The Lengthy Process of Hyping a Movie

Drake’s third peculiarity of Hollywood states that film revenues are streamed across a long span of time.  In essence, movie marketing is essential in the continued strive for public consumption.  To begin, marketing is paramount in attracting the public to see the movie in theaters.  Drake explains that opening weekend is now huge, accounting for nearly 50% of the movies revenue during its time in theaters.  Furthermore, a successful opening weekend likely ensures a lengthier stay in theaters, which in turn continues to help ticket revenue.  That being said, the movie must have thoughtful and well-planned marketing, advertising, and publicity to generate a “buzz” for the film.  Whether this is through hyping a particular star like Brad Pitt, another film in a series such as Toy Story, or promoting an acclaimed director, there is an obvious necessity to generate a public excitement toward the release of the film.

The importance of movie marketing doesn’t end after opening weekend.  After the first four days, almost every movie changes their marketing strategy to reflect either the success of the film or critic’s reviews.  I can’t think of seeing a movie that didn’t have a commercial stating it was, “now the number one comedy in America”! Or “Roger Ebert calls this movie a timeless classic”.  No matter the case, each film attempts to continue to get the public in the theater through this second-round advertising.

Still, advertising and publicity attempts do not end when the plug is pulled on movie screenings.  After this stay in theaters, the publicity and marketing team must discover the best way to develop excitement for the DVD release, or movie’s soundtrack.  DVD revenue accounts for a bulk of the success of the film, and successful marketing is likely to lead to a more successful revenue stream.

Quite clearly, choosing the correct marketing strategy is very important to establishing a successful film.  Using a solid strategy such as publicizing the known stars of the film help to minimize the risk associated with a film’s production.  In this regard, the die-hard followers of this actor or actress will be likely to attend the theater, no matter what genre of film it may be.  However, there are certainly some risks that still hold true.  For example, the 2005 average cost of marketing was nearly 36 million.  It is important to be able to manage this money in an intelligent way.  If you market the movie in a way that generates little buzz, you will have wasted that money without generating success at the box office.  Furthermore, there is also the prospect of under-marketing.  Some films hit theaters with relatively few ads, and few interviews with popular TV shows or magazines.  That can be equally as troubling, as the public may be less inclined to see a movie they have heard almost nothing about.

Therefore, it is truly a balancing act.  The publicity and marketing team must analyze the framing of the film and determine the best way to market the picture to the public.

I thought this link was perfect, as Will Ferrell recently went on Conan to announce Anchorman 2.  Fit perfectly with trying to already generate a "buzz" for the film.

Anchorman 2

1.) As a publicist, have there been any stations or people in particular that you or the production crew has steered clear of?  Was there ever a time when the publicity department knew to stay away from a particularly hazardous interview or one that could generate negative buzz?

2.)  How much say does the talent actually have in the publicity department?  Specifically, do the stars of the film get to decide whom they want to be interviewed by, or how much they want to publicize the movie through TV shows, magazines or newspapers?

3.)That being said, is there one particular medium that you prefer to channel your publicity through?  Do you think magazines, per say, are better publicity than TV or is it all relative?

A Film Can Never be Fully Consumed

The Hollywood film industry is often seen as being an extremely risky business.  This is partially because the market for Hollywood films operates under what economists refer to as, “asymmetric information”.  What this means is that the film industry runs on incomplete information between producers and consumers which in turn leads to problems in predicting the success or failure of a film.  This often leads to a film being either a hit or a total disaster. 

Marketing and advertising are crucial to the success of a film.  Over the past two decades there has been a substantial increase in the amount of money spent of marketing and the creation of a film release schedule in order to reduce being forced out by other films or products. 

In the reading Distribution and Marketing in Contemporary Hollywood, Philip Drake presented five peculiarities of Hollywood films as cultural goods.  The point that I find to be the most fascinating is that the consumption of a film does not exhaust it.  A film can be watched a million times over by millions and millions of people and the film will never ‘deplete’ itself preventing other viewers from watching the film.  I believe this peculiarity causes the most stress on film makers.  A majority of our cultural products have the potential of eventually being used up, therefore preventing other people from using the product.  For example, toothpaste.  A person goes to the store buys a tube of toothpaste and within a month or so the toothpaste is all gone and the person needs to go out to the store and buy another tube. 

A lot of products we have in our society can be used up and prevent other people from using them, however, this is not the case for films.  Because of this, Hollywood has to pour billions of dollars into the marketing and advertising of its films.  Without the use of marketing and advertising, urging people to be at the cinema on opening day, a majority of people would not see the need to go see the films because the film will always exist and the person can just see it some other time.  Hollywood needs to spend a lot of money in order to create hype around the movie to get people excited.  It’s a very tough job to create hype, but one way or another Hollywood manages to do it.  According to The New York Times, last weekend, “The Hunger Games” raked in $155 million in North America and according to The Movie Banter, only spent $40 million on marketing.  That’s pretty good if you ask me!

Questions for Kacey Hagler

1) Many of the Fox Searchlight films you have worked on started out as independent films, as far as I know, and most of them became huge successes! What kind of publicity went into making them so successful?

2) When you work on publicity for films, such as The Help, do you focus on targeting a specific audience?  And if so, how do you select the audience you want to target?

3) Is doing publicity for a movie that is a sequel (Cars 2) a lot harder than publicity for an original movie?

The Emotion Work of Reality Television

Television producers of reality shows are responsible for guaranteeing that over the course of filming there will be dramatic and emotional encounters to become the core of an on-screen story. Grindstaff says that the normal route of manipulated situations to create a more stressful interaction is problematic because there are limits as to what contestants would be willing to do and they always have the ability to quit during production. Instead, producers must create an emotional connection and build a relationship with each guest or contestant on their show.

 Grindstaff explains that, in general, most females and men in lower economic classes use ‘emotion work’ – meaning they use emotions to not only build relationships but also provoke desired reactions from their peers. These slight manipulations are often used to maintain normalcy, but can be used by producers to inspire more emotionally charged reactions from individuals on reality or talk shows.

Personally, I am unsure how necessary this tool of emotional manipulation is. I believe it is important for producers to build good relationships with the contestants so that everyone feels comfortable during the filming process, but I do believe that the situations themselves create high levels of stress and therefore heated reactions from the contestants. However, in a talk show or a confessional situation, it is important for the producers to know how to bring down emotional walls. By this point, the participants will have emotional guards in place about what is being discussed and producers have to build a trusting relationship to break through.

While I do believe these types of relationships are useful in creating dramatic reality television, I wonder how ethical they are. Contestants know to question the tasks they are assigned and their fellow competitors when they agree to appear on a reality how. However, most do not think to question the production staff of the show – the producers are supposed to be on their side. While I do feel somewhat uneasy about the imbalanced relationship if contestants are aware of their situation and lack of power, and producers do not overly abuse it these emotional connections help create good reality television.

Questions:

-How do producers approach the participants of a reality-competition show differently than an average reality show?

-Is the main goal in creating a show always to create the most dramatic story or is there a benefit to creating a simpler and more realistic plot line?

-How much do contestants personalities versus talent influence their ability to join or remain on a reality-competition show?

Reality Television or Conflict Television

Without a doubt there is something compelling about watching reality television. The constant twists and turns as well as the drama that occurs is ideal for television audiences  but there is also an art to making 'ordinary people' into entertaining people. In her article Grindstaff answers the question of "How, then to guarantee good (that is, dramatic) television using ordinary people?"by emphasizing producers role in cultivating conflict situations. Now a days, many reality shows are formulated around situations of conflict between characters and I agree with Grindstaff's point.

An example of this constant need for 'drama' to be at the center of reality television is the emphasis of women as the main characters of reality television series. From the show Sorority Life to the Real Housewives series, it is evident that producers are constantly creating and glorifying conflict television and producers guarantee this quality reality television by strategically picking the people involved and fostering situations. Through the use of 'emotion work' producers are able to influence ordinary people, usually women, to perform their lives in front of the cameras. It is the conflict that reality stars experience that draw us in to reality television shows and it is this real yet entertaining experience that producers  use to draw viewers in.

Overall, producers try actively to create situations in which these ordinary people who we see as reality television stars can perform. Despite being ordinary people, as seen with the young women of Sorority Life, once you are placed before the cameras with the influence of producers it is difficult to not 'perform', in reality I doubt any ordinary person's life would be worthy of television without a little drama.

Questions:
What is the most significant difference between producing 'reality' television and scripted series?

Can a producer do both or is it easiest to pick a type?

Do all reality shows include/ need the same type of influence and guidance from producers?

What is Ordinary?

"Ordinary" means something different for everyone; it has roots in individual experience, socioeconomic background, upbringing, and countless other factors which determine our worldview.  The diversity of ordinary makes the world of reality TV complicated because the producers have to find "ordinary" people and create dramatic television out of their lives.  How do producers create good dramatic television using ordinary people; according to Grindstaff "reality TV and talk shows create dramatic (good) television through creating surprise conflict situations.  Grindstaff says they "rely on the everyday life skills of emotion management to create strong dramatic TV."

Grindstaff hits the nail on the head; reality TV revolves around conflict and the story lines that evolve from that conflict.  The conflict of reality TV creates strong dramatic television because of its apparent authenticity; the authenticity of a reality television show stems from the use of "ordinary people."  As Grindstaff points out, these people are not ordinary people selected at random; they are chosen because they have a conflict or issue.  This conflict gives rise to good "authentic" dramatic TV.

The world of reality TV and its presentation of normal is problematic because of its dramatization of life.  These shows say they portray reality when in fact they create an abnormal scenario through emotion management and situational conflict.  they use elements of surprise and confrontation to ensure these conflicts arise and come to fruition.  I believe the use of conflict and emotion management while it creates dramatic TV skews reality even more than some fictional shows and characters.

THREE QUESTIONS:

1. What qualities do you search for when producing or reviewing a reality TV Show?

2. What is the most difficult thing about working in reality TV?

3. Grindstaff talks about the strategies of making "good reality TV" does Magical Elves have a certain strategy when they attempt to produce "good TV?"     

  

The Unreality of Reality TV

            Her response is that both reality TV and talk shows production staff facilitate situations in which ordinary people are thrust into conflict situations in order to facilitate a “good or dramatic” performance.  I think that it is important to understand how producers do this in a way that Grindstaff says will not create a situation in which the cast members quite or leave the show.  I think this is important because much of the appeal of reality TV is the drama.  The cast are people that the audience can relate to because they are considered ordinary, and having them in dramatic situations creates appeal for audiences.  I agree with Grindstaff in that this is important in order to create good TV, and think that is the main reason reality TV has been so successful without the use of paid actors.  The way to create good TV is to make it so that the situations seem as real to the audience as possible and therefore the emotions of the cast are as unscripted as possible.

            Producers of reality TV have kept the secrets of creating drama on shows as secret as possible in order to have audiences think that the drama on the shows are real and in order to keep the cast members emotions as real as possible.  However, it has been admitted through the media that much of the drama created on reality TV is done so by the producers in order to make programming interesting.  A show about actual normal people would not sell well because its not that interesting which is why producers create drama on shows.  The funny part of reality TV is that it is not actually real, but instead scenarios created by producers in order to make drama that will be appealing to audiences.
Questions:
What are your interactions with cast members as a producer?
Do you manipulate actors at all during their on screen performance?
What are your responsibilities on the editing side as a producer?

Controlling Emotions is Helping Reality Television Control Air Time

First, a producer guarantees good reality television by selecting an "ordinary” person” who has an issue, is experiencing a problem, or is stuck in a crisis.  Their problem should be compelling, have conflicts or be likely to create conflicts, and maximize the probability of emotional expressiveness.  The second step is for the producer to participate in emotional labor.  Emotional labor is where the producer influences and controls the feelings and emotions of the “ordinary” person, convincing that person that social guidelines tell them they should be emotionally responding in a certain way to their situation.  They do this for multiple reasons.  First, in a conflict with a high probability of intense emotion and the stressful schedule of reality television, emotional labor must be used to keep the “ordinary” person dedicated to continued participation.  They must secure the cooperation of the “ordinary person.”  Second, the producer must alter their emotions in a way that is favorable to creating drama, which leads to good television.  Grindstaff uses a pornography shoot as a metaphor for this transaction.  The producer “fluffs” the “ordinary” person, in order for them to “show wood” to the audience, and then after delivers a “money shot,” which could be “soft-core” or “hard-core”.  In this metaphor, “fluffing” is where the producer plays with the emotions of the “ordinary” person,” leading them to develop certain emotions that are desirable to the producer and make them easily visible, “showing wood,” and the money shot is where the “ordinary person” takes action based upon these emotions that the producer instilled in them.  This action, if the producer instilled the correct emotion, will guarantee drama and a good reality TV episode.
My take on this is that is incredibly manipulative.  This causes individuals who don’t have experience with the television industry on air, with millions of people watching, to act in ways that they never would if the producer, or an expert at emotional labor, wasn’t manipulating and amplifying their emotions.  However, due to the cheap production, great success of emotional labor, and the incredibly popularity of reality television it will remain a very popular form of television for years to come.

Three Questions
1) Does being the producer for "reality" shows require lots of the same skills as producing television for "scripted" shows (such as emotional labor)?
2) Have participants on reality shows ever complained to you or someone for your company about how they felt misrepresented by the final product, with the editing and presentation of the final show?
3) Reality television seems to spread across a ton of topics and genres, from love shows, to game shows, to extreme stuff.  What do you suspect the future of reality television to look like and why?