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Western
Published on Nov 19, 2015
This is a short presentation talking about the variations of marketing and advertising techniques used for 4 Western films through the years.
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Western
This will be a short presentation looking into the certain marketing techniques used in the chosen films I am studying. It will also look into the general storyline and the changes over the years of Western film as a genre.
Western
Has Western as a genre changed over the years?
Firstly, Western is a very malleable and flexible genre in film. It has a mix of action, romance and some even have a thriller aspect. This is simply because it is so versatile.
In my opinion, Western story's and the western genre as a whole has changed in certain ways over the years. The story lines have become more innovative and more in depth rather than 'goodie versus baddie' but in many ways, western still sticks to it's early American roots for example, the mise un scene still stays very similar with the typical western uniform and props and the heavy accents are still used, but storylines have advanced noticeably along the years.
In my opinion, Western story's and the western genre as a whole has changed in certain ways over the years. The story lines have become more innovative and more in depth rather than 'goodie versus baddie' but in many ways, western still sticks to it's early American roots for example, the mise un scene still stays very similar with the typical western uniform and props and the heavy accents are still used, but storylines have advanced noticeably along the years.
Photo by ultraBobban
The Lucky Horseshoe
'The Lucky Horseshoe' is a 1925 American Western silent film directed by John G. Blystone. It was very typical in those times to have silent films because technology was not advanced to the point of having sound and picture.
The general plot of the story is about a ranch foreman who takes responsibility for the ranch when the owner dies. He also cares for the owner's daughter who is taken to Europe by an aunt. Two years later, the woman returns from Europe with her new wealthy fiancee and plans to hold their wedding at the ranch, which the foreman has turned into a successful tourist destination. The foreman's feelings for the woman have not changed through the years, and after learning some damaging information about the fiancee, the foreman must find a way to stop the wedding.
The story is not very 'in depth' and meaningful but then again, it doesn't need to be because back in the 1920's people went to cinemas and watched films for lighthearted entertainment whereas now a days, some films are made to really make people think and open our minds. Also, the story line would have to be quite simple seeing as they had no dialogue. So the story would have to be simple so that people could follow whats going on in the film.
A film like this in it's time would have very little in the means of marketing like we have now a days, the typical way to advertise their films back in the 1920's is mostly through the use of posters and in some cases through radio. Radio was a very new concept in the 1920's and it was not seen as a means of advertising, it was mostly a way to spread news across the nation but nonetheless, it was used in some circumstances to advertise film/media.
The general plot of the story is about a ranch foreman who takes responsibility for the ranch when the owner dies. He also cares for the owner's daughter who is taken to Europe by an aunt. Two years later, the woman returns from Europe with her new wealthy fiancee and plans to hold their wedding at the ranch, which the foreman has turned into a successful tourist destination. The foreman's feelings for the woman have not changed through the years, and after learning some damaging information about the fiancee, the foreman must find a way to stop the wedding.
The story is not very 'in depth' and meaningful but then again, it doesn't need to be because back in the 1920's people went to cinemas and watched films for lighthearted entertainment whereas now a days, some films are made to really make people think and open our minds. Also, the story line would have to be quite simple seeing as they had no dialogue. So the story would have to be simple so that people could follow whats going on in the film.
A film like this in it's time would have very little in the means of marketing like we have now a days, the typical way to advertise their films back in the 1920's is mostly through the use of posters and in some cases through radio. Radio was a very new concept in the 1920's and it was not seen as a means of advertising, it was mostly a way to spread news across the nation but nonetheless, it was used in some circumstances to advertise film/media.
High Noon
High Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann. The general plot to this film is; the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself. Will Kane, the longtime marshal of Hadleyville, New Mexico Territory, has just married pacifist Quaker Amy Fowler and turned in his badge. He intends to become a storekeeper elsewhere.
Suddenly, the town learns that Frank Miller, a criminal whom Kane brought to justice, is due to arrive on the noon train. Miller had been sentenced to hang, but was pardoned on an unspecified legal technicality. In court, he had vowed to get revenge on Will and anyone else who got in the way. The members of Miller's gang are his younger brother Ben, Jack Colby, and Jim Pierce. In the end, Will faces Miller and his gang alone.
This film I feel has a lot more going on. I feel like there is a thicker story line compared to 'The Lucky Horseshoe' and I feel that it is more suspenseful and thought out. This could be due to the fact that the film has enabled dialogue and sound so they are able to create a more intricate story line that the audience can follow. There still is the typical good cop vs bad guy element in this story line but this is typical of western films and I feel that they incorporated that simple element well into the story.
As far as the marketing and advertising aspect, this film isn't much different from 'The Lucky Horseshoe'. It would have been posted around certain areas in a poster form and it would have been advertised in the newspaper and in very rare cases may have been advertised over radio.
Suddenly, the town learns that Frank Miller, a criminal whom Kane brought to justice, is due to arrive on the noon train. Miller had been sentenced to hang, but was pardoned on an unspecified legal technicality. In court, he had vowed to get revenge on Will and anyone else who got in the way. The members of Miller's gang are his younger brother Ben, Jack Colby, and Jim Pierce. In the end, Will faces Miller and his gang alone.
This film I feel has a lot more going on. I feel like there is a thicker story line compared to 'The Lucky Horseshoe' and I feel that it is more suspenseful and thought out. This could be due to the fact that the film has enabled dialogue and sound so they are able to create a more intricate story line that the audience can follow. There still is the typical good cop vs bad guy element in this story line but this is typical of western films and I feel that they incorporated that simple element well into the story.
As far as the marketing and advertising aspect, this film isn't much different from 'The Lucky Horseshoe'. It would have been posted around certain areas in a poster form and it would have been advertised in the newspaper and in very rare cases may have been advertised over radio.
Pale Rider
Pale Rider is a 1985 American western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars in the lead role. Clint Eastwood is a very big actor that is very well known for his Western roles in american film.
The general plot to this film is; A mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.
For more information on the plot of this story, there is more here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Rider#Plot
The storyline of this film is yet again more in depth yet still has the good guy bad guy idea still prominent. This film would have been made more professionally compared to the other two I have formerly mentioned because technology and equipment would have upgraded.
The marketing of the film would be slightly more advanced compared to the other two films. There would be posters, radio adverts, it would be advertised on buses and in newspapers. The circulation would be much greater in comparison to the other two films, because watching films in the cinema would be a regular that people would go together and do in the 1980's.
The general plot to this film is; A mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.
For more information on the plot of this story, there is more here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Rider#Plot
The storyline of this film is yet again more in depth yet still has the good guy bad guy idea still prominent. This film would have been made more professionally compared to the other two I have formerly mentioned because technology and equipment would have upgraded.
The marketing of the film would be slightly more advanced compared to the other two films. There would be posters, radio adverts, it would be advertised on buses and in newspapers. The circulation would be much greater in comparison to the other two films, because watching films in the cinema would be a regular that people would go together and do in the 1980's.
Django Unchained
Django Unchained is a 2012 American western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is a highly stylized variation of the spaghetti Western.
The film follows an African-American slave, Django and an English-speaking, German bounty hunter posing as a traveling dentist, named Dr. Schultz. In exchange for helping Schultz collect a large bounty on three outlaws (hiding-in-plain-sight in the south, working in the slave trade) that he has never seen – but Django has, while being trafficked – Schultz buys and then promises to free Django after they catch the outlaws the following spring. Schultz subsequently promises to teach Django bounty hunting, and split the bounties with him, if Django assists him in hunting down other outlaws throughout the winter. Django agrees – on the condition that they also locate and free his long-lost wife from her cruel plantation owner.
This story line is much more in depth and it touches on a controversial subject that many western films would not highlight. This is because it is much more acceptable and there is less stigma attached to talking about those previous circumstances. The director (Quentin Tarantino) is quite a controversial director in his style and story line in general, so this could be why the elements in the story are so different from other Western films.
In means of marketing, there is much much more elements involved in advertising this film. For starters, they took a massive risk releasing the film on Christmas Day, but the film was a major success anyway. There were many posters, adverts on tv, the teaser trailer was available on YouTube and other social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. There were massive posters on buses and in the back of Taxi Cabs, there were interviews with the actors on YouTube.
As a whole, there were a lot more ways to advertise and market this type of film because technology is much more advanced now then it was 80 years ago.
The film follows an African-American slave, Django and an English-speaking, German bounty hunter posing as a traveling dentist, named Dr. Schultz. In exchange for helping Schultz collect a large bounty on three outlaws (hiding-in-plain-sight in the south, working in the slave trade) that he has never seen – but Django has, while being trafficked – Schultz buys and then promises to free Django after they catch the outlaws the following spring. Schultz subsequently promises to teach Django bounty hunting, and split the bounties with him, if Django assists him in hunting down other outlaws throughout the winter. Django agrees – on the condition that they also locate and free his long-lost wife from her cruel plantation owner.
This story line is much more in depth and it touches on a controversial subject that many western films would not highlight. This is because it is much more acceptable and there is less stigma attached to talking about those previous circumstances. The director (Quentin Tarantino) is quite a controversial director in his style and story line in general, so this could be why the elements in the story are so different from other Western films.
In means of marketing, there is much much more elements involved in advertising this film. For starters, they took a massive risk releasing the film on Christmas Day, but the film was a major success anyway. There were many posters, adverts on tv, the teaser trailer was available on YouTube and other social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. There were massive posters on buses and in the back of Taxi Cabs, there were interviews with the actors on YouTube.
As a whole, there were a lot more ways to advertise and market this type of film because technology is much more advanced now then it was 80 years ago.
