Hello and Welcome to my A-Level Media Blog. My Name is Vivian Oparah [0621]. On this project, I have been in Group 5 and worked with Louis Caldwell [0131], Sebastian Hodge [0330] and Joshua Brooks [0110]. To navigate around my blog, you can click any of the headings under the 'Labels' subtitle on the side of the page - this will filter posts into the various stages of the project.
At the bottom of the page, there is a link which takes you to 'Older Posts' which can be clicked on as well.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy my blog!

"NTLS - Heart Skipped A Beat" Music Video


Our Music Video

NTLS Self-Titled Digipak Cover

NTLS Self-Titled Digipak Cover
NTLS Self-Titled Digipak Cover

NTLS Website

NTLS Website
Right-click the image and select "Open link in new tab" as this will take you to the official NTLS site

Tuesday 26 November 2013

Using the Internet to Promote a Movie Release in the UK - Kill Your Darlings

What is it: A competition
Source: A Fan's blog
Above or Below the Line: Below the Line
Who it reaches: Fans of Daniel Radclfife, Art Fans, Bloggers
Valuble because: It directly reaches a specific group


What is it: A review
Source: Screenrush UK Website
Above or Below the Line: Below the Line
Who it reaches: Fans of film
Valuable because: It instantly reaches a specific group


What is it: Mirror Article
Source: The Mirror Newspaper
Above or Below the Line: Below the Line
Who it reaches: Young adults, Working class, Fans of Daniel Radcliffe, Fans of gossip

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug - Tracking

WEEK 3
Article from 'The Brothers Brick' on D.O.S Lego

Article from the Metro Newspaper on the Premiere

             




















Air Newland, New The Hobbit Advert

NME Article and TV Spot


Monday 25 November 2013

Kill Your Darlings - Tracking

WEEK 3

The Guardian article and KYD photoshoot video


video: http://youtu.be/bwH9FDRh7PU

Evening Standard Article

Cinema Chords Article



video link http://youtu.be/bwH9FDRh7PU

Deadline.com Article













Wednesday 20 November 2013

Kill Your Darlings: 10 quick questions

  1. UK release date?
    6th of December 2013
  2. Institutions behind the films production and distribution?
    SONY Pictures, Killers Films, Benaroya pictures.
  3. Production budget?
    $2 million.
  4. What is the films nationality?
    American.
  5. What kind of production is it?
    Its independent and low budget.
  6. Any connections with other films?
    No
  7. Who is the director?
    John Krokidas
  8. Are there any star names in the cast?
    Daniel Radcliffe - Allen Ginsberg
    Elizabeth Olsen - Edie Parker
    Dane DeHaan - Lucien Carr
  9. What is the film about?
    This film tells the audience a story of how the murder that took place in 1994 at Columbia University, brought together three poets who would eventually spark the best revolution.
  10. Who will the film appeal to?
    People with an interest in history/English. Fans of drama and thriller. John Krokidas' fanbase and Daniel Radcliffes fanbase.

Tuesday 19 November 2013

The Desolation of Smaug: 10 quick questions.

  1. UK Release Date?
    Friday the 13th of December, 2013.
  2. Institutions behind the films production and distribution?
    WingNut Films, Metro-Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) and New Line Cinema.

    Cocinsa (2013, Nicaragua, theatrical); Forum Hungary (2013, Hungary, theatrical); Warner Bros. Entertainment (2013, Canada, theatrical)
  3. What is the films production budget?
    $250 million
  4. Nationality of the film?New Zealand and USA.
  5. What kind of production is it?
    3-D Studio Production.
  6. Does it have any connection with other films?
    It is the second part of 'The Hobbit' trilogy which shows the continuation of the main charectar Bilbo Baggins on his adventure.
  7. Who is the director?
    Peter Jackson
  8. Are there any star names in the cast?
    Orlando Bloom - Legolas
    Martin Freeman - Bilbo Baggins
    Benedict Cumberbatch - Smaug
    Richard Armitage - Thorin Oakenshield
    Ian McKellen - Gandalf
  9. What is the film about?
    The continuation of the Dwarves on their adventure to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor
  10. Who will this film appeal to?
    Lord of the Rings fans, who either enjoyed the books, films or both. Also fans of drama/fantasy and adventure films. Finally, fans of the star actors in the film.

Tuesday 12 November 2013

Papadopolous & Sons - Top 5 Things Learnt from Q&A With Marcus Markou


  1. He originally wanted to be an actor, but after taking part in different plays and attending drama school from the age of a teenager to 28, he realised his true passion lay in storytelling and the only way he could initially express that was through acting so instead he tried script-writing.
  2. He plugged his own money directly from another successful business he owns with his brother into the production of the film; this was a massive risk because if the film didn't work, he would have lost all of their money.
  3. He tried not to get actors through agencies, this meant approaching actors with scripts, posting scripts through their letterboxes and finding links through the connections he already had.
  4. When Marcus wrote the script, there wasn't a specific audience in mind - he felt that different aspects of the story could appeal to different groups of people. However, after receiving the deal from Cineworld that they would screen the film, he began to target Greek families and communities around the area of the cinema. Wood Green Cineworld and Enfield Cineworld were two particular hotspots. 
  5. Papa and Sons is a story Marcus wrote based around himself and his family. He felt that as a young teen he was embarrassed and therefore distanced himself from his Greek roots, but as he grew up he wanted to get back in touch with them and realised what he originally thought was embarrassing is what made him and his culture unique. Each character is a personification of these feelings. 

Sunday 10 November 2013

Papadopoulos and Sons

Papadopoulos and Sons, or more commonly referred to as 'Papa' and Sons is a British Comedy that was written and directed by the independent film maker Marcus Markou, shot in a just a handful of locations around London with a budget of a quarter of a million pounds.

The indie film is based around a self-made millionaire who becomes of victim of the current financial crisis and is therefore forced to re-unite with his extremely Greek brother to re-open the fish and chips show they shared in their youth.


Starring


  • Stephen Dillane as Harry Papadopoulos - Who postponed the filming of Game of Thrones for a week, just to cease the opportunity to play this role and act as the father to his biological son; a rare opportunity.
  • Frank Dilane as James Papadopoulos - Who had played young Voldemort in Harry Potter and is Stephen Dilane's son.
  • Georgia Groome as Katie Papadopoulos - Who loved the script and was therefore willing to lower her price for working in the film.
  • Ed Stoppard as Rob - A good friend of Marcus Markou's from when we was at LAMDA, he purposely wrote the charectar for Ed to play.
  • Georges Corraface as Uncle Spirous - A well known actor in French and Greece who was intrigued by the idea of Papa and Sons so agreed to meet Marcus for lunch in France.
  • Cosima Shaw as Sophie - A german actress who plays an american buisnesswoman. 
  • Thomas Underhill as Theo Papadopulos - who came to the audition and was almost identical to Marcus' vision of Theo.
Marketing
A variety of platforms were used to Market the film:

Distribution
Due to Marcus' opinions on the way distributing through other companies, he decided to self-promote and distribute through his independent company 'Double M Films.' He described the film to 'have a life of its own' as it appeared in many different places that he couldn't predict.

A few ways he distributed:
- Tweeting chip shops and Greek churches to tell them his film about chip shops/Greek families was coming out; Greek Priests would announce that his film was being released at the end of the service.
- Standing in Cinemas and directly telling customers about his film and how he made it with his own money, trying to persuade them to give him a chance.
- Pinpointing every greek church in London and finding a nearby cinema for it to be in, as "where there were Greek churches, there were Greek families."

Where it was screened:
  • Film festivals such as, The Dinard British Film Festival in France, The Palm Springs International Film Festival in the USA, The Seattle Film Festival, The Thessaloniki Film Festival in Greece
  • A historic screening at European Parliment
  • It was released in cinemas all over Greece in December 2012
  • In April 2013, it was released in Ireland and the UK
  • In June 203, it was released in 70 German Cinemas
Critical Acclaim

Although it was self distributed and self promoted, it received a large amount of reviews after it was released in the UK. It was given 3/5 stars by various media outlets such as The telegraph, Contact Music and The Guardian described the film as "an ambitious attempt to rewrite Lear for laughter rather than tears. Its a throwback, but relxaed, sweet and funny with it: a first feature that makes an impression by not pushing too hard to make an impression."

The film recently received 82% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and an average rating of 6.9/10 on IMDb.


Finally, when it was released in Germany, it achieved a tally of 23,850 admissions during the first weekend alone!