Question 5- How did you attract/address the audience

It is part of the distributers job now to build awareness of the product before it goes on general release . Independent film has a particularly acute need of effective marketing because, unlike the US studio system, it does not have a vertical distribution where films go smoothly from production to exhibition within the studio system. Independent films have recently have benefited from new initiatives from the UK film council digital innovation fund which they describe on their website in a film presented by Anglia Ruskin University. I am going to refer to just one case study to show how this works. This is what I have learnt from one individual case study.

‘The girl with a dragon tattoo’ is a small independent film based on a Swedish book which never the less attracted huge audiences in the 12 week lead up to the general release through its internet campaigning. The distributers created audience awareness of the film through a series of exciting interactive games/interfaces, where the audience could click on different characters and learn more about them each week. Audiences could download an application onto their Facebook page, which meant their friends would see the films information reaching 65,000 people. With the Dragon Tatto they asked local communities if they would like a private screening before the actual film release.

The disappearance of Alice Creed, audiences could vote for the location of the premiere; Distributors fed pockets of interest with special private information which wouldn’t be released until late creating a sense of privilege in the audiences. 

The premiere was held at Southampton University which had made bigger headlines than the usual Leicester square with even the paparazzi coming down to see ‘Gemma Arterton’ . They had front page coverage on Metro which meant that everyone passing the newspaper saw it.

Infidel took a different approach, they created an internet campaign they invited audiences to submit jokes online about Religion and they took the film into mosques and synagogues that was used to diffuse antagonism towards the film to reduce feelings of hostility. They then drew attention to the comedy by having breaking dancing Hasidic Jews dancing and women in Burka’s

Spot the man in the areas around the UK and take a photo and upload it to the facebook group

Charity preview where everyone is invited to get a half price preview ticket if they wear a mask to the showing. 

W e created  a 'mock-up' of the website that will publicize our film

It is essential in order to attract an audience that we have a website, it also shows our authenticity. We used our favourite image from our film and I produced a design for our website including all the typical features you would see online.

Here we have created a facebook group page which is public for anyone to see

Fin's film poster is essential in order to validate the film to public we could have these placed in public areas to view.

I believe the mystery surrounding our opening and the climax that it reaches will hook the audience into understanding how the film came to this situation. This is why our film is set up like this in Guy Ritchie style reflecting back to the beginning of the whole incident picking up clues which will get the audience thinking throughout our film with the sense of mystery conveyed.