Evaluation Q2 Video

Evaluation Q2

Film distribution is the process of making a film available for viewing from the audience; and the film distributor refers to the marketing of the film, with roles including organising the release date and place (normally based on the films finance), and the advertisement of the film. Distributors must identify the films target audience, then aim their marketing material at them to unsure they are enticed, interested, and most importantly, pay to see the film.

Outside advertisements, including posters, billboards and bus signs, alongside media adverts on, social media, television, newspapers and the radio are common ways to market a film. Depending on a films target audience, certificate, genre, it will be advertised accordingly; for example, films aimed at adolescents tend to undertake a lot of social media advertisement, as their demographic use social media more than others. If the film distributor fails to target the correctly identify the film’s target audience, then the film will be unsuccessful, as people who may be interested will not know it exists; but, if the films target audience are identified correctly the film will gain popularity via advertisements, then word of mouth, and gain excitement before its release.

Sherlock Holmes’s poster advertisement informs the audience of lots of information about the film in a single print advertisement. Star of the film, Robert Downing Jr appears in the main image; his fame and large cult following will mean such actor will play a large part in the films marketing, as many people will pay to see the film purely based on his starring role. Those unfamiliar with the character of Sherlock Holmes will recognise the films genre as a mystery/action/drama hybrid, and fans of the 

genre will recognise the double exposure background iconographic to the mystery genre.  

Released in 2016, Deadpool undertook amusing and clever, yet very unconventional marketing techniques. Deadpool focuses on a violent anti-hero throughout, however was jokingly advertised as a conventional romantic film; those who knew of the film would find this advert amusing, and it may made the film appeal to them more than before; but, those who believed it to be a romantic film may research it and discover their unknown interest for super-hero films. Such advertisements went viral, gained the film lots of attention, and at the same time targeted two target audiences. Other adverts for the film were restricted to social media appearance only due to their sexual nature, if shown elsewhere; the film would gain unwanted and controversial attention from people who were worried children would see it; however, such adverts did hint at, and prepare audiences for the sexual nature of the film. Unlike Sherlock Holmes, Deadpool followed a simple marketing strategy so it did not give away too much about the film, leaving the audience creating excitement among the fan base. Deadpool following unconventional advertising, however because it this it was one of the most talked about marketing campaigns of 2015/16, and earning the film $135,050,000 in its opening weekend.

Labelled sketch of poster

Labelled sketch of magazine cover

Men, Women and Chainsaws reading

What does Clover mean by 'female victim-hero'?

Clover’s female victim hero is a character with traits of both a victim and a hero, but not fully either; she adds that the hero part always contains some degree of monstrosity. Her main example being character, Carrie White from the film, Carrie. Carrie has heroic traits as she defeats her monstrous mother, and the female bullies from her school (of whom she is a victim), however only by performing a monstrous act herself. Such characteristic mean Carrie represents Clover’s female victim hero.  

Why does Clover say that males relate to the females in horror films?

King, the author of Carrie states that anybody who has been victimised can relate to the plain being felt by Carrie in the book, and film. Clover agrees with King, by stating that it is possible for males to relate to the on-screen female struggles within the horror film world rather than objectively viewing them. Clover’s final girl theory suggests that the androgenetic features within the female character, makes such character gender fluid and allows the male audience to relate to their struggles.

Why does Clover suggest that horror research is problematic?
Surveys within film are normally conducted by large studios as they have the money to do so, however horror films are typically produced by small studios on a low budget, therefore have no or little money to spend on research. Clover’s book also states that horror films often have a short run in the cinema or go straight to VHS, meaning such films have no or little, and unreliable box office records.  

Who does Clover suggest makes-up the typical horror audience?
Suggested by Clover, the typically horror audience within the cinema in size order is young males, often in a group; heterosexual couples, of a variety of ages; solo “rouge males”, of an older age and with an ominous appearance; and groups of adolescent girls. Such proportions vary with different sub-genres, however the predominance of the young male remains consistent, as they are the “unmistakeable target audience of horror fanzines”.

Was there parity between horror audiences in regard to those who watched horror films at the cinema and those who watched them at home through rentals?
Clover partook polls in VHS rental shops, half in San Francisco and half elsewhere in the USA of the clientele of certain horror films, including Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Ms. 45. Such poll confirmed the male bias within the horror genre, and gave parity between audiences in the cinema and in rental stores, with 4/5 of the renters of Ms. 45 being male; and, nearly these renters, both male and female were under the age of twenty-five, showing a similarity to the predominantly youthful cinema viewers of the horror genre. Clovers polls seem to pair up with the cinema statistics, however we must remember that she only conducted small scale research (mainly in San Francisco), and as Clover states, “the renter of the video cassette is not necessarily the only watcher”.  

What are the two ways identified by Clover in which audiences identify with characters?
Clover identifies primary identification, which relates the cinematography within a film, and secondary identification, which relates to the character of empathic choice. Clover’s primary identification, relating to cinematographic identification suggests that the camera can move to different character, and omniscient positions with ease, to gain different levels of personality. Stated by Clover, the hand-held first-person perspective or the ‘subjective camera’ is thought to be “the most personal of them all”; relating to Laura Mulvey’s ‘male gaze’, which is conventionally uses cinematography to sexually view women, but Clover believes such technique is used in the genre to help the audience identify with, and share the perspective of the films ‘female victim hero’. Clover’s secondary identification, in relation to empathic choice, again used Carrie for explanation, as Carrie is bullied by students at school, and her mother at home. 

Draft Trailer

Evaluation Q4