MEST1 Section B: Independent case study

You've now studied your main case study, Ill Manors, in great detail and have A Field In England to offer a second case study on arthouse cinema and film distribution. You need one more film case study for the exam and this one has to be independent - that means you choose the film and research it across broadcast, print, e-media and more.

Complete the following tasks on your blog:

Choose one of the following five big-budget British films:

Skyfall ($200m budget)


Paddington ($55m budget)


The Inbetweeners Movie (£3.5m budget)


The King’s Speech ($15m budget)


Belle ($11m budget)


Case study research tasks

The basics

1) What is the name of the film, the director and notable stars?

2) When was it released?

3) What genre is the film? What are the generic conventions that tell you the film belongs to this genre?

4) What was the critical reception? What is the film rated on IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes?


Broadcast

1) Write a close-textual analysis of the trailer using the MIGRAIN key concepts of Media Studies.

2) Find examples of television promotion on YouTube (adverts, chat shows, ‘red carpet’ interviews etc.) and post them to your blog along with an explanation of how these promote the film.

3) Does the broadcast promotion use stars to create interest in the film?



Print

1) Read at least THREE reviews of the film and provide a quote from each one.

2) Find examples of print promotion (e.g. film poster, billboard adverts etc.) on Google images and post them to your blog along with an explanation of how these promote the film.

3) Choose ONE print advert and write a textual analysis of what it communicates to the audience.

4) How is the film’s brand constructed? What does the brand connote? Does it remind you of any other brands or similar films?



E-media

1) Research the film’s presence on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. How does the film’s social media presence help promote the film?

2) Analyse the official website for the film. How does it use the film’s brand? What examples of synergy can you find with the other platforms?

3) Did the film run any kind of e-media based campaign to generate interest in the film?

4) Can you find any examples of the two-step flow theory online – did celebrities or journalists tweet or post about the film in order to promote it to their followers?



Audience

1) Who is the target audience for this film? Demographics and psychographics.

2) How does the cross-media promotional campaign target this audience?

3) What audience pleasures does the film provide? Think about the BFI lecture on audience pleasures in British film.

4) What similar films would the target audience enjoy? Justify your suggestions.



Institution

1) Which film studio produced the film? What other films have they produced? Do they have a track record with this kind of film and this target audience?

2) Which company distributed the film in the UK? What other films have they distributed? 

3) Do they have a track record with this kind of film and this target audience?

4)What was the budget for the film?

5) How successful was the film financially? Why do you think this was?

6) Was this film more successful in the UK or worldwide/USA? Why do you think this is?

7) What certificate was the film given (12A, 18 etc.)? What was the reason for this certificate? Is the certification important for this film in terms of targeting its audience? Why?



Representation

1) What representations of people, places or groups can be found in this film?

2) What representation of ‘Britishness’ does the film contain?

3) How does the representation of Britain differ to Ill Manors? 

4) What values and ideologies can you find in your chosen film? (E.g. The King’s Speech is extremely patriotic, pro-monarchy etc.) 


Case study comparison

1) What similarities and differences can you find between Ill Manors, A Field In England and your chosen case study film? List all that apply.