Film Marketing Promotions and Campaigns

By Richard Davis

Module Title: Film and Video Industries 2 Module Number: 203AAD (Task 2) Module Lecturer: Dan Beckett

The Missing Create missing people posters and distribute them round towns, on notice boards, lamp posts etc. The idea would be to create a buzz around the posters, get people asking whether they were real or not. I would create a fake web site with links to the missing characters of the film. Through the web site you could find clues about the film, what the film is exactly about, video files, pictures etc. The idea of the story is that thousands of people go missing every year, its never really talked about in main stream news, we only hear about the exceptional cases, but it is a huge issue, even in the UK. The film would explore why people go missing but also lead to new conclusions about the disappearances. In this movie, people would be abducted by aliens, taken by Big Foot or drowned by a swamp monster (to name a few). Initially the film would appear very serious, but if people followed the clues, they would be lead to monster web sites and ufo sites, with links to disappearances. The film its self would be a tongue in cheek look at this serious subject, highlighting the real situation and how in society in does not seem to be taken seriously and is almost completely ignored. The Invitation Horror fans will remember the film The Ring (2002) in the film people watch a video tape and they die, killed by some supernatural force. My idea is about a video that appears online (youtube, vimeo etc) and when you watch it, you invite an evil spirit into your home. This would be a film about people who watch this video online and end up having supernatural things happen to them. The idea would be to create the video people watch in the movie, but first dare audiences to watch the same video at home. I would leak the video on the internet without any advertising, simply labeling it Invite a daemon in to you home in the notes by watching this video you are knowingly inviting a spirit into your home. You have been warned. The idea would be to create a buzz about this video do you have the balls to watch the video? Once you have watched the video, I would put a link to Facebook, so a status update appeared stating I watched The Invitation and survived, I would use this in conjunction with adverts asking Are you brave enough to watch this video?

Marketing Materials & Idea Pitch I need to come up with an idea but the idea is the hardest part. I need an idea that has marketability, something new and engaging, an idea to grab the attention of a producer. I started to spitball some ideas:

Film and video Industries Task 2 203 AAD

Dark Frontier This is a TV show script I wrote some time ago, I thought it could be a good exercise to make a marketing campaign for this TV show. The idea is formed already and it could be something I could actually be pitching to a TV executive for real one day. After much deliberation I finally settled on the idea of marketing my own TV show Dark Frontier, as I could see the benefit of marketing a product I could actually be marketing for real one day, I also know the material very well (having written it) and Im very enthusiastic about show.

The proposal: The show is set in the Old West, but not as we know it. In this version of the old west, the creatures of the night roam the land, vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts and anything else that goes bump in the night. The idea is to mash up many genres together, the Wild West, horror and survival in a dark apocalyptic world, this has become known as The Weird West and its almost a genre in its own right. When supernatural menaces of horror fiction are injected into a Western setting, it creates the horror Western, and the Weird West stories are limitless. The West was a weird place. There are ghost towns and haunted mines and spiritual Native American beliefs. There have been a few supernatural Wild West films over the years, but none have made a big splash in Hollywood, but with the current fascination with Vampires, Zombies and apocalyptic landscapes, I think it would be the perfect combination to draw a large audience. If we look at some of the highest rated TV shows on IMDB we find: Game of thrones 2011 High Fantasy Firefly 2002 A space adventure with many wild west tropes. The twilight Zone 1959 Supernatural tales Cowboy Bebop 1998 - A wild west anime fantasy Twin Peaks 1990 A supernatural thriller, detective story. Rome 2005 - A reimagining of Rome Deadwood 2004 - A gritty wild west story The X Files 1993 supernatural Doctor Who 2005 fantasy time travel with fantasy elements Justified 2010 a modern day cowboy detective The Walking Dead 2010 A zombie survival story Supernatural 2005 Supernatural

Dark Frontier

To name but a few in the top 100 TV show of all time. Its clear there is a big market for fantasy shows. I feel this show could target a wide variety of viewers and could be marketed as the new must see TV show. If we look at the TV show LOST, I would guess the show would appeal to that same demographic. The age range would be from 16 to 60, referencing the old world, with moral codes and manners would appeal to the older generations, where as the action and supernatural elements would appeal to the younger viewers. I imagine the key demographic would be the 20 to 35 ages, which is perfect, this age group that has disposable income and are likely to buy the box set and spread the word.

The key to marketing is in making it remarkable, If you see a cow you dont stop, if you see a pink cow you stop, it needs to be something unseen Remarkable (worth making a remark about) that is the essence of idea diffusion. Ideas need to be different and its the difference than gets them noticed. I feel my show Dark Frontier is different, something new and inspiring, yes we have all seen Vampire shows, zombies, werewolves, ghosts and monsters, but rarely in an old west setting; the Weird West! But its not just the story or setting thats different, but also the technology behind the show as well. This show will be a first, teaming up with Canon and Adobe, this show will be a promotional product for each company. Dark Frontier will be shot entirely on the Canon 5D mark III and edited on Premiere Pro and After Effects. These are relatively new (to the professional industry) technologies but I believe them to be the future for film with their relatively low cost and functionally. Marketing First Im going to create a web site. Here you can find out everything you ever wanted to know about the show. Topics will include: About page- Find out about the back story and setting Photos - Show photos and behind the scenes and Links to Canon web site with camera info. Videos - Latest videos and behind the show scenes Cast Details of the characters and actor Bios Episode guide each week a episode summery will be available Community links - Links to social network sites, chart rooms, Links to Web comic, a production diary blog and links to Canon and Adobe sites. Games Wild West games to play online and survival games. Trailer Creation Build your own trailer each week to win prizes. Store Shop for Dark Frontier merchandise and Canon and Adobe Hard/soft ware. Dark Frontier App Created to keep you up to date will each episode, it will also give you access to a free web comic each week. Each week a Web comic will come out, created by professional artists using the story boards created for each show. These will be free on the Dark Frontier App and any Facebook friends of the show. Facebook page add friends share trailers Every week clips from the upcoming episode will be released online for Facebook friends to edit using free software created by Adobe (an online watered down version of Premiere Pro). People will then share their trailers online and friends will vote for the best one, each week the highest rated trailer will be shown on TV and the winner will receive a limited Dark Frontier T-shirt. This gets people interested in editing and directs them towards using Adobe software. Dark Frontier T-shirts and other merchandise each week prizes will be given away to the winner of the trailer creation projects. Posters for the show The Trailer and TV spot Canon and Adobe would also advertise the Show on their respective sites and have in-depth interviews with the production crew.

Lets take a look the spreading influence of the Canon 5D (Taken from http://canon5d.wonderhowto.com): Canon's 5D Mark II Invades Hollywood Captain America (2011) The latest blockbuster film from Hollywood that utilized the Canon EOS 5D Mark II is Captain America: The First Avenger by Marvel Studios. In a press release from Canon, they stated that the 5D Mark II was used to shoot motion sequences that were seamlessly integrated into the 35mm film footage. These sequences included a car chase and crash, as well as a high-speed motorcycle pursuit. Iron Man 2 (2010) Before Captain America, another super hero movie took advantage of the smallsized 5D Mark II: Iron Man 2. Matthew Libatique, one of the hottest cinematographers in Hollywood today, used the mighty DSLR to film shots from the Monaco Grand Prix sequence where Tony Stark is attacked by Ivan (Whiplash) Vanko. 5D Mark IIs were mounted to all four sides of the moving vehicle to capture some background plate footage in Monaco, which was later combined with the live-action race car footage filmed in Hollywood. They also used the cameras around the track (in heavy-duty protective cases) to capture footage of the vehicles driving past, crashing, and yeseven running over them. Without a doubt, we couldnt have gotten the shots any other way, Libatique said about using the 5D Mark IIs in the racing scene. There is no other camera that can really get into some of the tight spots that the Canon 5D Mark II can, and with the ease that it can, he added. We got extra angles in spots that we wouldnt have been able to get in 35mm without a lot more effort. Black Swan (2010) During the production of Black Swan (directed by Darren Aronofsky), Libatique used the Canon EOS 5D Mark II to shoot the ballet rehearsals which acted as preparation for the 16mm shoot. Others have included - Searching for Sonny (2011), 24, Season 8 (2010) and Red Tails (2012). House (2004) Season Finale Filmed Entirely with Canon 5D Mark II The season finale of the popular TV show House, which aired on May 17th, was filmed entirely with the Canon 5D Mark II. cinema5D overheard the plan last month and Greg Yaitanes, the director of the show, has confirmed it through a tweet in which we made himself open to questions. This is quite an endorsement for Canon, with a network giant entrusting the finale of one of its most popular shows to the 5D Mark II (which happens to be the first digital camera to take the Presidential portrait as well). From Wiki: In 2008, House was distributed in a total of 66 countries. With an audience of over 81.8 million worldwide, it was the most watched television show on the globe and far surpassed the viewership figures of the leading TV dramas the previous two years.

So it easy to see the Canon 5D Mark II is emerging as an invaluable professional piece of equipment, used on numerous projects.

When looking at Premiere Pro and After Effects we find the same thing, leading directors like David Fincher are using this software to produce major block busters and its influence is growing all the time (see webography tv.adobe.com). With the Trailer creation tool, lots of people would be exposed to editing and the site would contain links to the premiere pro free trial and other adobe products. I would want the show to air on the AMC network, they have a passion for original stories, which is clear from all their current TV shows and there tag line is: story matters here. I think this show would fit in perfectly with their current wealth of diverse programs, because of the strong story base and its originally.

About AMC AMC Networks Inc. has been an innovator in television programming and entertainment for 32 years. AMC Networks owns and operates several of the most popular and award-winning brands in cable television, AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel, WE tv and IFC Films.

Webography http://tv.adobe.com/watch/moving-to-adobe-premiere-pro-/the-socialnetwork/ http://tv.adobe.com/watch/moving-to-adobe-premiere-pro-/philip-bloom/ http://canon5d.wonderhowto.com/inspiration/canons-5d-mark-ii-invadeshollywood-0129387/ http://www.archives.gov/research/american-west/#soldier http://cloverfield.wikia.com/wiki/Viral http://www.baekdal.com/analysis/viral-marketing-tricks http://techcrunch.com/2007/11/22/the-secret-strategies-behind-many-viralvideos/ http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-lists/5-outstanding-examplesof-viral-marketing-for-movies/ http://www.cloverfieldclues.blogspot.co.uk/ http://canon5d.wonderhowto.com

AMC reigns as the only cable network in history to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series - Drama for three consecutive years. Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade or creating acclaimed original programming, the AMC experience celebrates great stories. AMCs origin l stories include the critically acclaimed dramas Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and The Killing.

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Canon's 5D Mark II Invades Hollywood

If we look at some of the highest rated TV shows on IMDB we find: Game of thrones 2011 High Fantasy Firefly 2002 A space adventure with many wild west tropes. The twilight Zone 1959 Supernatural tales Cowboy Bebop 1998 - A wild west anime fantasy Twin Peaks 1990 A supernatural thriller, detective story. Deadwood 2004 - A gritty wild west story The X Files 1993 supernatural Doctor Who 2005 fantasy time travel with fantasy elements Justified 2010 a modern day cowboy detective The Walking Dead 2010 A zombie survival story Supernatural 2005 - Supernatural To name but a few in the top 100 TV show of all time. Its clear there is a big market for fantasy shows.

AMC

story matters here

AMC Networks Inc. has been an innovator in television programming and entertainment for 32 years. AMC Networks owns and operates several of the most popular and award-winning brands in cable television, AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel, WE tv and IFC Films. AMC reigns as the only cable network in history to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series - Drama for three consecutive years. Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade or creating acclaimed original programming, the AMC experience celebrates great stories. AMCs origin l stories include the critically acclaimed dramas Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and The Killing.