Chicken CSP (industry)

Chicken CSP (media industry)

-2016 British Drama film
-directed by Joe Stephenson
-based on play of same name by Freddie Machin
-micro budget film making 
-raises issues around role and future of national cinema as well as the viability of media products produced outside of the mainstream for niche audiences

Synopsis: 
-Richard, a 15 yr old boy with learning difficulties and his aggressive brother Polly. They live in a caravan with no other family, life isn't good. Richard wants to settle down and have a normal life, the film reveals why that won't be easy.

"A 15-year-old's optimistic view becomes difficult to maintain when his brother's behaviour worsens, and he feels torn between loyalty to his brother or getting closer to his first female friend"



What's the difference between mainstream and independent film? 
Mainstream film
- higher budget
- widely released in cinemas
- well known
- produced by major Hollywood studios
- star actors

Independent film 
- produced by smaller production companies/ outside major film studios
- don't follow same formula as studio films but they do vary in style and genre
- make audience think about certain topics/ issues/ more realistic than mainstream films
-no CGI used
-small amount of promotion
-small cost- unknown actors
-one location - minimal - mostly outdoors with natural lighting
-not created in famous/ Hollywood studios
-narrative based on more real life issues 
-limited distribution - film festivals focusing on independent films




primary & secondary target audience:
* primary could be aimed at adults who are liberal - believe in treating people equally, possibly a more niche audience as it is independent film
* secondary could appeal to people with learning difficulties as it could be a film that they can relate to characters, younger audience/ demographic

production values:
= the lighting, sound, scenery and props used to improve a film or play
*low production values:
-small cost
-setting/ location
-focus on narrative they want to demonstrate rather than mostly for entertainment purposes such as displaying action packed CGI clips etc

• The concept of “risk-taking” in terms of narrative choice available to independent studios
• Regulation of the industry through BBFC (British Board of Film Classification).

• Regulation including Livingstone and Lunt (studies)


Understanding the film industry

Avengers:Infinity War
-What was the budget?
316 million USD

-Who is the director? Are they well known?
Anthony Russo - American film and Television director

-What studio produced the film?
Pinewood Atlanta Studios

-How much money has the film made at the box office on it's opening weekend?
Over $2 billion worldwide

-How has the film been promoted?
posters, trailers, advertising and promotions


The Terminator
-What was the budget?
6.4 million USD

-Who is the director? Are they well known?

James Cameron

-What studio produced the film?
Hemdale Pacific Western Productions Cinema '84

-How much money has the film made at the box office on it's opening weekend?

$78.3 million worldwide

-How has the film been promoted?

posters, trailers, advertising and promotions

Chicken
-What was the budget?
£140,000

-Who is the director? Are they well known?

Joe Stephenson

-What studio produced the film?

B good picture company

-How much money has the film made at the box office on it's opening weekend?

8300

-How has the film been promoted?

trailers, posters, social media (Twitter, Facebook), film festivals, review quotes

Funding for Chicken
-independent films - low budgets & are funded by small production studios or the BFI/ National lottery (Chicken didn't have this luxury - Stephenson couldn't get the funding for the BFI or National Lottery as they weren't interested in the film) - They only usually provide funding for established directors/ producers, or films that are going to be successful/ have an impact
-Stephenson had to raise the money himself, a micro-budget of  £110,000 - He had to ask around all his friends and film contracts to put the money together

6 Stages of film making

1. acquisition - ideas created or bought, if necessary rights to story are bought, screenplay is written and financing is sought
2. pre-production - cast and film crew are found, locations chosen and sets are built. this is also the point where budgets are decided and funding is found  (if needed)
3. production - film is shot and filmed (included massive crew and most expensive part of production). it also see, as 'point of n return' for most projects, as if it's difficult t recover costs of production without finished product after shooting begins
4. post-production - recorded film is edited. crew work on sound effects sand enhancement, images sand visual effects
5. distribution - finished film is distributed and marketing strategies are employed to promote film and draw in audiences. |It is screened at the cinema and released for home viewing on variety of formats


Production of Chicken
-characteristic of contemporary cultural production in its use of new technology at production and distribution stages
-Stephenson had to set up his own production company (B Good Production) to create the film
-filming took place over 19 days in locations across London. They couldn't film for longer or in a variety of locations as they couldn't afford it - very short amount of time to film a whole movie
-lot of film was recorded outdoors - for a production on a micro - budget, why would this have been an issue? - weather bad - unsuitable equipment for these conditions - have to film a other day & can never rely on weather for indie films as they don't have as suitable equipment for outdoors due to the lack of money
-lack of budget also limited amount of 'star' power they could afford - actors are NOT  well known, meaning they can't rely on the names to promote the film

How would the fact 'a film is produced independently' have impact on success of the film?
A film that is produced
-cannot use famous actors' names to promote film
-lack equipment especially when filming outside - bad weather can lead to bad filming conditions - not ideal shots - will have to rearrange and film another day but cannot guarantee good weather/ weather suitable for the filming 
-less money to spend on production of film

How accessible is the film industry for film-makers on low/ micro-budgets? is this fair?
-more difficult for film makers to produce film as there will be limited money to spend on equipment/ cameras/ film sets/ outdoor/ weather proof equipment too etc.
-can be unfair as film makers can't make full use of settings e.g. if bad weather conditions outside, may make filming difficult or not able to film at all in rain/ snow even if it needs to be included in some scenes 
-however, not always fair as low b budget films can have other features that make this type of film even better than mainstream ones despite having a lower budget and so less equipment etc. is available 

Could the issues that strike producers on micro-budgets massively affect a production's quality and final output?-not necessarily as independent films can sometimes be better if they're set in slightly different locations that suit the cameras/ other equipment they have more rather than trying to use the more advanced equipment to film an independent film which just won't suit the set up very well and may bot be stable for more low budget film with different concepts behind the film

How would the fact 'a film is produced independently' have impact on success of the film?
-cannot use famous actors' names to promote film
-lack equipment especially when filming outside - bad weather can lead to bad filming conditions - not ideal shots - will have to rearrange and film another day but cannot guarantee good weather/ weather suitable for the filming 
-less money to spend on production of film



Distribution of Chicken
Distribution materials:
-trailer
-official website
-posters - quotes, images, release date, QR code, social media links
-film festivals - Q&A
-podcasts online
-reliance on new technology
-VOD
-streaming
-audience ‘programming’ (open screen etc.)

-Stephenson failed to secure distribution interest interest in Chicken, coming across same issues that he did with funding
-Instead, Stephenson spent 2 years focused on showing the film at film festivals
-Film showed at festivals in Dublin, Spain, Italy, Estonia, New Hampshire and Germany. It had it's world premiere in Edinburgh and international premiere in South Korea
-He won awards and special mentions at 5 of these festivals


What is the purpose of film festivals?
-help publicize films
-see if audience are interested in film/ enjoy it or not before it's produced 
-attract new audiences - may lead people who may not usually be interested in a particular type of film as they e enjoy the overall atmosphere and so want to attend anyway - may then realise they actually like. anew film and so can share their views with others, promoting the film further and spreading a positive word
-platform to share ideas, interact with others
-when new or independent filmmaker brings a film to a festival, the viewers have the opportunity to connect with the story through experiencing the film firsthand - festival setting allows them to share emotions and ideas with the filmmakers and other audience members to open a new perspective on the film - process can give filmmaker insights and even unlock new approaches for the film with producers, distributors, and others who can bring it to a wider audience

Name 3 mainstream film festivals
-Cannes Film festival
-Berlin Film Festival
-Venice Film Festival

What sort of people would attend film festivals?
-producers (manages business side off film)
-public who are interested to watch new films and engage in new content/ attend lively atmosphere 
-bloggers
-people who want to get a job (job seeker)
-innovators - inspired by others
-directors/ film maker (manages creative side of film)

What do you think are the costs associated for marketing films at film festivals?
-directors have to pay to get their film submitted to be screened at festival - pay for equipment and venue being used, time spent for film to play etc.-not all directors have to pay a fee 

Why do you think Stephenson chose film festivals as a way to screen his film?
-it is shown to a wide and varied population which often makes a difference to how successful the film is after the festival and how many people then watch the film after/ tell others to watch it
-attracts people to festival - people will probably be happy and excited and so less likely to complain about film even if it is not up to some people's standards - and will lead to an increased grossing for film



Social, economic and cultural contexts
-characteristic of contemporary cultural production in its use of new technology at production and distribution stages
-Reflects shifting patterns of audience consumption -  as a low budget film, it will be interesting to consider this


Curran & Seaton-media controlled by small number of companies e.g. The Big Six (were not interested in Chicken) - have big profit and Chicken would not have provided a big box office return, hence rejection-non mainstream films like Chicken offer more diverse, independent approach to film making critical success more important/ relevant than commercial success (profit)

Livingstone & Lunt Regulation theory
-noticed that regulating media to protect citizens from harmful content can limit freedom of expression. 
-cultural companies try to minimise risk and maximise audience/ profit through vertical and horizontal integration (pattern of ownership theory)
-Chicken challenges traditional pattern of ownership but as a 'risk-taking' film is prevented from achieving significant commercial success due to lack of funding  from major organisations
-Chicken more like a 'revenue drip' 

Hesmondhalgh's cultural industries theory
-largest companies or conglomerates now operate across a number of different cultural industries
-believes that companies need to minimise risk and maximise audiences to be successful



Exam Practice:

-Explain how Chicken can be considered an independent film (10 marks)

Chicken can be considered an independent film through being a smaller production company rather than one commonly used for major Hollywood films. The director, Joe Stephenson created his own production company called B Good Production as there was a limited budget to pay for all the resources to create the film. The filming only took nineteen days and they only used a few outside locations in London as they couldn't afford well equipped indoor studios. However, this faced some issues for recording as the natural lighting had to be suitable for the particular scenes being filmed and they also have to rely on the weather conditions to be appropriate without ruining the scenes. The lack of a famous celebrities involved in the movie has meant that Chicken cannot rely on the actors names to promote the movie as the actors within this independent movie do not have the popularity as some of the Hollywood stars. The narrative is often the most significant aspect fo the film rather than the in mainstream films, focusing on the entertainment value such as using CGI and other effects that usually engage audiences further. Independent films are based on real life concepts and issues involved in society such as disabilities, bullying or sexuality that a wide audience can relate to. When distributing the film, Chicken had very limited sources due to it not being a mainstream film and so its production company entered local, national and international film festivals to gain exposure with distributors who may then buy the distribution rights.


-What is the impact of budgets on production of independent films? (15 marks)

There is a big impact of budgets on the production of independent films such as Chicken as they typically have a low budget and are funded by small production studios. Stephenson wasn't able to get the funding for the BFI/ National Lottery as they weren't interested in the film because they usually just provide funding for established producers/ directors or films that are going to be successful or have an impact. As a result, Stephenson had to raise the money itself which was a micro budget of £110,000; he had to ask around all his friends and film contracts to put the money together. He set up his own production company called 'B good picture company' which was a cheaper option and enabled Chicken to be successful as an independent film.


-Identify differences between studio financed films in the way films are distributed (15 marks)

Studio financed films involved higher budgets and are often widely released in cinemas as they are often more successful and well known. They are often produced by major Hollywood studios due to having enough money to be able to afford all the equipment. Star actors are more likely to be involved with the studio films and are used to promote the film easier due to the already well known actors. The way in which mainstream films are distributed is through trailers, official websites, posters and social media however, Chicken was predominantly distributed through attending film festivals. Although Stephenson failed to distribute the film in other ways, he was very successful with film festivals and managed to show Chicken in a range of countries.