Chicken: case study research

Read the following interviews and features on Chicken:

Film News interview with director Joe Stephenson
Hey Guys interview with Stephenson
Flavourmag interview with Scott Chambers and Joe Stephenson

Watch the trailer for Chicken:

Watch this Into Film feature on Chicken:

Watch important film critic Mark Kermode's review of Chicken on the BBC:

Funding

1) What was the budget for Chicken?
£110,000

2) How did Joe Stephenson end up raising the money to make the film?
He had no funding money as no one was willing to fund Chicken. Therefore he ended up raising funds entirely through investment by individuals (e.g. rich friends/contacts).

3) How does the Chicken budget compare to a Hollywood-funded British blockbuster such as Spectre or Paddington 2?

Chicken is a microbudget film. It has a very low budget compared to Spectre ($245–250 million) and Paddington 2 ($50 million).

4) Joe Stephenson tried to secure funding from organisations that help low-budget filmmakers. What is the BFI Film Fund and how does it contribute to the British film industry?

The BFI uses National Lottery funds to develop and support original UK filmmakers and films, and to increase the audiences who can enjoy them.

5) Why do you think Chicken failed to secure funding from the BFI Film Fund?

I think Chicken failed to secure funding from the BFI Film Fund due to the controversial issues discussed in the film. The film deals with very sensitive issues that are hardly ever shown in movies (incense, mental disabilities, etc.) and it was unknown whether or not this film would be a success.   

Production

1) What difficulties did the film run into during production?

The film had to be shot in only 19 days due to the low budget. This meant that they had to get all scenes perfect in the limited time. This is especially difficult in the UK as the weather is very unreliable. Most of the scenes are exterior scenes. Even the interior scenes (inside the caravan) can be considered exterior as all the cameras and equipment is still outside.

2) How many days did the film take to shoot?

19 days.

3) What scenes were particularly difficult for Joe Stephenson to film?

One of the hardest scene to shoot was the end of the walk with Yasmin. The sunlight kept going behind the clouds and the fact that there's trees all around makes the situation worse. They had to re-shoot this scene many times.

Another difficult scene was one near the end with the confrontation between the three main characters. Stephenson states that 'The most challenging thing with this scene was the tight space of the caravan versus the blocking of the action and space for the camera to actually fit in and capture the brilliant work the actors were doing.'

Distribution

1) Why did the film fail to secure a distribution deal when first made in 2014?

No one thought that the film was worthy of being distributed or if it would be a success.

2) What film festivals did Chicken feature at between 2014-2016?

• Chicken had its world premiere at the 2015 Edinburgh International Film Festival. 
• 2015 Busan International Film Festival
• 2016 Giffoni International Film Festival (won 2nd prize)
• Screened at Cine A La Vista International Film Festival 2016 (won best film)

3) Why are film festivals an effective way for a low-budget film to secure a distribution deal?

It allows the film to reach a wide audience. Many of the people that go to film festivals enjoy films like Chicken, where the story is very different and the quality of the film exceeds expectations. These people may then go off to recommend the film to others. Alternatively, there may be influential media people who go to film festivals and end up distributing a film they particularly like. The awards given to films by these film festivals are also extremely beneficial in creating a positive reputation of the film.

4) When was Chicken released in cinemas in the UK?

May 20th 2016

5) Why do you think film subscription service MUBI chose the film to feature on the service?

MUBI's motto is 'a hand picked selection of the best films'. Therefore they chose Chicken to feature on their service as they believed that it was an incredible film. It also challenges the status quo.

6) Why was Film4 a good choice to give the film its UK television premiere?

Film4 (channel 4) was the best choice for Chicken's television premiere because it is a very popular channel in the UK. Therefore, the film has a higher chance of reaching people who would enjoy it.

7) When will the film be released on iTunes and other video-on-demand services in the USA and Canada?

16th January 2018

Promotion

1) What does the trailer suggest regarding genre and the potential audience pleasures of Chicken?

The trailer depicts that the film includes a lot of drama and conflicts. This is clear from the arguing between Richard and Poly and the introduction of the new neighbour, Annabel. Furthermore, the many review quotes that are showcased throughout the entire duration of the film trailer suggest that potential audience pleasures include the astonishing performance by the actors and the amount of emotion the film contains.

2) What synergy can you find between the trailer and other traditional marketing methods such as the film poster?

Both the poster and film trailer use the same font for the title 'Chicken'. The colour scheme is also the same and the picture used on the film poster is from one of the scenes shown in the trailer. Furthermore, both the poster and trailer also feature film reviews about the film and the names of the film festivals where the movie was shown.

3) Why are reviews from industry figures such as Mark Kermode so important to a film's success?

People such as Mark Kermode are highly regarded in the media. His opinion on films is trusted by thousands of people (He has 521K followers on twitter). Therefore a single positive review from him may be the reason someone decides to go watch a film. This is highly important for a microbudget film like Chicken because it also raises people's awareness of the film.

4) How does the Chicken Twitter account create and maintain interest in the film?

The Chicken twitter account is constantly tweeting. Recently, they had been tweeting a countdown for the release of the film in the US and Canada. This maintains the interest of the film as audiences are constantly reminded of the film.

5) Who does the Twitter account re-tweet? How does this help to promote the film?

The twitter account re-tweets reviews of the film from film critics and ordinary people. This helps promote the film as it establishes how amazing people think the film is.

6) How does the Chicken Facebook page use images and video content to promote the film?

The Chicken Facebook page uploads pictures and videos of scenes from the film. This intrigues the audience. Furthermore, they also upload reviews from film critics, such as Mark Kermode and magazines such as Empire.

7) What pages are liked by the Chicken Facebook page? What does this tell you about the film and potential target audience?

The Chicken Facebook page has liked the pages- @ArtHouseCrouchEnd, @Everymancinemas, @LittleWhiteLies, etc. This suggests that the target audience of the film are middle class white men and women who enjoy art house films, where the cinematography has been taken in to account and the story line is very different from typical cinema movies.

8) Go to the B Good Picture Company's website page for Chicken. What celebrities are mentioned on the page? Why might they be highlighted?

Old celebrities mentioned include Shakespeare and Charles Dickens. New celebrities mentioned include Simon Callow, Jonathan Pryce, Richard Madden, Catherine Tate, John Simm, etc. These particular celebrities have been highlighted due to the fact that they are all British. The B Good Picture Company is known for embracing its British culture and honouring those that do it proud.

9) Now go to the film's official website. What is the key purpose of the website and what does this tell you about the influence of new technology and how it is changing how people watch films?

The key purpose of the website is to link people to where they can watch the movie depending on where they live. This includes iTunes for those in the US and Canada and Amazon Instant Video, Film Doo and Volta for those in the UK and Ireland. This suggests that the influence of new technology means that audiences mostly stream and watch movies on demand rather than going out and buying a DVD.

10) Go to the B Good Picture Company YouTube channel. What videos feature on the channel? How do they help to promote Chicken? 

The B Good Picture Company YouTube channel features short clips from the film. This helps intrigue a potential audience and helps them understand a little of what the film is about.