Chicken is an example of a micro budget film making and raising issues around the role and future of national cinema as well as the viability of media products produced outside of the mainstream for niche audiences.

(Funding) Key Notes:

In order to fund the movie Stephenson raised $100,000 approx.

+ Raised investment by individuals (e.g. rich friends/contacts)

+ No funding body who was willing to fund chicken

+ Raises questions about whether film industry is accessible to lower-income film makers

(Production) Key Notes:

Key Points for making chicken

+ Filmed in 19 days, almost all external locations so victim to rain, issues with lighting etc.

+ Film produced and distributed by a new company set up by director Stephenson: B Good Picture Company.

(Distribution) Key Notes:

Chicken’s distribution has been very difficult

+

Institutions only – no textual analysis

B Good Picture Company – Independent media production company led by Joe Stephenson

Micro budget film – £110,000 independently funded. Opposed to larger media corporations that produce films for much larger amounts of money (e.g. hidden figures, small budget, $25 million) – More potential for revenue gain, but also less reach because the low budget makes it less mainstream – risky product (Hesmondhalgh). Experimental/ non-mainstream film and therefore very risky for media companies to invest in, thus independent funding was generally necessary.

Distribution: 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. The film was released in the US exclusively on iTunes early 2018. It is also available on Available in the US & UK on Amazon Prime.

Chicken makes use of traditional marketing and distribution methods like trailers, posters, and film festivals in conjunction makes use of modern distribution methods – social media (Twitter, Facebook, Youtube) to market the film – mostly targeting younger audiences with these methods because of the nature of them being modern and online – although this is changing.

Regulation of the industry – Livingstone and Lunt – BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) – Independent production

Controversial topic – can be used to market film by sparking conversations/ benefit from any controversy which may bring the product more attention.

Question on Media Industries in the film Chicken (20 Marks)

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?

The intention is to highlight the key points on the media industry in this film which includes the distribution, funding and production. This also will include within key theorists that support these ideas.

Show knowledge of the film industry, specifically the key stages of: production, distribution, consumption

Production; the making of a motion picture, television show, video, commercial, Internet video, or other viewable programming provided to viewers via a movie theatre or transmitted through broadcast radio wave, cable, satellite, wireless, or Internet. It is how the film is made to make the product successful

Distribution; it is  is the process through which a movie is made available to watch for an audience by a film distributor. This could include directly to the public either through a movie theatre or television, or personal home viewing (including DVD, video-on-demand, download, television programs through broadcast syndication).

Consumption;  is the sum of information and entertainment media taken in by an individual or group. It includes activities such as interacting with new media, reading books and magazines, watching television and film, and listening to radio.

Position contemporary film production within a couple of key theoretical positions for example:

1. Hesmondhalgh’s ideas that mitigate the ‘risky business’ of cultural production.

Hesmondhalgh acknowledges that media companies are operating a risky business. There is no guarantee a creative product will be a success. They offset this risk both creatively and through business structure. In terms of media products, they use stars, sequels and well-known genres. In terms of business, they use vertical integration and diversification to spread their risk and maximise profit.

2. Curran and Seaton’s arguments for a more diverse media landscape.

Curran and Seaton highlight the damage that free market free market ideologies which is where there is no government control have on the media landscape. Whereas the public service broadcasting where it is funded by the government it provides impartial news, serves minority audiences and champions national unity by offering inclusive rather than exclusive content.

3. Livingstone and Lunt’s suggestion that cultural production exists in a loosely regulated framework, biased towards a consumers rather than citizen model.

Livingstone and Lunt suggest that citizen oriented regulation is concerned with content based issues. It is a positive form of regulation that directs the media content so it can be improve the lives of citizens and contribute to the well- being of the wider society.

Consumer based regulation seeks to ensure that the media landscape contains a variety of different producers so that audiences have a choice. It creates an environment in which audiences themselves make judgements about the kinds of media that are appropriate for their consumption.

The impact of new media technologies for cultural production.

Producers can produce want think audiences would like and create an atmosphere such as some of them might be disturbing scenes. People has become more conservative about each other’s point of view.

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

Funding;

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

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

Production;

1. Adapted from a play by Freddie Machin that originally ran at Southwark Playhouse.
2. Filmed in 19 days, almost all external locations so victim to rain, issues with lighting etc.
3. Film produced and distributed by a new company set up by director Stephenson: B Good Picture Company.

Distribution;

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

5. Feel free to add in some audience theory.

Stuart Hall- how people make sense of media texts and claimed audiences were active not passive. An active audience engages, interprets and responds to a media text in different ways and is capable of challenging the ideas encoded in it. This could be challenged through trailers and through promotion adverts.

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?– In this essay I would like to argue that
2. Show knowledge of the film industry, specifically the key stages of: production, distribution, consumption– Production, distribution, and consumption are related to how goods and services are created and made available to the public as people buy, sell, and make goods, they become interdependent upon one another to supply what they need or to purchase what they sell.
3. position contemporary film production within a couple of key theoretical positions for example:
   1. Hesmondhalgh’s ideas that mitigate the ‘risky business’ of cultural production– This film can be considered as ‘risky business’ because Joe Stevenson borrowed 110,000 in order to create the film in hopes that he’d eventually gain the money back from profits of the film. However, that isn’t always the case, as Hesmondhalgh said it is mere impossible to predict the audiences taste in films like ‘Chicken’. He also says that coupled with the high costs of production it means that
   2. Curran and Seaton’s arguments for a more diverse media landscape.
   3. Livingstone and Lunt’s suggestion that cultural production exists in a loosely regulated framework, biased towards a consumers rather than citizen model.
   4. 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.

It has been argued that the film industry has been revolutionised by the use of new technology at both production and distribution stages.

How far do you agree with this statement?

you should refer to the close study product chicken to support your answer. (20)

https://quizlet.com/354561091/csp-chicken-2015-flash-cards/

Funding
Director Joe Stephenson raised £110,000.

Key points:

1. Raised through investment by individuals such as rich friends and contacts
2. There wasn’t a funding body BFI Film Fund was willing to fund Chicken
3. Raises questions about whether film industry is accessible to lower-income filmmakers

Production
Key points for making Chicken:

1. Adapted from a play by Freddie Machin that originally ran at Southwark Playhouse.
2. Filmed in 19 days, almost all external locations so victim to rain, issues with lighting etc.
3. Film produced and distributed by a new company set up by director Stephenson: B Good Picture Company.

Distribution

Chicken’s distribution has been very difficult:

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

Promotion

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

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

Links To theorists:

Hesmondhaughl:

Risky Business-Joe Stephenson didn’t know if the film would be successful or if people would even watch and enjoy it. “All business is risky” “Audiences that use these texts in highly volatile and unpredictable ways” “Impossible to predict how the market will react.”

Television– “hybridisation of television and internet to produce on-demand services” Chicken can be found on-demand now; Stephenson hoping for deal with Netflix or Amazon Prime.

Curran and Seaton:

More diverse media landscape– There wasn’t a funding body for Chicken as it was an independent micro budget film “Media landscape has fallen under the control of a handful of global media conglomerates” (unlike Chicken which was under B Good picture Company)

Livingstone and Lunt:

Cultural production exists in a loosely regulated framework, biased towards a consumers rather than citizen model. Consumer= People who watch things for a self-fulfilling need.

Self Regulation “Independently left to decide upon moral and ethical codes”

Goes against Livingstone and Lunts “consumer based regulation” as it’s a micro budget film that promotes social realism of seeing a different perspective on life through the eyes of a person with a disability and spreads awareness suggesting it’s a citizen based regulation as it’s regulating social and cultural health of society in which they operate.