Test Screenings
Test
screenings are designed for the audience to watch the film they have made and
for them to give feedback to the producers. This will help the producers make
their final decision whether to use the film they used in the test screening
for their final cut. Producers may also give the audience information about why
they has decided to use this as his final cut and why they believe it is
suitable for release.
Test
screenings can change a film dramatically, for example the first Paranormal
Activity film has got 3 different endings. This is because one of the endings
where the main actress who is possessed slits her own throat in front of the
camera at the end and most audiences said it left them disturbed and they
thought it was unnecessary. After these reviews the producers decided to add 2
alternate endings which the audience could choose. This made it fair for
everyone as the other two were less disturbing as the “Throat” ending.
Another
thing that test screenings can change is the title of the film itself! An
example of this would be the James Bond film ‘License Revoked’ or as we now
know it ‘License to Kill’ due to the opinion of American audiences.
Pros
of having test screenings:
·
Audience can give back feedback to help you on the film idea.
·
Get to know what the audience is looking for.
·
Find out the Target audience for the type or genre of your film.
·
The audience that viewed the test screen could spread good word about
the film which would make more people want to go and watch it.
·
Producer/investor will get the final say
·
Audience may get the final say
Cons of having test screenings:
·
Producers may disagree with the audience.
·
The audience may not be experts on film making
and just decide whether they thought it was appropriate or not.
·
Producers may have to spend a lot more money by
changing endings or scenes to make it better or even less offensive.
·
The audience could post spoilers on the
internet.
·
Possibility of a negative word of mouth
resulting in less people wanting to watch the film.
Silent film comedian Harold Lloyd
star of ‘Sailor Made Man’ that was directed by Hal Roach was the first film to
use a test screening. In this test screening they measured the amount of
laughter coming from the audience to decide whether it was a popular film or
not. A lot has changed since then as now the audiences are given questionnaires
by the producers to get feedback on different scenes and styles of shots.
Some producers refuse to have
test screenings for the films. The big time producer Steven Spielberg is
amongst the group that refuse. They can get away with this because all the
previous films that they have produced have made a lot of money and were very
popular with the audiences. If an audience views and advert of a film and a
high status producer such as Spielberg or Christopher Nolan they will just
assume and expect that the film will be top quality such as ‘The Dark Knight
Rises’ and ‘Saving Private Ryan’. Therefore a test screening will be
unnecessary because the producers will know their target audience and what they
are looking for in the movie.
In my personal opinion I think
that test screenings are a really great idea. This is because the audience can
see what the film is like before it is released to the general public and will
give their opinion on it. This will give the producers time before the film is
released to change any scenes, endings or maybe characters. Also they will find
out how they can advertise and market the film before it is released to it will
appeal to the correct target audience. This is important because the worst
thing that could happen when releasing a film is attracting the wrong target
audience and for that particular audience to be disappointed and spread a
negative word of mouth which eventually will spread round to the correct target
audience and stop them from going to watch it. This would be a disaster for any
film maker.
However high status producers
such as Spielberg and Nolan can get away with it in my opinion. This is because
I am a fan of all their films such as Jurassic Park and The Dark Knight.
Marketing
Posters have a big effect on the
marketing campaign because they are shown to the public all around the country
first. There are two types of posters that the film companies release. These
two styles of posters are:
·
Theatrical
·
Teaser2
Teaser posters can get people excited because it is kind of
like a rumour. People will spread the word of what they saw and it will
generate ideas of what it is and what it will consist of. For example, it has a
red bat symbol without the title ‘Batman’ on it as it just has ‘The Dark
Knight’. By having the bat symbol on it people will know it is a Batman film.
Having the dark eyes and red lips on the teaser poster it will generate ideas
that ‘The Joker’ will feature in the new batman film. This will get people
excited that the famous villain from the original Batman series will be making
another appearance.
Trailers also have the same two styles as posters, teaser
and theatrical. Teaser trailers are
released a while before the film is set to come out in the cinemas, these
trailers will build hope and start spreading rumours and ideas about the
upcoming film. Theatrical trailers however will be a montage of short clips
from the actual film. The theatrical trailers are usually released about a
month before the film is due. Theatrical trailers will show people what they
should expect and also a lot of what they will see. It will also give away what
genre of film it is by the short clips it reveals.
The radio is a good way of advertising an upcoming movie. For
example if the radio station manages to get a big Hollywood actor in to talk
about their new film, people will tune in to listen to it and after hearing
what the star has to say about it, the listeners will want to go and watch the
film. The timing of the broadcast is very important though because they would
want to catch as many listeners as they could. A good time for this to be
broadcasted would be in peak times such as the morning and evening rush hours
when the listeners are commuting to and from work. A personal example of this
comes from when I was driving to college one day and heard Will and Jaden Smith
talking about their recently released film ‘After Earth’. After listening to
the father son duo it made me want to see the movie straight away!
Marketing and advertising campaigns can spread over the
internet and the movie producers can also get the fans involved in quests and
games before the film is released. A good example of this is The Dark Knight.
The producers had different objects such as mobile phones which they would call
a number and be part of The Jokers thug army, which they placed around
different major cities in the USA. This became a massive event and got the fans
going crazy about the new Batman film soon to be released. This is a great way
of getting fans involved in the movie and also a great way to spread word of
mouth, I know if I heard about finding phones to call The joker I would
certainly joined in on the action. Another way of using the internet is to put
adverts on sites like YouTube where you often see an advert before you see the
video you want to watch.
Film producers may also contact companies so that they can
promote the film. For example the producers of The Dark Knight had burger king
selling kids meals with Batman toys and they even did a special burger to mark
the occasion. This is another great way of getting the film advertised
everywhere. Having kids toys being handed out with the meals will make the kids
want to go and watch the movie and they will also go and tell their friends.
Parents may also see the toys or the special burger and decide they would also
like to watch the new film.
Merchandising
Merchandising has taken off in the movie world. For example
ten years ago you may have been able to pick up the odd shirt with the film
title on it or maybe even a hat. However, times have changed. Now you can pick
up toasters that print a mini Darth Vader in the middle of your toast! You can
also buy things such as underwear, bed sets, cookie jars and even props!
Premiers
Premiers are the events that you see on TV with all the
celebrities, actors and producers arrive and walk down the red carpet in to the
theatre. This is a great way for fans to come and see and maybe even meet the
stars in person. People will camp outside the theatres where the event is being
held. Some of the big films such as Harry Potter and Hunger Games the line of
people can be gigantic. The press will also be at premiers trying to talk to
the stars walking down the red carpet to get information about the film and
what else they are filming.
Press Junkets
A press junket is where a celebrity or an actor in this case
is being interviewed by a member of the press or a film critic. The main idea
of a press junket is to gather information from the actor or actress. This
information can be about many different subjects. Subjects such as how they
felt when filming, did they enjoy it, would they recommend it (not like they
would say no, but still) and the press might also see if they can get any
information about a possible sequel to the film. Press junkets are a good and
also interesting way of meeting the stars and hearing what they have to say
about the film. This will also get fans very excited when they hear the actor
or actress talking about their famous role in another film.
Preview Screenings
Preview screenings are for the press and critics to view the
film before its official release date. This is so that they can write their
reviews on it and be ready to put into magazines and onto websites for the
public to see. This is good because if a member of the public is unsure about
going to see a film or not, it will have a review ready for it on the release
date or maybe even a few days before in some cases. Some people get previews
mixed up with premiers, at preview screenings there will be no celebrities,
just the press. Some people also get confused with the fact the preview screen
is the final cut, unlike a test screening.
Festivals
Small independent films will usually take advantage of film
festivals. This is because they know there will be film critics that will watch
their film and write about it on websites and also in magazine articles. This
will spread word of mouth of their film no matter how big or small it is, even
if it is a foreign film it has the chance to travel worldwide. A small
independent French film called Blue is the Warmest Colour was the winner of the
Cannes film festival Palme D’or. Some film critics who had watched the film
said that it was one of the best films they had ever seen. This is a great
example of a simple story independent film making a great name for it, and now
I am writing about it!
