CSP: Chicken
What's the difference between a mainstream and independent film?
- An independent film was one that was made outside of the conventional studio system, outside of Hollywood or any other large production studio.
- The style of 'indie' films is a lot different to Hollywood blockbusters, as the directors and producers have more creative input - it's being made in their vision, not in the vision of studio bosses.
- independent films have much smaller budgets and are often supported financially by public service broadcasters, film institutions and charity funding.
- They are also distributed by smaller companies.

• Chicken is an example of micro budget film making and raises 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.
• Students need to be familiar with the production context and distribution materials including the official website, posters, trailer, social media presence (Twitter, Facebook etc).

Avengers: Infinity War

316 million

Chicken:

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

• 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

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.
• 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:

• 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.

Lesson 2

Funding of Chicken:

• Independent films have a low budget and are funded by small production studios or the BFI/National Lottery, Chicken didn't have this luxury.
• He couldn't get funding from the BFI or National Lottery as they weren't interested in the film. They only usually provide funding for established directors/producers, or films that are going to be successful or have an impact.
• Director Joe Stephenson had raise the money himself, a micro-budget of £110,000. he had to ask around all his friends and film contacts to put money together.

The 6 Stages of Film-making:
Stage 1 Acquisition: Ideas are created or bought, if necessary rights to the story are bought, screenplay is written and financing is sought.
Stage 2 Pre-production: Cast and film crew are found, locations chosen and sets are built. this also the point where budgets are decided and funding is found (if required).
Stage 3 Production: The film is shot and filmed. This includes a massive crew and is the most expensive part of the production. it's also seen as the 'point of no return' for most projects, as it's difficult to recover the costs of production without a finished product after shooting begins.
Stage 4 Post-Production: The recorded film is edited. Crew work on the sound effects and enhancement, images and visual effects.
Stage 5 Distribution: Finished film is distributed and marketing strategies are employed to promote the film and draw in audiences. It is screened at the cinema and released for home viewing on a variety of formats.
Stage 6 Exhibition: Films are screened in cinemas across the globe. Screenings can variety, from 2D to 3D, from Imax to screens with seats that allow for more immersive experiences e.g. Cineworld.

Chicken - Production

• Chicken is characteristics of contemporary cultural production in its use of new technology at production and distribution stages.
• Stephenson had to set up his own production company (B Good Productions) to create the film.
• Filming took place over 19 days in locations across London. They couldn't film for longer or in a variety of locations as they couldn't afford it.
• A lot of film was recorded outdoors - for a production on a micro-budget, why would this have been an issue?
• The lack of budget also limited the amount of 'star' power they could afford. The actors are not well known, meaning they can't rely on the names to promote the film.

How Would the fact a film is produced independently impact on the success of the film?

Many consumers don't know much about the production team and therefore may be cautious to watch the film.

Chicken Distribution

• Stephenson failed to secure distribution interest in chicken, coming across the same issues that he did with funding.
• Instead, Stephenson spent two years focused on showing the film at film festivals.
• The film showed at festivals in Dublin, Spain, Italy, Estonia, New Hampshire and Germany. It had its world premiere in Edinburgh and international premiere in South Korea.
• He won awards and special mentions at 5 of these festivals. 

What are the purpose of film festivals? 

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