Higher Media Studies Production Unit Module 1: Getting Started Lesson 1: Introduction to Production

What Examiners Want  Part 1, Section 2 of your Higher exam, will ask you to write about your own production experience and prove that you have thought about: Choice of medium Target audience Appropriate technical and cultural codes Associated problems and solutions This course will help you to think about them.

The Blindingly Obvious  Films are made for audiences.  Film-makers must be aware of their audiences from the beginning of the process.  Film-makers must therefore know their audiences and what they like to watch.

What’s your favourite film? These people represent different tastes in film: what do you think they are likely to enjoy watching?

Can you identify the type of genre these films belong to?

What Genres are out there?  Family Entertainment  Horror  Romantic Comedy  Teen Comedy  Action Adventure  Thriller  Drama  Science Fiction

People are markets… Think of some reasons why the two individuals in the photos might go to the cinema to watch these films. In your answer, refer to: Subject matter Cast Genre Demographics

Who watches films? social grade social statusoccupation Aupper middle class higher managerial, administrative or professional Bmiddle class intermediate managerial, administrative or professional C1lower middle class supervisory or clerical, junior managerial, administrative or professional C2skilled working class skilled manual workers Dworking class semi and unskilled manual workers E those at lowest level of subsistence state pensioners or widows (no other earner), casual or lowest grade workers Marketing professionals use these basic social groups, but who among them watches films? Difficult to tell?

So a more descriptive way of classifying can be used… A - affluent achievers B - thriving greys C - settled suburbans D - nest builders E - urban venturers F - country life G - senior citizens H - producers I - hard-pressed families J - have-nots K - unclassifiable Which of these groups are more likely to a)Watch films at the cinema? b)Watch films on DVD? c)Watch film on TV?

Top 5 US Box Office 2006: to which genres do they belong? #Title Gross (US) Budget 1Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest $423M $225M 2Cars $244M $120M 3X-Men: The Last Stand $234M $210M 4The Da Vinci Code $218M $125M 5Superman Returns $200M $270M

Worldwide Box Office  So, what genres of films are the most commercially successful of all time? #Film title$BudgetreleasedDistributor 1Titanic (1997) $1.84B $200M 1 Nov 1997 Paramount Pictures 2 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) $1.13B $94M 1 Dec 2003 New Line Cinema 3 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) $1.06B $225M 24 Jun 2006 Walt Disney Studios 4 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) $969M $130M 4 Nov 2001 Warner Bros. Pictures 5 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) $922M $115M 19 May199 9 Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

UK and US Box Office- 1 week Title Latest Wknd # Theatres Gross incl. previous weeks The Pursuit of Happyness £2,527,181402£2,527,181 #1 at UK Box Office: 19 January 2007 Stomp the Yard $13,300,0002,051$41,564,000 #1 at US Box Office: 19 January 2007

What does that prove? The previous slide showed the difference in US and UK box office. The US has a huge cinema market, with two major effects: 1.American producers can make bigger budget films. 2.Because the country is so diverse, producers are more geared to making films that appeal to the biggest market. The UK has a much smaller domestic market and so producers here have to fight harder to raise money for film production. They either make lower budget films, or big budget films with American money.

But what about…? Sometimes, there are people who don’t want to watch the big blockbuster, and so there are producers who decide to make films for them. If a film is not a blockbuster, it can still do well at the box office and make a profit. The key is that the producers have to know that the audience is out there.

And her…? Released in 1999, The Blair Witch Project became the must-see movie of a generation. With a production budget of $35,000 and box office receipts of $140 million, Blair Witch grossed 4000 times its budget: it is the most profitable movie in motion picture history, and found its market of young, adventurous film-goers who were looking for something new and fresh.

Conclusion?  All producers must think about their audience  From Hollywood blockbuster to Scottish short, producers have to understand:  Who the audience is  How to find the audience  That the script in development makes a difference