Arthouse film institution research

1) Look back at the five films you have analysed for your existing product research. Find which studios made them – e.g. Film Four, Studio Canal, BFI, BBC Films etc.

i) Krzysztof Kieslowski: Three Colours Blue (Trois couleurs: Bleu) 

Blue was made by Eurimages, fund for the co-production of European cinematographic works and canal+. Also, the Swiss company CAB Productions and the Polish company Studio Filmowe TOR. This is because it was an international co-production.

ii) Michel Gondry: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

An Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was produced by Anonymous Content, based in Los Angeles. They are an entertainment company established by Steve Golin.

iii) Jim Jarmusch: Only Lovers Left Alive

This film was made by Recorded Picture Company, an independent production company that makes films worldwide. They were also made by Pandora Film, a German film production company, founded by both Karl Baumgartner and Reinhard Brundig

iv) Ingmar Bergman: Persona

Persona was made by ‘SF Studios,’ a Swedish film production company. It was founded in 1919 as Aktiebolaget Svensk Filmindustri or Svensk Filmindustri. This can be abbreviated to SF studios.

v) Carol Morley: The Falling

The falling, a British production, was made by BBC Films. BBC Films is the film-making arm of the BBC. As well as this, The British Film Institute (abbreviated to BFI) is a film which promotes and preserves filmmaking in the United Kingdom.

2) What other films do these studios produce? Can you find any any other independent, arthouse or low-budget examples?

To begin, Canal+ has produced numerous films that fall under the category of art house. Asides from the trilogy by Krzysztof Kieslowski, they have produced films such as La Haine, United 93, Girlhood, City of God, Martyrs etc. Anonymous content is another example of a studio. They have produced art house films too such as Winter's Bone which had a budget of 2M which is significantly lower than the budget most films have. The British film production company, Recorded Picture Company have released include several independent films such as The Hit, The Last Emperor, Let Him Have It, Naked Lunch etc. Finally, SF studios (also known as Aktiebolaget Svensk Filmindustri or Svensk Filmindustri), produced a concession of Bergman’s work. A majority were considered art house such as Torment. 

3) Do the studios have any notable successes? What is the most successful low-budget or independent film the studio has released?

These studios do have notable successes. For instance, Sight & Sound, published by the British Film Institute, has conducted poll of the greatest films every 10 years since 1952. Also, BBC Films published 'Africa United,' directed by first-time UK film director. To continue, Canal+'s most grossing film was 'The Pianist.' Although the genre appealed to a niche audience as it was quite specific and subverted from mainstream genres, the History genre film still appealed to a broad audience and it grossed over $120.1 million in the box office. It was so successful it even won several awards such as 'Academy Award for Best Actor', 'César Award for Best Actor' and more. Also, although already mentioned, the independent drama film 'Winter's bone' by anonymous content received widespread critical acclaim. This perhaps was due to Jennifer Lawrence's performance in which was universally important as she has a considerably large fan base.

1) Research film distribution using this guide from the UK Film Distributors' Association. It's called Launching Film and takes you through the whole process of distributing a movie.

2) Summarise the 10 steps of film distribution in a list using your own words.

Step 1: Prompted by a moment of inspiration or encouragement, perhaps an adaptation of a meaningful book, a historical figure, an event or even a moment in time, films can be devised in a myriad of ways. The first step of distributing a film is finalising the production of it. 

Step 2: The creators need to submit their work to a sales agent where distributors  are willing to invest in them.
Step 3: Negotiating with a distributor as to the rights they claim,
Step 4: Setting a date up with the distributor and getting a deal to get the right to put the work in UK cinemas. 
Step 5: involve groups of participants to pitch ideas.
Step 6: promote the film to gain hype and increase the audience to a broader scale.
Step 7: Collaborate with other companies and organisations to create a bigger production in which more hype will be generated

Step 8: Conduct market research to help establish a fan base around the genre and theme within the film.

Step 9: license film to exhibitors so it can be shown in screening.
Step 10: Release the work on other formats e.g DVD. 

3) Now research the distributors for each of the art house films you have analysed for your existing product research. Who distributed each film in the UK?

i) Krzysztof Kieslowski: Three Colours Blue (Trois couleurs: Bleu) 

This film was distributed by both MK2 Diffusion (France) and Miramax (US)

ii) Michel Gondry: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This film was solely distributed by Focus Features, an American distribution company.

iii) Jim Jarmusch: Only Lovers Left Alive

This was distributed by Soda Pictures (United Kingdom) and Pandora Film Verleih (Germany).

iv) Ingmar Bergman: Persona

This film was distributed by AB Svensk Filmindustri (Sweden) and  Lopert Pictures (US).

v) Carol Morley: The Falling

Metrodome UK distributed this film.

4) How many cinemas did each film open in?

i)Krzysztof Kieslowski: Three Colours Blue (Trois couleurs: Bleu): Unspecified.

ii)Michel Gondry: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Although i was unable to pinpoint how many cinemas this film was opened in, I found that there were 343 screenings in the UK, according to IMDb.
iii)Jim Jarmusch: Only Lovers Left Alive: 4 screenings on the opening day in the UK.
iv) Ingmar Bergman: Persona: Unspecified.

v) Carol Morley: The Falling: Unspecified.

5) How much money did each film make? Did it make a profit against the budget?

i)Krzysztof Kieslowski: Three Colours Blue (Trois couleurs: Bleu) 
Budget:unspecified
Profit:$10.6 million

ii)Michel Gondry: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Budget:$20 million
Profit:$72.3 million

iii)Jim Jarmusch: Only Lovers Left Alive
Budget:$7 million
Profit:$7.6 million

iv) Ingmar Bergman: Persona
Budget:unspecified
Profit:$250,000 

v) Carol Morley: The Falling
Budget:£750,000
Profit:£468,762

6) Research Curzon Artificial Eye. Who are they and what do they do?

Curzon Artificial Eye is a British film distributor affiliated with the Curzon industry. They were founded in 1976 and ever since specialise in distributing independent, foreign-language (world cinema) and art house films all around London.

7) Look at the Curzon Artficial Eye YouTube channel. Watch three trailers for recent or upcoming independent films and identify something you can learn from each film to use in your own film production.

This trailer makes very interesting use of voice overs. I had not considered using voice overs until watching this as it uses the non-diegetic sound source very successfully. Moreover, the religious imagery is also a striking aspect. Making use of the shots by intentionally placing symbolic objects help add depth to the film.

I found this trailer's use of establishing or long shots especially evoking. The use of the establishing shots were intentionally included into the sequence to show the effect of destruction or to heighten a feeling of unity as there are crows of people sometimes in these shots. This contrasts vastly with the vacant areas of destruction shown later. This not only has taught me the importance of establishing shots but has also brought my attention to the juxtaposition of shots to create contrast which in turn will provoke the emotions of my audience.

This trailer's strongest aspect is the aesthetic element. It consisted of several shots of the scenery and eventually to less serene shots. The intentional act of placing tranquil shots against more chaotic shots heightened the impact of the effect they had on the audience. Moreover, the aesthetic element was also heavily aided by the gentle blue colour scheme.

Find some London-based arthouse cinemas and research the following:

1)What is the name of the cinema? Where is it?

I have selected the Arthouse Crouch End based cinema on Tottenham.

2) What type of films do they show? What films are on this week? How do their

programmes differ from the major cinema chains like Vue? 

To begin, the Arthouse Crouch End shows mainly art films. These are targeted towards a niche market rather being designed for mass appeal or towards a mainstream audience. This is because art films are intended to be an artistic work, containing unconventional or highly symbolic content. By unconventional, I am making reference to how these types of films often possess qualities that distinguish them from mainstream Hollywood films as different. Unlike major cinemas such as Vue, the Arthouse Crouch End detaches from the mainstream trends in terms of film as they do not show unrefined, new films for the purpose of gaining hype. Instead, they stray away from this type of content. A good example is how the newest, most popular screenings are of ‘Fantastic Beasts’ and ‘Moana.’ It is not a surprise that this cinema is not screening these films whatsoever.

3) What type of audience attends this kind of arthouse cinemas? Are there any clues on the website regarding the target audience? How can you tell?

From my previous research as to the content shown, it is evident this cinema targets a niche audience rather than the mass market.  As the content is often very meaningful and discusses themes in society, reflected upon realism within the films, it is argued that it requires a certain degree of experience and knowledge to fully understand or appreciate such content. This subsequently means that younger people are less attracted to this kind of cinema as they lack this understanding that older people are more likely to have. Therefore, the audience is more likely to be older people and as arthouse cinemas tend to be quite expensive, it is far more likely that middle class people with a solid income are going to be attracted to this cinema. Regarding clues from the website, we can easily tell by the overall layout that this cinema is quite high brow. What stood out to me most from the website was the food options. Rather than conventional popcorn being served, we can see they serve sandwiches.

1)What is Film London and why does it exist?

Film London is one of nine regional screen agencies within the United Kingdom. This organisation is supported by the BFI, the Mayor of London and also receives significant support from Arts Council England London. It sustains London as a major international film-making and film cultural capital.

In other words, they connect abstractions, talent and finance to pioneer ideas to sustain the notorious creative film culture of London.

2) What is the purpose of Microwave Film?

Microwave film not only funds films but also is dedicated to offering full support and mentoring to assist shortlisted filmmaking teams.. As well as this, the provide production finance and offer distribution support to the commissioned work. This is all provided within their ‘microschool.’

3) What is the London Calling project for Film London and how does it encourage independent filmmaking?

London Calling project is an annual short film scheme. They encourage independent filmmaking by providing a source of mentoring and funding.  This enables individuals to achieve their full potential. Also, the idea of it being a competition and having an award, enables competitors a motive. 

4) Choose three feature films funded by Microwave Film and embed their trailers in your blog. For each film, explain why it fits the profile for an arthouse or independent film and what target audience the film might attract.

i)Lifting: This is a British drama. More specifically, a melodrama in which uses plots that appeal to the heightened emotions of the audience. As well as the use of a sub-type of drama, we can also see the is an instance of 'world cinema' as the use of foreign language is prevalent. All of these factors along with the social realism and indie feel indicate this is an arthouse film. Considering arthouse films are notorious of requiring a certain degree of knowledge to fully understand the depth of these kinds of films, we cannier that the target audience are farmer like to be older people. Moreover, the fact that arthouse cinema is expensive, we can assume that they are likely to be middle class or above. However, we can also argue that the narrative subverts from conventional plots as it heavily focuses on the homosexual relationship between the lady's son and the main character. This type of sexual orientation still remains fairly controversial but predominantly with the being population rather than the younger population. This is simply due to the stereotype that the elderly are more traditional, conservative and religious making them quite close-minded. The youth on the other hand are seen as more accepting to homosexuality. This means that the film could be targeted at younger people as well as older people. I would suggest the age range would be from 16-30. In terms of gender, I feel that women would be far more likely to enjoy this genre of film as there is an aspect of romance in it and it is said to be very emotionally evoking.

ii)ill Manors: To begin, this British crime drama film instantly appears to provide a form of depth. This is quickly made visible by the still of the nurture based quotation. Instantly, this idea of our environments impact appeals to teenagers and young adults. Teenagers in specific as they are between the liminal period of youth and adulthood, where they are surrounded and easily influenced by their environment and where creating any identity for themselves. This makes it easy for teenagers relate to the themes of this film. This movie appeals to a niche target audience as they use a storyline that isn't usually applicable in mainstream films. This is conventional of arthouse film. Instead, here they discuss ongoing social issues in British society and critique the ideas of hierarchy. They explore issues that are likely to appeal to people who are interested in affairs. This trailer includes a shot of a house which is a typical, run down British home. This adds to the social realism of the film and therefore attracts those who are seeking enlightenment e.g reformers from Young and Rubicam's theory.

iii)Strawberry Fields: This psychological horror film at first glance appears to appeal predominantly towards females. This is because of the issues the sisters face which a of females can relate to (hopefully not as severe as in this case). Also, the use of binary opposition within the roles here reveals the conflict and the riveting narrative. I think that the target audience are likely to be 18-35. This is because although adults are more typically associated with arthouse film, young adults can also identify the themes of the film.

5) Watch these top tips for film production. List three things you've learned from these short videos that you can apply to your MEST2 production work. 

i)Maintaining a sense of social realism by ensuring the narrative is as culturally specific as possible.

ii)Making certain that my characters are emotionally evoking, striking and that they embody the ideas of the themes I want to be portrayed.

iii) Ensuring I have a meaningful, well written narrative.