Gravity

Gravity had a budget of $100 million and earned a total of $535,419,248 at box office. The film was Produced by Heyday Films, who have also produced the Harry Potter Franchise. So far, it has been released in 107 countries.

The film was directed by Alfonso Cuaron and distributed by Warner Bothers Pictures around the world. It was edited by Alfonso Cuaron and Mark Sanger with music by Steven Price who was also on the music team for Mr. Beans holiday.

The cast was of different ethnic backgrounds and nationalities, some American actors and some British actors. George Cloony and Sandra Bullock were already well known prior to the film, so was Phaldut Sharma who is known for his role in Eastenders. Ed Harris who does the voice control is known as taking on this role as he is also the voice of the army officer in black opps.

The variety in the cast helped to market and publisice the event around the UK and the US. The ethnic differenced also helped as it showed the variety causing a wider range of audience to watch the film.

Reviews posted about this film suggest it is a great film with an artistic vision that was thought to be lost in most recent movies. Although only released last month this year, there is already a confirmed sequel which is projected to attract double oscar success.

After the release of the film in Italy, it was released around the world and even translated into other languages after just a month of release, this just indicates how much of a success this film was as it went from strength to strength.

Kings Speech Case Study

CASE STUDY:

The Weinstein Company, UK Film Council, Momentum Pictures, Aegis Film Fund, Molinare, London Filmnation Entertainment and Sea Saw Films/Bedlam Productions.

The budget for this film was £8 million. This film was a success and went on to make $400 million (£250 million) internationally. It was funded by the British Film Institute. This film is definitely a British film, the funding came from British production companies (apart from The Weinstein Company). The story was of British historical events with a predominantly British cast. However the making of the film was postponed as it was about the Queen Mother and her husband. At this point, she denied permission for the creators to make the film. The Queen Mother died in 2002, from here the pre-production of the film started up. The king's Speech is an independent film.

Tom Hooper is the director of The King's Speech. Prior to directing this, Tom Hooper directed costume dramas on BBC channels. He also directed a film about football manager Brian Clough called the Danmed United. After directing the Kings Speech, Hooper wen on to direct the much awaited "Les Misérables".

The Film stared: Colin Firth, Geofrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Jennifer Ehle, Derek Jacobi, Michael Gambon, Timothy Spail, and Anthony Andrews.

The film was shot in England in keeping the historical events that occurred in England.

The film was marketed and publicised well thanks to its release date which fell just slightly before the award season. This meant that is the film was nominated or won any awards they could put the information on the poster to show its success and great artistic approach. Some of the cast were well known prior to this film such as Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Guy Pearce. Guy Pearce had an existing global fanbase due to his debut role in Australian mega soap "Neighbours" in which he played the role of Mike Young for three years. He then went on to make his name in Hollywood. Around this time, there was an existing patriotic atmosphere surrounding the upcoming royal wedding. Prior to this news, the target audience was possibly of the older age range and those who remember the original speech or those who recall the Queen Mother.

Everyman Exhibiters (to be completed)

Everyman exhibiters

Cinemas owned by Everyman include cinemas in; Baker Street, Belsize Park, Hampstead, Leeds, Maida Vale, Oxted, Reigate, Screen On The Green, Walton and Winchester.

Everyman first opened in Hampstead in 1933. It is currently the oldest independent cinema in Britain. The cinema was about to be overtaken by a large taken, when it was rescued by a local businessman called Daniel Broach. Since then Everyman productions had gone from strength to strength with opening other cinemas. In 2008, they refurbished Walton, Belsize Park, Baker Street, Walton on Thames and Screen on the Green.

Roman Polanski describes Everyman’s Ethos and what makes them unique. “Roman Polanski once remarked, “Cinema should make you forget you are sitting in a theatre”. So where can you enjoy a cinematic experience, where you can enjoy cupcakes and chocolate raisins or swap your soft drink for a nice glass of red wine, and where the cinema feels almost like a home from home? This is where Everyman steps in. We believe in creating a truly unique and memorable cinema experience that exceeds expectations and reaches the highest standards possible in quality, comfort and entertainment.

Everyman Exhibiters show a range of films. Their showings right now consist of:
- Gravity 2D
- The Hunger Games: Catching fire
- The Counsellor
- Gravity 3D + live Q&A

along side films, they also show live panel sessions with the cast and crew of most films they show

Their up coming films include:

- The Wolf Of Wall Street

- 12 Years A Slave

- Saving Mr Banks

- Oldboy (2013)

- The Monuments Men

- American Hustle

- All Is Lost

- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

- Dallas Buyers Club 

- Her

- Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

they show a range of films, varying from live opera performances, Q&As, Live from the National Theatre, live comedy, sports, a range of music events, retro films and documentaries.

Everyman have had to adapt their approach since the dawn of the digital age by focussing differently on their marketing, however it has made it easier for them. They've also had to update their buildings by adding in a modern look and digital screens for all their cinemas.

Digital distribution.

Digital distribution has changed many aspects of how companies work and function with the new and ever growing digital age. 

MARKETING.

The digital age consists of social networking platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, also most recently YouTube to advertise new films newly released.

Funding has become easier, it is also easier and possible to release an earlier version of a trailer such as a teaser trailer to begin the atmosphere surrounding the film and portray it to the audience. Although these teaser trailers are rarely seen on the television during the usual advert breaks, these teaser trailers can be found on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. The feedback from opinions such as comments tell the marketing and advertising team how to go about this distribution. Also if there is anything they need change, or who to specifically market this film to. Through digital adverts, the company can also increase their audience (or fan base) as to what they release and who the release goes to.

The invention of social networking has lead to the change of PR meaning "Public Relations", where the literal meaning was "Press Relations". This means, as mentioned above, the distributor has a direct connection to the audience rather than going through the newspaper for reviews once the film has been released. They can change their marketing angle before it's too late.

LITERAL DISTRIBUTION.

This actual distribution of different film used to be undertaken by one van driving around the nation with a film on celluloid, to different cinema's. However, the new digital age has lead to change in this with multiple copies of the film on digital tape. This makes is possible for the film to be shown in many different cinemas at the same time. The digital version is also of a higher quality than the old celluloid versions of films. The old versions of films were projected on to the screen, where as the digital versions are streamed straight to the screen.

Digital distribution has also allowed the invention of DVD's. More so in the UK, any form of non-theatrical entertainment can be purchased on DVD, increasingly, schools are using DVDs rather than the old 8 or 16mm film strip. However, theatrical forms of entertainment are also now being streamed digitally such as the  25th anniversary of "The Phantom Of The Opera" which was streamed live to Odeon cinema's, the same happened with the 25th anniversary of "Les Misérables". These two performance were then available to purchase on DVD. 

ADVANTAGE + DISADVANTAGE

Range - in the case of small releases, it is not always certain that the film will reach its target audience (as mentioned above). Once seen online, the film or short clip can be shared amongst the correct target audience rather than the incorrect audience and receiving negative feedback.

Damaging the art of watching a film - although films are still released in the cinema, most people prefer to watch the film on their TV or watch it on their ipods or iphones whilst going about their daily lives. Some people may pay for the film they watch on TV but they may not want to spend time going to the cinema or spending time sitting in traffic waiting to get to the cinema.

Skyfall

What company or companies produced it?

SKYFALL © 2012 Danjaq, LLC, United Artists Corporation, Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. Skyfall, 007 Gun Logo and related James Bond Trademarks © 1962 - 2012 Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation. SKYFALL, 007 Gun Logo and related James Bond Trademarks are trademarks of Danjaq, LLC. All Rights Reserved. © 2012 Sony Pictures Digital Inc. All rights reserved. IMAX® is a registered trademark of IMAX Corporation.

What was the budget?

£93.7 ($150) £28m coming from Heineken

How was it financed? Were there any difficulties?

The financial worries started with the financial problems in 2010 of MGM. The new Skyfall very nearly did not make it production following MGM studios were close to bankruptcy.

Who directed it?

Sam Mendes directed it. At 24 he was the first artistic director of the Minerva Theatre. At 27 he founded the Donmar Warehouse (10 year run). He directed Assassins, Cabaret, translations, company, The Glass Menagerie, Habeas Corpus, The Blue Room, Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night. Now become the worlds leading playhouse. His other theatre credits include Troilus and Cressida the tempest and others. His many theatre awards include Olivier awards, Tony Awards, Evening standard awards, Critics’ choice awards and the Hamburg Shakespeare Prize. He was significant thanks to his creative and artistic skills. They also needed someone who could hold his own and his own right for all the different locations they had to shoot at.

Who were the stars?

James Bond – Daniel Craig

Judi Dench – M

Silva – Javier

Gareth Mallory – Ralph Fiennes

Naomie Harris – Eve

Bérénice Marlohe – Severine

The reason for this choice of the cast was that to appeal to a wider market across the globe. With stars from various parts of the world, Skyfall instantly had a larger market. Thanks to the diversity, Skyfall had the opportunity of better media coverage from not just the UK and US, but also numerous other countries such as France, Spain and China.

In what countries was it shot? Is there any significance behind some of the locations?

Skyfall was shot in a total of 39 locations. The countries consisted of: England, Scotland, China, Japan, and Turkey. The scenes in England involved: Bond drilling a hole in a window after seeing a hit-man enters a Shanghai building, a Bond and Silva chase, Shanghai hotel swimming pool, building rooftop, Q meeting Bond, Shanghai Building and the MI6 training ground and HQ.

The Scenes in Turkey included: fight on top of train and the opening sequence.

One of the major significances of different locations was to be able to gain a wider audience across the world, from scenes shot in Europe to Asia. Some of the scenes were also best suited to be shot in those specific countries.

 Was it shot digitally or using an old fashioned camera?

This film was shot digitally; the cameras used were two new ARRI Alexia studio prototypes. Skyfall was the first Bond film to be shot using digital cameras. 

Who are the films partners and what role did they play?

- 007 legends

- Bollinger

- Coca-Cola zero

- Heineken

- Omega

- 007 fragrance

- Sony

- VisitBritain

- TASCHEN (James Bond archives)

- OPI

-DK

All of the partners were involved in promotion of Skyfall. In return, the partners also received promotion for being linked to James Bond. A Fragrance was released (007) and TASCHEN published a 600 page book with information of the past 22 Bond films. They also had specials of the cast and crew documenting their time with this series.

What companies distributed it? UK and US

Sony, MGM studios distributed Skyfall in the UK. Columbia pictures distributed Skyfall in the US.

How was the film publicised and marketed? (Why were the Olympics important?) How was web technology used?

The film was publicised through many mediums, such as adverts, posters, merchandise, well-known companies and use of the Olympics to convey the message of its release to a worldwide audience as over 1billion people tuned into the Olympic opening ceremony. The film was also marketed well through the 25^th anniversary of the James Bond films coming up shortly, this, alongside the Olympics created an energetic field amongst Bond fans especially. It also got the idea of Skyfall running through everyone’s mind (especially those who tuned in to the Olympic ceremony to see James at Buckingham Palace escorting the Queen to the Olympic stadium-only for the “Queen” to parachute out of the helicopter, into the stadium.   

Web technology was used to publicise the film by uploading a teaser trailer onto YouTube, then releasing many other versions of the full trailer and a lyrical video of the song Skyfall by Adele. The song was fantastic use to publicise the film because Adele is a very famous and respected singer. At the time of Skyfall, she was one of the biggest artists in the world winning many awards prior to and after the release of the film.

The company also made use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter by creating adverts to alongside the official Facebook page and a hashtag to go alongside the official twitter account. The Hashtag (#skyfall) become a worldwide trend many times. Although not planned, many celebrities also tweeted about the film, creating an even wider audience with more encouragement to watch the film.

What other James Bond products were used to sell the film?

Products used to promote the film included of a Bond game and experience and a fragrance (007) which was said to have “a classic scent; dangerously sophisticated and uncompromisingly masculine” the description also went on to say “…a robust cologne which instils Bond’s cultivated charm in all who wear it – a must have for the 21^st century contemporary man.”

When did the film open in the UK? In the US? Did it have a staggered release?

                                                                                                     In the UK it was         

                                                                                                    Released on October

                                                                                                   26^th 2012. In the US it

                                                                                                   Was released on

                                                                                                      November 9^th 2012.

What formats was it available in at the cinema?

It was converted to be available in an IMAX format.   

How much did it take in its opening weekend?

In the UK, Skyfall took £20.1m – according to BBC

How much as Skyfall grossed in the UK? In the US? Has It been a success?

In the UK, Skyfall grossed up to a £1 billion , which is the highest ever UK grossing film, and the highest of any Bond film. In the US its gross was $304,360,277. Skyfall was a definite success, receiving a sufficient amount of profit too.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

how has the industry changed?

Over all the years the film industry has existed, there have been many changes. The industry has thought to have started in the late 1800's when the first motion picture camera was invented. The earliest surviving film known is "Roundhay Garden Scene" by Louis Le Prince released on October 4th 1888. This film lasts for 2 seconds and consists of 24 frames.

Considering this film, the film industry has changed fundamentally, with films lasting for longer than 2 seconds. Such as the latest adaption of Les Misérables  (2012) which lasted near to 3 hours. However, this is not the longest, the longest is "The cure for insomnia" - 1987. This film lasted for 5220 minutes.

Another difference and big change is the use of CGI. The first ever full length film to use the effects of CGI was the first Star Wars film: A New Hope. Understandably, the use of CGI looks more authentic this decade due to the advances in CGI technology. As mentioned by Sabrina in this interview:

 There is also in a change in the use of women and women being represented in a sexual manner within plot lines. Such as dating back to war time films such as "the railway children" to females as a just a "good looking object" for super hero's. Film had come far from this representation with films where women take lead roles where the character is not vulnerable, for example Lara Croft. The use of sexual imagery is mentioned by Rida below.



 Along side all this change, there has also been a change in the plot lines of many films. The majority of films in this modern day have story lines which are complex within their own right but have the plot portrayed clearly, this does not leave much for the audience to interpret. However, there are a few shares of films which have kept the idea of leaving the audience to take what they want from the film such as "Black Swan" and "Sucker Punch". The main changes within plot lines are mentioned below by Iman: