This document provides a case study on the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall. It discusses the film's production, which was delayed due to MGM's financial troubles but resumed in late 2010. Skyfall had a large budget of $200 million and filming locations in the UK and abroad. The film was the first Bond movie to be shot digitally. It was also the first in the franchise to be released in IMAX theaters, which proved very successful. The document outlines Skyfall's marketing campaign, which had a budget of $75 million and included extensive product placements, publicity stunts, and synergy partnerships. Social media discussion of Skyfall peaked around key announcements like the film's title and trailer reveals.

1. Film Industry
Case Study

2. Case Study – Skyfall (2012)
• G322 Key Media Concepts (TV Drama)
• Section B: Institutions and Audiences
1. AUDIENCE – UK/US film aimed at a global audience – censorship in
China.
2. PRODUCTION – Big Budget ($200million +) – Problems with production -
produced by Eon Films (Independent UK/US film company that finances
all the Bond Films) & MGM.
3. DISTRIBUTION – MGM & Columbia Pictures (both owned by Sony)
4. MARKETING – Product placement, PR Stunts, Synergy.
5. EXHIBITION – IMAX release – saturation
6. DIGITAL – First use of HD-DV on a Bond film – easy CGI -

3. Case Study – Skyfall
• PRODUCTION
• Production of Skyfall was suspended throughout 2010
because of MGM's financial troubles.
• With big budgets comes big risks – can you think of a film
that’s underachieved recently?
• Pre-production resumed following MGM's exit from
bankruptcy on 21 December 2010.
• MGM and Columbia Pictures announced that the UK
release date would be 26 October 2012, two weeks ahead
of the US release date, scheduled for 9 November 2012.
• The film's budget was estimated to be $200 million.
• Skyfall was part of year-long celebrations of the 50th
anniversary of Dr. No and the Bond film series.

4. Case Study – Skyfall (2012)
• PRODUCTION
• Filming was scheduled to take up 133 days (it
took 128).
• Filming began on 7 November 2011 in and
around London, including the National Gallery,
Smithfield, Vauxhall Bridge and foreign
locations including Istanbul in Turkey, Japan
and China. Why is China important?

5. The latest James Bond film, Skyfall, has finally opened in China after a two-
month delay, with some key scenes removed by Chinese censors. A scene in
which Bond kills a security guard in Shanghai has been cut, as have references
to prostitution in Macau. Subtitles have also been changed to hide references
to torture by the Chinese security forces.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21106821
Overall, the European market was
subdued in 2012 compared with
other major international cinema
markets, with reports of box office
gains of 5.9% in the USA and 33%
in China (making China the world
#2 territory after the USA)…
Case Study – Skyfall in China

6. Case Study – Skyfall (2012)
• PRODUCTION
• Compared to Quantum of Solace (which
proved the most widely travelled Bond film to
date; the crew charted six countries in just
under five months) Skyfall with three quarters
of the budget only went to 3 locations round
the world.
• Why the cutbacks?

7. Release Schedule for Skyfall 2011/12
2011 2012
2011 2012
Oct 23rd
Skyfall Premiere in
Royal Albert Hall
Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep OctOct
May 21st
1st Skyfall trailer
released
Nov 3rd
Film name, cast and
director announced
Oct 1st
Adele confirmed as the
theme song artist
Jul 27th
Daniel Craig appears alongside
the Queen for Olympic Games
opening ceremony
Nov 7th
Production begins
Sep 17th
Official UK Skyfall
poster revealed
Oct 26-28th
Opening weekend
of Skyfall
Jul 31st
2nd Skyfall trailer
released

8. Case Study - Skyfall
• PRODUCTION – SHOW ME THE MONEY…
• “The windfall will benefit three players in the
Bond universe: producers MGM; producers
and rightsholders Barbara Broccoli, 52, and
Michael G. Wilson, 70; and distributor Sony
Pictures. In a complicated deal that was
heavily negotiated with Sony after MGM
emerged from bankruptcy in 2010, MGM and
Broccoli and Wilson will jointly collect 75 per
cent of the movie's profits.”
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/daniel-craig-james-bond-skyfall-390090

9. Case Study - Skyfall
• PRODUCTION & DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
• SKYFALL the first BOND movie to be shot
digitally, as well as Sam Mendes’ first digital
experience, it is the first production anywhere
to make use of ALEXA Studio cameras
http://www.arrimedia.com/news/view/33/skyfall

11. Case Study - Skyfall
• PRODUCTION
• SKYFALL the first BOND movie to be shot
digitally, as well as Sam Mendes’ first digital
experience, it is the first production anywhere
to make use of ALEXA Studio cameras
http://www.arrimedia.com/news/view/33/skyfall

12. Case Study - Skyfall
• EXHIBITION & DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
• The decision to make SKYFALL the first in the
franchise to be released in IMAX has already
proved hugely successful - it took $3.5 million
in 79 locations over 15 territories, averaging
$45,000 per screen. That represents the best
international opening in IMAX history.

13. • MARKETING
• Around $75,000,000 was spent on marketing
Skyfall.
Case Study - Skyfall

14. • MARKETING – SYNERGY
• “The new film raises the bar for onscreen product
placement, from 007's Tom Ford-tailored suits, Omega
Seamaster watch and Sony Xperia phone, as well as
off-screen alliances ranging from Coke Zero to perfume
retailers... His new tipple of choice, Heineken, has
proved an ongoing sticking point with fans, particularly
after a big-budget ad that actually roped Daniel Craig
into the action. However, with the Dutch beer having
stumped up over £28m for the privilege of seeing
Bond sip from a green bottle in an early scene – coolly
covering almost a quarter of the film's estimated
production budget in the process… ”
Case Study - Skyfall
http://www.jamesbondlifestyle.com/product/heineken

15. Case Study - Skyfall
Synergy – Ocean
Royale Aftershave

16. VisitBritain, the official tourism and destination partner of SKYFALL, has launched its first
film tourism ad. The Bond is GREAT Britain ad is out in cinemas around the world
reminding people that there is no better time for them to come to Britain and explore
the home of James Bond.
Synergy –
VisitBritian

21. Publicity –
Coke Zero

22. Synergy–
Coke Zero Zero 7

23. Case Study - Skyfall
• SOUNDTRACK - SYNERGY
• The soundtrack album was released on 29
October 2012 in the UK and on 6 November
2012 in the US.
• In October 2012, British singer-songwriter
Adele confirmed that she had written and
recorded the film's theme song with her
regular songwriter, Paul Epworth.
• She posted the cover for the Skyfall sheet
music on Twitter.

25. http://www.007mosaic.com/

26. • .
Marketing - Posters

27. SKYFALL AUDIENCE & TWITTER
Who was talking about Skyfall?
• It’s interesting to note that even though the
conversation was male-driven throughout the
campaign (2/3 of all mentions) the female audience
had it’s most prominent appearance on the release
week.
6158
RT
3565
RT
2431
RT
1621
RT
1297
RT
3565
RT
3079
RT
2107
RT
1459
RT
1297
RT
Most retweeted Skyfall mentions:
• All the most retweeted tweets since November 2011
(right) were posted in October 2012. Adele took top spot
for most retweeted when she announced the release of
the official theme song.
• The official James Bond account (@007) also appears
in the top 10.
•Fake/parody accounts receive lots of attention on
Twitter – such as the Queen’s fake profile and Felix
Baumgartner (Red Bull space jumper).
• X factor boy band Union J appear twice, with Jedward
also featuring.
0
20
40
60
80
100
Title Trailer Adele Release
Male
Female

28. SKYFALL AUDIENCE & TWITTER
1,637,385 total ‘Skyfall’ mentions on Twitter globally over the 12 months before release, with volume
gradually building around each major announcement - peaking at 129,384 mentions on Friday 26th
October, when the film was released.
November 3rd 2011:
When the new title was announced as Skyfall, there were
3,298 mentions commenting on the ‘name’ or ‘title’ of the
film . There were mixed reviews on the title, with majority
positive sentiment overall.
Gender distribution: Male – 81%, Female – 19%
May 21st 2012
The release of the first Skyfall trailer generated 54,752 mentions
and positive buzz around the up coming film with. Most of the
conversation included references to how ‘amazing’ and
‘awesome’ the trailer looks.
Gender distribution: Male – 71%, Female – 29%
October 26-28th 2012
The record breaking opening weekend has generated the most
buzz so far - a huge 311,485 mentions (1/5 of all activity). Most
of the conversation referenced ‘excitement’ about seeing the
film and about how ‘great’ the movie is. Social activity peaked
on Friday 26th October with 129,384 mentions.
Gender distribution: Male – 63%, Female – 37%
October 5th 2012
The official release of Adele’s Skyfall theme song generated
the second highest peak within the last 12 months with
103,948 mentions about ‘Skyfall’. This shows she has a huge
international following, more so even than in the UK perhaps.
Gender distribution: Male – 62%, Female – 38%