Tracking - Kill Your Darlings

 An online article on The Mirror interacting with fans of Daniel Radcliffe and promoting Kill Your Darlings

 A post on a Daniel Radcliffe fan site showing a poster for the film that has been released recently

An online article on The Daily Express targeting fans of Harry Potter and promoting Kill Your Darlings

Daniel Radcliffe appearing on The Graham Norton Show, promoting his film. The clips was uploaded to youtube by a fan. 17th May.

A youtube search of 'Kill Your Darlings' showing trailers and interviews with the cast.

Daniel Radcliffe's facebook page with a banner advertising the film.

I will indeed be spreading the word.


Tracking - The Hobbit

Links to the Facebook page and Youtube channel for The Hobbit on the official website 

An article on The Metro website about Ed Sheeran writing a song for The Hobbit

An article on The Independent website showing people the trailer for The Hobbit

 A youtube search for the film, showing trailers and behind the scenes production vlogs. There is also a super-cool review of a lego set based on the film.

 A stage in the 'treasure hunt' posted by the official facebook page of the film.

The Hobbit is on a plane. It's in New Zealand which is where a lot of the film was shot.

There was a live hangout on Youtube/Google+ where people could ask Peter Jackson, Evangeline Lilly and Richard Armitage questions about the film. See separate post for more.

This was built in Bucharest, Romania. It is raising awareness of the film's release.

Film Industry Case Study 4 - Kill Your Darlings

UK Release Date: 6th December 2013

Production Companies: Killer Films, Outpost Studios, Benroya Pictures

UK Distributor: The Works

Nationality: USA

Genre: Drama/Romance/Thriller/Biography

Director: John Krokidas

Star Names: Daniel Radcliffe, Michael C. Hall, Elizabeth Olsen

Plot Summary: A Murder in 1944 draws together the great poets of the beat generation: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs

Target Audience: Men and Women aged 25+, People interested in the 1940s, Fans of Daniel Radcliffe/Harry Potter

Film Industry Case Study 3 - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

UK Release Date: 13th December 2013

Production Company: MGM

Distributor: Warner Bros.

Budget: $250,000,000

Nationality: USA and New Zealand

Type of Production: High concept Hollywood Blockbuster

Connection with Other Films: 2nd film in 'The Hobbit' series. Sequel to 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'. Part of the follow-up trilogy to 'Lord of the Rings'.

Director: Peter Jackson

Star Names: Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Orlando Bloom, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett, Ian Mckellen, Andy Serkis, Stephen Fry, Billy Connolly, Sylvester McCoy

Plot Summary: Bilbo and his crew need to travel through a scary forest and then find a secret door in a mountain that leads to a big dragon before stealing it's gold and escaping.

Target Audience: Fans, of all ages, of The Lord of the Rings or of The Hobbit. Fans of thrillers and big-budget Hollywood films. Fans of any of the stars.

Pap and Sons - What I Learned from Marcus

Marcus Markou, the film's writer, director and distributor, made me realise that genuinely good films can be successful, despite a small budget, as long as the available resources are used correctly. Marcus didn't have a lot of money to distribute his film compared to Hollywood titles. He was competing against films that had multi-million dollar budgets on his release weekend. Despite this, his film was the second most popular film for that weekend (or something like that) and it was successful because he used his resources well.

He knew who his target audience was and he knew how to target them. He used his money to get Greeks involved and interested in the film. Instead of buying advert spaces on buses and bus stops all over london, he used his money to get the word out at Greek churches, handed out flyers in greek areas and had adverts on Greek radio stations.

This all meant that when the film was released, depsite comparatively spending nothing on distribution, his film was more successful than many big-budget films. Basically, he was resourceful, he knew what he needed to do to make the film popular and he precisely targeted his audience. Well played Marcus.

Papadopoulos and Sons - Research 2

MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION

The film was advertised using all teh conventional platforms. A poster was released alone with a theatrical trailer. A website was set up with a blog by Marcus, giving people updates on the progress of the project. However, this film's popularity got a huge boost from social media. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, among others, were used to spread the word of the film and to help it go viral. 

Marcus's company, 'Double M Films', distributed the film. This was done completely independently. Marcus took the film to festivals around the world, spreading the word of the film and generating interest in it. The film won an award and interest continued to grow. The film was eventually released in Greece in 2012 (Greeks being the primary target audience for the film), and then released in the UK and Ireland a year later, (this year).

Papadopoulos and Sons - Research 1

Papadopoulos and Sons is an independent British film, written and directed by Marcus Markou. Released in 2012, it was hugely succesful despite having a small budget. It is a great example of how a small budget can be used effectively to distribute a film.

Set in London, this film tells the story of Marcus Papadopoulos, a vastly rich businessman who makes a bad investment, loses everything, and is forced to re-open an old fish and chip shop with his family his brother. Reluctant at first to come to terms with what has happened, he eventually realises that money is not important and begins to apprectiate things like family.

Reviews were the film were fairly average. Generally, it was described as a feel-good film with charm and character. It received a 6.2 out of 10 on IMBD and 3 out of 5 stars from The Guardian.