CCR - audiences, distribution
How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?
“Demure” begins by bringing the audiences in the story, as the main character directly addresses the camera. We tried to offer a personal image of what his state of mind is like, and get the audience engaged from the very first shot. The fact that the first thing they see is the character’s eyes makes the experience even more personal and genuine. He is talking to them, as mentioned before, as a narrator even if he doesn’t know how the story will unfold, in this way he invites the audience to figure out the plot along side him. The more emotional aspect of this sequence is transmitted through his voice and the way he is pleading for their attention and help through his eyes.
Throughout the film opening, there are also other more technical aspects that keep the audience’s attention on the action presented. The jump cuts are a subtle way of focusing on shots that might otherwise be too long. By using this editing technique we emphasized key moments of the story, indirectly telling the audience to pay attention to them. Overall, the shots, angles and cuts are either: from unnatural angles, very short and quick, or simply strange and confusing. We tried to use a wide variety of shots, camera movements and angles, this helps a lot with preventing the audience from becoming disinterested. However, we did not use more than necessary so that we don’t confuse the audience more than might be expected from a surreal film.
The sound editing is also a big part of the experience we created for the people that might watch “Demure”. The low humming, and dark music adds to the general tension and unwelcoming atmosphere, while the metallic beats are constantly playing to add to the disorder and chaos. We also used them to mark more aggressive and quick cuts, and a more terrifying sound, taken from a David Lynch album, for the beginning and the end of the dream episode.
There is also another, rather different, method in which our film tries to reach its audience, and this is the ways in which it is relatable. Mainly, the character we present is highly relatable to many young people around the world. Because the problems and struggles we present are so general and apparently vague, it is highly likely that the audience will associate what they see with personal issues they might be going through. Also, movies and TV series usually cast older actors, over twenty, to play young teenagers, we avoided this, our actor being precisely the age, seventeen years old, that we imagined our character being, even more, he might look slightly younger. The way he is dressed is also very generic, and can fit to the way many teenagers dress.
There are various ways of relating the issues raised by our film to the audience and thus promoting it aswell. Online, we could have an official site for the film, with more interactive and fun components, like fake quizzes about mental health, or ones to test how much you understood from the plot. On the other hand, we can have actual information from help centers for young people, such as call centers, or written support and suggestions of how to get better and feel better depending on whatever might be troubling people that saw the film. This can be extended a lot, to parenting advice and support for example. Also, the film could have official Tumblr or Instagram accounts where people could share ideas, thoughts and images and feel part of a community that might understand them.
On the other hand we wouldn’t like to use conventional marketing strategies. For example, information about the actors would not be made available. The characters are those who the audience can understand whatever they want from, if they see them as a real person, the actor’s personality might hinder this relationship between the audience and the character. We don’t feel that it is necessary to have a large marketing strategy, we can also rely on our film being passed on from one person to another so that those who see it are really interested in the topic it presents.
If we were to consider our film opening would be an actual full feature film, there are several ideas and limitations we considered when distributing it.
The most suited way of sharing it with other people would be private screenings - having few, carefully selected, guests that wish to fully enjoy and understand the film. It could also be distributed through unconventional venues, such as art galleries, like the one in which we filmed, The Paintbrush Factory. This is an art gallery that promotes different types of artistic endeavours, such as performance and theatre. We could show our film here and even have Q&A sessions, or have the audience interact even more with the creation of the film by having them act out some more abstract scenes. Moreover, we could have screenings our film in small, underground clubs. For example, in our home city there is a club, called “Flying Circus”, that has weekly screenings of cult movies and less known directors and films.
We would like not to make “Demure” available online as we believe that this might ruin the experience of watching it. It is very different to watch this movie in the familiar comfort of your home or to live it with others by your side in an equally strange location. By only making the film available in carefully chosen places we can control the feelings and the experience of the audiences more effectively. Also, by controlling distribution we can make sure that the film is not acquired illegally online, reducing our profits. We do not look to make a lot of money from our movie because this is not a film meant to sell to a large audience. We simply want to send a message in an artistic and appealing way, even if only few will understand what we try to express through it, those who will can truly be marked by it. These type of independent productions don’t need a big budget to create, however, if we wish to extend for further projects we could look for help through crowdfunding programs online, or independent supporters and donors by applying to festivals and contests that look to find and support new talent.
