Analyze Commercial and Industrial Contexts
1. Do some research on one of your favorite franchise films and use these questions to consider how the aspects of industry and commerce (financing, distribution, and exhibition) affect the audience’s perception of the film you are analyzing. For basic information on budgets and box office, go to www.imdb.com or www.the-numbers.com.
2. Find an official film poster created to advertise the film,
OR find a still from your favorite film in which product placement is used. Upload the still to your discussion post.
3. What message does this convey? Consider our past discussions covering mise-en-scene for ideas, and refer to our chapter focus on MISSION IMPOSSIBLE (poster analysis) for details.
4. What demographic is your poster designed for?
Further questions to consider, butnot required to answer.
Chapter 7-1The Business of Film
How do the production values of the film reflect its budget? How extensive is the list of cast and crew? How elaborate are the costumes, sets, effects, score, and so on?
If the film was a big-budget Hollywood “event” film, which of the six big conglomerate studios produced it? What kinds of synergies did they draw upon?
If the film was a low-budget independent production, what aspects of production, distribution, and exhibition distinguished it from a big studio film?
Was the film considered to be a financial success, and what factors account for its success or lack of success in the marketplace? Was the film a creative success?
Chapter 7-2Distribution and Marketing
What did you know about this film before seeing it, and how might your expectations have shaped your reaction to it?
Did you see any of the film’s cast in the media, and what message did they deliver about the film? Where did they appear, and what does that tell you about the intended demographic?
What was the rating designation of the film? How did the rating affect the marketing campaign?
What sort of distribution strategy was employed? Was it appropriate? Did it work?
Chapter 7-3Exhibition
Describe the theater and the audience for the screening. How did the environment in which you watched the film affect your experience of it?
What is the film’s intended aspect ratio? What format did you see it in? If you are able, compare a scene from the film in the intended format and reformatted for TV and describe the differences.
In the theater, notice where the sound seems to come from (what part of the auditorium) and whether different parts of the soundtrack are coming from different locations. Also observe the volume and sound quality.
—————–For full credit you must also respond to at least one other student, further stimulating discussion.
• Discussion must be focused on subject.
• Film vocabulary and concepts introduced in this class are used.
• Response contains complete sentences.
• No spelling errors.See grading rubric for complete details (at pulldown located at right top corner of this page).
