very expensive.
CGI
Terry Notary is a Hollywood Stunt
man/Movement instructor, who was
hired to play the alien character in ATB.
He has worked on Fantastic Four (as the
Silver Surfer) Planet of the Apes & Avatar

17. The CGI used on the alien characters, was a
form of ‘Rotoscoping’ which is a technique
of painting over the top of live action in post
production.
The CGI took out all the texture from
Terry Notary’s costume, & created a
silhouette effect (very flat & solid black).
Cornish stated that creating CGI fur was
expensive, but he only wanted the aliens
to appear as light absorbing shadows.
CGI
Some aliens were completely computer
generated, but were still based on Terry
Notary’s movements. Motion capture was
used to place aliens in the frame.

18. Attack the Block’s limited budget
determined the look of the film.
A key part of that look was the alien jaw,
inspired by glow in the dark vampire teeth.
The black solid shapes that the aliens
created, enhanced the impact & styling of
the glowing teeth.
On set, the jaw was operated by remote
control mechanics, to add realism.
However, in post production, CGI was
used to enhance the dramatic effect
by adding extra teeth, & over extending
the jaw – All in order to try & get away
from ‘that’s a man in a suit’.
CGI

19. Exhibition
Attack the Block was exhibited through
exciting new technologies. However, unlike
the major Hollywood studies, it was not
exhibited in 3D, or IMAX due to high costs.
Download
Blu-Ray
The film became available to stream via
LoveFilm through internet devices such as
a PS3 or an Xbox.
It also became available to download via
iTunes for smart phones, laptops and
desktop computers.
Despite not being supported by a major
studio, Attack the Block was released on
Blu-ray for home release.
It also became available on double play
(DVD & Blu-ray), but not triple play.

21. Here are examples of how the growth in
devices to watch Attack the Block, as well
as the growth in actual films in the market
place, have affected the films success.
Growth in Hardware
The growth in smart phones allows Big
Talk to connect to their target audiences
in many different ways.
ATB content can be downloaded &
viewed ‘on the go’. A smart phone ‘App’ is
available for the film. The youtube app
allows quick access to the trailer, video
clips, games, documentaries, etc.
Smart Phones
The internet provides many new ways to
consume Attack the Block.
DVD/Blu-Rays can be purchased online
(Amazon, Play, HMV) & downloaded or
streamed (LoveFilm, iTunes. NetFlix).
Extra content accessed via youtube.
Internet

22. The Importance of
Technological Convergence
for Institutions & Audiences
The Importance of
Technological Convergence
for Institutions & Audiences

23. Compared with Warner Bros, Independent
film companies are definitely much less
reliant on technological convergence.
This is partly due to financial restrictions.
Convergence
The use of TC to produce, market and
distribute film is costly, a level of
investment too big for Indies. However,
there are some free & cheap (limited)
methods of TC for Big talk to embrace.
A viral marketing campaign is an efficient
way to advertise a film, especially as
actual prints are very expensive (perhaps
the reason why ATB only had two posters).
Big talk saw their target audience as very
interactive, therefore ensured they could
access ATB content ‘on the go’.
Smart App/Website/iTunes/LoveFilm.
Tech Convergence

25. Local Audience
Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block is targeted at
a local/National (British) audience.
Many factors contribute to this.
Big Talk Productions generally focus on
innovative British films that often make
a political or social statement.
These types of quirky & unique films
appeal to a wide British audience for
many reasons:
Represents British Youth culture.
Mainly shot in London so viewers relate
to society & characters.
Suits the British sense of humour of not
taking yourself to seriously.
Touches on British political reactions to
gang crime in general.
Such content issues, highlight how
controversial indie films struggle to
attract international audiences.

26. Local Audience
Attack the Block takes an interesting
approach to the world of contemporary
gang crime in Britain, resulting in a niche
target audience of local inner city
teenagers (mainly urban areas in Britain).
Despite getting a national release
(around the country), due to its content,
it was most successful in multiplexes &
independent cinemas concentrated in
London & other local urban areas.
A major factor in this was the dialect
(language) used by the principle cast.
This caused Big Talk problems when
trying to attract an international
audience (Suggested subtitles in U.S).
It was shot in the Oval/Kennington area
of South London. For realism, local
residents were employed as extras & the
cast were recruited from the London.

28. Trends & Behaviours
Attack the Block & Big Talk have all been
affected by audience trends & behaviours.
Some good.. Some bad.
Social Networking Sites
There is a fan Facebook page for Attack the Block.
Friends can advertise the films release, share trailers & other viral content.
Big Talk, Joe Cornish & Nick Frost have twitter accounts.
Audiences can communicate & get first hand information from films elite.
YouTube
This video generator has allowed Big Talk to reach their ATB
targeted audiences in more ways then ever before.
The films trailer, cast & crew interviews, behind the scenes footage,
sneak previews & popular clips, are all available to view for free.
Piracy
This criminal act has grown in popularity over the past few
years, with independent cinema being hit the hardest.
Illegally downloaded films = a loss of revenue for film companies, which in turn
results in less money available for independent British film makers.