Lesson 8 - Chicken
Funding
- Independent films have a low budget and are funding by small production studios or the BFI/National lottery, Chicken didn't have this luxury
- He couldn't get funding from the BFI or National lottery as they weren't interesting in the film. The only usually provide funding for established directs/producers, or films that are going to be successful or have an impact.
- Director Joe Stephenson had to raise the money himself, a micro-budget of £110,000. He had to ask around all his friends and film contacts to put the money together.
6 stages of film-making
Stage 1 acquisition: ideas are created or brought, if necessary rights to the story are brought, screenplay is written and financing is sought.
Stage 2 Pre-production: Cast and film crew are found, locations chosen and sets are built. This is also the point where budgets are decided and funding it found (if required).
Stage 3 Production: The film is shot and filmed. This includes a massive crew and is the most expensive part of the production. It's also seen the 'point of now return' for most projects, as it's difficult to recover the costs of productions without a finished product after shooting begins.
Stage 4 Post-Production: The recorded film is edited. Crew work on the sound effects and enhancement, images and visual effects.
Stage 5 Distribution: Finished film is distributed marketing strategies are employed to promote the film ad draw in audiences. It is screened at the cinema and released for home viewing on a variety of formats.
Stage 6 Exhibition: Films are screened in cinemas across the globe. Screenings can variety from 2D to 3D, from Imax to screens with seats that allow for more immersive experiences (e.g. Cineworld's D-Box seats)
Production
- Chicken is characteristics of contemporary cultural production in its use of new technology at production and distribution stages
- Stephenson had to set up his own production company (B Good Productions) to create the film.
- Filming took place over 19 days in locations across London. They couldn't film for longer or in a variety of locations as they couldn't afford it.
- A lot of the film was recorded outdoors - for a production on a micro-budget, why would this have been an issue?
- The lack of budget also limited the amount of 'start' power they could afford. The actors are not well known, meaning they can't rely on the names to promote the film.
Distribution
- Stephenson failed to secure distribution interest in Chicken, coming across the same issues that he did with funding.
- Instead, Stephenson spent two years focused on showing the film at film festivals.
- The film showed at festivals in Dublin, Spain, Italy, Estonia, New Hampshire and Germany. It had its world premiere in Edinburgh and international premiere in South Korea.
- He won awards and special mentions at 5 of these festivals.
Funding
- Independent films have a low budget and are funding by small production studios or the BFI/National lottery, Chicken didn't have this luxury
- He couldn't get funding from the BFI or National lottery as they weren't interesting in the film. The only usually provide funding for established directs/producers, or films that are going to be successful or have an impact.
- Director Joe Stephenson had to raise the money himself, a micro-budget of £110,000. He had to ask around all his friends and film contacts to put the money together.
6 stages of film-making
Stage 1 acquisition: ideas are created or brought, if necessary rights to the story are brought, screenplay is written and financing is sought.
Stage 2 Pre-production: Cast and film crew are found, locations chosen and sets are built. This is also the point where budgets are decided and funding it found (if required).
Stage 3 Production: The film is shot and filmed. This includes a massive crew and is the most expensive part of the production. It's also seen the 'point of now return' for most projects, as it's difficult to recover the costs of productions without a finished product after shooting begins.
Stage 4 Post-Production: The recorded film is edited. Crew work on the sound effects and enhancement, images and visual effects.
Stage 5 Distribution: Finished film is distributed marketing strategies are employed to promote the film ad draw in audiences. It is screened at the cinema and released for home viewing on a variety of formats.
Stage 6 Exhibition: Films are screened in cinemas across the globe. Screenings can variety from 2D to 3D, from Imax to screens with seats that allow for more immersive experiences (e.g. Cineworld's D-Box seats)
Production
- Chicken is characteristics of contemporary cultural production in its use of new technology at production and distribution stages
- Stephenson had to set up his own production company (B Good Productions) to create the film.
- Filming took place over 19 days in locations across London. They couldn't film for longer or in a variety of locations as they couldn't afford it.
- A lot of the film was recorded outdoors - for a production on a micro-budget, why would this have been an issue?
- The lack of budget also limited the amount of 'start' power they could afford. The actors are not well known, meaning they can't rely on the names to promote the film.
Distribution
- Stephenson failed to secure distribution interest in Chicken, coming across the same issues that he did with funding.
- Instead, Stephenson spent two years focused on showing the film at film festivals.
- The film showed at festivals in Dublin, Spain, Italy, Estonia, New Hampshire and Germany. It had its world premiere in Edinburgh and international premiere in South Korea.
- He won awards and special mentions at 5 of these festivals.
Comments
Post a Comment