Original Photos

This is the photo I used for my poster:

These are the photos I used for my magazine cover:

Shot List

This is the shot list we made prior to any filming. It has 21 shots in an order we thought they might work, although we have rearranged this order since. Some of them have been ticked off as we were marking them off as we were doing them.

Storyboard

This is the storyboard we made before we started filming. It has drawings and descriptions of the first six shots we wanted to do, in the order we were going to film them.

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Below are screen grabs of the programmes and technology I have used during this project whilst constructing, researching, planning and evaluating my products:

1. First is a screen grab from the website http://freeplaymusic.com/. This is a website that provides public domain music. I had never used this website before but it was fairly user friendly with music categorised through CD volume, style and feel. Sorting music by 'feel' was very helpful because we used music from this website for our trailer and therefore being able to find music by looking under 'Building Tension' or 'Sinister' etc saved a lot of time and enabled us to find exactly what we were looking for.

2. Next is a screen grab from Final Cut Pro. This is the programme we used to edit the footage for our trailer and add inter-titles and effects. I used this programme in the summer term when we made a couple of short films. However that only involved a small amount of editing whereas this time we used the programme very extensively to make sure every element of our trailer was how we wanted it. For example we used this programme to put a grade over  the footage to make it darker which was complex compared to what we had done in the summer term. This programme was helpful because otherwise our trailer would have been very basic and it would have been difficult to put the footage in the right order.

3. Then there is a screen grab from Blogger. This is the same website we used to present our work last year so I already knew the basics of using it. However this time I posted different things like slideshows, added links and embedded videos. I used Blogger to post all my work and it gave me a chance to present things in a way conventional essays don't. Since using Blogger for media I have also used it in other lessons. To the right is a screen grab from my language coursework in which I had to make a media text. I decided to do this in the form of a blog and since I had already learnt how to use Blogger in media I decided this was the best website to use. I made the entire blog using the tools on Blogger so knowing how to use it saved a lot of time and made the final product look more like a real blog. In this instance I feel the skills I had learnt in media influenced my work in other lessons because if I hadn't learnt to use Blogger I probably wouldn't have done a blog for my media text, I would have done something more traditional like a newspaper article.

4. Next to this is a picture of the camcorder we used; a Sony VX2100. We used this for almost all of our filming, there is only one shot that was filmed using a different one. We chose to use this camcorder because it was high quality and we decided it would look more authentic and consistent to only use one camera.

5. Next is screen grab from Flickr. This website allowed me to present annotation in a more interesting manner so the blog posts didn't just look like essays. I also used this website last year so I knew how to add notes to pictures as displayed in the screen grab. I used this website mostly for research into real media products, such as posters and magazine covers, because it made it easier to point out specific elements of the products. This then enabled me to consider which ideas I would like to build on in my own work.

6. Next is a screen grab from Photoshop, which I used to make my poster and magazine cover. I also used in it the research stages of the project to make a mood board. My mood board was research for my trailer and contained images, themes and ideas I would like to use. Photoshop was very useful for this as it allowed me to combine the separate images into one montage, which gave a better impression of what I wanted to achieve in my trailer than presenting them separately would have done. I used this programme last year so again I basically knew how to use it. However it is a complex programme and whilst using it this time I have learnt how to use more of the tools. For example I learnt how to blend different layers together like for the film title on my poster which I blended so it had a bark texture. Furthermore I have also used this programme in other lessons since learning how to use it in media. For example, like Blogger, I have also used it to aid me with my media text for my language coursework. In this instance I used Photoshop to paste in different sections of my blog and combine them together. I did this because I wanted my blog to print with the coloured background and without the web address at the top. I did this because I wanted my blog to look like an original and not like it had been printed off the Internet. Photoshop was very useful for this because I wouldn't have known how to do it using any other programme, and without media I wouldn't have known I could do it on Photoshop either so again this is an example of how media has improved my work in other subjects.

7. On the bottom layer is a screen grab from Slide Boom. I used Slide Boom to host Powerpoint presentations I had made. This website was helpful because it allowed me to present information in an interesting way. For example I made a presentation in the research stages of the project which I uploaded onto the website. This presentation contained data on audience research in relation to horror, which we gathered through the website Survey Monkey. Using Slide Boom allowed me to present this data in the form of a slideshow, which I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. I wanted to present this information in the form of a powerpoint because there was a lot of data and had it just been written out in paragraphs it may have became very tedious to read whereas having it as part of a slideshow breaks it up a little. Initially I was going to use Slide Share for the slideshow I made for my evaluation question, however I had put animation on the slideshow and Slide Share doesn't keep the animation. It also doesn't allow transition times between slides which was a problem as there wasn't enough time to read the information on the slides. However Slide Boom keeps the presentation exactly the same so this seemed like the better option.

8. The next screen grab is from YouTube. This was an extremely helpful website because, first of all, we were able to upload our trailer to it. This enabled it to be viewed by anyone so we could gain feedback and was the best way to put it on my blog. YouTube was also useful for research as I used it right from the beginning of the project, to find out what horror teaser trailers were, to the planning stages of our trailer when I was looking for ideas to build on.

9. The final screen grab is from SurveyMonkey. We used this website in the research stage of our project and it was very useful. It enabled us to make a survey, with both open and closed questions, and then it hosted it on the Internet. We used this website to make a survey which would gather audience responses to horror. When we had made the survey we linked it to our Facebook pages and 30 people responded. This gave us access to primary data which we were able to analyse and use to our advantage when making our trailer. I had never used this website before but it was fairly user friendly and easy to navigate and therefore I feel I have gained a skill I didn't have before this project.

Producing a piece of work in media is very different to how this would be done in a more essay based subject such as English. However the research stages may be quite similar, as both make extensive use of the Internet. However whereas media uses websites such as Flickr and SlideBoom to then present that research and a blog to host it, a subject such as English would not need presentations of this kind and therefore any useful information found on the Internet would ultimately end up as part of an essay. The actual piece of work would again be different. An essay for English would just be page after page of continuous prose, however, in media, products can be a variety of things such as a video or Photoshop products. Finally evaluation would also be very different. In English you may annotate an essay or write an evaluation paragraph as part of an investigation. However in media there are many means of evaluating ranging from a voice over to a slideshow to some paragraphs of text accompanied by pictures. Both of these approaches have strengths and weaknesses. The traditional approach is simpler and easier for people who are not visually creative. Also it only really needs a pen and paper which can be more reliable than the technology used in media. However the essay approach doesn't allow for any individualism or visual creativity and therefore can be tedious to do. The media approach allows for this creativity as a blog can be personalised in many ways and lots of different mediums can be used like video and images. Also the making of the products in media allows for practical work, like making the trailer, and more artistic work, like the poster and magazine cover. Furthermore in English there is a word count of say 3000 words for an essay, however on a blog there are no word counts and its easy to write 3 or 4 times this amount over the whole blog because each post is its own section and has its own topic, so writing a large amount doesn't become as tedious. Also because there are separate posts the piece of coursework becomes easier to edit because the blog doesn't have to work as fluently as a whole as an essay does. Finally media gives you the opportunity a learn a lot of new skills that traditional subjects don't, such as how to make a blog, edit images on Phototshop and make surveys online. However the media approach does also have weaknesses. It relies very heavily on technology which can go wrong and hinder work. There is also a lot to learn to be able to use programmes like Photoshop and Final Cut Pro to their potential. Finally things can become complicated to someone who is not particularly computer fluent and very difficult for someone who is not particularly visually creative or innovative. Personally, I prefer the media approach because I find it more interesting. Doing research through a website like YouTube instead of out of a book is not only more engaging but also easier because you can find what you're looking for in seconds by typing in a key word whereas it may take hours to find the right bit of information in a book. Furthermore I enjoy the freedom with pieces of work like the poster and the opportunity to do something practical like the trailer. However I do feel the media approach can be more complicated than the traditional one because some of the programmes we used are quite complex and this can cause problems.  

Overall I feel I used a lot of new media this year. Most of the technology I used, like Final Cut Pro, I hadn't ever been on much before so it took a while to learn how to use it. However once I had spent some time on it it became much easier and I was able to use it more to its potential. Also even with the programmes I had used, like Photoshop and Blogger, I was able to develop my skills further and even carry those skills across into my other lessons.

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

The target audience for our 'film' was teenagers and young adults, around 15 - 24 years old, because they not only visit the cinema most often but they are also the age group most attracted to horror films. So when we felt our trailer was finished we played it to the rest of our class as they had an age range of 17 - 20 and were therefore within the range of our target audience. We did this for a few reasons, but mainly to see what the reactions of people outside the project, but within the target audience, would be. This included anything good, bad or even anything they felt was missing.

The first critical point we were met with was in regard to the scene towards the end where Jake is crying into

the camera. One member of the class felt this could be seen as funny, which would be a problem for the trailer of a horror film. However after talking to the rest of the class and watching it again it seems the humour derived from this shot was a product of knowing Jake, and not to do with the shot itself. This theory was supported further when I played the trailer to people who didn't know Jake as they didn't find it funny at all.

The second point was to do with the following shot of the hand appearing through the tree. At the time of showing our trailer this shot was longer and was focused more on Jake's face, like the previous shot, before the hand appeared. However some members of the class felt that as the camera moved from Jake's face to the hand it looked too deliberate as he was holding the camera and wasn't supposed to know it was there until it appeared. We reviewed this as a group and decided to shorten the clip so it isn't really focused on Jake's face and therefore looks more like an accident that it moves to the hand.

The third point was also to do with the hand. This time it was suggested it may look better with more of a jolt as this would make the audience jump and be more in fitting with the horror genre. We thought about this and although we decided we liked the visual the way it was we did move the impact sound around a bit so the effect was more jolting.

The fourth point was to do with lighting. Originally, and at the time of showing, our trailer was quite light because it was shot during the day. However the class felt that it would possibly look scarier if it was dark, especially as a prominent convention of horror is that bad things happen in the dark. Once again we reviewed this as a group and decided it was a valid point. So in response to this we added a gradual grading across the trailer. This made it seem as if it was getting darker whilst still looking natural.

The fifth point was in regard to the 'Blair Witch Project'. It was felt by one member of the class that our 'film', and therefore our trailer, was quite similar to 'Blair Witch Project' because it used POV all the way through and was set in a forest, and therefore they felt it didn't have anything unique to advertise. However this point was discussed by the whole class and the majority of people felt that this was not the case because our trailer has elements that made it different, such as the source of fear being more defined through David's behaviour.

The sixth point was that there was a possible lack of police activity. One member of the class felt that the shot of the police tape began to establish a link between the forest and previous police activity but then didn't build on it, which they felt may have been a good thing to do as one conventional horror setting is a place with a 'past'. However we felt this was the effect we wanted because we wanted to hint at previous activity without it becoming too obvious and giving away too much of what had happened in the forest.

The seventh point suggested was adding more glitches, to both the inter-titles and footage, as they helped to give the impression of supernatural interference and hint at what was happening in the forest. However our group felt that if we added many more then the point would become overstated and annoying and therefore we decided to leave it as it was.

The eighth point was regarding the beep when the inter-titles glitch. One member of the class thought this may get annoying. However our group felt that the glitch itself needed an audio accompaniment to draw attention to it and make it seem scarier, and so we decided to leave them in.

The ninth point from someone in the class was questioning whether there was enough narrative to keep the audience interested. However we asked the rest of the group and they said they understood enough for this to be a good teaser trailer. Therefore we decided that nothing needed to be done because, if anything, the lack of narrative helped to keep the audience guessing about what would happen in the film, and this was the effect we were trying to create.

The final point was whether we should put a camera effect on, as this would help to emphasise that the 'film' was shot in a POV style. We thought this was a good suggestion and tried it. However once it was on we found it was too small and didn't look right, so we took it back off.

In addition to the points above the class also gave us feedback on what they liked. The first thing they pointed out was the camera dropping and the foot stomping. They said this was especially effective with the impact sound because it implied danger and helped to maintain that this trailer was for a horror film. The second was the soundtrack, especially towards the end when it speeds up and becomes more intense. They liked this because they said it built tension and put them on edge which made them want to see the film. The third point was the section where the running is interspersed with darkness and a heartbeat. They felt that the visuals in connection with the heartbeat again built tension because as the heartbeat gradually picked up speed the audience's heartbeat did the same. The fourth point was the inter-titles. They liked the clear, consistent font followed by the glitches and static, especially at the start as this was the first impression they had of the film and it helped to establish the genre and premise. The fifth point was the handheld POV camera effect, which isn't used very often for a whole film and therefore generated interest. This is not only a point of advertising but also again establishes the film as part of the horror genre because this is where this technique is most used. The final point they specified liking was the bit where David's eye opens, because the shot itself, the bad TV effect and the impact sound all worked well together and indicated to the audience that this is the moment where things start to go wrong and the horror begins.

In conclusion I learnt several things from the audience feedback. I learnt that whilst the opinion of a group does matter, the information has to be considered carefully. It would have been impractical and unnecessary to change everything that every member of the group suggested, and in some instances impossible as there were opinions that contradicted each other. However I did gain some invaluable information from the opinions of the class and I think our trailer was changed for the better because of them.

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

In what ways does your media product use, develop, or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

All trailers share some central conventions. They must include the genre, name and production values of the film. I think the genre of our 'film' is easy to distinguish right from the start of our trailer because of the inter-titles describing the disappearance of the teenagers. This is then supported through the use of music and mise-en-scene elements like the blood. The name of our 'film' is also prominent as it has its own shot towards the end of the trailer with nothing to distract from it. The production values, however, are less obvious. All the main characters are seen so it could be said the stars of the film are made known. The directors name isn't given, however this would happen in a real trailer if the director was unknown and therefore couldn't be used as an advertising technique.

Furthermore trailers have to use aspects of the film that the target audience will be interested in. We tried to film clips we thought would grab the attention of our teenage to early twenties audience, for example the opening shots are just of a group of teenagers hanging out, so this is something they could identify with. A trailer should also introduce central characters and their relationships, and also identify the main protagonist. All our characters are seen in the first shot so the audience knows who will be in the film. I think the shot of David opening his eyes portrays him as the monster and the one of Jake crying shows him as the main protagonist. Another thing trailers can do is indicate the central narrative enigma, without showing how it is resolved. I feel our trailer does this because after David opens his eyes there are shots of people running away, getting attacked etc so this emphasises that there is a central narrative enigma however nothing is revealed as to what is really happening or why.

Music is an important part of a trailer, it has to be emotive and in keeping with the genre. It also has to emphasise build-up rather than crescendo. We tried to find music for our trailer that would begin quite calmly whilst the equilibrium was still in balance and then have more of a build-up later on once it was disturbed. I feel we achieved this as the music we used builds up as the heartbeats start and only cuts out for the scene of Jake crying, without actually reaching the crescendo. Also trailers will use a mixture of dialogue, voice over and inter-titles to introduce the characters and what is happening. We decided that a voice over wasn't right for our trailer but we did use inter-titles to reveal the premise and give some information like who the film was made by. We also used a small amount of dialogue to make our characters seem natural and to build a relationship between the main protagonist and the audience.

Horror films also have their own set of conventions. For example there are certain settings which are often used. These include locations such as small communities or isolated places, places with a 'past', woods, homes and places at night. We upheld this convention in our trailer as we not only set our 'film' in some woods, but it was also at night time. Furthermore the police tape hints that it is a place with a 'past'.

Horror also uses a specific technical code. It uses conventions like 'weird' high and low angles, for example in my trailer the first shot is a high angle of Jake's feet followed immediately by a low angle of his face. This creates disorientation as the shots change quickly and are at angles that people don't usually see. Another technical code convention is close ups. We used this towards the end of our trailer when Jake is talking to the camera, which creates a point of identification with him. We also used a close up of the 'monster' during the fast shots as this creates an invasion of personal space and keeps the audience on edge. Another convention is a fast editing pace to create suspense. We used this is our trailer towards the end as it didn't allow the audience to settle on any one image, so they only got an impression of what was happening and it therefore brought the tension to a peak. Furthermore ambient sound is very important in horror. We used ambient sound in our trailer in the form of a heart beat when a character was running, as this helped the audience to identify with the victims.

Horror also has a specific iconography. For example red and black are visual signifies and we used a lot of black in our trailer such as for the background of the inter-titles. Also we used common mise-en-scene elements like blood. Furthermore horror has character type conventions. For example some of them have monsters with a 'hidden secret', which our trailer had as nobody knew what was wrong with David. Our trailer also used teenagers as victims like many horror films do.

The slideshow below has more detailed examples of the uses of horror and trailer conventions within real trailers in comparison to our own.

Media Conventions

View more presentations or Upload your own.

Magazine Cover

Movie Poster

Teaser Trailer

Magazine Cover Paper Draft

This is the paper draft for my magazine cover.

Paper Draft Poster

This is the paper draft for my poster.

Premiere Magazine Cover

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Originally uploaded by Roxanne Mason

This is a Flickr anaylsis of a Premiere magazine cover.

Empire Magazine Cover

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Originally uploaded by Roxanne Mason

This is a Flickr anaylsis of an Empire magazine cover.

Total Film Magazine Cover 2

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Originally uploaded by Roxanne Mason

This is a Flickr anaylsis of a Total Film magazine cover.

Total Film Magazine Cover

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Originally uploaded by Roxanne Mason

This is a Flickr anaylsis of a Total Film magazine cover.

Eden Lake Movie Poster

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Originally uploaded by Roxanne Mason

This is a Flickr anaylsis of a poster for the film Eden Lake.

The Blair Witch Project Movie Poster

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Originally uploaded by Roxanne Mason

This is a Flickr anaylsis of a poster for the film The Blair Witch Project.

The Skeleton Key Movie Poster

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Originally uploaded by Roxanne Mason

This is a Flickr anaylsis of a poster for the film The Skeleton Key.

Rec 2 Movie Poster

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Originally uploaded by Roxanne Mason

This is a Flickr anaylsis of a poster for the film Rec 2.

Rec Movie Poster

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Originally uploaded by Roxanne Mason

This is a Flickr anaylsis of a poster for the film Rec.

Blood Effects

This is a photo of our groups attempt at using fake blood to make a realistic hand injury. We needed a shot of a bloodied hand coming out of a bath for a fast shot towards the end of the trailer. So I got in the bath and we dripped and smeared the fake blood over my hand and over the edge of the bath to make this effect.

How Does the Horror Genre Represent Gender?

It has been suggested that horror is a progressive genre in terms of its representation of gender, whereas others think it is as conservative as many other genres. To investigate this I will be looking at three films from the genre; Halloween (1978), The Shining (1982) and Eden Lake (2008).

One of the ways we can establish how the horror genre represents gender is to look at the characters and their visibility. This is important because traditionally males have a much higher visibility in the media than females and therefore for the horror genre to be progressive the visibility needs to be more equal. In the film Halloween there seems to be a fairly even split between the sexes with six females and six males, although the size of their roles do vary. This is quite significantly different to the character ratio in The Shining. In this film men outnumber women 2:1, which is much more conservative than the ratio in Halloween. This is surprising considering the amount of females in the media is supposed to be growing and yet The Shining was made in 1982 and Halloween in 1978. Eden Lake continues this pattern further because again there is a 2:1 male to female ratio. This film was made in 2008 and therefore would suggest that as time goes on horror films are becoming more male dominated.

In the media women are generally represented to fit into one or more of four principal roles. These roles are: sexual, domestic, consumer and familiar. We can see evidence of these roles in Halloween. The main protagonist's friends Lynda and Annie are seen in a sexual role. Lynda is seen with a boyfriend before and after sex, Annie is seen in her underwear and is killed as she leaves to meet her boyfriend (As seen in the video to the right).

During the course of the film there are lots of females doing domestic work such as babysitting, cooking etc. The familial role is also seen as the women in the film are defined through their relationships with other characters, usually men. An example of this is Annie's dad being the sheriff; she becomes the sheriff's daughter, just as Judith Myers is known principally as killer Mike Myers sister. We don't see any females in the role of the consumer in this film, or in The Shining, although the other three roles are there as well. Wendy is domestic as she is portrayed as a passive, weak, submissive housewife, although occasionally she is seen in overalls doing Jacks work. She is also seen in a familial role because she is defined through her relationships with men, she is a wife to Jack and a mother to Danny. The woman in the bath fulfils the sexual role. We are supposed to see her from Jack's point of view as a young, sexy, naked woman. There is also no obvious consumer role in Eden Lake. However the women do once again fit the other three roles. The main protagonist, Jenny, although employed has a stereotypical 'caring' job, making her familial. Further to this she accepts her boyfriend's engagement ring implying she would like to marry him. She is also seen as sexual to some extent, although this isn't a particularly laboured point. Another of the characters in Eden Lake, Paige, could be seen to subvert the usual female roles because she is quite aggressive to outsiders; however she is very submissive within the gang. Overall every female in these films seem to fit one or more of the roles, therefore again suggesting horror films are quite conservative.

Another way we can see how gender is represented within the genre is to look at how the male gaze is used. The genre would be progressive if there wasn't a male gaze being used to objectify the women in the films. In Halloween, although minor female characters like Lynda and Annie are objectified, the film still offers a principle point of identification with a female. This female, Laurie, is seen as androgynous for several reasons. First of all there is her name, which could be used for a male, then there is the fact she is not sexualised and finally that she has a 'masculine' look and costume. However there is a sexualised murder at the start of the film, which we see from the murderer's perspective. The point of identification in Halloween is similar to the one in The Shining. In The Shining we identify with Wendy for much of the film however like Laurie we don't objectify her. There is a character we do objectify and that is the naked woman in the bath. However this initial objectification is undermined by her subsequent switch to a dead body. In Eden Lake there is also a female point of identification as opposed to the objectification of her. The gang members do look at her in a sexual way however camerawork and editing makes the audience understand how she feels instead of them. The fact that all three films have a final girl who we identify with is a progressive idea, which could be seen as able to override the conservative notion of having a few minor characters objectified. Carol Clover looked at this idea in her book 'Men, Women and Chainsaws' and she believes having a female point of identification instead of a male gaze is important, despite the fact the audience for horror films is thought to be primarily male.
Finally we can look at any narrative issues that may have had an effect on how gender is represented. In Halloween teenagers appear to be punished for having sex, such as in the cases of Judith, Annie, Lynda and her boyfriend, which is a very conservative idea. In terms of murders more women than men die as three women die and only two men do. The narrative issues in The Shining are quite similar, involving things like the final girl getting away. However whilst the deaths in The Shining are more gender even the percentage of females who die is much higher. The deaths in Eden Lake go the opposite way to Halloween, with more males dying. However all the females with named roles do die (or have implied deaths), whereas many of the males survive. Concerning narrative issues there doesn't seem to be a pattern in the gender of the people who die, however the fact more males die in the newer film would suggest it is progressive.


How the horror genre represents gender can be broken down into several categories so there isn't likely to ever be one complete answer. However from looking at the three different films I think overall the genre is too conservative in its approach to be considered anything else, despite its progressive elements. I think this because although there are things that could be considered progressive, like having a female point of identification, the fact is the genre still contains a lot of conservative elements like the roles the genders fall into and the visibility of women compared to men.

The Role of the Distributor

Lord Puttnam CBE, President of the Film Distributors' Association, tells us it is 'the task of the distributors to identify and deliver the largest possible audience for every film.' He follows this up by saying 'This is no small task, particularly when so many other entertainment options are available both inside and outside the home; and that's in addition to the 500 or more titles released in UK cinemas every year'. From this we are able to grasp why there has to be a distribution and marketing plan, films can clearly not just be left to sell themselves.

Distribution is launching and sustaining films in the market place. The steps a distributor goes through are these:

- After principal photography begins on a film the distributor develops a release strategy, considers the release date and takes delivery of a master print of the finished film.
- The Distributor will then present the film to exhibitors and negotiates bilateral agreement to have it shown in cinemas.
- They will ensure their marketing campaign will create a 'want to see' buzz among target audiences and will launch the film. The film will then be delivered to cinemas.

UK distributors obtain the films they release in several ways:

- A third-party sales agent, acting on behalf of a producer.

- A continuous flow of new content from a parent studio.
- A studio or production company with whom the distributor has negotiated an output deal covering a slate of titles.

The UK has half a dozen major distributors and many independent distributors. Individual distributors may release any number of films, sometimes just one or two or in some cases as many as 25 - 30 a year.                                                                                  

Every film has its own distribution plan, which the distributor develops in consultation with the producers and studio. The most important strategic decisions a distributor makes are when and how to release a film in order to optimise its chances. As with every business plan, the goal is to recoup all the costs and turn a profit. Because of this each release is individually planned, taking into account current circumstances, and plans are often only confirmed when the finished product is available to view.

A detailed understanding of the target audience - age group, gender, lifestyles, social networks, media consumption patterns - always informs the subsequent decisions on how and where a particular film is promoted in order to reach them. It's important never to lose sight of a film's core target audience but the distributors challenge is always to attract as wide a spread as possible.

Distributors have to take into account several facts when developing their release plans:

- Competition - what other films are being released around the same time?
- Is it an event film, a mass market blockbuster or a specialised film?

- Is there any star power in the cast of the film?
- Will any of the cast members do UK/international publicity or attend the premiere?

- Is the film for a holiday period?

- Is it likely to be nominated for any awards?
- Will the film lead the media reviews of that week's new releases?
- Is there already any buzz about the film?                                    

- Is it a sequel or franchise entry?

- Has the film already opened anywhere else?

- What certificate will the film have?

Complementing the distribution plan, every film has a detailed marketing plan. The marketing plans job is to create visibility, raise awareness and engage interest. This is done in several ways, one of which is a poster telling the audience a bit about the film - its stars, genre etc. Another way is with a trailer, which is probably the most cost-effective marketing technique. A third way is by using the Internet and mobile phones to entice audiences using things like blog posts and video diaries. A fourth way is media advertising which includes things like billboards and advertising in the press. Another way is with publicity such as independently-written news stories, which are more readily believed than advertising because they're not paid for by the film. Publicity also includes things like screenings for national critics, set visits and awards buzz. A further way to generate awareness is promotional partnerships because they promote the films in ways advertising can't such as in shops and restaurants. Two final ways are preview screenings and festivals.