Film Marketing- CASE STUDY 1

I, Daniel Blake

Production information:

Director- Ken Loach: he's been making protests films since the 60s aka socially critical directing style
Writer- Paul Laverty: long-time collaborator of his
Stars: Dave Johns (Daniel Blake was his breakthrough role, since then has had 5 new films in the span of 2 years + Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer & British Independent Film Award for Best Actor) and Hayley Squires (nominated for a BAFTA for best supporting actress & British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer)
In general, Loach didn't focus on a star cast but everyday average people to concentrate on the film's message
Funding: Sixteen Films, his production company, received a grant of £172,828 from Creative Europe, funded by Brussels, divided between this and another film.
Budget: Mid-to-low budget
Distribution: eOne Films (UK) & Le Pacte (France) - released in Cannes first (13 May 2016)

Reception

Awards- Palm d'Or at 2016 Cannes Festival, Prix du Public at 2016 Locarno International Film Festival and 2017 BAFTA for Outstanding British Film

Reviews- Metacritic- 78 out of 100 score

Critical responses and debates- The Guardian, Newcastle agency boss: “I, Daniel Blake is a representation … I hope people don’t think the film is a documentary, because it’s a story that doesn’t represent the reality we work in.”
-> Accurate portrayal of reality or a representation? 

Political effects- Right-wings critics questioned whether the Jobcentre's portrayal was fair:

Former Conservative Work and Pensions Secretary (Ian Duncan Smith) said that "The idea that everybody is out to crunch you, I think it has really hurt Jobcentre's staff who don't see themselves as that"

Following secretary for Work and Pensions, Damian Green called the film "monstrously unfair", only admit, when pressed, that he hadn't actually seen it.

The leader of Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, criticised the unfairness of the welfare system and advised Prime Minister Theresa May to watch the film, during Prime Minister's Questions on 2 November 2016

Business Secretary, Greg Clark, described the film as "fictional", claiming "it's a difficult job administering a benefits system... DWP staff have to make incredibly difficult decisions and I think they should have our support in making those decisions"
Financial success- $15,887,215 worldwide box office, $260,354 domestically and $15,626,861 internationally

Text:

Themes- Single motherhood (stereotypes challenged- Katie), community vs system (e.g. food bank, shop's security guard vs social security system)

Ideologies and social message of the film- Socialism; to fight for each other's rights

Genre- Drama

Setting- Local (UK city - Newcastle e.g. accents- not directed globally)

Representations- Working class: single mothers, older and younger generations...

Main target audience- Middle-aged middle-class people

Secondary Audiences- 

Desired response from the audience- Empathy towards the main characters and to connect with the message

Poster Analysis

The focus of the poster is on the reviews, which links to the target audience as well as the genre and type of film. It is an independent drama film, meaning the audience sees the film for a message and not an escape, so reviews are essential. The target audience is the middle-aged, middle-class population, which links to the main character featured on the poster (only due to the age as the protagonist is working class). The main character's background is suggested through casual clothing and his personality by his position, raising his fist, a universal symbol of solidarity and support, which also portrays the main theme of the movie. Furthermore, the graphics of "I, Daniel Blake" develop another aspect of the symbol, an expression of resistance and defiance, as graffiti is made without permission and can be employed to oppose to political systems and social issues around the world. Therefore, this means the marketing campaign revolved around the scene in the movie in which he rebels against the benefits centre, in order to convey Blake's spirit.

Trailer Analysis

The target audience is appealed to at the very beginning, with the "Palm d'Or Winner" sign, which is also a mark of quality. A wider audience wouldn't necessarily follow the Festival de Cannes, so the film is aimed at middle-class, probably film-enthusiasts, etc. The purpose is to appeal to the target audience.

The story is set through the first few seconds, through voiceover and shots in bleak lighting colour, similarly in the trailer as in the actual movie, which indicates the director chooses to inform the audience straightaway of Blake's state to put them in context.

There are reviews throughout the trailer, such as Sight&Sound's "Ken Loach is back again with a protest cry for common humanity" and The Times' "an immediate classic". The choice of magazines/newspapers for expert criticism also reflects the appeal to the target audience.

In order for the audience to connect with the message, there are various close-ups of Daniel, in order to make empathy easier, as opposed to the mid-shot of the Jobcentre worker. The shot doesn't let the audience emotionally connect with such character, contributing the Loach's negative portrayal of the worker who doesn't aid Daniel nor Katie. Similarly, the lightning in the office scenes is cold, representing the negative atmosphere, contrasting with the warmly lit scenes in houses as there's emotional bonds established e.g. Katie's house, the food bank.

The other main character, Katie, is brought in towards the middle of the trailer, and afterwards, the shots start to speed up, indicating she's an important part of the plot, as she sets up one of the themes that run throughout the movie, the difficulties of single-motherhood. Similarly, the music starts to get more intense, in order to develop the same idea.

There are graphics employed, through the graffiti scene, which implies he will be fighting for his situation, and also through the title "I, Daniel Blake" in a gravestone-like font, evoke a sense of legacy, but also foreshadow his death at the end of the film. 

CASE STUDY Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation

Text

The genre of the game is action-adventure. The main avatar is Avaline, a young woman thrown into the life of an assassin after her mother disappears one day in New Orleans. The world is set in Lousiana in the late 1700s, based on real-life events such as France's defeat which causes the city of New Orleans to be taken over by the Spanish Empire. In the game, Avaline discovers the French governor's negotiation with a Spanish Templar in order to stay as New Orleans' governor; Avaline later assassinates the French governor. The multiplayer mode, to decide whether you're with the Assassin's Brotherhood (who fight for peace with free will) or the Templars (who fight for peace through control). It consists of trying to defend different worlds on a world map, mainly dispatching troops and checking their progress, rather than fighting yourself.
The limitations of the game are mainly plot and motion wise, as the main avatar's backstory is explained on the bio with detail however the game does little to show them. Avaline's glimpses of being an interesting character, through her interaction with partners in crime and anti-slavery stance, are wasted due to the lack of exploration, leaving simpleness and shallowness. Also, the multi-avatar options, (being able to change into Avaline's assassin, lady and slave persona) are diminished as mainly, you are told which one to choose for the missions at the beginning. Lastly, in motion, the visuals are more lacklustre.

Industry

Ownership and franchise: Ubisoft is a video-game company with several development studios around the world. It is known for publishing games for several acclaimed video game franchises, such as Just Dance, Raving Rabbids and Assassin's Creed. Assassin's Creed is a franchise with a worldwide fanbase due to the advertisement in the media by Youtube and TV adverts, trailers, gaming influencers and posters on buses and billboards.
Production/ Distribution/ Format: The game was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U and Microsoft Windows on the 30th of October of 2012. Later, it was also released for Java Platform, Micro Edition, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
It was a global release, except Japan, named it "Assassin's Creed III: Lady Liberty"
On September 2013 it was announced it'd be re-released in HD in 2014, featuring updated audio, AI and facial animations. It released for PlayStation 3 on January 14, 2014, for America and January 15, 2014, for Europe. The Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 versions were released globally on the 15th as well.
Marketing and advertising:

(+ Trailer)

The poster's main focus is on the assassin, a woman, which is a strategic placement as Avaline is the series' first female protagonist. It challenges stereotypes, which will bring in more people other than the average gamer. The background features more other people dressed in a similar costume to hers, indicating the time period, which gives the buyer an idea of the basic plot. Some elements of the format focused upon are the 18 rating, which mainly fits the game's fanbase age. The company's logo is featured as a mark of quality to appeal to the buyer as well, due to the success of its published works.
The trailer's main focus is the backstory of the main avatar, which emphasises her heroism and sets up the plot, for her to be a "symbol of hope" for the people. Furthermore, there are several sentences towards the end in order to appeal to the gaming audience e.g. "all-new missions", "upgraded levels and environments", "refined gameplay", a "true HD experience", whilst showing some action scenes that highlight the game's genre and what is famous for.

Reception: initial reviews mixed to positive e.g. Metacritic: 70/100 based on 64 reviews
Shaun McInnis, reviewer for GameSpot: 6.5/10, praising the protagonist's backstory and setting but aware of how the game "takes little advantage of its own narrative format" and so the plot is "largely aimless and hastily delivered".
IGN's Greg Miller: 7.2/10, critics how the story is "boiled down to be easy to jump in and out of... [taking] away some of the excitement in playing through it"

600,000 sales
Audience/Fan feedback: about the PS Vita release, as it had a limited user base, only 4-5 million

Social & Cultural Contexts

Representation: The game is an example of good representation as the avatar is a woman, which due to the action-adventure genre means the game is breaking the stereotype of women being weak and not heroines. Furthermore, she's an African-French assassin, demonstrating there's also a good representation of ethnicity.
Theory: 

• Bandura: Bobo doll experiment- people learn by observation, imitation and modelling. In the experiment, a parent played with a doll aggressively and when it was the child's turn to do so they'd mimic the parent's behaviour. This links to the video game industry's ratings. These are set in place in order to protect children as they could mimic the violence of a game in real life due to their inability to separate between fantasy and reality.
• Fandom: Jenkins- people who are interested in a specific media product, and so they follow it. This links to the video game industry as the fandom is one of the factors that makes a product successful, e.g. if a game is "hyped up" enough it gains visibility and so more people are likely to decide whether to buy the product or not.

PC Game Cover Analysis

Analyse the front cover for how it uses technical codes to define and explore its genre and appeal to its target audience. You should also explain any relevant issues of representation (gender/ ethnicity/ national identity) or techniques such as celebrity endorsement.

Grand Theft Auto IV- It is an action-adventure game, which appeals to an audience of over-16 males due to the ESRB "Mature" rating. The genre is defined by the various serious facial expressions on the cover, one of them making a direct mode of address to the buyer. Also, there are props such as guns to highlight the crime-based storyline, as the story follows criminals and their efforts to commit heists while on the run. It appeals to the target audience as you can steal cars so you can choose fancy-looking ones, which plays on the audience's desire of getting luxurious cars. The most visible issue of representation is with the sexualisation of the only woman in the cover due to her gesture.