Working Title release two trailers for every film; an English version and an international version. The international versions are nearly the same as the English trailers, but some words may be changed, and, for example, if the film was a comedy, different humour would be shown. Working Title also put their film teasers onto their website.
Working Title's website has information about every film they have ever created, including their new releases. They have the films promotional poster, the plot,. cast, trailers, film information, any awards the film won, on-set photography, and releated links.
The website has links to the live cast, showing the actors thoughts whilst the film is in production. The main type of videos are interviews with the actors and directors, asking them how they think the film went, ect.
Working Title doesn't have any types of competitions for their films on the website, but if you click on the click on the link to the film's website, there are competitions. If the film is a new release the prize is something like free tickets to see it with a meal afterward, or a chance to meet the actors ect.
Some of Working Title's new releases include Green Zone and The boat That Rock, both of which did very well. The website also advertises the upcoming films, such as Johnny English 2, and gives as much information about the film as possible, sometimes including live casts.
Working Title recently had an exhibition at London MCM Expo, where Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (actors from Working Title's Hot Fuzz) went down for a Q&A session. There was a Hot Fuzz stand in the centre of the main hall, and the actors came along to promote the film.
Film Timeline (2006-2010)
- United 93 - 2006
- Sixty Six - 2006
- Smokin' Aces - 2007
- Hot Fuzz - 2007
- Gone - 2007
- Catch A Fire - 2007
- Mr Bean's Holiday - 2007
- Elizabeth: The Golden Age - 2007
- Atonement - 2007
- Definitely Maybe - 2008
- Wild Child - 2008
- The Boat That Rocked - 2009
- State of Play - 2009
- Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang - 2010
Director - James Cameron
Budget - $237million
$2.6 billion - worldwide box office average.
Won Oscars and Golden Globes.
Shown in 3D.
Shot on a 'virtual camera' - allowed James Cameron to move through a 3D terrain (produced in 2003).
3D = stereoscopic films.
3D films earn more money than 2D films.
Largely protected from piracy because it is harder to copy 3D films than it is to replicate 2D.
New 3D, 'illusion of depth' - 2 cameras shoot images side-by-side to give a 3D effect.
Most successful 3D films are also animated.
70% of Avatar is CGI including the main female character.
The cast wore motion capture suits for most of the filming.
Cast acted out their scenes on a 'performance capture' stage, six time bigger than anything used before.
A skull cap was also used to capture the actors facial expressions.
Allows film-makers to add the special effects later, but also letting them position the camera wherever they want.
Setup was the creation of a virtual monitor that allowed the director to see the motion capture results in real time.
Innovative filming rig consisting of a number of stereoscopic cameras that each use a pair of lenses built in to mimic the human eye.
Friday 21st August 2009 - official designated 'Avatar Day'. A 15 minutes trailer was released worldwide throughout cinemas.
London, 21st April 2010 - 20th Century Fox launched the industry's first rich interactive trailer for the DVD eg. zoom in and out any frame, pause and select hot spots which led to extended clips of scenes. Meant people wouldn't be bothered about watching the film at home, rather than at the cinema, because they had all the extra features.
Thinkjam: built interactive units and Eyeblaster.
The adverts debuted simultaneously across the web in 15 markets around the world - makes everyone feel equal because they saw it all at the same time, reduces piracy.
Needs a digitally equipped cinema (possibly silver-coated screen to make it brighter) and a pair of special polarised glasses for everyone to see the film.
Tickets cost more than normal 2D films, as there is an extra cost to the exhibitor.
Cinemas can't show these types of films if they don't have a digital projector.
320 out of 3,600 cinemas are digitally equipped in Britain.
It costs £80,000 to get cinemas into the position to show 3D films.
Additional Notes.
Film4 - 'tiny commissioning department... remit is to make adventurous contemporary films outside the studio system' - Tessa Ross. In the UK, the UK Film Council, Film4 and BBC Films remain the three main film financiers. Slumdog Millionaire was unusual because of its success.
Working Title Notes
Crowd-pleasing, generally produce romcoms. The real secret is their mastery of international distribution.
Distribution Notes
US distribution companies pay more than £5million on making British film prints.
Smaller British distributors try to 'get a film away' with £25,000.
Last year, 73 different film distributors released films in the UK.
Distribution companies have to work differently to Hollywood distributors to stand out.
Distribution companies will plan ahead before they even get the film eg. the DVD.
In the past decade, the public film sector has grown substantially.
The new technologies is having a huge impact on smaller companies and films. Allows more prints to be made.
The UK Film Council were helping British film makers to reduce Hollywood's influence by funding non-mainstream films and they also provided digital facilities to smaller companies.
Studio Canal is the most significant new force in the UK film making.
Optimum Releasing is also a French distribution company (like Studio Canal) that had distributed Film4 and Working Title films.
Where Hollywood leaves in film distribution, companies like Studio Canal have taken their place.
1. Production practices
2. Distribution - trailers/internet: website fact page -archive, live cast, competitions, pulicity material and latest projects.
3. Exhibition.
Latest projects from 2006 to 2010 (sub-catergory - genres)
Choose favourite film - promotions (Drop Dead Fred.)
- Co-chairpersons of Working Title (WT), Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, founded the company in 1984 with Sarah Radclyffe.
- 'They have been listed as the most powerful figures in the British industry' - BBC News.
- Only 42 full time staff
- Split between the main Working Title production and the low budget Working Title 2.
- 'The Working Title philosophy has been to make films for an audience and played in a multiplex... only hope we have of sustaining the UK film industry.' - Lucy Guard and Natasha Wharton.
- Mass audiences - for everyone, not a niche/selective audience.
- More than 85 films that have grossed over 54 million worldwide.
- Won lots of awards: 6 Academy Awards, 26 BAFTA awards and 4 Oscars.
- They have an impressive catalogue of films from a wide range of genres.
- Working Title flops: Thunderbirds and Wimbledon.
- 'Blockbuster comedies of Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson... punchy period films... political dramas... literary adaptations... family... cultish low-budgeters... Coen brothers' - Variety magazines.
- '...fresh talent, such as directors Joe Wrightm Stephen Daldry, Shekhar Kapur.'
- In addition to which it has launched Working Title 2, a subsidiary for low budget films with an 'independent' appeal.
- Working Title was taken by Universal in 1999, Tim Bevan said 'We were now part of a big structure, so we spent much less time on finding the money and much more on developing decent scripts.'
- All the films are currently distributed by Universal Pictures who own a 67% stake in the company and many of its recent films are co-productions with Studio Canal.
- The remaining shares are owned by the company's founders, BBC film and private investors.
- Universal's involvement will vary widely from project to project.
- Pride and Prejudice - $20 million budget.
- Interpreter - $80 million budget (director - Sidney Pollock, starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn.)
- Universal only get involved in films with big names, such as the film Interpreter.
- Clever and tactical about film projects.
- Films from 2004 - Bridget Jones 2 and Shaun of the Dead.
- Working Title have to make one big blockbuster movie a year for Universal.
- Working Title 2 - Shaun of the Dead, Billy Elliot, Ali G In Da House.
- Films exploit English cultural 'heritage' as well as pop culture with a more modern touch.
- There is a long history between American actors playing leading roles in Working Title films as English people.
- Trailers are made to match the target audience.
- Timing - Christmas films are released at Christmas time, to fit in with the audience's mood.
- Notting Hill was released before Star Wars so that it wouldn't be up against a big blockbuster but it also gave people who weren't interested in Sci-Fi (mainly women) to see something they would like to watch.
- Glossary's are used to translate words for different countries, for example, 'barristar' changes to 'attorney'.
- London comes across as an elegant, clean, sanitized city in Working Title films, eg Notting Hill.
