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by Will Sinclair»
Who are the Audiences of Social realism films and where do they view them?
To find out the audience's of these films I firstly went to The Internet Movie Database, an American film website with knowledge of nearly every film. I then searched a Social realism film that i have seen and click on the user's of the website that have given the film a star rating. By doing this any user can see the demographic user's whom have voted. This gives us information on who voted for example, i found that there was an average of 7.4 stars given by male viewers over 18 with 9384 votes and only 3051 votes from females in the same category. The average star ratings go up in the next section, votes from males and females under 18 with higher averages of 7.7 for males and 7.6 for females.
After finding this out I then went back to the main page for the film and clicked on user reviews which gave me a more in depth review on who watches these films. I found that there were a mixture of good and average ratings with most of them coming from the UK with the United States following close behind.
As well as user reviews there are critic reviews and there is a company known as Metascore that give the film a rating based on a number of these reviews. Fish tank scored 81 overall with a high end of scores from all its reviews.
I also visited Lovefilm to see if I could compare what I have found on IMDb so I searched a few more Social realism films like Fishtank and found that it had the same options as IMDb just set out differently.
Short film festivals are a great way for new directors to get their films seen. The people that go to these festivals will most likely be in the demographic audience that most directors will be aiming their film at. There a many of these festivals that are held mostly annually all over the world. There are a number of well know film festivals that show short films as well as features. These are:
These festivals are great as short films don't get as much attention else where like on TV or the Internet. By people seeing their films it increases the chances of a filmmaker getting to shoot a feature film, which is the best way for them to show off their skills.
Festivals advertise in many ways, the most obvious being via their own website but also targeting schools and colleges that are focused on Media Studies. One of the most successful methods is via film magazines and posters etc. And also via social networking websites such as Facebook as they can create their own page for people to like a view updates about the festival.
The type of person that attends these depends on the festival, if it were a bigger, more well known festival like Sundance, then this would attract famous actors, directors, producers etc these as well as educational bodies such as schools and colleges and of course, film enthusiasts. At smaller film festivals such as the UK festival in Soho, London, there would be lesser known actors and directors attending as well as film enthusiasts.
Festivals are usually supported via funding from sponsors and funding organisations.
The London Short film festival is Supported by
Leeds Film Festival
One of the newer student festivals in the Uk would probably be Screentest Film festival, which has a number of students from all over the country presenting their films (it takes place in London). Another festival which is more well known is the Exposure Festival. This student festival is the largest in the UK, and it takes place in Manchester each year. An international student film festival is the International Student Film Festival. this occurs in Hollywood, and welcomes fimmakers from all over the world. This is a popolar festival amoung students as it takes place in the film capital of the world, meaing it is a very good place to get recognised.
Online film festivals have become more popular in recent years due to the fact they can easily show more shorts and everyone can view them. There are not limited places as its online and they free to access. Even websites like Youtube have their own film festivals.
Who distributes social realism film texts?
To find out the audience's of these films I firstly went to The Internet Movie Database, an American film website with knowledge of nearly every film. I then searched a Social realism film that i have seen and click on the user's of the website that have given the film a star rating. By doing this any user can see the demographic user's whom have voted. This gives us information on who voted for example, i found that there was an average of 7.4 stars given by male viewers over 18 with 9384 votes and only 3051 votes from females in the same category. The average star ratings go up in the next section, votes from males and females under 18 with higher averages of 7.7 for males and 7.6 for females.
After finding this out I then went back to the main page for the film and clicked on user reviews which gave me a more in depth review on who watches these films. I found that there were a mixture of good and average ratings with most of them coming from the UK with the United States following close behind.
As well as user reviews there are critic reviews and there is a company known as Metascore that give the film a rating based on a number of these reviews. Fish tank scored 81 overall with a high end of scores from all its reviews.
I also visited Lovefilm to see if I could compare what I have found on IMDb so I searched a few more Social realism films like Fishtank and found that it had the same options as IMDb just set out differently.
Short film festivals are a great way for new directors to get their films seen. The people that go to these festivals will most likely be in the demographic audience that most directors will be aiming their film at. There a many of these festivals that are held mostly annually all over the world. There are a number of well know film festivals that show short films as well as features. These are:
These festivals are great as short films don't get as much attention else where like on TV or the Internet. By people seeing their films it increases the chances of a filmmaker getting to shoot a feature film, which is the best way for them to show off their skills.
Festivals advertise in many ways, the most obvious being via their own website but also targeting schools and colleges that are focused on Media Studies. One of the most successful methods is via film magazines and posters etc. And also via social networking websites such as Facebook as they can create their own page for people to like a view updates about the festival.
The type of person that attends these depends on the festival, if it were a bigger, more well known festival like Sundance, then this would attract famous actors, directors, producers etc these as well as educational bodies such as schools and colleges and of course, film enthusiasts. At smaller film festivals such as the UK festival in Soho, London, there would be lesser known actors and directors attending as well as film enthusiasts.
Festivals are usually supported via funding from sponsors and funding organisations.
The London Short film festival is Supported by
Leeds Film Festival
One of the newer student festivals in the Uk would probably be Screentest Film festival, which has a number of students from all over the country presenting their films (it takes place in London). Another festival which is more well known is the Exposure Festival. This student festival is the largest in the UK, and it takes place in Manchester each year. An international student film festival is the International Student Film Festival. this occurs in Hollywood, and welcomes fimmakers from all over the world. This is a popolar festival amoung students as it takes place in the film capital of the world, meaing it is a very good place to get recognised.
Online film festivals have become more popular in recent years due to the fact they can easily show more shorts and everyone can view them. There are not limited places as its online and they free to access. Even websites like Youtube have their own film festivals.
Who distributes social realism film texts?
Films distributed by them:
Spring Forward
Casa de los Babys
Fish Tank
XX/XY
4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
Verve Pictures
Verve Pictures
An independent UK specialist film distributor with particular emphasis on british and independent films. Films such as:
Alpha Male
Code name the caretaker
Bullet boy
StudioCanal UK (formerly Optimum Releasing/ Home Entertainment/ Classics)
A UK film distributor releasing many films such as foreign language films, anime as well as British, Irish and American independent films in the UK. Optimum was acquired by StudioCanal, who bought the company and distribute their large back catalogue of classic British films many from the Cannon and EMI catalogues. Films:
This is England
Sony pictures Classics
An art house film division of Sony Pictures Entertainment founded in December 1991 they distribute specialist films from the USA and around the world with a history of making reasonable investments for small films and getting a decent return.
October Films
An American independent film producer and distributor founded in 1991. A series of mergers and acquisitions began when a majority stake of the company was bought by Universal pictures.
E1 Entertainment Distribution (Formerly Koch Entertainment)
Known for having led the independent sector with the largest number of billboard-charting titles with over 150 Koch distributed titles enjoyed success on various billboard charts in 2003.
Helen
Social Realism posters are a great way for film makers to connect to their audience
This is because they feature realistic elements and show what these films are really about.
Questionnaire
What area do you live in and how would you describe it?
What age group are you in?
16-17
17-18
Do you enjoy short films?
If yes to the above, do you have a favorite?
Have you seen a social realism film before?
e.g. Fisk tank, Adulthood, This is England.
Did you enjoy this film? If yes, what was it that you liked about it if no, what didnt you like about it?
How regularly do you watch short films?
Is there a certain website, event or cinema that you go to to watch these films?
How would you consider your knowledge of the social realism genre?
When you hear the term ‘short film’ what do you understand about it?
Are there any connotations that you would expect to see in a short film?
Do you feel that there are enough social realism films that focus on teenage issues?
How long do you think a short film should be and why?
Do you find that the length can effect viewing pleasure?
Questions specific to my product
How would you define:
- peer pressure
- Inhumane behavior
- Bullying
- Sibling rivalry
Do you think these issues are dealt with positively or negatively in the media?
Do you know of any films that feature these issues?
If so can you name them?
If a film maker were planning to set out and represent and explore these
In the questions related to my product I found that:
· The best definition I found for peer pressure was ‘pressure from the people around you who are of similar age or who you spend a lot of time with’ and everyone seemed to be award of the term
· The best definition for Inhumane behaviour I gathered was ‘Behaviour which goes against morals and rights, and can appear animalistic and brutal in its affect.’
· For Sibling rivalry I got ‘where siblings fight for affection or feel they are in competition with each other. Usually is towards parents, especially if their interests and skills are similar.
Target Audience Conclusion
From the questionnaire that I sent out via Facebook on short films, social realism films and my own product I found out that:
· Most of the people that answered my questions were aged 16-19
· The most common living area from the answers was normal residential areas
· Most of the people have seen and enjoyed both a short film as well as a social realism.
· Films such as Gerry’s Game, The most beautiful man in the world, About a Girl and Antonio’s breakfast have been seen by the subjects.
· Most people Watch short films once a fortnightish either online on websites such as Youtube, Mubi etc or DVD’S and prefer them to be from around 15-30 mins long in order to keeps them interested.
· The definition that I gathered for ‘short film’ from the results was a film last no longer than 30 minutes
In the questions related to my product I found that:
· The best definition I found for peer pressure was ‘pressure from the people around you who are of similar age or who you spend a lot of time with’ and everyone seemed to be award of the term
· The best definition for Inhumane behaviour I gathered was ‘Behaviour which goes against morals and rights, and can appear animalistic and brutal in its affect.’
· For Sibling rivalry I got ‘where siblings fight for affection or feel they are in competition with each other. Usually is towards parents, especially if their interests and skills are similar.
Above are two random example questionnaires that I had answered by two people I handed them to. One is from a male and one is from a female, this is becuse I wanted to see if my research came out the same as a big internet film database such as IMDB. I found that it was a mixture between them on wheather or not they knew what a Social realism film or short film was.
