Thursday 28 April 2016
Wednesday 20 April 2016
Regional identity stereotypes
Across the UK, towns, cities and regions have been cemented in the public imagination by TV and film – and rarely for the better.
London
On-screen London – not unlike actual London – is a city divided by extremes. Long ruling the roost was the Richard Curtis caricature of films like Notting Hill and Love Actually; a bright, posh bizzaro world where Hugh Grant typifies a population that is twee, charming, and white. Yet with the exception of last year’s Paddington, it’s a tourist trap image that’s dying, increasingly replaced by a vision that is, at the opposite end of the spectrum, grey, grim and terrifying.
And we don’t mean EastEnders. Crime dramas have moved on from Guy Ritchie-esque romanticising of Cockney gangsters to portraying a Ukip fever dream of multicultural criminality: there are too many examples to list, but 2002’s Dirty Pretty Things (illegal immigrant organ thieves), 2007’s Eastern Promises (Russian sex-traffickers) and this year’s Hyena (Albanian gangs) are among the big-screen ones. While more recently, TV shows like Sherlock and Luther have turned the Big Smoke into a fantastical noir landscape, pitching it as a sort of rubbish Gotham.
Slough
Imagine working in Slough. Imagine telling someone you work in Slough; forever waiting for them to quietly snigger or – even worse – do The Dance. For Ricky Gervais’ seminal 2001 sitcom The Office has ruined Slough more than John Betjeman’s poem (“come, friendly bombs and fall on Slough”) ever could, with the Berkshire town now immortalised as a post-industrial wasteland of ugly office blocks and banal, dead-end jobs.
It is the place that dreams go to die; an image that will no doubt be compounded even further this year with Sky 1’s Apocalypse Slough, where the future of civilisation will be humorously played out within its dour suburbs.
Liverpool
Liverpudlians understandably do not have a lorra lorra love for Harry Enfield and Chums’ 90s sketch The Scousers, which portrayed locals as shell-suited fans of bubble perms who couldn’t stop telling everyone to, “calm down!” It was originally inspired by two other fictional characters, Barry Grant and Terry Sullivan from soap opera Brookside, yet became an unshakable stereotype. To add insult to injury, TV and film have never really given Liverpool a chance to change the narrative.
The city’s most famous portrayals – in working class dramas like The Boys from the Blackstuff and Educating Rita – are from the 80s, while since then it has been relegated to period pieces like 2009 John Lennon drama Nowhere Boy and ITV Cilla Black biopic Cilla. Since Brookside finished in 2003, the closest thing Liverpool has had to a proper contemporary screen appearance is Hollyoaks, which is set in near-by Chester.
Belfast
The Troubles hang heavy over the image of Belfast – and TV and film have not helped. Even beyond historical takes like 2002’s TV movie of the eponymous Bloody Sunday massacre and last year’s ‘71, about an English soldier at the conflict’s height, the city is rarely portrayed as anything other than tense and violent.
This is understandable, obviously – it’s Belfast’s greatest source of drama, and films such as 1997’s The Boxer have done good work in exploring their legacy. But then you get, ahem, less good work like 2013’s crass A Belfast Story, which sent out press packs containing balaclavas, nails and duct tape. BBC’s recent crime drama The Fall does at least focus on a different aspect of the city – even if that is a psychopathic serial killer.
Manchester
According to your dad, it’s grim up north. But you only have to see the joyful haven that is Manchester on screen to know that’s not the case. Admittedly, Paul Abbott’s Shameless may not have portrayed it as the most stable of places – but both it and Abbott’s recent crime drama No Offence do end up capturing a lot of the city’s warmth and wit as well.
While elsewhere, Manchester has more often than not been a place of funniness and/or cool, from films like 24 Hour Party People, about its legendary 80s music scene, and the uproarious East is East, to the low-key humour of Coronation Street, and sharp, edgy TV comedy like Cucumber, Fresh Meat and The Royle Family.
Cornwall
There is a certain TV hunk that has managed to make Cornwall look all the more sexier, with its rolling hills and beautiful beaches serving the perfect backdrop for this Adonis of sultry looks and luscious locks. Yet there’s more to Cornwall than Doc Martin. It also happens to be the setting of BBC1 historical drama du jour Poldark, and between those two it is now firmly enshrined as Britain’s most desirable county.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh’s on screen identity is tricky to pin down. It’s most famous screen moment is Danny Boyle’s 1996 adaptation of Trainspotting, which – through the eyes of 80s heroin addicts – shows the capital of Scotland as a poor, decaying city of violent pubs and hellmouth loos. (Although, it should he noted that almost all of it was shot in Glasgow.)
Since then, Edinburgh has primarily been the setting for gritty detective dramas like 2000-2007 series Rebus and Case Histories, which finished in 2013. For a more flattering take on Edinburgh, there’s also 1969’s satire The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, or BBC4’s 2009 drama pilot New Town, which forswore drugs or no nonsense cops to show off the city’s brighter, more arty side. A series was not commissioned.
Birmingham
As far as TV and film are concerned, modern Birmingham might as well not exist. In fact, if it wasn’t for BBC2’s historical gangster drama Peaky Blinders, you wouldn’t even get the chance to hear a west Midlands accent on TV – and most of that was actually shot in Leeds and Liverpool. Still, no coverage is better than Crossroads. Anything is better than Crossroads.
Cardiff
Despite a lot of BBC drama being filmed in Cardiff, not much is actually set there. Key appearances include a bit in Gavin and Stacey where they all – Rob Brydon’s Bryn included - go for a Big Night Out in the city and “the Cardiff rift” in Doctor Who’s adult spin-off Torchwood: a wormhole that leads the way for aliens, sex gas monsters and the like.
So far, so representative. There is also Wales’ very own Caerdydd (‘Cardiff’), S4C’s gritty, youth drama about the capital, though, given it’s it in Welsh, this darker side of Cardiff remains unseen by the rest of the UK.
Newcastle
Unless you count Geordie Shore – which you definitely shouldn’t – modern Newcastle hasn’t had much of a chance to update its image since the end of Byker Grove, the 90s teen drama that would give the city its greatest cultural export: Ant and Dec. And even then, most Brits of a certain age will associate the city with shows like Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais’ 60s sitcom The Likely Lads and their 1983 follow-up Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. The latter, while mostly set abroad, did at least address unemployment under “Margaret bloody Thatcher,” which ravaged the north-east in the 80s.
Yorkshire
A wide expanse of towns, cities and dales it may be, but Yorkshire has two clear screen identities: the warm-hearted county of lovable underdogs as showcased in a whole sub-genre of films including The Full Monty, Brassed Off, Calendar Girls and Little Voice, as well as Sunday teatime TV like Last of the Summer Wine and Heartbeat.
And the shire of unremitting bleakness propagated by social realist films stretching from Ken Loach’s seminal Kes to 2011’s Tyrannosaur, which features a scene in which Peter Mullan kicks his own dog to death; see also, on the small screen, Channel 4’s Red Riding trilogy and BBC1’s Happy Valley.
Slough
London
On-screen London – not unlike actual London – is a city divided by extremes. Long ruling the roost was the Richard Curtis caricature of films like Notting Hill and Love Actually; a bright, posh bizzaro world where Hugh Grant typifies a population that is twee, charming, and white. Yet with the exception of last year’s Paddington, it’s a tourist trap image that’s dying, increasingly replaced by a vision that is, at the opposite end of the spectrum, grey, grim and terrifying.
And we don’t mean EastEnders. Crime dramas have moved on from Guy Ritchie-esque romanticising of Cockney gangsters to portraying a Ukip fever dream of multicultural criminality: there are too many examples to list, but 2002’s Dirty Pretty Things (illegal immigrant organ thieves), 2007’s Eastern Promises (Russian sex-traffickers) and this year’s Hyena (Albanian gangs) are among the big-screen ones. While more recently, TV shows like Sherlock and Luther have turned the Big Smoke into a fantastical noir landscape, pitching it as a sort of rubbish Gotham.
Slough
Imagine working in Slough. Imagine telling someone you work in Slough; forever waiting for them to quietly snigger or – even worse – do The Dance. For Ricky Gervais’ seminal 2001 sitcom The Office has ruined Slough more than John Betjeman’s poem (“come, friendly bombs and fall on Slough”) ever could, with the Berkshire town now immortalised as a post-industrial wasteland of ugly office blocks and banal, dead-end jobs.
It is the place that dreams go to die; an image that will no doubt be compounded even further this year with Sky 1’s Apocalypse Slough, where the future of civilisation will be humorously played out within its dour suburbs.
Liverpool
Liverpudlians understandably do not have a lorra lorra love for Harry Enfield and Chums’ 90s sketch The Scousers, which portrayed locals as shell-suited fans of bubble perms who couldn’t stop telling everyone to, “calm down!” It was originally inspired by two other fictional characters, Barry Grant and Terry Sullivan from soap opera Brookside, yet became an unshakable stereotype. To add insult to injury, TV and film have never really given Liverpool a chance to change the narrative.
The city’s most famous portrayals – in working class dramas like The Boys from the Blackstuff and Educating Rita – are from the 80s, while since then it has been relegated to period pieces like 2009 John Lennon drama Nowhere Boy and ITV Cilla Black biopic Cilla. Since Brookside finished in 2003, the closest thing Liverpool has had to a proper contemporary screen appearance is Hollyoaks, which is set in near-by Chester.
Belfast
The Troubles hang heavy over the image of Belfast – and TV and film have not helped. Even beyond historical takes like 2002’s TV movie of the eponymous Bloody Sunday massacre and last year’s ‘71, about an English soldier at the conflict’s height, the city is rarely portrayed as anything other than tense and violent.
This is understandable, obviously – it’s Belfast’s greatest source of drama, and films such as 1997’s The Boxer have done good work in exploring their legacy. But then you get, ahem, less good work like 2013’s crass A Belfast Story, which sent out press packs containing balaclavas, nails and duct tape. BBC’s recent crime drama The Fall does at least focus on a different aspect of the city – even if that is a psychopathic serial killer.
Manchester
According to your dad, it’s grim up north. But you only have to see the joyful haven that is Manchester on screen to know that’s not the case. Admittedly, Paul Abbott’s Shameless may not have portrayed it as the most stable of places – but both it and Abbott’s recent crime drama No Offence do end up capturing a lot of the city’s warmth and wit as well.
While elsewhere, Manchester has more often than not been a place of funniness and/or cool, from films like 24 Hour Party People, about its legendary 80s music scene, and the uproarious East is East, to the low-key humour of Coronation Street, and sharp, edgy TV comedy like Cucumber, Fresh Meat and The Royle Family.
Cornwall
There is a certain TV hunk that has managed to make Cornwall look all the more sexier, with its rolling hills and beautiful beaches serving the perfect backdrop for this Adonis of sultry looks and luscious locks. Yet there’s more to Cornwall than Doc Martin. It also happens to be the setting of BBC1 historical drama du jour Poldark, and between those two it is now firmly enshrined as Britain’s most desirable county.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh’s on screen identity is tricky to pin down. It’s most famous screen moment is Danny Boyle’s 1996 adaptation of Trainspotting, which – through the eyes of 80s heroin addicts – shows the capital of Scotland as a poor, decaying city of violent pubs and hellmouth loos. (Although, it should he noted that almost all of it was shot in Glasgow.)
Since then, Edinburgh has primarily been the setting for gritty detective dramas like 2000-2007 series Rebus and Case Histories, which finished in 2013. For a more flattering take on Edinburgh, there’s also 1969’s satire The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, or BBC4’s 2009 drama pilot New Town, which forswore drugs or no nonsense cops to show off the city’s brighter, more arty side. A series was not commissioned.
Birmingham
As far as TV and film are concerned, modern Birmingham might as well not exist. In fact, if it wasn’t for BBC2’s historical gangster drama Peaky Blinders, you wouldn’t even get the chance to hear a west Midlands accent on TV – and most of that was actually shot in Leeds and Liverpool. Still, no coverage is better than Crossroads. Anything is better than Crossroads.
Cardiff
Despite a lot of BBC drama being filmed in Cardiff, not much is actually set there. Key appearances include a bit in Gavin and Stacey where they all – Rob Brydon’s Bryn included - go for a Big Night Out in the city and “the Cardiff rift” in Doctor Who’s adult spin-off Torchwood: a wormhole that leads the way for aliens, sex gas monsters and the like.
So far, so representative. There is also Wales’ very own Caerdydd (‘Cardiff’), S4C’s gritty, youth drama about the capital, though, given it’s it in Welsh, this darker side of Cardiff remains unseen by the rest of the UK.
Newcastle
Unless you count Geordie Shore – which you definitely shouldn’t – modern Newcastle hasn’t had much of a chance to update its image since the end of Byker Grove, the 90s teen drama that would give the city its greatest cultural export: Ant and Dec. And even then, most Brits of a certain age will associate the city with shows like Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais’ 60s sitcom The Likely Lads and their 1983 follow-up Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. The latter, while mostly set abroad, did at least address unemployment under “Margaret bloody Thatcher,” which ravaged the north-east in the 80s.
Yorkshire
A wide expanse of towns, cities and dales it may be, but Yorkshire has two clear screen identities: the warm-hearted county of lovable underdogs as showcased in a whole sub-genre of films including The Full Monty, Brassed Off, Calendar Girls and Little Voice, as well as Sunday teatime TV like Last of the Summer Wine and Heartbeat.
And the shire of unremitting bleakness propagated by social realist films stretching from Ken Loach’s seminal Kes to 2011’s Tyrannosaur, which features a scene in which Peter Mullan kicks his own dog to death; see also, on the small screen, Channel 4’s Red Riding trilogy and BBC1’s Happy Valley.
Examples
LondonSlough
Tuesday 22 December 2015
Barthes narrative codes
- Action Code
- Enigma Code
- Semic Code
- Symbolic Code
- Referential Code
Barthes' Codes:
Action Code: (proairetic code)something the audience knows and doesn't need explaining e.g. someone being wheeled out on a stretcher tells us they are going to hospital
Enigma Code: (hermeneutic code)something hidden from the audience (creates intrigue)
Semic Code:something that the audience recognize through connotations
Symbolic Code: Something that symbolizes a more abstract concept e.g. a darker than usual room of a murder scene could symbolize the depth of darkness and depravity
Wednesday 16 December 2015
Distribution - what is it?
Distribution
What Is Distribution?
Distribution is the most important part of the film industry, where completed films are brought to life and connected with an audience. Distribution is about releasing and sustaining films in the market place.
How many reals is a typical feature print?
What Is Distribution?
Distribution is the most important part of the film industry, where completed films are brought to life and connected with an audience. Distribution is about releasing and sustaining films in the market place.
What part of the supply chain is distribution?
Distribution is necessarily a collaborative process, requiring the materials and rights of the producer and the cooperation of the exhibitor to promote and show the film in the best way possible. In this sector, distribution can be divided into three stages - licensing, marketing and logistics
What is distribution often referred to as?
It is known as the "invisible" art in the media.
What does 'vertical integration' mean when discussing distribution?
Vertical integration is a business term that refers to how a company operates. A vertically integrated company is one that controls the entire process from raw material to delivery to the customer.
Why isn't 'vertical integration' so common in the independent sector?
Vertical integration isn't so common in the independent sector because producers tend to not have long term economic links with distributers, who likewise have no formal connections with exhibiters.
What three stages are involved in the independent sector?
The three stages involved in the independent sector are: licensing, marketing and logistics
Licencing
What is licencing?
Licensing is the process by which a distributer requires the legal rights to exploit a film.
What are the two levels of licencing?
The two levels of licensing are international distribution and local distribution
What is the advantage of being a major US studio?
The advantages of being a major US studio are that they have their own distribution offices in all major territories.
What three different types of rights can you acquire on a local level?
The three different types of rights that you can acquire at a local level are: Theatrical rights (showing the film in cinemas), Video rights (for video and dvd exploitation) and TV rights.
What are royalties?
Royalties are taken from the profit that the film makes. Usually a local distributer will conventionally share profits equally with the producer for the theatrical leg, pay back higher royalties for broadcast rights, and lower for video/DVD.
What is the most effective way to increase interest in a film?
The most effective way to increase interest in a film is to release a film in a theatrical way (in cinema) so that the film creates interest.
How long does it take for a film to reach 'free to air' TV?
It takes two years after the opening in cinemas to come out on 'free to air TV'
Marketing
What are the two key questions surrounding the marketing of a film?
The marketing of a film release revolves around two key questions: 'When?' and 'How?
What day are films typically released on?
films are most typically released on a Friday.
What will a distributor look at before releasing a film on a Friday?
Before releasing a film on a Friday the distributer will look at a schedule of other film releases on that day
What is a 'light' week in terms of distribution?
A 'light week' in terms of distribution means that there won't be a load of films on at the same time, ensuring screen space and adequate review column inches in the press allocated to any new release
What does it mean to 'position' a film distinctively?
To position a film distinctively means to avoid releasing the film around the same time when a film with similar traits is to be released.
Why has this become increasingly difficult in the UK?
This has become increasingly difficult in the UK due to the release schedule featuring over 10 new releases each week.
What are P&A?
prints and advertising
How much can P&A cost?
P&A can range from £1,000 to over £1 million for a release of a film in the UK.
Marketing - Prints And Adverts
Typically how many prints will a 'specialised' film have?
Typically less than ten.
How many will mainstream films have?
over 200 prints
What is a key factor in developing the profile of a film?
A key factor of the development of a film is the press release and response
How else can awareness of a film be raised?
Awareness of a film can also be raised by advertising in magazines/news papers and cinema posters.
Why is distribution in the UK seen as risky?
It is risky to release a film in the UK because the print cost is very high.
Why are companies looking towards viral marketing?
Companies are looking towards viral marketing because it is the easiest and cheapest way of marketing.
What are the benefits of a 'talent visit'
The benefits of a talent visit is to get editorial coverage to support a release.
Logistics:
In the pre digital film age what was a distributor responsible for?
How much does a 35mm print typically cost?
The average cost of a 35mm print, including delivery to a cinema, is around £1,000.
How many reals is a typical feature print?
In a future print there are usually 5-6 reals
Why do 35mm prints get damaged?
35mm prints tend to get damaged because of the amount of times they are used in different projectors.
Where are prints stored?
Prints are usually stored at the UK's central print warehouse in West London.
How long did a theatrical release used to last?
A theatrical release usually lasting up to 6 months.
Digital distribution
When did digital distribution begin in the UK?
Towards the end of 2005, the UK distribution and exhibition sectors were starting to move towards digital distribution and exhibition
When did digital distribution begin in the UK?
Towards the end of 2005, the UK distribution and exhibition sectors were starting to move towards digital distribution and exhibition
Name two advantages of digital distribution
In distribution terms, the advantages of digital technology are even clearer, though perhaps longer term. Digital technology is seen to offer a more cost effective and logistics-light alternative to the tried and trusted, but unwieldy model of 35mm print distribution described above. It will, eventually, be cheaper and much less stressful to send films as computer files to cinemas across the UK, than to transport 20-25kg tins of film in the back of a van.
Which countries adopted digital distribution early and why?
Digital distribution and exhibition on a large scale has started to appear in certain parts of the world, notably China and Brazil, where conventional logistics cannot, for one reason or another, efficiently bring together supply and demand. In the UK, digital technology has been embraced by the non-theatrical sector, in film societies and schools, where the use of DVD and mid-range digital projection has replaced 16mm.
How many screens were digital in 2005 and how many are now? (you'll need to google this)
2005 the UK Film Council Digital Screen Network launched in the UK by Arts Alliance Media creating a chain of 250 2K digital cinema systems
Why has digital distribution radically altered the operating model of distributors?
The comparatively low cost of film copies and additional logistical effectiveness of digital distribution provide the distributor with greater flexibility. It will be less expensive in the coming years to offer a wide theatrical opening with many copies, and also conversely, to screen a film for just one performance at any cinema. In theory at least, it will be possible for both distributors and exhibitors to respond more precisely to audience demand.
What has happened to the typical release period for a film?
All this suggests that in the future, more titles, both mainstream and specialised, will receive wide theatrical openings, and that this broadening of access at the point of release will dramatically reduce the overall theatrical period from 3-6 months to perhaps 1-3 months. Thereafter, films will enter into a second-run and repertory programming market aided by lower costs.
What is a loss leader (google it) and why are companies using the Cinema as a potential loss leader?
Good or service advertised and sold at below cost price. Its purpose is to bring in (lead) customers in the retail store (usually a supermarket) on the assumption that, once inside the store, the customers will be stimulated to buy full priced items as well. See also price leader. Cinema uses a business strategy in which a business offers a product or service at a price that is not profitable for the sake of offering another product/service at a greater profit or to attract new customers. This is a common practice when a business first enters a market; a loss leader introduces new customers to a service or product in the hope of building a customer base and securing future recurring revenue.
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