Audience, Institution and Marketing Case Study of

Institutional Information

Production Companies

Kidulthood had only three production companies; Stealth Films, Cipher Films and TMC Films. I researched all three of these companies and what films they have produced over the years. Stealth Films have only produced three other films : Everywhere and Nowhere, Slackistan, West 10 London. Cipher films have produced two other films ; Adulthood and Wits. TMC Films haven’t produced any other films. The films that these production companies have produced are low budget films and are not known companies as they haven’t produced a lot of films over the years which shows that the film won’t cost a lot to produce. It would have been easy to produce this film as all you need is a real location and some actors which is not hard to find.

Institutional Information

DistributionKidulthood had only 5 distributors;Revolver Entertainment (UK) 2006 (theatrical and all media) – The film is set in the

uk and certain areas can relate to it. Capelight Pictures (Germany) 2007 (DVD) – This was distributed here as most of

the German population speak English so they would understand it.Focus Films (Brazil) 2007 (DVD)- It was distributed here as there is a lot of gang

culture and in the film it features this.Image Entertainment (USA) 2008 (DVD) – It was distributed here as the language,

dialogue and themes as young people in the USA can relate to it. Future Film (Finland) (2007) (DVD) – There is a high population of young people

here who may want to explore what British life is like for young people living here.

The films were probably only distributed in these countries because only certain audience can relate to the film which only shows that it targets a niche audience. Also a lot of the countries it was distributed in the population of young people who live there is quite high and young people are always watching movies which relates to them.

Institutional InformationExhibition Apart from it being exhibited in the cinema and DVD I research

other ways.Amazon- The advantage is this is a global website making it easier

for people to purchase the film.Sky Movies- The advantage is that you can watch it whenever you

want and watching it on a television gives it a better view. The disadvantage is that not everyone has sky which shows it is limited.

Love film- Blu ray- The advantage for this that the picture quality is better for the viewer. The disadvantage is that other countries don’t have blu ray so they will not get the better experience

Illegal websites for isohunt.com. The advantage for this is that anyone of the world can find the film , download it for free and its quick. The disadvantage for this is that the institution’s will loose more money as people are watching it illegally.

Ipod/ Iphone- The advantage is that you can watch it whenever you want. The disadvantage is that not everyone has an ipod/ iphone.

Target AudienceAge

The exit poll data provided by the UK Film Council shows that 158 people under the age of 25 watched the film whereas 53 people were over 25. This tells me that Kidulthood appeals to a younger audience, mainly teenagers and those in their early twenties because the issues in the film may appeal to them. These issues include alcohol, drugs, violence, gang culture and sex.

The main characters in the film are around 15 years old and still go to school as shown in their uniform in the first scene. Therefore it can appeal to teenagers around that age because they may be going through the similar issues where they are trying to grow up too quickly.

As you can see on the image to the left, the girls are dressed loosely dressed in uniform, some wearing tracksuits and seem to be in their own gang. This could connote that they live an urban lifestyle, which is common around the areas of London for teenagers.

Target AudienceGender

According to a survey, 89 males and 122 females attended to see Kidulthood. This tells me that the film appealed to more females than males. This may be because females relate to the issues of alcohol, drugs, sex and school bullying more than males. However, the film follows the story of three male best friends and two female best friends so it can appeal to both genders equally.

The film presents how teenagers of both genders spend their day. From the images, we can see the three male best friends are dressed in hoodies and are drinking alcohol in the streets which could connote that they are troublesome and up to no good. We are also given a negative representation of the two female best friends who are at home drinking alcohol and taking drugs. This creates awareness of the youth/social issues. Overall, the film can appeal to both genders as they may have similar experiences.

Target AudienceLocation

In the image to the left, it shows two girls at Ladbroke Grove station in West London. Trains are commonly used for transport , mainly those living around the areas of London. From personal identity, the audience may be able to identify this geographical location.

The image to the right shows a pan establishing shot of council flats. This gives a more realistic view of Britain which may look familiar to British people. This film would target the working class because they are able to see the difficulties main characters face with not being able to afford a proper house which can relate to them. Through the Reception Theory, the more the similarities of the context of the film, the more the audience will understand as they relate to it.

Target AudienceEthnicity

The characters in the film are mainly black and white, so it can appeal to both ethnicities. In the image to the left, the boys are wearing hoodies which connotes danger and trouble. This gives off a negative stereotype to black teenagers. This scene in particular can appeal to black people, especially those who live an urban lifestyle where hoodies are commonly worn.

In the image to the left, two white boys are handing out invitations to everyone to a house party while parents are away. This gives us an impression that white teenagers enjoy house parties and the fact that their parents are away during the time, there is likely to be underage alcohol.Therefore, the film can appeal to mainly black and white ethnicities because the main characters are both.

Target AudienceInterests

As 36% of the people attended to see the film because the story appealed to them could probably be because of the similarities of interests with the characters. A lot of teenagers and people in their early twenties are into partying on the weekend so this theme would appeal to them.

The film could also appeal to an audience who live an urban lifestyle who experience similar situations because of the music played by grime artists such as Lethal Bizzle and Shystie.The film could appeal to female audience which are into fashion and like dressing up for parties. One of the girls’ to the right says “We are gonna be the hottest girls there tonight, everyone else are gonna look like tramps.”

Target Audience

Social Class

On the image to the right, the girl is wearing her school tie short, hooped earing, hair tied to one side and uniform quite loose. This stereotypes her as a ‘chav’ which is common in the working class. Therefore this film appeals to working class teenagers. The UK Film Council survey states that 36% of people went to see the film because the story appealed to them. The story follows the life of working class teenagers, so the film also could’ve obviously appealed to a working class audience.

The boy on the left image says “Rah I’m on dat boy” when referring to a girl. This informal language appeals to a working class audience of mainly teenagers. The characters are underage drinking which is quite common for teenagers with an urban lifestyle to do.

UK Box Office Takings for Kidulthood

Opening Weekend£100,056 (UK) (5 March 2006) (41 Screens)

Gross£100,056 (UK) (5 March 2006)

Weekend Gross£100,056 (UK) (5 March 2006) (41 Screens)

Budget£600,000

Gross Revenue£453,876

Marketing StrategyViral marketing is probably one of the best marketing strategies for Kidulthood. According to the UK Film Council’s survey, 33% of the people who went to see the film heard about it through word-of-mouth. People are mainly able to hear about the film through family, friends and social networking websites. (eg Facebook, Twitter)

The film uses synergy so that it gets known. It uses soundtracks from grime artists such as Shystie, Lethal Bizzle and Dizzee Rascal. The music these artists produce relate to people who live an urban lifestyle. If people hear that their music is going to be in the film Kidulthood, they would watch it because it might appeal to them. Therefore the record label and production company work together to gain mutual benefit of targeting their audience.

Kidulthood’s distribution company, Revolver Entertainment has produced copies of the film on DVD which is an example of New Media Technology. Kidulthood is likely to become more successful on DVD than in the cinema because it is cheaper when its released on DVD and people can watch it in their own time.

Marketing Strategy

Kidulthood was also funded by the UK Film Council. Being produced by an independent production company with a low budget, it was difficult for Kidulthood to get distributed. Instead, posters were produced for the film and did in some way become successful. From the UK Film Council’s exit poll data, 25% of the people who went to see the film heard about it through posters.

Another way which gets people talking about Kidulthood are the reviews by the press. If the film gets good reviews, it would make people want to see it and the word-of-mouth spreads. The Sun rated the film 4 stars and said the following:

“Impressive directing and great performances by all of the film's raw young cast combine to make this low-budget bruiser a must-see.”