Black Swan - Brand New Film 2011

Black Swan Official Trailer:

Nina (Natalie Portman) is a radiant ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life is devoted to dance. She lives with her mother, a former ballerina who takes control of her life. When director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace one of his own ballerinas for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is clearly his first choice. Unfortunately, Nina has competition as a new dancer; Lily (Mila Kunis) impresses Leroy as well. The production Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both roles; the white swan who is innocent and graceful as well as the black swan who conveys sensuality and danger. Everyone can see that Nina fits the role of the white swan perfectly but Lily is perfect for the role of the black swan. As the two dancers slowly change their rivalry into a perverse friendship, Nina begins to get in contact with her darker side – a carelessness which threatens to destroy her life altogether.

Distributor and tracking the distribution:

Director Darren Aronofsky proposed a detailed outline of the Black Swan to ‘Universal Pictures.’ The studio then decided to start the development of the project in 2007. The project did not come together immediately as Aronofsky had to go on and shoot ‘The Wrestler.’ After finishing ‘The Wrestler’ in 2008, he asked Mark Heyman who had worked alongside him on the film, to begin writing the Black Swan. In June 2009, Universal put the project in turnaround, gaining attention from other studios. Black Swan was originally under development by ‘Protozoa Pictures’ and ‘Overnight Productions,’ who were the latter financing for the film.

There were three separate names linked to the distribution of the Black Swan, these were:

-          French distributor = 20^th Century Fox

-          Press agent = Michel Burnstein

-          Foreign Distributor = Fox Searchlight Pictures

The main distributor for the Black Swan was ‘Fox Searchlight Pictures.’ The film was given a specific production budget of $10-12 million, and a vast amount of photography began towards the end of 2009 in New York City.

The motion picture rating was rated ‘R’ for strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug use.

Box Office:

Black Swan found itself earning competitive box office revenue in many of the cinemas that consisted of most major releases. It was interesting to find out that the film was shot on a 16mm film – a standard one that is usually often used by the independent revolution. Apparently, one scene was even shot on a ‘Canon DSLR,’ a camera which is used for the amateurs who are unable to afford professional tools. The cinematographic process consisted of a digital intermediate (master format) and an HDTV (source format). In its opening weekend the film grossed $1,443,809 in the USA on the 5^th December 2010 in 18 screens and £2,762,429 in the UK on the 23^rd January 2011 in 356 screens. The film grossed $2.12 million. Black swan which was distributed by ‘Fox Searchlight Pictures,’ also posted the highest screen average over that particular weekend with $10,654. In total it had grossed $6.18 million. Its gross box office is over $100 million as of February 2011.

Release:

Black Swan had its world premiere as the opening film at the 67^th Venice film festival on the 1^st September 2010. Black Swan was one of the seven films which were nominated to be awarded for having the best “homosexual and queer themes.” Black Swan had many screenings and was presented at numerous film festivals. It had a screening at the Telluride film festival on the 5^th September 2010 and the 35^th Toronto International film festival later on in the month. It was also screened at the New Orleans and Austin film festival and lastly the BFI London film festival. The release date of the Black Swan in the United Kingdom was brought forward a month from February 2011 to the 21^st January 2011. According to reports, the film is one of the “most highly anticipated” of late 2010. In the 83^rd Academy awards Oscar Nominations 2011, it is no surprise that Black Swan has been nominated on numerous accounts. Black Swan was nominated in the following categories: best picture, best actress in a leading role, best cinematography, best film editing and director.  

To continue promoting the Black Swan, merchandise around the film (ancillary market) was sold. Companies teamed up with the distributor, fox searchlight pictures to give the public the opportunity to win a set of limited Black Swan merchandise. These included teaser posters signed by Natalie Portman, as well as a beautiful Black Swan merchandise set which consisted of a hoody, a jewellery box, a necklace and a perfume atomiser. Other companies produced Black Swan merchandise including t-shirts, hoodies and a computer mouse mat.

The film poster is exceedingly creepy and eerie. As you stare at it, you feel as though you must turn away from it instantly, as if it has some sort of control over you. The level of brightness which is portrayed on the background of the poster represents the blinding power of the spotlight and the overpowering nature of being up front. The actress’s eyes are disturbing and distressing. It's as if her eyes belong to the devil. They look on at people showing signs of hatred and fury. The more you stare into her eyes you feel as though they are being used as weapons to hypnotize you. It is definitely as creepy picture. Additionally, by mentioning respected film festival it is a way of saying, this is a serious, dark, edgy film and that they are hoping to win Oscar, Bafta awards. The film poster clearly shows that this film is only meant to be seen by people who are ages 15+ as it is alarming and unnatural. If this was shown to students younger than 15 it could frighten them emotionally and psychologically.



The Business - Understanding Film Making

The Idea:
Sources of information: Number of films based on real life events. True stories can capture the imagination of modern audiences. The stories can be found in newspapers, magazines and so on. Having a good eye for a story is a vital skill for any film maker.
Producers: They look for a great idea for a film, something which will extract the audience. They are often the creative and commercial driving force behind the whole project.
Directors: Directors are involved very early in the development process and if they have an idea for a film they will approach a producer to take the project forward. They are many roles in directing these are, writer-directors, directors and producers.
Writers: Producer, director and writer are the key creative triangle in the film business. The writer clarifies the idea. The plot, the main character turns it into something tangible.
Treatment: It's a description of key events and people in a film. Well written and fits the genre of the film. It should also provide the reader with an idea of what makes the film unique and interesting to watch.
Pitch:

• One liner = This is a one sentence description of the film.
• Genre = Helps other people to understand what the style and content of the film are going to be like.
• Market = It is sometimes known as the target audience this answers vital questions for film makers and finances.
• People attached = Consists of a list of people attached to the project at this stage plus their credits.
• Rough Budget = Gives a reader an idea of what the film will cost to take.
• Brief Synopsis = Expands a little on the one liner, for people who want more detail.

Development Finance:

1. Pitching the project - development finding is money used to support the writer, producer and director for making a scipt to pitch to the investory.
2. Production companies - producers approach film companies for development money and the company ask for rights back.
3. Sale companies, broadcasters and distribution companies ask for selling and viewing rights after giving money.
4. Public distribution investment they approach small companies.

Script Development:

1. Writer and producer, produces a synopsis and works closely together.
2. Step outline - contains short written descriptions of all the scenes that make the script. Each step describes the plot events and significant developments to the characters.
3. Drafts include actions and events which will be seen and will explain more about what the charatcters say.
4. Revisions - writes and gets the scrips editors to help them.
5. Final draft, director, producer and writer all have to improve. The writer recieves a fee.
6. Sales treatment synopsis designed to sell the film to the financers.

Packaging:

• Package - Includes final draft, sales treatment and a rough budget - roughly how much funding that could be secured for the script.
• The cast - To make the project more commercial, well known starts need to be attached to the script. Producers get into contact with the actors through their agents.
• The Heads of Department includes - Director of photography, production designer and so on.
• Detailed budget and production schedule - The producer must know how much it will cost to make the film. The production scedule is how long it will take to shoot and when will it be finished.
• Finance plan and recoupment schedule - The finance plan is how the producer plans to raise finance for the film. Recoupment schedule is an estimate of how the film will end up making money, an example is merchandise, DVD's and so on.

Financing:

• The Market is a very competitive business. This is where contacts and powers of persuasion is needed to receive maximum funding. 
• Investment, private finance, number of private individuals willing to invest in film products. 

Pre-Production:

• Once all of the heads of the departments are brought together then the shooting is circulated and the meeting begins.
• The casting director, producer and director begin to find casts and actors for the film.
• Storyboards are produced and blue prints are created.
• Production designers design every aspect of the show.
• Effect shots are produced.
• Producer and Product manager makes the legistics of the production.

The Shoot:

• Contact many teams (5 teams)
• Chain of command
• Special effects team
• Camera team
• Lighting and sound
• Cast
• Many roles in each individual team, to insure movie is well made.

Post Production:

• Assistant editor creates an assembly of clips, the editor then makes a rough cut.
• Sound department lays the audio
• Score written sometimes for a movie or a specific scene. Often the credits and effects are added.
• Operators adjusts the colour so all the shots look consistent.
• Sounds are mixed, layered and levelled. They are edited by producers for the finish final cut.

Sales:

• The producer has to sell the finished cut to a distributor.
• The key elements should be showcased in trailers without giving too much away.
• A sales agent will estimate how well the movie will do.
• To create success the producer creates a 'buzz' around their movie to boost their awareness.

Marketing:

• The Marketing Team is a group of people who will market the film to the public.
• The Audience - the marketing team runs test screenings to see how the film is recieved by the viewers.
• Advertising - potential audience for the film is targeted using posters, cinema trailers and TV spots.
• Press and Media Coverage - positive word of mouth, an example TV, newspapers, radio. Getting the product endorsed by a third party.
• The Internet and New Marketing Models - internet and digital media. Give new opportunities for distributors to market their product in a more targeted and cost efficient ways.
• Selling the Film to Exhibitors - Distributors negotiate with cinema's to screen the films.

Exhibition:

• Fame helps to sell films because the stars have loyal, fun bases that follows them religiously.
• Your stars do not need to be famous for the films to be seen, lesser known stars generate huge success as well.
•  Although British people do not visit the cinema as much as Americans, it is still important for the film to hit the market.

Other:

• In flight entertainment and hotel pay preview channels, these are the first way in which films are sold after their cinema release.
• The sudden explosion in DVD purchases has transformed the film distribution. Many films that failed abysmally at the box office can recover their costs through DVD sales.
• The young game industry is seen as a threat to the film industry. In response to this, the film makers are licensed to computer game developers to create products for that film.