The FILM CYCLE

There are 3 stages in the film cycle, these are:

Production
Distribution
Exhibition

The word for this process/cycle in business scenarios is 'vertical integration'.

In the production stage, this is where the production and creation of idea for a film is. In this process, there needs to be recruitment of actors, editing, filming and screenplay. Before the film is produced the producers have to consider the likely demands of distributors - how will you find investors if your production concept is unlikely to gain distribution. In order to make a success, they need stars. If the film has intellectual property, stars are not always needed (e.g. Harry Potter, Spiderman, The Girl On The Train) because the story itself is already very well known to the audience so they will go and see the film anyway.

In the distribution process, the film that has been produced is now distributed. Each film has it's own distribution plan to be sure it reaches the right audiences. The distributor buys the right to be able to show a movie around the world in different cinemas or shops etc.

The film 'The Girl On The Train' was distributed by Universal:
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The US box office for this film was $75.3m:


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There were no stars in 'The Girl On the Train':
Actors:
Emily Blunt
Rebecca Ferguson
Haley Bennett
Justin Theroux
Luke Evans
Allison Janney
Edgar Ramirez
Lisa Kudrow

SAMPLE SCENE 2: Rape Chase

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SAMPLE SCENE 1: Lair

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The BIG SIX

THE 'BIG SIX' CONGLOMERATES:
This has been taken from the website here:

Universal Pictures
Universal is an american film studio owned by Comcast through the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group of its owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. Universal owns StudioCanal and Focus Features. Also, Working Title is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal. Universal itself is a distributor while NBC offers exhibition for Universal. NBC is a vertically integrated conglomerate with for example Working Title who is one of their production subsidiaries. Their highest grossing film was Jurassic World which had a box office gross of $1,670,400,637 (1.6bn) worldwide.

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Sony Pictures Entertainment (earlier known as Columbia-Tristar Pictures)

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) operates Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, Screen Gems, Sony pictures Classics and TriStar Pictures. It is an american Entertainment company that produces, acquires and distributes filmed entertainment through multiple platforms. It operates as a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc. (the parent company for both the music and motion picture businesses of Sony Corporation. Sony Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

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Warner Bros.

It is an american film studio and film distributor that is a division of Time Warner and is headquartered in Burbank, California. It is a member of the MPAA and is the third largest film studio in the world after Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios. There were four Warner Brothers who founded this company called Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack Warner. Founded in 1923.

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Paramount Pictures

It is an american film studio based in Hollywood, California, thats had been a subsidiary of the american conglomerate Viacom since 1994. Paramount pictures is the longest operating major film studio in Hollywood. Founded in 1912.

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20th Century Fox

20th Century Fox is the world's second largest film studio after Warner Bros. They have distributed various commercially successful films including Avatar, Ice Age, X-Men, Die Hard, Planet of the Apes, Night at the Musuem and Fantastic Four. These films have secured 20th Century Fox's position as one of the Big Six studios of Hollywood. Founded in 1935 by William Fox.

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Walt Disney Studios 

It is an american film studio and one of the four major business of the Walt Disney Company. The Walt Disney Studios is also a member of the MPAA. Founded in 1923.



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POSSIBLE POINTS OF INFLUENCE FOR MY FILM

Why the big six wouldn't distribute my film:

• I have no A-list stars or well-known actors in my film. 
• It is not a franchise e.g. Friday the 13th, Halloween. 

CASTING 2

FEMALE KILLER
Emma Elväng and Evie Gibbons

FEMALE RAPE VICTIM
Emma Elväng now Evie Gibbons

SCREAM KING 1/RAPIST 1
Alex Elliott

SCREAM KING 2/RAPIST 2
Wyatt Uppenberg now Richard Dannenberg

FINAL GIRL

Evie Gibbons

After the first shoot of the rape chase scene with the actors: Emma, Alex and Richard, I thought I had all the footage I needed; but it turns out after looking at all the footage, I didn't have enough and some of the shots were wrong so this caused complications. Therefore, I had to message the actress Emma Elvang again, asking her if she could come to re-shoot some of this scene and she did not answer the message for a long time, she was not intending to answer the message at any point because she was being ignorant (she ignored the messages on purpose because she didn't want to come back to the same place and reshoot things). So, I have decided to change the actress to play the role of the female rape victim character because she won't respond to my messages meaning she won't come to the shoot. So, I will have to reshoot all the footage for the rape chase scene with a different actress, which will be me.

Also, I decided this because, it was not practical for me to keep going to Emma's house to get the exact clothes she wore in the rape chase scene.


MY CHARACTERS:
1. Jennifer

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This character is the female rape victim who then turns into the female killer later in the film opening. I was influenced by the films Jennifer's Body and I Spit On Your Grave to call the female main character Jennifer. The main female character in I Spit On Your Grave is called Jennifer, she gets revenge on all the men who raped her, one by one. The killer in the film Jennifer's Body is called Jennifer also. 

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This is the female rape victim as the female killer. With my killer, her motives are the rape. The fact that she was raped has completely traumatised her. She is extremely angry so she wants revenge on the two men that raped her, and all the people who are friends/girlfriends with them. You don't really see her face at all in the film opening accept in the lair, when you see her mouth when she licks the knife, it builds narrative enigma by not showing her face. The 'scream king' is 17 and this is anchored by the clothes that he is wearing, the scream king usually wears little clothing that is revealing.
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2. Brad Storch

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This character is one of the rapists in the rape chase scene at the start of my film opening. He wears black jeans, a hoodie, a green t shirt and black boots. He also has a stubble which has negative connotations of antagonist.

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3. Stanley Miller

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This character is one of the rapists who rapes Jennifer in the first scene of my film opening. He is the leader out of the two rapists, so Jennifer targets him first.

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4. Guy working on the editing of the fake film (in the film) on the computer
5. Victim girl actress in fake film (in the film)
6. Director of fake film (in the film)

PODCAST 3: Types Of Distribution

I decided to make a podcast for describing the different types of distribution:
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Theatrical Release:
This is basically the cinematic release of a film, when it is released in cinemas. e.g. Fifty Shades of Grey was released on the 14th of February in cinemas.

Wide Release:
A wide release means the majority of cinemas in an area will be showing a specific film on at least one screen. From various Working Title films you can see that they often have a wide release in the UK.

IMAX and 3D release:
These drive the four quadrant theory- pushing up the production costs a lot, but are also key to the wider cinema industry's fightback against the rise of high quality home cinema.
- taken from Mr Burrowes' 'British Cinema WORKING TITLE new strategy with top two in UK box office blog post'.

Four Quadrant Theory
A four-quadrant movie is a film that appeals to all four major demographic 'quadrants' of the audience: both male and female and the over and under 25s. A film's budget is often related to the number of quadrants the film is expected to reach. Films are rarely produced which are aimed at less than two of these quadrants. Most tentpole films are targeted at all four quadrants. Although many four quadrant films are generally family-friendly, this is not required because many horror and romantic films can target all four quadrants as well.

Limited Release:
This is a release in a specific region or city.

Straight-to-DVD:
Straight-to-DVD refers to the release of a film to the public immediately on home video formats instead of a theatrical release or television broadcast. Straight-to-DVD has become a profitable way for indie filmmakers and smaller companies to market their film. 

Some reasons why companies use straight-to-DVD is because:

• The film has a low budget.
• The film may attract a niche audience.
• Lack of general public interest.
• Due to controversial content in the film.
• The film company thinks the film won't make sales or profit in cinemas.

I would perhaps use this kind of distribution for my film because my film has a micro budget. 

Direct-To-Itunes:
Direct-To-Itunes is an online distribution method that avoids all the upfront DVD production, marketing and distribution costs as well as the upfront cinema distribution and marketing costs. 
Some examples of films that directly distributed their film to Itunes are 

 Apple distributes the film for 30% of the revenue, while an additional 10–15% may go to the person who formats the film for iTunes compatibility. The first independently produced feature-length motion picture to pursue the direct-to-iTunes marketing scheme was Ed Burns' Purple Violets, which debuted on iTunes on November 20, 2007. It was the first feature-length film to "premiere exclusively on iTunes". It was distributed exclusively on iTunes at a price of US$14.99 for a month before being made available through other distribution channels. The movie, which was produced at a cost of $4 million, had premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April, where it was reviewed positively, but only received modest distribution offers. At the time of the Purple Violets release, most studios were not distributing via iTunes early in the process and only Walt Disney Studios, which was the first movie studio to distribute via iTunes, was distributing at iTunes simultaneously with DVD distribution. It was not very common for consumers to make digital movie purchases at the time. The Polish brothers' 2011 For Lovers Only, which had virtually no production costs and was released to iTunes on July 12, is regarded as the first profitable feature length direct-to-iTunes product. 

Direct-To-Stream:

Direct-to-stream is existent through the growth of YouTube and other video-streaming websites (basically an online distribution method that goes to streaming sites such as YouTube). Some releases are not only available from digital services such as Netflix, but are actually produced by them such as the TV series 'Stranger Things'. Some examples of films that were directly distributed to stream (YouTube or other sites) are Home (2009), The Cult of Sincerity (2008) and Life In a Day (2011). I don't think I will be using this method of distribution.

CALL SHEET 2: Rape Chase

LOCATION
Setting:
At the forest in Sandweiler next to my house (32 Rue de Remich, Sandweiler, L-5250, Luxembourg)
Date: 21/01/17
Time: 12:00 - 3:00

CASTING
Emma Elväng:
Rape victim
She is needed from: 12:00 - 3:00

Alex Elliott:
Rapist
He is needed from: 12:00 - 3:00

Richard Dannenberg:
Rapist
He is needed from: 12:00 - 3:00