Film Marketing Research Task

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

I have decided to research how the film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is marketed because it is a successful movie which is seen by many people.

The Posters

One of the posters features a photo of Hogwarts School, and the whole photo's contrast is set to dark, which gives a mysterious look to the poster. This mysterious look hooks the audience and makes them interested in watching the film. Apart from this poster, there has been many other posters which feature the main key characters in the film. In other words, there is a key character shown for each of the posters. For example, there is a poster which mainly consists of Harry, another which consists of Ron, another Hermione, etc. All the key characters in these posters look as if they are in the midst of a battle. This also gets the audience interested into watching the film, because they would want to know what would happen next.

Another set of posters were also released. Similarly, these consisted of one key character per poster. However, the presentation of the key characters was significantly different from before. In the second set of posters, the poster mainly consists of the key character's face looking directly at the camera. Some of these posters have already been released as a promotional material; the smaller version of these posters were in some magazines. However, all of these photos all have a mysterious, dark feel to them which Harry Potter is all about; magic, fierce enemies and fierce battles. The second set of photos consist of the characters' faces, and all of them have a serious look on their face as if facing their ultimate enemy. This also gets the audience hooked and interested in watching the film.

The Trailer:

The first full trailer starts off with a full-on battle scene between Harry and Voldemort. This then continues until it cuts off and shows a montage of scenes of enemies fighting and the 'goodies' trying to defend what they can. From this, we learn that right from the start of the trailer we instantly see binary opposites; Harry and Voldemort, 'goodies' and 'baddies'.

From watching the trailer we do not learn much of the storyline; all we see is battle scenes that is persuasive in grabbing the attention of the audience. However, considering the profile of the target audience, they are more likely to become interested in the battle scenes rather than what actually happens (the storyline).

Products attached to the film:

In terms of merchandise, there are a lot of things that are on sale on the net. For example, there are robes and costumes of what the Harry Potter characters wear, and many more things that are all related to the film. This also gets the target audience interested in the film because it is used by some of the key characters; therefore word of mouth for the film would spread quickly if someone were to buy one of the robes or costumes or any other thing that is sold on the internet which is related to the film itself

Promotion(s):

As I have mentioned before, some of the official posters which advertise Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 have been released and put into some magazines which are sold at many newsagents and big shops like Tesco. The target audience will then be informed of the film and its release date, which results in more people turning up to watch the film because they got the information about the film from a smaller version of the official poster.

Homework: Moodboard to represent men and women in A-A films.

Media men and women in a a films

Film title + USP:

Film title:

Double-edge

Film USP:

A normal schoolboy becomes an agent working against his father; and at the end, if Darren succeeds his father will die but if he fails then his family and friends would die. this means that plot will end with a "double-edged sword" where he will have to save one where the other would die.

Film Pitch: Visual Presentation on Inspirations and Target Audience

Media Visual Presentation

Homework: Film Pitch

My film pitch:

(Plot)

Darren and his father had been going on very well with each other when one day Darren's father suddenly became rebellious and started to destroy things in the home. Darren's mother made him get out of the house, but Darren was against it so he chased after him, but was unable to catch up to him. That was all 5 years ago.
The present time is 2010. Darren, his mother Natalie, and sister Claire all live in a detached home in London. Darren's father has been missing since 2001, with no clues of where he went.

One day Darren goes to school and arrives in front of the school gates when mysterious black-suited men come out of a black coloured BMW M3 E92 and abduct Darren without any notice. Darren then struggles to break free but is in turn drugged and put to sleep whilst the car goes to the HQ of their base, SOA (Secret Operation Agency). Darren then wakes up in a brightly lit room, then one of the black-suited men comes in and tells Darren to get changed into a black-suit (all his other clothes has been burned). The black-suited man, later to be known as (Code-Name) Neil, explains the situation to him; the truth is that Darren's father is in Russia and is building a  space satellite which has a laser on it, and he plans to completely exterminate a certain location; London. The reason behind this plan is unknown; but in order for Darren to save his family and friends, he must set on a journey with his comrades in SOA, overcome numerous obstacles and ultimately stop his father from firing the giant laser on board the space satellite and in the end kill him. Darren must take up weapons and face all kinds of enemies, travel to places he's never been to on high-tech speed cars and travel in space on a mission that will end in misery either way. If he fails, friends and family will be gone. If he succeeds, his father will be gone.....

Cast List:

• Darren - Alex Pettyfer
• Natalie - Jennifer Garner
• Claire - Lacy Chabert
• Darren's father - Gary Oldman
• Neil - Ewan McGregor

Marketing Plan:

• Poster
• Trailer (Dramatic, e.g. dramatic music, fast-paced shots)
• Advert on websites

Producer:

• David Heyman

Director:

• Francis Lawrence

Financier:

• Allen Stanford

Target Audience:

• Teenage, both sexes, age ranges from 14 to 21

Age certifcate:

• 15+, since the film will include some scenes unsuitable for young children.

NICS homework film clip

Toy Story 3 Film CLip

List of A-A films!

Here's a list of A-A films:

• Harry Potter (All of them)
• Pirates of the Caribbean (All of them)
• James Bond (All of them)
• Indiana Jones (All of them)
• Toy Story 3
• Iron Man
• Inception
• The Dark Knight
• Avatar
• Book of Eli

Defining the A-A film genre in terms of NICS: (Toy Story 3)

• Narrative - Story about one toy called Woody setting out to rescue his friends from being misused at a daycare; but then the villain forces them to stay in the daycare. However, the villain, Woody and his friends are all thrown into the rubbish bin and are heading towards the rubbish tip. They all try to escape the incinerator, and then Woody, being the hero, tells Lotso, the villain, to press the button to stop the whole incinerator belt and the system. At this point Lotso betrays them and runs off by himself. Then the three Squeeze Toy Aliens save Woody and his friends from the incinerator. This then results in Woody living happily every after with his friends whilst Lotso, the villain, faces being tortured by being strapped onto the front of a truck.
• Iconography - Main one is toys, they all wear the same clothes since they are toys, and the colours and lighting vary in the film; the first half was bright (school day in the day care) and dark (when Woody and friends were trying to escape). The second half mainly consisted of a dark place (inside the rubbish tip where they were heading for the incinerator).
• Characters - Woody playing the 'hero' role, Lotso playing the 'villain' role, Buzz Lightyear/Squeeze Toy Aliens playing the 'helper/donnor' role(s), victim of Lotso's evil: Woody and friends
• Settings - Andy's house, Sunnyside Daycare (school), Rubbish tip