Section B: Institution Research

Institution Research

Ill Manors- Funding and production budget:

Source: IMDB ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1760967/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 )

1) Estimated budget:

£100,000

2) Where did the money come from?:

• Microwave film
• Film London
• BBC Films
• Revolver entertainment 

3) Budget comparison to Hollywood:

Comparing the two industries (the British industry and Hollywood industry), Ill Manors is considered to be of a very high budget for a British film whereas it is considered a very micro budget film as it is a fraction of what a traditional Hollywood film goes for (the go for about 100 million dollars).

Skyfall, although it is considered a British film (due to the characters origins coming from a classic drama back in the 1900's), there is a lot of American related things in it. The film was created and funded by an American big name film distributor known as, Sony Pictures. This company (and many more) were involved in funding this film so that it can market and portray itself well to the public. All this money included in the films budget (which was $200,000,000) would go towards production and marketing costs as well as other things. However, Ben Drew had to spend his money carefully as he was limited in the things he could do to make his film a success.

A Field In England: Funding and production budget:

Source: IMDB ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375574/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 )

1) Estimated budget:

£316,000

2) Why did this film get a higher budget than Ill Manors?:

I think that the reputation of the director made the investing companies for likely to give their funding towards A Field in England than compared to Ben Drew. The reason why Ben Drew's film, Ill Manors, received a smaller budget to make the film was because it was a risky option for the investing companies. Ben was a first time director when he handled this product and therefore, there wasn't much of a show reel for him to give to other big name investors for them to see what his directing and film making is like. A show reel is a bunch of videos that the artist has worked on so that he/she can show companies their work, this allows the companies to see the type of art and work you produce. Ben Drew only made a few short videos and this resulted in him getting low amount of funding. Whereas, Ben Wheatley is a reputable and famous director and it is this fame that has given him recognition of his work, making big name film distributors want to fund his film project.

3) Where did the money come from?:

• Film 4
• Rook films

Film London and Microwave Film:

Source: Film London and Microwave website

Film London- http://filmlondon.org.uk/
Microwave Film- http://filmlondon.org.uk/feature-film-funding/

1) What is Film London:

Film London is a non-profit agency which is largely supported by the government. They also receive project grants from a number of different organisations to aid them when needed. Film London is supported by the following:

• Mayor of London
• BFI
• Arts Council England

2) Purpose of Microwave film:

Microwave don't only fund feature films but also provide mentoring and development to all the short-listed projects as well as, production finance and distribution support. There will be 12 teams selected and these teams will gain support and training at Film London's Microschool along with development funding.

3) Ill Manors comparison with a Microwave film product:

The film known as 'Shifty' is a film that has a similar concept to Ill Manors as they both follow similar character themes across the two films. Moreover, they both share the same actor who is playing the main protagonist in the film- Riz Ahemd.
Similarities:

• Use of the same actor 
• The role of the same actor is virtually the same (main character)
• drug relations
• Police are involved
• Going against society 
• Friend relationships

Differences:

• The target market (this film seems to target a much older audience than compared to Ill Manors) there are rarely no youth references or portrayals. 
• Duo role- two best friends are the prime focus through out the narrative
• Different narrative structure. Ill Manors followed a muti-stand narrative. 

Vertigo Films and Warp Films:

1) The most successful vertigo films:

• Sweeny
• Football Factory
• Monsters (1 and 2)
• Street dance

2) Why successful with audience:

One reason why these films were successful with their audience was because each film targeted a different audience segment. This works really well as Vertigo can get hold of many types of audiences through the variety of films genres they produce. Football Factory is a clear example, this film focuses on the football element and it grabs the attention of a niche audience who are more interested in football films than any other. vertigo have clearly made films that attracts niche audiences and try to get them content that they will absolutely enjoy.

3) Different film genres:

• Family
• Action
• Sport
• Sci-fi
• Animated/animation
• Thriller
• Comedy
• Children related content

4) Where did warp films start out:

Warp films first started out as Warp Records (the first version of itself) It was created by NESTA who also gave financial support, and had the remit to produce short films. It had set-up head quarters in Sheffield and in London. Over the years, there have been a new division of Warp films known as Warp X and War Films Australia. These show how the business of Warp has expanded excessivly over the last 10 years of its introduction.

5) Most successful films produced:

• '71
• The Last Panthers
• This is England

6) Development of new talent:

They have been working in the British film industry for 10 years and continues to be so. They have come across many types of talents during those 10 years. They plan to create more visionary content for upcoming Directors as well as writers etc.

7) Film productions (which Vertigo and Warp films) have worked on that is similar to Ill Manors:

Warp: '71
Vertigo: Football Factory

These are two different films however, are quite similar to Ill Manors itself. One similarity is the need to target a specific audience. Ill Manors, wants to focus on the youth and by doing this, they are attracting young age audience. The Football Factory does the same. They focus of young men playing football and shows off the violence that can occur in such as game. It is trying to attract football lovers and those who love to learn more about the sport. Finally, '71 is a film that focuses on historical context of Ireland. The film is set round a young man who works for the Derbyshire army.Due to the fact that this film focuses on a young man as well as having a historical element to it, attracts a large audience similar to Ill Manors. Ill Manors, follows a muti-stand narrative each character having different issues than the other. These issues are used to promote the film as people who actually understand this are likely to watch the film as there is a connection development.

Certification- BBFC: 

1) How are films rated in the BBFC:

Examiners would normally view the content whether that is a movie/film or a DVD. The examiner normally would view a DVD on their own- this is known as 'solo viewing'. Content that are eligible for solo viewing would often be TV series as well as work aimed at young children. Works that seem to hold controversial opinions would be viewed to more than one individual so that the outcome is diverse opinions. With each content they view, examiners look out for the following when deciding:

2) Differences between an 18 certificate and a 15 certificate:

These are what a 15 certificate should have to be classified as a 15 age rating-

General context of the content- plot point (storyline) 

Bad language, sexual or drug related references

Timings of key moments- type of camera shots used

I disagree with the certification for Ill Manors. The film may have drug and sexual references but I don't think it is crossing the boundaries of a 15 certificate. An example of a film that has been given a 15 certificate is Deadpool (2016). This film came out in February and has been critically acclaimed to be the best R rated film of all time. I, myself have gone out to watch this film, however I though that this film would be an 18 certificate due to the level of sexual activity as well as swearing seen in the trailer. The level of strong language as well as sexual scenes in Deadpool has crossed the 15 certificate by a mile. Ill Manors does not have the same level of sexual content as well as strong language than compared to Deadpool. Moreover, Deadpool contained more strong violence and graphic scenes which clearly, Ill Manors didn't have. Deadpool is the type of movie that these references are known t the character which is why it is so famous. However, I do think that the BBFC were a bit too lenient towards giving Deadpool a 15 certificate even though the film contains more strong content than Ill Manors.

3) How might the 18 certificate affected the Ill Manors target audience:

Due to the BBFC classification for the Ill Manors film being 18, would have split their target audience down in half. Before the film is made, the producers and director would plan what age rating should the film come under so that they can film according to the plans they have discussed. Sometimes during filming, tweaks and changes would be made to the script as well as the narrative to fit new scenes into the film. Thus resulting, in scenes that are pushing the boundaries of a 15 certificate. The theme and style of Ill Manors made it clear that they were planning to make the film for a 15 age demographic, however some scenes as well as references have been added to the film that would have made BBFC class this as a 18 rather than a 15. Due to this, the core audience that the film makers plan to show their film to, would be marginalised as the certification has prevented anyone under the age of 18 to watch the film, which would leave the film making less revenue as they are not getting enough money from the other segment of their core target audience.

4) Certificate for A Field In England and why was this awarded:

Certificate: 15

A Field In England was rated as a 15 certificate. This is because for a 15 certificate, the content must have references to drugs or sexual activity. This film does have references to drugs as drugs play a core part in the films narrative. It is about, four soldiers who go in to a field and consume magic mushrooms (which is a drug) and turns their experience (during the war) upside down. This film does reference drugs but doesn't reference other parts that classify a film to be a 15 certificate such as sexual references.

5) Advantages and disadvantages of a film being awarded a 18 certificate:

Advantages-

• Can prevent any younger age kids from knowing of adult contents (restricts them)
• Can make the film gain more recognition as people would fear to watch the film

Disadvantages-

• Can separate the films core target audience (won't gain enough revenue)
• Can put off people from watching the film (they will think its too strong in terms of content)