LO3 Task 4 - Advertising and Distribution of Four Lions.

Hi it’s Andre again and for this vlog I will be talking about the marketing for the film Four Lions. This includes all of the ways the film was advertised to the audience, whether it is old or new media, the impact this has on it based on the viewing figures and the way in which the institution may have used cross media platforms, ownership and joint ventures to promote the film. 

Distribution:

Distribution has two definitions; he first definition is how the product reaches out to the audience. The second definition is how a product is advertised and promoted.

Four Lions was distributed in the UK by Optimum Releasing and Drafthouse Films and within the first year of its release Four Lions had been distributed to all of the platforms available for the public to view the film. The film was firstly distributed to all of the people who had attended Sundance film festival on the 23^rd of January 2010, it was then distributed to the Cinema’s for the British pubic on the 7^th may. Along with these two, the other ways Four Lions is available for people to watch is by DVD, Smartphones and Online. Four Lions was made available for DVD on the 30^th August 2010 in the UK and the 8^th March 2011 in the US. Smartphone had gained their power through technological convergence which has provided another way for people to access the film. Technological convergence is when technologies come together and it provides new services for the audience. For example a smartphone is an example of technological convergence; a smartphone acts as a phone, computer and internet browser. Four Lions is also available to view on the internet through the rise of websites such as Netflix and Lovefilm. Unlike the other examples of tis distribution the internet is the one that causes most of the problems for films like Four Lions as pirated versions of the film are available on illegal sites, this is includes sites like ‘Putlocker’ and ‘MovieTube’ this is a problem because the film is then declared ‘ free ‘ for any one to watch it. This reduces the amount of profit a film like Four Lions can make.   

Advertising and promotion:

Like many other films the producers of Four Lions used a range of different techniques to advertise their film. One of the ways it does this is through the website of warp films, since one of the main producers of the film is warp films they are able to advertise the film on their website as one of their products. The film was also advertised on YouTube, the trailer was made available to watch on the 7^th April exactly a month from the initial release. However, since warp films is an independent film company they are not very well known worldwide which limits the level if popularity that the film could potentially earn. One of the better ways of advertising that the producers of Four Lions use is through the website of rotten tomatoes. Rotten tomatoes is a film review website which allows people to review films and tv programmes. However this can be seen as both good and bad for a film. It can be good for a film if the viewer’s give the film good ratings and positive reviews as it would boost the popularity of the film as other people know that the review was done by ‘ordinary people’ who are just like them so they would trust their judgement. However, if the viewers were to give the film bad ratings and negative reviews then it would discourage the audience to watch it. One of the most popular forms of advertising that Four Lions uses is through the TV, the majority of the world population owns a TV so therefore advertising this way would be really effective.

One of the last forms of advertising is the poster / billboard. The poster of the film Four Lions has a crow in the middle with a bomb strapped to it. One of the connotations of a crow is that is it a symbol of trickery and deceitful, this is a representation of what the film is about. The main characters in the film are deceitful to the rest of the public so that they can carry of their plan.

The advertising of Four Lions would be considered as new media and this is because of the time of its release. New media refers to on demand access to content anytime, anywhere and on any digital device. Around the time of Four Lions release (2010), smartphones where beginning to become the social norm which made it easier for people to access online content at any time and anyplace. Also things like PC tables and certain computer apps made things on the internet assessable for almost anyone.   

The marketing if the film Four Lions had made a positive impact on the success of the film, it had even made its way to some cinemas in America.  As of the 8^th August Four Lions had made £2,932,366 at the UK box office and as of 11^th February it had made $4,658,570 worldwide.
Since Four Lions is an independent film company they are more known locally than nationwide, so therefore for them to successfully promote a film they have to go in joint venture with another company. In this case warp films is in joint venture with StudioCanal UK (formerly optimum releasing). StudioCanal UK were one of the most prominent distributors in the UK independent film and world cinema market.

Any of the films that warp films have made would go through to StudioCanal UK, to then promote the film StudioCanal would use both the internet and the broadcast their advertisement on TV. To promote it on the internet they would put the trailer up on their YouTube account and on their website for people to view. They also place it on TV so that they can get the trailer across to a wider range of people.  

LO2 Task 3 - Audience for Four Lions

HI its Andre and for this vlog, I will be discussing the target audience for the film Four lions. For you to gain an understanding of the target audience Four lions you need to know some of the key terms that are related to this topic.

Demographic:

The demographic is a category relating to how media produces target audience so, breaking down the audience. There are many factors that the demographic, this includes the age, race, sex economic status, level of education, income level, employment.

Audience theory:

John Hartley (1987) and Ien Ang (1991) suggested that produces create invisible fictions or imaginary entites before creating a media product.

 In terms of the uses and gratification theory, there are 11 classifications sectors that can be used ‘class’ people in terms of their lifestyle. These are:

·         Affluent achievers – post graduates       
·         Thriving greys – healthy over 50’s
·         Settled suburban’s – family life
·         Nest builders – new couples
·         Urban ventures – student life
·         Country life – farmers, people who live in the country side
·         Senior citizen – OAP’s
·         Producers – creative industry, entrepreneur
·         Hard-presses families – struggling families
·         Have-nots – have nothing, have no interests
·         Unclassifiable – low achievers, unsuccessful

Four lions demographics analysis:

Gender – In terms of gender, males would be the ones that would most likely watch Four lions. This would be 80% of the target audience, with the other 20% of the target audience being females. This is because of the type of mindless behaviour that is displayed in the film and stereotypically males are attracted to this type of behaviour. An example of some of the mindless behaviour that is displayed in the film is when the group of jihadist are experimenting with all the gun powder they have, blowing up small chunks of the gun powder each time. Although Four lions is more suitable for males it can also be a pleasure for females, this is because of the message that the film is trying to get across. Four lions is more about friendship and how the love for each other conquers all of the other problems that they face. Regarding the uses and gratification theory, all of the people who would most likely watch this would be the urban ventures. Stereotypically students are known to be very reckless and they tend to cause a lot of mayhem, since a lot of this is shown in Four lions this appeals to the students nature.

 Age – According to BBFC Four lions is appropriate for anyone who of the age of 15 and over, this is because a lot of the content is deemed explicit. However I think that this film is more suitable for people who are over the age of 18, this is because of the meaning behind it. Four lions would be easier for people who are over 18 to understand why characters wish to do what they are doing, where as the 15 years olds would only one point of view.

 

Lifestyle – The lifestyles of the Four lions audience would be people who are generally quite mischievous and very outgoing. This matches the mood of the film as it is very wild and hectic, therefore making it appealing for that type of personality. When referring to the supper lifestyles profiles classification, the group of people that would watch Four lions would be the urban ventures. This is because generally, the people who would fit into this classification would be quite outgoing and would live very hectic lives. And it is this sort of personality that is apparent in the film. In terms of the NRS ABC1 demographics profiling system, the type of people would watch this film would be the C2, D, E. This is because students are the ones more likely to watch this and they are one of the groups that fits into this social grade. The stereotypical student has very little money for any entertain they wish to buy therefore, Four lions would be ideal for them as there is no merchandise for the film so less money needs to be spent. According to the uses and gratification theory ( Denis McQuail 1972 ) people can gain one of four things when they consume a media product. These are:
·         Surveillance: to find out information – news.
·         Escapism: living in your own world – T.V and news.
·         Building personal identity: using media personalities as role models.
·         Building personal relationships: media product that provides a topic of conversation – Soaps, news, magazines, gossip websites.

Four lions offer the gratification escapism from the current would problems by providing a serial intake on the topic of terrorism. Four lions also offers the gratification building personal relationships as the film is very controversial so therefore it provides a topic for a conversation. 

Spending power – The spending power links in with the lifestyle. Unlike C2DE, the ABC1’ have a greater disposable income so therefore they can afford to watch the film and to buy any sort of merchandise that comes with it. ABC1’s are anyone who is in the supervisory, administrative profession or higher. People who are in the C2DE sectors are most likely semi skilled workers or below that profession so therefore they would have less disposable income available to be spending on entertainment.  

LO1 Task 2 - Analysis of Four Lions

Purpose:

 The purpose of this film is to entertain the audience, this is because the main topic of the film is about terrorism however there is a comedic twist on it. The film also informs the audience about how different religions can influence people in the way they act, which includes people even dying for their religion.

Genre:

 This film is hybrid genre being a dark comedy, and this is because of how the film portrays a very sensitive topic in a comedic way. This fits in with the type of films that warps films has made in the past which are controversial like This is England.

 Form:

 The film is a feature film that is 97 minutes long.

Budget - 2.5 million

Box office - £ 6,968,562 THE FILM WAS DISTRIBUTED WHERE? WORLDWIDE? JUST IN THE UK?

Style:

 This film is very modern as it was made in the year 2010. Within the film there was use of special effects, one use of this is when Omar uses and rocket launcher to try to take down the drone. Within this film there is the use of pyrotechnics, this is shown in the film when Omar and Waj are seen running through the desert being attacks by the people who he accidentally attacked. Four lions uses a lot of stereotypes that had been exaggerated which is part of the genre as a dark comedy.

Content:

 For this section I will now be talking about the Mise en scene in terms of content, meaning and production process and how this creates and understanding for the audience about the narrative.

The mise en scene of any sort of audio visual product is anything that you can see on screen.

 Narrative:

The narrative of four lions is about group of Jihadists who decide to put their faith into action by becoming suicide bombers. Because their type of religion is not appropriate in Britain, they must keep a low profile in order to execute their plan. Regarding the Kate Domailie theory, the narrative of Four lions would fit under ‘Faust’. This type of narrative explains that by selling your soul to the devil is will bring you riches. Four lions fits into this because of what the main antagonist believe in, their belief is that by complying with their God and dying as a martyr then there would be a place for them in paradise with a number of virgins.   

Location and Iconography:

Within the film four lions there are many locations in that are encoded to create a preferred meaning (Stuart Hall 1980) for the audience. One of the locations that is denoted in the film is a training campo in a desert in Pakistan, this connotes to the audience that the terrorist group jihadist are planning attack the reinstate their dominance. The iconography of the location it self connotes to the audience what they would expect to see in a terrorist training camp, the area is very remote, with only a few goats and the one rocket launcher. This area is great for the terrorists because it is surrounded by hills, therefore this makes the terrorists less prone to attacks from military drones. Another location that is denoted is the city of Sheffield, this is where most of the scenes are filmed as it is the home of the small group of jihadists. Within Sheffield one of the locations that are denoted is the garage of Barry which has the windows boarded up, this connotes to the audience that they are hiding something from that is potentially dangerous like a weapon to use on the British people to complete part of their plan. Within the production stage the locations would be in the pre-production stage, this is because the pre-production stage involves the preparation of all elements involved in the film.

Characters and Acting Gestures:

Omar – deeply critical of western society.
Waj – dim witted / less intelligent one
Barry – bad tempered white man who converted to Islam.
Faisal – is very naïve, tries to train crows to be bombers.
Hassan – very reluctant to do anything in the group.

The acting in the film is encoded to create a preferred meaning to the audience of how people of a foreign countries view other people that are different to them. In this case the small group of terrorists don’t agree with how westernised people live. The acting within the film connotes to the audience how religion can influence the views of people, some religions condemn how other people live and in most religions there is always a particular way in which people should live. If those ways are challenged then some people take offense to that and their way of dealing with it is to retaliate.  

Costume and make up

Within this scene the clothes that Omar and Waj are seen in are very are authentic to the nation of Islam for example the head scarf. This piece of clothing connotes to the audience that both Omar and Waj are loyal to their religion which then explains why they are going to such extreme lengths which include becoming suicide bombers. Within the production stage the costume and make up would be in the pre-production stage, this is because along with the elements locations are considered before the filming takes place. Towards the end of the pre-production all of those elements are reviewed with the screenplay to see if it goes well with the plot.

Props

One of the main props that are used in this scene is the rocket launcher, the intended use of this was to take down the drown that was flying over them however it was accidently used to kill a group of jihadist. This connotes to the audience that the jihadist group are serious about their plan and that they will use any force necessary to do so. One of the other main props that is used in the film is the mass amounts of bleach in the garage of Barry’s house. This is encoded in the film to connote to the audience that the group of jihadists are very skilful and resourceful people as they are able to create explosives with bleach. The props would have also been considered at the pre-production stage, this is vital for film production companies because if one of the props turn out to be useless for a particular scene then they can take it out or replace it with another one.

Lighting and colour:

Throughout the film the lighting is very high key and the colours are very bright, this connotes to the audience the mood of the film. The film is a comedy so the high key lighting reinforces this and creates a happier atmosphere. The colours in the film are very natural and bright and the lighting intensifies the colours, one example of this is at ... 

In terms of the production process the lighting and colour would be the post-production. The lighting and colours is part of editing so after all of the filming has been completed then the film editors can add colours filters or intensify some aspects of the footage to make the film better quality.

Sound
Within four lions the use of diegetic sound helps to enhance the sounds of some of the simple things that you see in it, one example of this is the chirping of the birds in the background. When this scene was filmed a lot of the things that you would expect to hear would not have been picked up by the microphone of the camera therefore, to the audience this would seem unnatural and unrealistic. So by having diegetic sounds it creates verisimilitude.

 Hear are some examples of diegetic sounds within four lions:

•The explosions of the weaponry used against Omar and Waj.

•The chirping of the birds.

•The engine of the car that the group was in failing. 

 

Within Four lions there is also the use of non-diegetic sound, this element is encoded in the film to show meaning. An example of this is shown at [3:04 – 3:20], this use of non-diegetic sound is used to connote one of the main themes of the film. This is mainly based around people from the Asian community so the use of their authentic music is played to so this.

Films with the use of diegetic and non-diegetic conventions can be used to create ambiguity (horror) or in this case it is used to create surprise the audience (comedy).

Example of non-diegetic sound in four lions:

The sound would be in the post-production process, this would be part of the editing. One of the main issues with filming is that a lot of the sounds that you would expect to hear won’t be there in raw footage as the microphone cannot pick up the sound. So with the use of Foley sounds, all of the everyday sound effects can be encoded after all of the raw footage is filmed to create verisimilitude.

Camera work:
 The camera work within four lions is encoded in the film to provide the audience with an understanding of the narrative, one of the ways it does this is by using certain shot types to connote the more significant changes in the narrative like the enigma. One of these shot types is the crowd shot, this becomes evident in the film when ever the group are all together on screen. This is encoded in the film and it is important as it connotes to the audience that each individual in the group in important and that all of the focus should be on them. Another shot type that is encoded in the film to emphasise the aspects of the narrative is the close up shot. This shot is encoded in the film to connote to the audience the emotions of the antagonists in the film and especially Waj. This is because close up allows you to create a mental connection with the character so that you can sympathise with him, in this case it allows you to see how the situation affects Waj. It is through this that you connotes to that audience that he does not want to do this but he does it anyway so that he can please he brother. The other main shot that is used is the establishing shot, this is encoded in the trailer to connote to the audience that there is a change in location. Within the film there is a lot of travelling to many different locations so, the establishing shot is used to show the view the scene and where the next couple of minutes of action are going to be taking place. One example of this is at ... where Omar and Waj have just arrived in Pakistan to begin their training.

 Camera angles:

 The camera angles that are encoded in four lions connote to the audience the stature of the antagonist. Camera angles can be used to show the dominance or weakness of something or someone. In this case the high angle is used in four lions to connote vulnerability and weakness. An example of this is at ... where you can see Omar in a wookie costume running away from the police. He is being watch by snipers from the high ground, this makes him vulnerable to attacks from the above. Another angel that is used to connote the stature of a character is the low angle, this angel is encoded in four lions to connote to the audience dominance. An example of this is at ... where you see Omar talking to the rest of the group, this is used as an indication of who is the main figure of the group. Another way this is shown is when the camera pans back to the rest of the group, the angel of the camera is high which connotes to the audience that they are inferior to Omar.

 The camera work would be considered at the pre-production stage, this is one if the main things that are considered before the raw elements for the film are recorded. With this being considered at pre-production it can then be used the instruct the camera team on the type of camera angles and shot types that are needed to complete the filming.

Editing:

The editing within four lions is encoded in it to create verisimilitude, this is important as the film is based on a real life problem. This then makes it relate-able and easier to understand for the audience. One of the editing techniques that complete this purpose is the insert shot, this shot is encoded in four lions to connote to the audience the significance of a prop. One example of this is at ... where you see the military drone flying over Omar and Way. The significance of this is that the drone's purpose is find any sort of suspicious activity in the desert, so therefore the enigma becomes present at this scene. One of the other editing techniques that are used is the cut, this is used alongside with the effect whereby is looks like the audience is looking through a camera. An example of this is at [22:53], where there is a cut to another scene. The cut appears in the form of a camera dying, this creates the illusion of the film being a documentary.
 Another editing technique used within the trailer is the use of CGI. One of the main scenes in four lions is when Omar accidentally kills some of his camp mates, when they retaliate the use rocket launchers at him. This would have been extremely dangerous to do live so the use if CGI lowers the risk of injury and lowers the cost to preform it.
The editing would be in the post-production process. Post-production is, in fact, many different processes grouped under one name.
 These typically include:
·         Video editing the picture of a film using an edit decision list (EDL)
·         Writing, (re)recording, and editing the soundtrack.
·         Adding visual special effects - mainly computer-generated imagery (CGI) and digital copy from which release prints will be.
·         Sound design, Sound effects, ADR, Foley and Music, culminating in a process known as sound re-recording or mixing with professional audio equipment.
·         Transfer of Colour motion picture film to Video.​

LO1 Task 1 - Ownership of warp films.

Hi my name is Andre Brown aka “brownsauce” and I will be looking at the independent film company warp films. We will be looking at the media ownership, operating model, products, the market position and the competitors of warp films.

Firstly we will need to know the key terms so you will have an idea of what I will be taking about.

• Conglomerate, these are made up of companies and those companies are called subsidiaries.
• Independent, this means that the company is not owned by another company; it operates and produces by itself.
• Cross media ownership – this is when a company makes more than one type of media product by owning companies that makes different media.
• Commercial – this means to make a profit.
• Public service broadcaster – this is funded by public money, like the money you pay for your TV license.

Know you these terms it is time to get to know about warp films.

Warp films is an independent UK film company that specialise in feature films. The films that warp produce are very low budget and look quite cheap. This is because they are independent, this means that the films that they make are produced outside of the major film studio system. Therefore they do not have as much budget to produce the films that they make, resulting in most of their films looking quite ‘gritty’.  Warp films is in joint venture with “film 4”, “UK film council”, “optimum releasing” and “screen Yorkshire”.

A lot of the big companies that are part of a conglomerate are usually vertically or horizontally integrated, this means that they can control the production, distribution and the consumption of the products that they produce. Therefore by using this they can make more profit. However because warp are independent they aren’t vertically or horizontally integrated, therefore they use their distributors to help them. Warp would be able the produce the product but, with the help of their distributors they can distribute the produce ready for consumption.     

Warp itself has two subsidiaries, warp film and warp records. Warp film is an independent UK film production company and warp records is a record label, therefore warp produces music and film. Warp is known to  specialise in music and film, here are some of their films that they have produced:

• Dead man’s shoes.
• Submarine.
• This is England
• Four lions.
• Tyrannosaur

• Donkey punch

And here is some of the artist that are signed to warp records:

·         Aphex Twin

·         Grizzly Bear

·         Jamie Lidell

·         Chris Morris

 

Warp started out as a record shop, if was founded by Steve beckett and the late Rob Mitchell after they decided to put their experiences working in a record shop to good use.  In their early years (1989 – 1995) the first track that they produced (WAP1) was by Forgemasters. This track had set a trend for the early release both in terms of sound and the use of purple sleeves. So from the beginning warp had made a name for its self, they even defined Sheffield’s bleep techno sound by making use of sampled sounds from Yellow Magic Orchestra’s ‘computer game’. Warp went on to release a series of singles and albums form 1992 under the artificial intelligence heading, a couple of experimental electronic music releases by artists such as Aphex twin.

(1996 – 1999)

This is when warp started the blech club night in Sheffield, they also released an accompanying compilation CD under the same name.

(2000 -2009)

In 2000 warp records moved its operation to London along with its merchandise store Warpmart. In 2005 warp had released their first book which was written by Rob young, this book gave the illustrated version of the history of warp.

In 2009 warp celebrated their 20^th anniversary by having several concerts that took place in Paris, New York city, Sheffield, Berlin and London.

(2010 – Present)

In 2013 warp won the independent label of the year award at the AIM awards.

 

Warp films was created by the founding partners Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell. It was created with financial support from NESTA and it had a remit to produce a number of short films. The first film that warp films produced was Chris morris’  My Wrongs#8245-8249 & 117, which had won the award for the best short film at the 2003 BAFTA film awards. However one of their biggest success came from warp films debut feature film ‘ Dead man’s shoes’ , which had earned a BAFTA nomination and was nominated for a record eight British independent film awards. Some of the other successful films are:

SHOW SLIDESHOW!!!!

The films that warp produce are all mainly in the genre of drama this is down to one main factor, the budget that is available to make the film. The budget that they have available is the main factor because warp cannot afford to have many special effects and they cannot afford to buy an area for the day. So they film in local area’s which tend to be quite undeveloped and anti-social, therefore the films end up being in the genre of drama as it has to match the location of the film. The films that warp make all look at social problems. For example ‘This is England’, this looks at how Margret thatcher time as the prime minister had affected a lot of people’s lives. 

For the type of company that warp films are they are very successful. When it comes to profits, compared with of big companies warp films may not seem as a successful company. However, with warp films being independent there turnover is quiet big. In its early days warp was a very small record label company however, over the years warp has been able to expand because of their success and then was able to create warp films. Although warp films is marginally smaller than the big production companies they are well known nationally, with a few of the directors that have come from warp becoming acknowledged worldwide. This includes:

•·        Chris Morris

•·        Shane Meadows

•·        Paddy Considine

 

Because of warp’s success they are known nationally, however some of the films that warp films have produced have been known internationally for example four lions and This is England. Four lions made $4,658,570 worldwide and This is England had made several appearances on US critics top ten list of 2007 and made £5,058,600 worldwide.

In terms of competitors warp films not only have big companies like 21^st century fox and Warner brothers who have released films like Avatar and the Harry potter series.  They also compete with other UK film production companies like Ealing Studios. Ealing Studio’s have been known for producing Shaun of the dead and also reviving the St Trinians franchise. Ealing Studios is considered to be a competitor of Warp films because they are a British production company, therefore Ealing Studios and Warp films are targeting the same audience. However Warp films stands out from the rest of the competitors because they are extremely successful for a independent company, and some of the films that they have produced are known worldwide.

Achieving my target grade.

To achieve my target grade of a MERIT I need to complete the remaining two vlogs for this unit.