Case Study: Vertigo Films

Vertigo Films is an independent British Fim and Distribution company founded by Allan Niblo and James Richardson in 2002. The company's aim is to create and and produce 'commercially driven independent cinema' and since the company was founded, they have produced 28 films and distributed 35. The films produced are an array of genres, ranging from 'Street Dance' and 'Street Dance 2' to the multi-award winning 'Monsters'.

Monsters



This film was produced in 2010 by Vertigo Films and is both a thriller and a sci-fi type of film. It follows the story of NASA discovering the possibility of alien life within our solar system. Eventually, new forms of life begin to appear in Central America and half of Mexico was quarantined as an 'Infected Zone'.

'Monsters' was first screened in America on 13th March 2010 and on 18th June 2010 in the UK. Since its release, the film has won 11 awards, including one BAFTA and has been nominated for 12 other awards. The majority of the awards were awarded to Gareth Edwards who was both the director and writer. He was also awarded the Evening Standard British Film Award for the 'Best Technical/ Artistic Achievement'. He won this for the cinematography, production design and visual effects.

When this film was first showed in the cinema it made £348,577 in its opening weekend and was showed on 164 screens in UK cinemas. Within the next week, the film had created a gross of £695, 249 in the UK.

To advertise 'Monsters', Vertigo films used the social networking site, 'Foursquare', to promote a new and exciting PR campaign to entice viewers. Here's what they did:
http://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/uk-film-council-digital-innovation-case-study-monsters.pdf

Vertigo wanted to create a 'buzz' around the film before its release and draw the audience into the cinemas. They teamed up with the social networking site, 'Foursquare'. 'Foursquare' is a location-based social media site which uses GPS enabled smart-phones. The idea is that  you can check into locations from your smart phone for all your friends to see. The aim was to raise awareness of the cinemas showing the film and generate interest. As the director, Gareth Edwards, went on a UK tour, Foursquare created 'infected zones' in each  key city, with volunteers dressed in protective clothing handing out fliers. Fans who logged into the 'infected zones' could win prizes and discounts on their tickets. The increase in awareness of the film was a huge success. This is an example of a film company using the latest technology to attract a target audience. It was also a networking opportunity for Vertigo to gain information about their audience from the cinemas. 

This is how much Vertigo Films spent on their advertising campaign:

Monsters 2




After the first Monster's success, Vertigo films decided to make a second. This one is called 'Monsters: Dark Continent'. However this film is directed by Tom Green, who also directed episodes from the popular British TV series, Misfits. This film is the follow up of the first story but looks at the events from the previous one, ten years on and the 'Infected Zones' have now spread worldwide.

The sequel was first show in the UK in October of last year at the London Film Festival, but is set to hit the cinemas on 27th February 2015.