Cinema Survival Essay

Cinema Survival:  Compare the ways in which CinemaCity and Vue and Odeon attract audiences

            They ways in which CinemaCity attracts audiences are very different to that of Vue and Odeon. CinemaCity is an independent cinema and Vue and Odeon are mainstream cinemas; this is the main reason for the difference in how they attract audiences.

           

            So, how is cinema city independent? The cinema will pick and chose between the films it shows from week to week. It also shows independent, art-house and specialised films. They also combine a variety of films from category one (profit-driven) and category two (public subsidy and cultural policy). This basically means that they show a few mainstream films as well as independent films. The cinema is also part of PictureHouse. CinemaCity also receives funding from Europa when they show European language films.

            PictureHouse is the leading independent cinema operator in the United Kingdom. They are a network of 18 cinemas, not a chain. Most of the cinemas are in city locations; mainly university towns. The films that each individual cinema shows is tailored to the local audience. As well as art-house and specialised films, they help independent cinemas show mainstream films, they work with the main distributors to get the best for the individual cinemas. PictureHouse buy a copy of the film and it then gets taken round to each of the 18 cinemas over a certain period of time. Finally, they in courage kids clubs, educational sessions and film seasons, etc. to try and get people into the cinema to watch different types of films. This benefits CinemaCity greatly as they have all of the control of what they show and PictureHouse also offers support and consultancy to them.

            Europa Cinemas are a network of cinemas across Europe who pays independent cinemas in the UK when they show EU language films. An example of this would be the French film Tell No One that we saw when we went to CinemaCity.  If 22% of the films that CinemaCity shows over a year are EU language films then they receive €16k Also, they have an archive which means there is a large amount of films available to CinemaCity that they can show. Europa Cinemas also offer advice and support to independent cinemas, like CinemaCity.

            Compared to CinemaCity, Vue and Odeon are very different; they only show commercial films with a long release period. These films are from major film companies and are distributed by well known distributors. Once the film has finished being screened in cinemas it is released on DVD and Blu-Ray in popular stores and on the internet. Most of the films are produced in Hollywood and are blockbusters. These high concept films have broad themes with universal appeal. Mostly, they are made up from simple plotlines and relatable characters; this connects the audience to the film and makes them want to see more. Also, there is a major use of generic conventions, such as a happily ever after story in a romance and a murder in a thriller. The films often contain a lot of pre sold property, like actors and directors. If a person knows that their favourite actor or director has been a part of a film they will most likely go and see it in cinemas. Fianlly, there is also a lot of merchandise and themed products such as soundtrack CDs and clothing, which hypes up the film before it has even been shown in the cinema. These Hollywood films contain a dominant ideology, “The mass media (including Hollywood) serve as an ideological state apparatus by representing American culture in ways that endorse and reinforce dominant ideologies, thereby encouraging people, not only to consent to and conform to, but also to identify with and actively assist in carrying out the dictates of the state.” This means, for example, the films produced in America that prove their political points make the British feel the same and agree with the Americans when they watch the film. The chain of Vue cinemas was established in 2003 in Britain. They paid £225 million to take over and re-brand the existent cinema company Warner Village. They are now the second largest exhibitor in the country. They are also part of a film rental service with www.screenselect.co.uk called ‘Vue at Home’. This is so that they still get money even if people don’t go a see films in the cinemas. Odeon is the largest cinema chain in the UK with over 100 cinemas nationwide. They entertain more people than any other cinema; 1/3 of cinema ticket sales in the UK are taken at Odeon cinemas. Odeon was founded in 1930 by Oscar Deutsch but has been rebranded many times over the years. Finally, they are part of UCI (United Cinemas International) which owns cinemas in Ireland, Spain, Germany, Austria and Portugal.  

Shot List

This is the shot list for our thriller opening. It will help us when we are filming as we will know what shots follow what.

Jessie puts on a pair of gloves in the car (close up) CUT TO…

Jessie picks up a bunch of flowers in the car (mid-shot) CUT TO…

Jessie gets out of the car holding the flowers (mid-shot) CUT TO…

Jessie walks through the gate and into the churchyard (tracking shot) CUT TO…

Jessie shuts the gate (close up) CUT TO…

Jessie walks down the path (tracking shot) CUT TO…

Jessie walks past the church door (low angle, close up) CUT TO…

Jessie lays flowers on the grave (over the shoulder) CUT TO…

Jessie’s phone rings (mid-shot) CUT TO…

Phone ringing (extreme close up) CUT TO…

Jessie answers the phone (over the shoulder, close up) CUT TO…

Flashbacks Start

Jessie sitting on the par bench (mid-shot) CUT TO…

Phone ringing (extreme close up) CUT TO…

Flashbacks Continue

Jessie walking up the stairs (mid-shot) CUT TO…

Phone ringing (extreme close up) CUT TO…

Flashbacks Continue

Jessie in a lift (mid-shot) CUT TO…

Phone ringing (extreme close up) CUT TO…

Flashbacks End

Jessie speaking into phone (mid-shot) CUT TO…

Jessie walks back to her car (tracking shot) CUT TO…

Logan sitting in the car watching Jessie walking (over the shoulder) CUT TO…

Jessie sees Logan in the car and stops walking (close up) CUT TO…

Logan rolls down the car window (close up) CUT TO…

Damion appears behind Jessie (long-shot) CUT TO…

Jessie turns to run and runs into Damion (mid-shot) CUT TO…

Jessie and Damion’s faces (close up) CUT TO…

Screen blacks out CUT TO…

Car driving away down the road (long-shot)

From Script to Screen Essay

There are many differences between mainstream films and independent films in production, marketing, distribution and exhibition.


When a film goes into production, mainstream or independent, there are many elements that have to be considered. The first thing that has to be thought about is who will direct the film. The type of director used can make or break a film. Independent films normally use unknown directors as they are inexpensive and are used to working with a small budget but in a mainstream production only the best will do and they use award-winning directors who work with multi-million pound budgets. The next thing you need to produce a film is actors. They are also another obvious key element to making a film. Generally, A-list actors are used for mainstream films and the actors in independent films are relatively unknown. This is because independent films can’t afford to pay for well known actors. Mainstream films are often adaptations of bestselling books or novels where as independent films are based on more complex plots and different storylines. They are more reflective of the mood of the moment than mainstream films too. The soundtrack is one part of the film that can sometimes be most effective, if the wrong music is used the wrong tone is set for the film. Music is especially composed for mainstream films but known music is used in independent films as it’s less expensive than having music composed. Another indicator of whether a film is mainstream of independent is location; where the film has been shot. In an independent film there are no special effects used, it is very natural and the shot is made up of what is in the mise-en-scene rather than adding anything afterwards with lots of editing software. All of these contribute to the overall appearance of the film and define them from independent films of mainstream films.


Marketing of a film is also very important in how a film goes from the script on to the screen. There are many different strategies used, all with different effects on the audience. Mainstream films are marketed in such a way that everyone hears about them. They use strategies such as TV trailers, adverts and interviews; magazine adverts and interviews; and radio adverts and interviews. These are all very direct types of marketing and are greatly effective on what people see when they go to the cinema. They are also very much aimed at a certain audience, only films in certain genres will be marketed on certain TV channels or in magazines. For example, you wouldn’t see an advert for The Boat That Rocked in a children’s magazine or you wouldn’t see an advert for The Dark Knight on a beauty channel on television. There is a long amount of time between when a film is released in the cinema, then on DVD or video and then on TV. This is to keep enough interest in the film over a longer period of time. Where as if they released the DVD or video two weeks after the film has been shown in the cinema it would receive no where near as much interest as people would wait to buy the DVD or video than go and see it in the cinema. Compared to mainstream films, independent films are marketed less crudely, people normally here about them by word of mouth as the budget of the film isn’t big enough for a marketing campaign. This is why independent films rely on cinemas like CinemaCity who show independent films.


Once the film has been made and marketed, it has to be distributed. The main distributors of films are 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal and Columbia. They work internationally and make sure countries see the films they want. Although, independent films are distributed much more simply, PictureHouse is a UK distributor that distributes films to a range of independent cinemas across the UK. The cinemas pick the films they want to show and then the film is sent round the cinemas that wish to show that film. This is how they afford to also show some mainstream films.


The last part of the process is exhibition; where the films are shown. The listing at Vue or Odeon is very different to the listings at CinemaCity. Over the summer in 2010 the films shown at Vue/Odeon were all mainstream (Inception, Knight and Day, Step Up 3D, etc.), they featured A-list actors and were all part of popular genres. Where as at CinemaCity the listing were made up of older much more diverse films (Bhutto, Children of God, The Human Centipede, etc.), this is because they specialise in alternative or special films. Because of this difference, there is also going to be an inevitable difference in box office takings. CinemaCity use other parts of the cinema visiting experience to make their money, (having a bar and restaurant, high quality snacks, etc.) Vue/Odeon, on the other hand, rely on mass visits, so they food and drink they sell is cheaper but of a lower quality and there isn’t quite as much atmosphere or excitement about the visit.

Storyboard

This is our storyboard for our thriller film opening.

Filming Our Thriller

On Saturday 11^th January we started filming our thriller opening. We shot some of the scene from the churchyard. It went well and we got most of the shots we wanted.

Location Shots

Here are some shots of the churchyard that is going to be the main location in our thriller opening.

Preliminary Task

1. What planning did you do? How was this useful and how did you change from your plans?

            Before we started filming, we did some planning to make sure our shoot ran smoothly. First, we looked for a location that we could use to film in, this is called a recce. We chose our school canteen. Next, we made a story board so we knew what was happening in our filming. Here is our simple storyboard that we made: 

This also gave us something to refer to when filming on location. Then we made a floor plan so that the actors could see where to walk and stop etc, it also showed us where we were positioning our cameras.  Here is our floor plan that we made:

Afterwards, we made a shot list, this is a list of all the shots that will be in the film and how each shot is cut to the next, for example medium shot of Emily, CUT TO, long shot of Emily and Evie walking to the table, CUT TO, close up of Evie sitting on a chair. Once we had the planning on paper done, we could go to our location and rehearse. After we had rehearsed we fine tuned our plans so that on the day of our shoot the filming would go to plan.  The planning we did helped us on the day of the shoot as we had things to refer to if we weren’t sure what was happening next or what else needed filming. The most useful piece of planning we had, I think, was the floor plan as it gave us an idea of where people were going to be and where the cameras needed positioning. Our final piece didn’t change that much from our planning; this is because our planning was thorough and informative so everyone knew what they were doing.

 2. What camera skills have you developed? How confident are you with using the cameras, and has this confidence changed during the project? Give details of specific camera skills/techniques you have developed/improved, and include areas where you lack confidence/need to improve.
            During this filming exercise I have learnt all the basic camera skills that I need for when we film our thriller film openings. Before, I hadn’t used a film camera and now I feel as though I have a good understanding of them. When we first started using the cameras I was fairly confident but by the end of the project I was far more confident, I experimented with different shots and angles, as well as what we had planned for so that we could get a variety of material before we went into editing. Some of the equipment we used included a dolly, a tripod, and obviously a film camera. We also used a stills camera when looking for locations and to make our storyboard. The tripod insured that our shots were steady and didn’t have much shake in them and the dolly also helped the panning shots stay smooth and not go wobbly. Other techniques we used when filming were the 180° rule, this is important in conversations as to maintain continuity. This means you only shoot from one side of the action, it then doesn’t confuse the audience as the same character is always on the same side of the screen. I think the main area I need to improve in is the techniques I use, for example I nearly didn’t follow the 180° rule as one of the shots was on the line of being on the other side of the character. I feel this will improve with time though and the more times I use the camera. 

 

3. What editing skills have you developed? How confident are you with using the editing program? Give details of specific editing skills/techniques you have developed/improved, and include areas where you lack confidence/need to improve?

            I had never edited any film like this before, so will I was editing for this project I was also learning how to use the editing software and the skills needed for editing. The main technique we used was adding transitions between shots; this improves the flow of the footage and also makes it more interesting for the audience. Another technique we used was cutting the clips to the required length and selecting from the variety of footage we had filmed to get the best quality finished product. I was able to do this very easily after being showed how and didn’t need any extra help from my teacher. Overall, I feel I was confident in editing the footage given how much experience I have had with editing and as with filming, over time my confidence will grow and my editing skills will improve. This is our final piece of film:

Shooting Maps

These are the shooting maps we are going to use when we film so we know where to position cameras and where the characters will have to walk, etc.

Shooting Map - Churchyard Scene

Shooting Map - Park Scene

Shooting Map - Lift Scene

Shooting Map - Stair Scene

Analysis of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'

In the opening scene of ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ the first object you see is a parcel wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. This could connote to the audience that later in the film one of the characters could be bound or tied up at some point, therefore adding a sense of foreboding and also letting the audience know what type of film it is going to be. This is backed up by the use of chiaroscuro lighting. The shot then cuts to a close up of a blade cutting the string off of the parcel. The lighting is still very dark and it is hard to make out what could be in the parcel. Although, there is some light coming through from the distance, this could be a window or a desk lamp. The darkness at the start could indicate that later in the film something will happen underground or someone will get buried. This is a connotation of a thriller film as being buried alive is claustrophobic and dark.

The scene then moves on to show a man’s face in the white light coming from behind. He is concentrating on opening the parcel with the knife but this still doesn’t tell the audience what might be inside the parcel. There is a use of shallow focus on his face so that the audience cannot see what is behind him in the background. Therefore this creates mystery and uncertainty as the audience doesn’t know what is behind the man.

As the parcel is opened more of the surroundings are shown, like the audience is unwrapping the location to get more of an understanding of the opening. At first, it appeared that it was going to be quite a sinister scene with a knife being used but in fact the object in the parcel is just a photo frame.

The music used in the opening sequence adds to the tension and doesn’t give anything away about what might be in the package. It connotes calmness but also sadness as it is slow and melodic. There is no voice over or narration or diagetic sound so the audience has to listen to the music and watch to find out what is happening or something that might happen later in the film.

Here ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ trailer for the film:

Research Project into Film Audiences Part 2

How Do Various Audiences Consume Films?

I want to find out where and how different audiences consume their films. There are many ways in which a person can view a film, such as at the cinema (mainstream and independent), on the internet, TV broadcasts, purchased or hired DVDs, etc and this is affected by the audiences’ age, gender, personality, social class, spending power, etc. For example, mothers who stay at home to look after their children would probably purchase or hire DVDs which are suitable for children to watch at home, rather than go to a mainstream or independent cinema, such as Vue or Odeon, as it is simpler and more convenient. There is also a wider range of films available on DVD or video compared to what might currently be shown at the cinema.  In comparison, a student who may not have much money would probably choose to stay at home and watch films on TV or on the internet as this is cheaper than visiting the cinema but making a visit to the cinema every once in a while to see a Hollywood film or current blockbuster.

I am going to give a survey to 5 different people and ask them to fill it in; this is to investigate more in to how and where they watch films. It will be an online survey so that I can reach a wider range of people, of varying ages and backgrounds. The type of questions my survey will contain are a selection of both open and closed questions, therefore giving me a wider range of material to use when drawing together my conclusions. The 2 question that will be the most important are the last ones as they are directly asking the person where they view films and why they view them there. Once the surveys have been filled in I will be able to collate the data and show my results in the form of graphs and a conclusion.

Here is my survey I have asked people to fill in:

1. Age

2. Gender

3. Occupation

4. Location

5. How many films do you watch, per month?

6. How many times do you go to the cinema, per month?

7. How many DVDs do you buy, per month?

8. Would you like to spend more time watching films?

9. Where is your favourite place to watch films?

10. Why is it you favourite place?

Here is a link to my survey online http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/K2QVWDF  

This is the data I have collected from the online survey site. To make them easy to read I have put them in a table. This is because it’s important that the information stays together rather than just being about age or gender. 

Name	Melissa Nathoo	Ben Dalrymple	Jemela Coventry	Victoria Randell	Pearl Randell
Age	25	32	33	16	53
Gender	Female	Male	Female	Female	Female
Occupation	Membership Adviser at a gym	Business Development Manager	Company Director but on maternity leave	Student	Kitchen Assistant
Location	Burry St Edmunds, Suffolk	Silverstone, Northants	Stroud, Gloucestershire	Norwich, Norfolk	Norwich
How many films do you watch, per month?	3	12-15	4-6	1-2	2-3
How many times do you go to the cinema, per month?	1	2	0-1	0-1	1-2
How many DVDs do you buy a month?	0	2-5	1-2	0-1	1-2
Would you like to spend more time watching films?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Where is you favourite place to watch a film?	At the cinema	Purchased DVDs	Purchased DVDs	At the cinema	At the cinema
Why is the above your favourite place to watch films?	Large screen, surround sound and a good atmosphere.	We have a good home cinema system.	Its the easiest way with two young kids. My 2 year old loves watching them too so we always use the PS3 to watch Blu-rays & DVDs	Good sound, special, better quality.	atmosphere and sound/picture quality

Research Project into Film Audiences Part 1

Which Types of Marketing Effect Audiences in Different Age Categories?

I think that people of a younger age (10-30 year olds) are more likely to be affected by digital marketing and advertising than older people (40+ year olds). This is because the younger generation have more contact with digital resources, such as online reviews, trailers on video websites, cinema listings, official film websites, and merchandise like computer games and music downloads. They have been brought up in a world dictated by technology and are therefore more familiar with these applications. Whereas the older generation are used to more conventional types of marketing and advertising, such as magazine and newspaper reviews, interviews and adverts, radio interviews, reviews and trailers and word of mouth. This is because they technology in use today was not available 30 years ago.

I am going to ask 15 different people a questionnaire to find out which types of marketing effect different age categories the most. I will ask the questionnaire to various different age groups so that my results are fair and valid and reflect how the age category results differ. My questionnaire will contain quantitative questions and qualitative questions. Quantitative questions are closed, meaning the data I collect will be in number form, where as qualitative questions are open and the respondent can give any answer they wish.  This means I will have a variety of results which I can interpret and use to back up my theory. When distributing my questionnaire, I will produce a paper based form which can be handed to individuals but I will also produce a digital copy which I can ask people to complete online. This is to make sure my questionnaire is answered by as many different aged people as possible. Then after the questionnaires have been completed, I will create a variety of graphs and charts to show my results and also a conclusion.

This is my questionnaire I will distribute:

1. How old are you?

10-15

16-20

21-30

31-40

41+

2. What gender are you?

Male

Female

3. Pick 3 types of marketing that effect you most?

Word of Mouth

TV Interviews, Reviews and Trailers

Newspaper and Magazine Interviews, Adverts and Reviews

Radio Interviews, Reviews and Trailers

Cinema ‘Coming Soon’ Listings

Billboards

DVD/Cinema Trailers

Websites

Online Campaigns

Other

4. Why do these 3 affect you the most?

5. Which effects you the least and why?

And here is a link to my online survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/567SLQP

I have collected the data from the online survey site and these are my results. I have put them in to graphs and word clouds so that the results are easier to read and understand.