PLANNING: Film Producers and Distributors

Our film’s genre is a thriller/action film which in terms of film producers is a very popular genre. Miramax films is a very successful film producer of films such as Reservoir Dogs which was released before Disney acquired it in 1993 for producing more grittier horror/thrillers but not with the stereotypical Disney logo. Since moving away from their Disney takeover in 2010, Miramax films have become an established film producer and distributor in its own right. Although Miramax don’t strictly just make thrillers they make a wide range of films. However more recently they have started producing more crime/thriller/action films such as Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010) The Debt (2010/I) and in production now Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2013). Miramax film would be a great producer to produce our film due to its well-known status in America and in particularly the semiotics of its company logo.

Miramax Films logo

The Miramax logo has your typical binary opposite of black and white which in relation to a thriller genre is perfect. The binary opposition could connote several different things and the main one being the fight between good and evil evident in our plot line with the kidnapper and the vigilante even with the addition of the femme fatale twist. The sans serif font in addition to the line straight lines also gives it that finished edge making it look more professional and elite which would really give our film a boost in terms of making it a success in the box office.

Due to the fact that our film does not have any major stars/directors or a large budget it would be unlikely if it was to be made that Miramax would produce it due to its high status and close links to America. However there are occasions of which Miramax has distributed low-budget ‘unknown’ films such as Garden State (2004) written and directed by the upcoming Zack Braff. This is more than likely due to its high praise at film festivals and its awards at the Sundance Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival and US Comedy Arts Festival.

In relation to Garden Sate its initial release in the US was 16 January 2004 which is outside of the summer holiday blockbuster season that occurs between June-August, because it was a relatively low budget film there would be no competition with the Hollywood blockbusters of that year. This is a technique we would again use for our film since ours is a low budget film but we would also incorporate weather into our release date since November – December is obviously blighted by cold weather and in some cases snow and ice why would deter people from coming to see the film if they can’t even get to the cinema. In contrast to this we would also take into account that between April-June (just before the blockbuster season) it is usually good weather where people won’t want to go to cinema inside if they could be sat outside in the sun. So therefore we will hopefully release our film between January – March.

Bad Robot Productions is an American film and television production company owned by J. J. Abrams. Although it is more responsible for television series it does also produce films. Bad Robot was originally part of Touchstone Television, but has moved with J. J. Abrams to Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Television, after his contract with Touchstone had expired in 2006. A lot of television programmes that they produce such as Lost, Alcatraz and Fringe are mostly Sci-Fi’s but they also have thriller/crime/action elements involved in them.

Bad Robot Productions have co-produced many successful films such as Cloverfield, Mission Impossible III, Star Trek and Super 8. This would therefore give our film a certain gravitas to our relatively low budget film.

Bad Robot Productions logo

 

The semiotics for this production logo suggests an unknown and uncertain outcome with the dark clouds covering the yellow sky. The dark grass also connotes an air of evil spreading across the land, which contracts the typical view of green grass which suggests hope and prosper. The robot itself looks small and dominated by the looming evil, the robot’s eyes look sad and pleading, not too dissimilar to the wife who gets kidnapped in the film. The font style is uneven and spiky which suggests an air of uncertainty and the capitalization makes a statement to the audience. 

Although it is perhaps unlikely that Bad Robot Productions would produce our films due to the fact that it a low budget film, however it is not impossible. In accordance to similar films we may also look at other production companies such as CinemaNX who have also produced low budget thrillers such as The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009). CinemaNX has, since its launch in 2007, swiftly established itself as one of the UK’s leading film financing and production groups. The CinemaNX logo is again very similar to the Miramax logo since it's format and colour scheme are the same to represent the binary opposition (Claude Levi-Strauss) of good versus evil.

Cinemanx logo

Again another production company who has produced films such as the one we have made is Rollercoaster Films who have produced one film, the highly popular Eden Lake (2008). Although it has only produced one film, that film was highly successful making $3,983,997 in the worldwide lifetime gross. Similarly to the Miramax and CinemaNX logo, the Rollercoaster Films production logo uses the binary opposite black and white however what adds interest to this particular logo is the use of film reels in place of the letter 'o' which are then connected by a film reel. Therefore reinforcing the semiotic of it being a film producer. There is also diversity in the position of the text in the logo in that the word 'films' is placed on its side so therefore adding interest to the typical black and white fixed position.

Our film is obviously not going to be able to compete with the big conglomerate Hollywood productions and therefore we will start small scale with a premiere at the Picture House in Manchester then try and get into film festivals in order to gain recognition. We will initially start with a British audience rather than an American one, although the genre and idea is very much a typically American film it will be best to start with a British audience. This will be demonstrated by the fact that we won’t use the typical green title that says “The following preview has been approved for all audiences by the Motion Picture Association of America Inc.” therefore suggesting that it is not going to be shown to American audiences.