Differences Between Independent Mainstream Film Openings

The difference between an independent and mainstream film is that an independent film targets a niché audience, this is a small group of individuals, this means that these types of films usually have a more specific topic compared to a mainstream film, which is more generalised. Mainstream films tend to have a broader topic as they want to target a larger audience to generate more  money from the film.

Production 

Wen it comes to producing a film, the quality of the film really depends on the budget. As an independent film company can't afford to make a big budget film, they have to ensure they can produce a film  with a small production cost. This is however opposite to a mainstream film company as they can afford to make films on a considerably larger budget. 

Due to a lower budget, the independent film companies can't afford to have an A-list cast, this is why independent films tend to have unknown actors as they can  afford to cast them in the film. However, this doesn't apply to mainstream films as they don't have to worry about money. The mainstream films can choose to have an A-list cast or an unknown one, this depends on the film's narrative or genre. 

The fact that independent films doesn't have a lot of money also means that they can't afford to make films with a lot of special effects, such as CGI, because they cost too much to operate. This doesn't apply to mainstream films, this is also why mainstream films are more favourable as they seem to have better quality compared to independent films.  

Marketing 

There are many different ways to market a film, the main way is to create a trailer, this gives the target audience a taste of what the film will look like and what's going to happen in it. This also makes them want to go and see the films they can see what's on offer to them via the trailer.  The quality of these trailers would also depend on the type of institution that  the film is being funded by, mainstream or independent. 

The amount of marketing a film gets depends on the budget. As independent films get a smaller budget compared to mainstream films, it means that they don't have as big of a marketing campaign. By not having a successful marketing campaign means that a films target audience would not watch the film as they may not have even known about it. 

Distribution 

Distribution is the way a film gets to it's audience. Mainstream films spend thousands of pounds making sure that their film is secure and as pirate free as they can get it, one way to do this is if the film was secured in a pass-code locked case which will only open just before the film release. This means that if anyone does steal it they will not be able to access the film before anyone else. 

Exhibition 

The exhibition of a film is how the audience watches it, the way that will be the most profitable will be in cinemas and IMAX theatres. This is where most of the mainstream films reach it's break even point. The fact that a film can be seen on different types of screens means that the audience has more options to how to view the film. This also encourages them to buy the film, if they have not yet seen it in cinemas or IMAX theatres, on Blu-Ray or DVD. 

Audience Profiles

Action 

In my questionnaire I asked:

• Please circle your gender?

Male/Female

• How old are you?

16 or less
17-21
22-30
31-45
46 or more

• How often do you watch a film?

Everyday
Once a week
Once a fortnight
Once a month
Once a year
Never

• Do you like action films?

Yes/No

• What would you normally expect in an action film?

.................................................................

I have found out that out of the 30 people i have asked, 9 females do like action films,6 don't and all 15 males like action films, this suggests that action films appeal more to male audience's, most of the people that liked action films were 22-30 years old and 31-45 years old. this also suggests that action films appeal more to older males. Everyone that I have asked have said that they go to the cinema once a month, this suggests that they only go to watch a film if they find a film that appeals to them. everyone whom answered this questionnaire said that they expect to see a mission taking place in an action film, this would includes a heroic male, and a beautiful woman who helps him. Another thing they would expect to see is fast cars and a lot of weaponry, this would result in fights and killings, and there is always massive destruction to building.

Comedy

In my questionnaire I asked:

• Please circle your gender?

Male/Female

• How old are you?

16 or less
17-21
22-30
31-45
46 or more

• How often do you watch a film?

Everyday
Once a week
Once a fortnight
Once a month
Once a year
Never

• Do you like comedies?

Yes/No

• What would you normally expect in a comedy?

.................................................................

I have found out that out of 30 people i have asked, only a total of 3 males and 3 females don't like the genre. the rest likes comedies. This suggests that comedies are a film genre that is liked by both male and female audiences. However i have discovered that the 6 people who did not like comedies were in the age range of 31-45 years old and 46 or more years old. this suggests that comedic films do not appeal to older audiences, this could be because they do not share the same sense of humour that younger audiences do. everyone that i have asked also said that they expected to see bright colours and funny things tend to happen outside in large crowds. There are always things that hit people, e.g. a football. The characters are stupid, but there is always smart people too. 

Horror

In my questionnaire I asked:

• Please circle your gender?

Male/Female

• How old are you?

16 or less
17-21
22-30
31-45
46 or more

• How often do you watch a film?

Everyday
Once a week
Once a fortnight
Once a month
Once a year
Never

• Do you like horror films?

Yes/No

• What would you normally expect in a horror film?

.................................................................

I have found that out of 30 people that I have asked that only 22 people like horror films, 8 females and 14 males, this suggests that horror films are predominately aimed at a male target audience. Mostly everyone who said liked these types of films has said that they are between the ages of 17 -21 and 22-30, this suggests that people younger than 17 are too afraid to watch horror films. This also shows that the older generations don't enjoy horror films either. These people have also said they expect to see a lot of dark humour in a horror film as well as a lot of blood, murder and

Romance

In my questionnaire I asked:

• Please circle your gender?

Male/Female

• How old are you?

16 or less
17-21
22-30
31-45
46 or more

• How often do you watch a film?

Everyday
Once a week
Once a fortnight
Once a month
Once a year
Never

• Do you like romance films?

Yes/No

• What would you normally expect in a romance film?

.................................................................

I have found out that out of 30 people that only 17 people like them, 15 females and 2 males, like romance films. This shows that romantic films are aimed at a mostly female audience of all age. I have found out that these people normally expect to see a build up to a climax but in between this is a massive anti-climax, but he girl always gets the guy in the end.

How Film Openings Attract Audiences and Audience Theories

Film openings attracts their audience depending on the film's genre, but also by making the opening capture the audience's imagination, and making them want to continue to watch the rest of the film. The opening also establishes what it going to happen in the film through its narrative, and sound.

An example of this is in Forrest Gump (1994), the opening of this consists of just a feather floating down to the floor, this connotes the ups and down of the journey that is life. this is later then shown in the film where it includes times of hardship and happiness.


There are also different audience theories, The Hypodermic Needle Model, and  The Uses and Gratification Model.

Hypodermic Needle Model

The Hypodermic Needle Model was created around the 1920's and 30's, it suggested that the audience are directly influenced by the media, and that the audience are passive and film have a strong effect on them. The younger audience are seen to be the most vulnerable as they are more likely to watch films, compared to adults. This is shown through the Bulger Case. James Bulger, a three year old boy, was abducted in a shopping centre and then tortured, and murdered on 12 February 1993, by two 10 year old boys, these boys were thought to have watched Child's Play, earlier on in the week which provoked them to copy the character of the Chucky. Child's Play (1988) is a horror film that a killer doll, named Chucky, goes on a murdering spree.
This model is now outdated and theorists' don't believe that this is true any more.

Uses and Gratification Model

The Uses and Gratification Model suggests that the audience are composed of active individuals who are directly involved in the selection and consumption of media output. There are four main ways the audience can relate to the media text;

• Entertainment - a form of escape from the pressure of everyday life, it is a form of diversion, relation and enjoyment. 
• Personal Relationship/Social Interaction - identification with characters and being able to discuss media text with others. Gaining in site into other lives, identifying with others gaining a sense of belonging.
• Personal Identity - the ability to compare your life with that of characters and situations presented in media texts. You may adjust or confirm your sense of identity.
• Information - to find out and learn about what is going on in the world. - self education and seeking advice on practical matters. 

The Uses and Gratification Model is widely accepted among theorists'. This theory is taken into consideration when making a film opening because it is the first thing an audience see's. This means that the audience needs to relate to the opening to be interested in the actual film.

Husky Productions will use the Uses and Gratification Model as it is widely accepted as well as the fact that elements of it appear in most film openings. Most film opening gives a form of entertainment, this is due to the fact that if its audience isn't entertained then they wouldn't watch the rest of the film. As you can see, Black Swan (2010) is a good example of escape for the audience but also the character drawing. This introduces the uses and gratification model in its opening, to grab the audiences attention. This is what Husky Production is going to do when we produce the film opening for 'Remorse'.
 

Jelly Baby Activity

To help us with making an original film opening, we were given a target audience to create an opening sequence for and how we would target them. The target audience we were given was females ages 15-25, therefore we made a rom-com due to them being targeted for female teenagers and young adults.

This will help us when it comes to making the film because we would know how to target our audience.

Generic Conventions

Different genre's have different iconography's and conventions. Two genre's won't have the same conventions because the audience won't know how to classify the films.

Comedy

The way that comedies are shown in films is through its distinct iconography, for example, there is always
bright lighting and a bright set, comedies also usually use the colours yellow and blue, this is because they are very bright and distinct colours, this creates a higher verisimilitude.
There are also specific character types, there is always:

• Silly people, they are generally very stupid and accident prone as they have no common sense.
• Smart but socially awkward people.
• There are also the regular people, but these are also usually sarcastic.

There are different sub-genre's of comedy, the most popular ones are Romantic Comedies, Slapstick, and Parodies.
Sound is one of the most important elements in comedies, non-diegetic sounds are used to add effects and emphasis in certain scenarios in the scene. diegetic sounds however, is used for dialogue, the dialogue needs to be clear, this is to ensure that the words can be heard for the audience to react to.
The conventions of comedies has slightly developed since the main concept of visual humour was used in the late 1800's. The most common form of visual humour was either Burlesque or Slapstick.
Burlesque used certain music to get the audience to react. This however differs from slapstick, in which it used visual elements to make the audience react.
Throughout the early 1900's the film industry mainly focussed on producing short silent films, however sounds were played over the top of the images, this aided comedies to emerge. Towards the end of the 1950's black comedies started to appear, this would include a darker humour. This form of comedy did not become popular till the 1970's. Comedies became so popular that they had been developed into TV series. Especially in Britain, various comedies became spin off's from some TV series. The height of comedies were in the 1980's/ 90's as films such as 'Honey I Shrunk the Kids' (1989) are still watched and bought in the present day.
Romantic comedies began to emerge in the early 2000's. the introduction of Gross Out comedies were also in the early 2000's. Gross Out comedies are aimed at teenagers. This includes embarrassing and disturbing situations that will shock the audience.  Examples of this is 'When Harry Met Sally' (1989), and 'American Pie' (1991)

Horror

Horror films are different to comedies as they tend to make the audience react negatively, and scare the audience. The films are generally set in lone, isolated areas where there is no means of help, the surroundings are dark, dirty and dilapidated.
The typical character types:

• The creepy adult/child character who intimidates and scares the teenage/adults  characters.
• The vain male that dies first, caused by his self-absorption.
• The blonde, stupid, promiscuous who never survives.
• The male protagonist, has flaws in his personality.
• The attractive males who is brave and sacrifices himself saving the other characters.
• The beautiful love interest of the male protagonist.
• The scared, yet shy character who dies near the end.

These characters are put into a situation in which they are forced to use their basic, primal, instincts to survive.
The themes that run through horror films are that, there is always a struggle between the good against the evil. There is also the supernatural elements of the films in which the film plays on the characters fear and blurs the line between reality and fantasy.
Fast cuts are used the most in horror films as they are a way for the film to make the audience feel anxious, tense, and panic.
Non-diegetic sounds are used for emphasis of something that is about to happen. Usually a door or floor boards creaking.
Iconography of the horror genre is that there is a murder weapon, usually a knife, that is covered in blood.
Sub-genres of horrors include:

• Supernatural
• Psychological Horror
• Thriller

Impact of Classification

When ever a new film is released, the BBFC reviews it, and the film is given a certification, this can impact a film negatively, or positively, depending who the initial target audience is.
If the film is given a higher certification than it anticipated, then that would mean that the ideal audience will be missing out, for example, if a film is aiming to target audiences aged 15, and they include things that result it being rated 18, they would have missed out on three age groups, meaning that they wouldn't be able to watch the film and generate more money by watching it.

A film that has had its ratings changed is Gremlins (1984) it changed its rating from PG to 12A after just two months, this also happened for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Certification of Films in the UK

Key Words:

• Classification:

Restricting access to material on the grounds of age.

• Censorship:

The practise of cutting or preventing access to material.

• Legal Obligation:

To prevent material breaking the law.

• Societal

To consider broader public opinion in mind with regards to language.

British Board of Film Classification

The British Board of Film Classification, BBFC, is a non-profit, self regulatory organisation made up of film industry representatives. It was created in the 1912, then known as the British Board of Film Censors until the 1984 by the film industry to independently classify films nationally. Even though the BBFC classify films, it does not mean that local councils, of whom are in control of the cinema's in their boroughs, has to follow the ratings that the BBFC certifies, they are able to overrule them. However, most local councils approve the BBFC certification and rarely ever change them. 

Up until 1984, the BBFC only regulated films in the cinema, however, since the Video Recording Act 1984, the became in charge of classifying all video for home use. 

One of the roles the BBFC has to do is note any dangerous or criminal activities on video or DVD. 

They have to also be aware of laws that protect children and animals. 

Film Rating

Films have different ratings depending on their contents, films are categorised on the amount of discrimination, drugs, imitable behaviour, language, nudity, sexual content, threat and violence. There are currently six different ratings, for different ages. 

U - Universal 

U films should be suitable for audiences of four years and over. These films are set within a positive framework and are offering reassuring counterbalanced to any violence, threat or horror.

E.G. The Smurfs (2011)

PG - Parental Guidance

PG films are for general viewing however, they may contain some scenes that are deemed to be unsuitable for young children. These films should no unsettle a child aged around eight or older. Children are aloud to watch these films without their parents, although, parents are advised to overview the film to consider if it would be suitable for their child, and that it wouldn't upset them.
E.G. Frozen (2013)

12A - Aged 12 or Accompanied by an Adult - Minimum

Films that are classified 12A contain materials that is unsuitable for children under the age of 12. No one below the age of 12 is permitted to see a 12A film in any cinema unless they are accompanied by an adult. Adults planning to accompany a child under 12 should consider if that film is suitable for them. This rating only appears in cinema's.
E.G. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
 

12 - Aged 12 - Minimum

12 Films are only applied to videos, this means that anyone below the age of 12 is not permitted to purchase or rent a 12 rated film. This rating only appears on video works that are able to be bought or rented.

15 - Aged 15 - Minimum

Films that are rated 15 means that people younger that 15 are not aloud to watch films rated 15, this is due to there being, a mild form of discriminative language, exposure to drug taking, weaponry and dangerous behaviour, as well as, strong language, the chance of mild nudity, portrayal of sexual activity, strong threats/horror, and strong violence.
E.G. The Conjuring (2013)

18 - Aged 18 - Minimum

18 rated films allow adults to choose their own entertainment, however, anyone aged under 18 are not permitted to watch theses films. This is due to the amount of discrimination, drugs, imitable behaviour, language, nudity, sex, threat and violence. These films are able to include anything that do no breach any criminal law or graphic exposure to sex works. 

E.G. Ghost Ship (2002)

 R18 - Aged 18 - Minimum

R18 films contain explicit sexual acts between adults that are not suitable for anyone under the age of 18. Films with this rating can only be shown in specially licensed cinemas, or supplied only in licensed sex shop. 

On the 24th of February 2014, the BBFC will be publishing new classification guidelines alongside the results of a large-scaled public consultation which would underpins them. 

"95% of parents with children under 15 say they check the BBFC classification before watching a film and 89% of film viewers consider classification as important."

These results show that film companies have to make sure they get the preferred  15 rating, as they would be able to reach a larger audience than that of an 18 rating, this means that producers try hard to make sure that their films are at least rated 15, if they are aiming at adults as they will be missing out on those 17 year old people, of whom have the same mind-set as an 18 year old.

Researching this information helps with my film opening because it guides us to make sure that we don't include certain elements that will give the film a higher rating than it would need, meaning that we would miss out on a whole section of the audiences that would potentially watch the film.

This will help with my film opening because we now know what to include and uninclude when making our film that will be appropriate for our audience.