initial release: 27th june 2015

director: Joe A stephenson

written by chris new

Chicken had a micro-budget of £110,000 compared to big hollywood blockbusters such as Spectre that had a budget of $245–250 million

b good picture company

• ‘Chicken’ was B Good Picture Company’s debut feature film.
• The film went on to be selected by the curators of MUBI, and acquired by Film4.
• Its journey continued in September 2017 with its Blu-ray & DVD release in the UK courtesy of Network Releasing.
• B GOOD PICTURE COMPANY LTD is the London based Film and Television production company founded by Joe Stephenson. B Good has positioned itself in the UK industry as a young bold LGBTQ+ led company, working with A-list talent to create film and television appealing to a wide audience whilst retaining artistic integrity.
•  founded by Joe Stephenson
• has a social media presence on Instagram, Facebook and twitter, three of the biggest social media platforms

Funding

In order to make Chicken, director Joe Stephenson raised £110,000.

• Raised entirely through investment by individuals (e.g. rich friends/contacts)
• No funding body (e.g. BFI Film Fund) was willing to fund Chicken
• Raises questions about whether film industry is accessible to lower-income filmmakers

what is bfi?

the bfi film fund uses the money paid for lottery tickets to provide financial aid and support to young filmmakers. it contributes the tthe british film industry by giving young filmmakers the platform to be able to produce films that would otherwise not be created or recognised. the films that are created often have cultural and/or artistic value and are typically aimed at niche audiences.

the bfi did not give funding to chicken as it did not believe that the film would make a substantial profit or be successful.

Production

Key points for making Chicken:

• Adapted from a play by Freddie Machin that originally ran at Southwark Playhouse.
• Filmed in 19 days, almost all external locations so victim to rain, issues with lighting etc.

Distribution

• No distribution deal secured in 2014
• Two-year festival circuit won awards and generated interest and critical acclaim for film
• UK cinema release followed in May 2016. Selected for film subscription service MUBI and acquired by Film4 for TV premiere in April 2017.
• UK DVD release distributed by Network Releasing. Digital distribution in USA/Canada – January 2018.

Promotion

Alongside film festivals, new technology was vital to promoting Chicken to a wider audience: 

• Some traditional marketing: trailer, film poster with review quotes etc.
• Social media very important to market film – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.
• Film available on-demand now; Stephenson hoping for deal with Netflix or Amazon Prime to bring in revenue and find wider audience.

essay structure

1. Start your essay with a short introductory paragraph that outlines your intention for this essay. So think – what is it you want to argue / discuss / present in this essay?
2. Show knowledge of the film industry, specifically the key stages of: production, distribution, consumption
3. position contemporary film production within a couple of key theoretical positions for example, any of the following:
   1. Hesmondhalgh‘s ideas that mitigate the ‘risky business’ of cultural production.
   2. Curran and Seaton‘s arguments for a more diverse media landscape.
   3. Henry Jenkins and David Gauntlett argue that the internet remains the capacity to work as a social good and that online communities created via ‘participatory culture’ have the power to change the world for the better. Web 2.0 refers to websites that emphasize user-generated content, ease of use, participatory culture and interoperability for end users.
   4. Similarly, Clay Shirky argues that the media industry is increasingly driven by audience feedback systems rather than top-down control of proprieters.
   5. Livingstone and Lunt’s suggestion that cultural production exists in a loosely regulated framework, biased towards a consumers rather than citizen model.
   6. The impact of new media technologies for cultural production.
4. Present details of the CSP (Chicken) but make sure you focus on production, distribution and consumption and NOT on a textual analysis of the film – remember the examiner / assessor is assuming that you may not have seen the film.
5. Feel free to add in some audience theory.
6. Conclude your essay with a summative paragraph.

theorists to consider:

Curran and Seaton: the film was broadcasted on film 4 which is a part of channel 4, a public service broadcaster, this gives it a potentially wider audience as people can access the film easily.

Hesmondhalgh: the idea of media being a risky business, the idea of a small budget and joe Stephenson having to source the £110,000 to create the film and the risk off losses and profit