Laura Under the Stars

This is an ongoing series of short horror stories. In them, I will explore random concepts, themes, situations and issues that cross my mind as I develop horror films.

“LAURA UNDER THE STARS” – A ONE-PAGE HORROR STORY BY PAULO LEITE.

Laura used to spend her nights roaming alongside highways and dirty roads. She had no place to go. Nothing to live for. Yet, there she was, still alive. She was a blind prostitute waiting for men to find her. Or any other fate. She was not alone. Although she could not see the stars and the Moon above her, she sensed them. Their light spoke to her in a musical language she could feel. She had an average of three to five men a night. Their hands were cold like the rest of their bodies. She could feel their temperature as they touched each other. Gently, most of the time. It would start with the stars telling her she was not alone. By then she knew she had been spotted. A man would approach her and caress her face with a hand that would smell of putrefying flesh. That was usually when she would bend over trying to keep her face as far from the stench as possible.

Occasionally they would want to kiss her. Sometimes they would lick her face or parts of her body. Once or twice they would bite her. Sometimes almost violently with some hunger, but never to a point of extreme pain. Passing her fingers afterwards, she would only feel the marks. But there was never blood. Pleasure used to be the last thing on her mind while she was being used. She did not know who they were but she knew they were sick. The putrefying odor was unbearable and their flesh – or what was left of it – was never pleasant to the touch. Three days ago, she was used by a man who did not smell. He was cold like the others and completely naked. Yet, he smelled like something else. Some kind of varnish or something synthetic. Bearable.

She knew by heart the area where she roamed and every morning at the first signs of the Sun blessing her skin, she would walk to the river and wash herself. The stars would be mute and the sound of the water would take her back to better days. Leaving the river bank, Laura would find her payment: cans of food left underneath the oldest oak tree in the area. She would prefer money, but she understood that where she was, cash was useless. Laura thought she must have drifted too far from home. So far she hadn’t been able to find help. Perhaps she was lost in a too remote area. She would love to return home. Yet, every night the stars would tell her “no”. So far, every man she encountered merely used her like a prostitute. But some seemed nicer. They preferred to just lie down on the grass and hold her tight. It was very uncomfortable at first. But after five minutes the warmth of her body would warm up the cold bodies of those holding her. In some of those tender moments she would listen to the stars telling her she would be fine. The client would be gone after feeling warmer. On those nights she knew she would get extra food the following morning. Although on few occasions she had tried to talk to them, no words were ever spoken back to her. Except for the stars. She felt strange one night when a man lied down next to her. He was still a bit warm and lost it in the thirty minutes they stayed together. She gave him some of her warmth, but never met him again. He smelled good.

Winters were hard but during those freezing nights, the men would always keep a fire burning so Laura would not perish. She hoped someday someone would find her and take her home – the stars would tell her never to stop hoping. Until then, she hoped.

© 2016 BAD BEHAVIOR ONE, Lda.

Plsure

This is an ongoing series of short horror stories. In them, I will explore random concepts, themes, situations and issues that cross my mind as I develop horror films.

“PLSURE” – A ONE-PAGE HORROR STORY BY PAULO LEITE.

It’s real name was “Profothylepentanitrosyl Nickel Butalcyclodienyl”. But no one could remember such a name. An odorless slightly pink powder crushed from larger crystals that tended to melt at room temperature into a sticky goo. On the street it was simply called Pleasure. Or Plsr (or Plsure) if you like texting. It was hard to produce and highly expensive. Usually taken as a pill. In very small concentrations it would work as a great antidepressant – the one that would replace Prozac. But on higher concentrations it had a strange effect. It turned sadness and pain into the deepest pleasure one could experience.

It was amazing! One pill could help you cope with stress. Three would turn the loss of your children after a car accident into intense orgasms that would knock you down moaning. But it was so expensive that only the super-rich could afford it.

After a chemist called Emmanuel Ziegler discovered a process to make it cheaply with ordinary household products, we entered the age of the Plsur Revolution. Upon taking it, the user had to wait ten minutes. Then a mild sensation of happiness and some euphoria would replace a lifetime of ordinary frustrations and regrets. Having quit a job that you liked or having walked out of a relationship with the only person who ever really loved you ten years ago gave way to one big smile. It. Just. Felt. Good.

I. Want. More.

Meet David. Eight pills in his pocket. He had ten there 30 minutes ago. He bought a hammer (laughs). Sitting at the bar, laughing with friends, he hits his thumb with it. It feels so good! But he must be careful. Gotta make it last. One finger down. Nine to go. BAM! Oh, the pleasure! But the thumb is far from gone. It’s kinda purple and bleeding but it does not matter! The pleasure is so intense; David can’t stop himself from being carried away. BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! All five fingers! Who needs a left hand? People are laughing. David’s friends decide he’s had enough and take him to the restroom. But David does not give a fuck. Breathing like a stud he watches as his friends hold him straight and wash his face. Looking in the mirror he has an idea. One friend goes for a towel and David hits his own face with the hammer. Now he can see candy-colored stars. One friend tries to hold him down while the other collects David’s teeth from the bloodied floor.

In the car, David keeps saying how good it all feels. Five fucked-up fingers, four fallen teeth and David has funny ideas about the car door. He opens it and smashes his hand. He can do better. But before they can do anything, a speeding biker slams into the windshield. The scare sends David’s pleasure into new heights. Then the car stops. His best friends are dead and if that does not demand another pill, then I don’t know what!

Now it flows like a tsunami! David needs to explore the car door as a guillotine. But the damn thing is too twisted to open. He just lands on the pavement – face first, of course. There are three dead cars lying on the street. Plus the biker who seems to be screaming. But he is not screaming in pain. He is laughing with pleasure. The two men get up and run to each other. Three punches and David gets his nose broken. Laughter. The other man sticks his tongue out and David hits him with a piece of metal. On the floor, the man lost an eye ball. But not his switchblade that sinks into David’s groins. Now he smashes David’s face on the concrete. Again and again. No pain! Only pleasure.

They look just like children playing.

© 2016 BAD BEHAVIOR ONE, Lda.

Fear of Death

This is an ongoing series of short horror stories. In them, I will explore random concepts, themes, situations and issues that cross my mind as I develop horror films.

“FEAR OF DEATH” – A ONE-PAGE HORROR STORY BY PAULO LEITE.

It was one o’clock pm in the United Kingdom when it happened. In each postal box of every building or house of every city, no matter how small or large, there was a letter. One for each person living in it. In that letter it was written the precise date, the hour and the cause of the recipient’s death. So it was true: it was written. A few letters had two minutes left. Others even less. So the recipients died without giving it any thought. One got his letter while late to work and never made it. Another just got home to find there was a gas leak. Too late. There was nothing out of the ordinary about those first deaths. Just a piece of paper lying around among the broken glass that no one cared to read.

The certainty of those letters went unnoticed by quite a few minutes. Those who died almost instantly did not die because of it. They just died and nobody cared. Fifteen minutes later, a woman who was about to leave to visit her beloved father who was recovering well from a heart surgery, opened her father’s letter thinking it was a bill he forgot to pay. He was going to die at one-thirty-six from asphyxiation after a massive blood cloth triggered a sudden swelling of his throat. It could have been prevented, but she thought the letter was a joke in poor taste. She got to the hospital at one-forty-two. He was gone in agony. There were a few dozens of similar cases scattered around the country. Eventually some people took those letters seriously and in a matter of six hours, the television, the radio and the internet were talking about nothing else. Some people couldn’t believe they would live until the age of 129 and die peacefully in their sleep from natural causes. Those were the lucky ones.

Through the internet, a lot of noise, misinformation and myths began to form. Strange stories that the letters were poisonous went viral. Other posts suggested the whole thing was a just a huge advertising campaign from some travel agency. But all across the globe, precisely at one pm, the letter would turn up on mail boxes. Rome, Ankara, Dar Es Salaam, Norilsk, Bangkok, Perth, Honolulu and so on. As expected, in 24 hours, one letter would be waiting for someone. But that was only the beginning. Death could be avoided. All you have to do is not get into that car on September 27th 2018. Or book some other flight. Or just let the cat die up there on that tree. It all seemed so simple. A courageous man who knew he would live until 2069 decided to jump from a building. High winds slowed his velocity by the time he hit a tree and he survived in agony until 2069. In fact, robust as he was, three suicide attempts only made it worse.

A woman in New York cancelled a bus trip to Boston and was happy she survived the day. An airline decided to cancel a flight after all passengers cancelled their tickets and the crew refused to go on-board. It seemed the plane was due to crash. But there was nothing wrong with it. A girl on a gorgeous Australian beach stayed far from the water while drinking Champagne. In five minutes she was supposed to be killed by a shark. The shark was spotted by a boat just a few minutes after her predicted death. The beach was cleared. Some suicide cases went on as predicted. After so much thought and planning, life indeed got unbearable for some.

After many deaths were avoided, the world became slightly more chaotic. People still refused to fly on that airplane now condemned to rot. Cars, houses and boats were left abandoned by those who were supposed to die in them. Parents who did not want to live through the terminal illness if their children simply abandoned them. Stocks collapsed when word got out that the CEO would kill himself in one year and some children got targeted and murdered by those who were supposed to be killed by them some 20 years later. Fear of Death turned the world into a derelict landscape of all things avoided.

© 2016 BAD BEHAVIOR ONE, Lda.

 

Happy Birthday, Rabid!

RABID was released today back in 1977. That was some 40 years ago! It is in one of my favorite David Cronenberg films. It has a mood and an atmosphere I love, but can rarely find in other films. But beyond the great script, the horror and the direction, the element I find most fascinating about this film is the casting of Marilyn Chambers, a porn star.

In 1977, Marilyn Chambers was well known for starring in the porn classic BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR (1972). The film made her a porn star and shocked the advertising industry since previously she had been the face of Procter & Gamble’s Ivory soap bars (P&G dropped her after learning about her work in porn).

Porn stars and mainstream films have a mixed history. Sometimes we see one or two in art-house films trying to look radical (LOL) but very rarely in Hollywood films that get a wide release. It is true that RABID was never a big film. However, most directors, producers and distributors will always think twice before bringing into their careers and catalogues any porn actor or actress that may tarnish their brand.

Traci Lords was one of the few porn actresses who managed to have a steady and strong career in mainstream films, which means that the crossover is possible – although still rare and risky.

But back in 1977, porn was still a huge taboo – and twice as problematic for Marilyn Chambers since not only did she star in a porn film, she also had sex in the film with a black man (ex-boxer Johnnie Keyes). Twice the taboo!

The horror genre, for decades one that has been dismissed as trash and pushed by some to the border of mainstream filmmaking, has, many times, been friendly towards porn actors and actresses who want a chance to have a career outside porn. Few people may know, but THE DEVIL’S REJECTS (2003), CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980), MANIAC (1980), CHROME SKULL: LAID TO REST 2 (2011), FEAR CLINIC (2014), THE X-FILES (1994), WILLARD (2013), PIRANHA 3D (2010), THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE 3 (FINAL SEQUENCE) (2015), SAW VI (2009), GHOSTS OF MARS (2001), SORORITY HOUSE MASSACRE II (1990) and BLADE (1998) had porn stars in their casts.

What Cronenberg and producer John Dunning did was amazing: they gave Marilyn Chambers a leading role in their film and helped her grow as an actress.

Forty years ago today.

Yep, there’s no people like horror people. 🙂

Pitching a Horror Film. How We Do It.

There are many books that will tell you how to pitch a film you want to make. Indeed, pitching is an art form. And like many art forms, you can master it with lots of training and mistakes. In this post, we will discuss the two-to-three minute pitch that’s very en vogue in festivals, markets all over the world.

The longest pitch we’ve been was 15 minutes. You can pitch GONE WITH THE WIND, its four sequels and still find the time to bake a soufflé in those 15 minutes. The shortest pitch can last the time an elevator takes from the fifth to the first floor. So why we chose the two-to-three minutes pitch?

Because we love it. It’s short and sweet. It gives you time to say everything that needs to be said, while forcing you to withhold the things you should save for later. So let’s talk a little bit about the subject. Here are a few concepts:

PITCHING IS A PERSONAL THING.

It is, really. There are 20 books that will claim to tell you how to pitch. We read them all. They are all great. They are all different. Yes, it’s great to read them because there are always things to learn there. However, two highly talented people wouldn’t pitch the same story the same way. Why wouldn’t they? They are not the same person. So, before you start, think about what you, as a communicator, can bring to the table before you start to speak. Do you have a great voice that makes people naturally shut up and listen to you? Not everybody do. So, before anything, you have to understand yourself: your flaws and advantages; and try to find a way to rely on those advantages. We all have some advantage somewhere: a great voice, a way of speaking that’s naturally captivating, the way you dress, the way you stand or move as you speak, a sense of humor, a kind of honesty… you’ve got something. Find it.

PITCHING IS ALSO ABOUT THE AUDIENCE.

Many times they don’t know you. And you don’t know them. However, you are all there for a common purpose. No, it’s not the love for movies. It’s business. Respect it and it will respect you back. Prepare in advance and your chances of success go up and up. The audience is quick to understand who does not prepare. They are also quick to spot those who has everything beautifully prepared. Do not underestimate the power of of the audience to help you do a great job. however, it all starts with you.

PITCHING IS NOT ABOUT SELLING YOUR FILM.

Pitching is about gaining time to continue the pitch later over a drink. The success of your pitch is measured, many times, by how many people became so intrigued that they come to you and want to buy you a drink and hear more about it. If they are agents, producers or executives that can help you move your project forward, that’s success. Keep in mind that very rarely films get financed right there, at that room where the pitch took place. In reality, it is that extra time you won that will be much more important, since it will be during the subsequent 1-to-1 talk that the all the elements needed (for the type of relationship that moves films forward) will start to appear.

PITCHING IS ALSO ABOUT SELECTING THE RELEVANT CONTENT.

What is the right content? Answer: the content that suits THREE THINGS: your STORY, the TIME you have available to pitch and what do you want to COMMUNICATE about yourself. You are not just pitching your project: you are also pitching yourself as the only person on Earth capable of turning that pitch into a great film.

 

HOW WE DO IT

This is pitching structure we are most comfortable with when it comes to something up to two minutes. We will first outline the elements and then explain why we like this structure.

1 – What is the setup of our story?

2 – Who is our protagonist?

3 – What opportunity or challenge this story will present to our protagonist?

4 – What is the concept presented in this story?

5 – What are the antagonistic forces at play?

6 – What is the motivation and the conflict of our protagonist?

7 – What complications further threaten you protagonist?

8 – What is the protagonist’s arch?

9 – What elements will engage the audience and generate empathy with the protagonist?

10 – What’s the theme of your story?

11 – What are the successful films that inspired this project?

12 – What’s your passion for this story?

If you look carefully, what this pitch structure does is to introduce the story without actually telling the story. You have the chance to visit all the points that are crucial to communicate value without going through the suicidal effort of trying to fit the telling of the story in two minutes. As you can see:

1-5: Give the story it’s main elements: characters, setting, what’s at stake, concept.

6-8: Give the way the story progresses and blooms into great horror.

9 – Gives the reason why this project will be relevant to the audience.

10 – Lets you go deeper into the film, letting us know what this is really about.

11 – Lets you frame the project commercially, contextualize it, position it.

12 – This is not just about money. It’s actually more important and personal than that.

In our opinion, this structure will make a great horror project shine brighter high above any other. How to say it two minutes? It’s not easy. It will take you days of work to get it right. However, if you manage to do it and do it effectively, you will be able to create many points of interest to be later explored once you have won more time with the people who matter to you. Also, keep in mind that this is how we like to do it. you may feel the need to do it differently. Like we said, pitching is a highly personal thing. It depends on you and on your project. For projects belonging to other genres, this may not work at all. And even within the horror genre, there may be many projects that may not need some of the points we follow – or you just need to rearrange them.

The good thing about film is that no two films are alike. Nor two people. So feel free to reject it, use it as it is (if it fits your film) or adapt it to your needs.

 

Concept: How Important Is It for Horror?

A zombie virus wipes out mankind and two people have to survive in the city. Horror ensues.

Five teens go spend the weekend in a cabin lost in the forest and meet some murderous inbred savages. Horror ensues.

A couple and their two kids move into a new home and discover it used to be the place where a murderer tortured and killed his victims. Horror ensues.

These are generic concepts we see every day in the horror genre. Every year, the Marché du Film in Cannes, the European Film Market in Berlin or its American counterpart, the American Film Market in Santa Monica welcome new films showing these same concepts. In a way, this is the industry protecting itself. How? By giving the market films it is familiar with. Films that work with an audience that wants them. Films that can be bought and sold with the eyes closed. And sequels where the same principle apply: the same of what you’ve seen in the first film, but a little tweeked to make it more spectacular. Depending on how much those films cost, what stars they have or who’s selling them, some of those films will make money. Some will break even; a few will make millions – ensuring that next year more films will try their luck.

However, of the hundred horror films that get made every year, only a handful of them have the courage, the brilliance, the vision, the guts or the sheer stupidity to try a new concept. But what is concept and why does it matter?

Until 1968, zombies were quite a dull thing: people who are controlled by someone else. They could be dead, they could be alive, it could be voodoo, it could be a spell. Zombies were nothing to brag home about. Yes, Doctor Caligari was great, but let’s face it, zombies were dull. Until George A. Romero came and tried a new concept: let’s make the fresh dead come back to life in order to kill and eat the living. They were not ghouls – ghouls eat cadavers, they don’t usually need to kill the living. There are plenty of corpses everywhere. They were not vampires either. Vampires are cool and don’t decompose.

They were something else. Certainly, Romero did not create anything from the void. Richard Matheson’s I AM LEGEND (1954) explored a similar concept with key differences. The uniqueness about Romero was that he gave the “kinda new” yet incomplete concept its final form with all the characteristics and elements we see today, nearly 50 years later. Romero gave us a mature concept that was so good, came such at the right moment, that a full sub-genre was born. Ten years later, DAWN OF THE DEAD, perhaps the best zombie film ever made (and one of the most discussed), gave us the acknowledgement that the sub-genre was as maturated as vampires, ghosts and other sub-genres.  Three thousand zombie films later, we still find ourselves going back to Mr. Romero’s work for reference, homage or just to steal a few ideas.

So, concept is a thing horror filmmakers should think about with lots of care. “Do I have one?” – is the question we should all ask ourselves. “Or am I just reproducing something we already have plenty of?” It’s true that concept alone will not make a great film (or even a successful one at the box-office). However, a rich concept is the kind of thing that lingers long after the average zombie/slasher/found-footage had their run, making some quick money before being forgotten.

There is nothing wrong with a humdrum zombie film made just because you had a Canon 5D and a group of friends with spare time. Anyone who has made a film knows how hard it is to make even those films!

What I am talking about is of having a strategy towards your audience and your career. Here, spending some time reading and getting inspiration, writing, rewriting, going back and forth with your synopsis… that’s where you might discover the possibility of making the investment on a great (or just good) concept. So you don’t believe me? Take a look of some of the most beloved horror films and you’ll see – before anything – a great concept:

1 – A teenage boy discovers that a vampire has just moved into the house next door.

Do I have to tell you what film I am talking about?

The biggest hit of 1982 was a film about a boy who befriends an alien who’s stranded on Earth (great concept by the way!) But one of the most celebrated horror films ever(!) also came from that year and (it’s said) flopped at the box-office:

2 – A team of scientists in Antarctica encounters an alien creature that mimics anything.

And before anyone can say that Norris’ head becoming a spider is the thing… well… that’s all driven by the concept. THE THING (1982) is not original. As we all know, it is a retelling of THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951), in turn an adaptation from John W. Campbell Jr.’s 1938 novella WHO GOES THERE? A great concept becomes timeless!

Concept has value. Sometimes that value is recognized right away by both the audience and the box-office. Other times it takes a little longer. Not having a great concept is the thing we should all fight against.

Now the bad news.

The film industry in general is as dynamic as it is conservative and this is not just a Hollywood problem. Conservatism and fear are everywhere. The vasts amounts of money needed to make, promote and distribute a film (any film) and the risk that’s inherent to the intangible nature of films makes us all very cautious and risk-adverse. That’s why the brainless repetition of tired concepts (OMG, the zombies are taking the world! – duh!) and their sequels many times get made while great concepts lag in development Hell for years until a courageous knight comes to the rescue.

Yes, that’s the big film finance paradox: everybody is complaining about the quality of most films, but a) keep consuming them anyway and b) fear that a new concept may be too new and may not find its way through the audience.

It has always been like this and it will never change.

But we, who insist in creating out of the box, can (and must) fight back!

We can produce promos, proof of concepts, test footage, mock up campaigns; we can submit the project to markets, take it with us to workshops, pitch it, pitch it, pitch it and pitch it again… anything goes when it comes to get market validation. Give yourself a deadline – like one year or so – after which you sit down and realistically assess your project’s traction. Then you’ll see if you have a potential winner or if it would be wiser to invest your creativity in another concept you think it is as good or better.

Now let’s get to the good news.

If you are enjoying this article, please consider taking my online course ULTIMATE FILM FINANCING, available on Skillshare and Udemy. Click on the image below to see it.

The good news is great concepts don’t die. If you’ve got to the end of your journey and feel you reached a dead end, well, put it in your “drawer of concepts” (the most important and cherished secret place in your office) and develop something else that you have that’s equally amazing. Keep fighting and developing great stuff (and filling your drawer). Someday, after one of your films actually succeed, you may have the chance to open that drawer and let those concepts get a new life. Many filmmakers further their careers with pet projects they rescue from that secret drawer.

3 – A group of space miners traveling home are waken up to discover they were sent somewhere else. Following orders, they investigate. It all goes wrong and one of them is brought back with some creature attached to his face.

Again, we know the film. It’s a classic. and the best thing is that from this simple setting, no one can predict how the full concept will play.

4 – Just before he dies, a serial killer passes his soul into a doll who is bought by a single mother trying to surprise her kid, who’s a fan of that character.

Simple concept, totally fresh when it was released.

Unusual concepts have that advantage: they drive fascination. the organic complexity that serves the story in ALIEN (1979) or the understanding that the innocent doll is a fully functioning serial killer in CHILD’S PLAY (1988) are fascinating concepts because they dare to try to go beyond the tired repetitions the audience at the time were used to see.

So, here are a few questions you can ask yourself when writing a horror script.

a) Have I seen this somewhere?

If your survivors (running from a zombie horde) takes refuge in a mall, the answer should be obvious. YES, you have. In that case, NO, you do not have a concept. You are merely working in someone else’s concept.

b) Can I evolve this concept?

So you have a werewolf story. We all know how the creature works. We know the rules. But digging deeper into the mix between humans and wolves, can you bring us something we haven’t seen yet? Something that’s fascinating and can keep the story going?

c) Where exactly sits the freshness in my concept?

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981) takes a werewolf from its natural environment (some remote countryside of the United Kingdom) and throws it in modern London. But the freshness can also be found in the humor that was fairly new to werewolf movies until then. KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (1988), well, the title speaks for itself. But the film had more: every gag was a gruesome parody sure to delight horror fans. THE STUFF (1985) created a dessert that was actually a murderous creature. THE LOST BOYS (1987) had the coolest gang of bikers who were vampires. Recently, in DON’T BREATHE (2016), the whole film is only possible because of urban blight (a very contemporary issue). TEETH (2007) dared to take to the screen something I’m sure many filmmakers thought was impossible (and you  won’t even see it!) HARD CANDY (2005) turns the child molester into the prey. AMERICAN MARY (2012) shows us a medical student who really will take advantage of what she knows. HUMAN CENTIPEDE (FIRST SEQUENCE) (2009) proves that a skillful filmmaker can milk a great concept into a full career. And three films.

A great concept is an important element in classics and cult films. It may come from the story, from its visuals, from its tone, from its characters or from the way it combines different elements. You should never underestimate its power.

Think about it. 🙂

If you enjoyed this article, please consider taking my online course ULTIMATE FILM FINANCING, available on Skillshare and Udemy. Click on the image below to see it.

How to Make Great Publicity Photos for Your Film.

It happens so many times. We open a magazine or visit a website and find screenshots of the film we want to see. We may not pay a lot of attention to it. However, a lot of our decision to watch a film is directly linked to the existence of great promotional materials.

Among those material, the “publicity photos” are a a key elements on a film’s deliverables list (note: the deliverables are a set of things the producer must deliver to the sales agent or distributor with the film). Those who are experienced in the production department know that the production of those deliverables are as important as the film itself. Put in a different way, a good production work will generate a great film AND quality deliverables.

The publicity photos are a part of that list that should never be left for later. On the contrary, you should think about them with the same care as you plan your shoot – and have a strategy for it just in the same way. Without that kind of care, the promotion of the film will not be able to push your film with the efficacy it could have. So, thinking about this in advance will help you in the future in ways you could not imagine.

That’s what this post is about.

Let’s start by categorizing the publicity photos in 4 groups.

1. Screenshots.
2. Crew and behind the scenes.
3. Director and talent.
4. Characters.

1 – Screenshots are the most common type of publicity photos. Those are the ones we see in most magazines and websites. They show images from the film with the goal of giving the audience an idea of how great things the film has: the stars/characters they love, the great special effects, the great sets, the action scenes, etc. However, some people tend to think that those photos are a) images taken from the film or b) faithful representations of the shots in the film (just like the audience will see them in the film).

These ideas are misconceptions when it comes to most of the films.

The usage of screenshots in websites, magazines, TV, posters and other promotional instances and outlets demands VERSATILITY to those photos. In the old days of film, a 35mm frame rarely had the quality that could be used for a poster or quality printing (in magazines, for example). Back then, taking a frame from the film was rarely a good option and the screenshots we see from the classics were done by dedicated publicity crews working in the studio. Here’s one of them:

People may think that if a certain frame is good enough to be projected on a screen, then it will be good enough for a magazine. However, on the screen, we have movement and sound – all helping us get immersed in the narrative. That’s not what happens when we look at a magazine page. Here the limitations of the medium get visible. And worse than that, on a magazine or on a website, before we get to the screenshot of the film, we’ve already passed through other ads where the quality of their photos raises our expectancy. If you are not careful, the screenshots of your film will be the least interesting things people see.

That’s why Hollywood never takes publicity photos directly from films. Instead, dedicated photographers will produce those photos at the best resolution, the best quality, especially for publicity.

What we see on the film may not be ideal to be reproduced in the printed media. In this case, a dedicated photographer can help the producer get a number of images specifically for that end. DANGEROUS LIAISONS (1988) gives us a great example. Even the differences in framing have a function: in the film, we are concentrating on the character and what she is saying. On the publicity photo there is no “what she is saying”, there’s no sound. So the framing is trying to show production value: the star, the gorgeous porcelain tea set, wardrobe. In the film, showing the tea set would be a distraction from the action. On the photo, it makes all the sense. The light and the colors are not the same either.

It would be absurd to try to compare what is the better photo. Their goal is not the same. What matters here is to understand the function and the impact of each on the commercial life of the film – because they will never be seen at the same time or in the same conditions. One is for the screen. The other is for magazines.

Another myth says that the publicity photos should try to emulate or reproduce what the final shot will be or what the camera captures. While in theory this can make some sense, in reality, the image captured by the motion picture camera may not be the best way to represent the whole scene or the film. Keep in mind that in a film, each shot is conceived as part of a set that will make sense through the editing. They also take advantage of the fact that the audience has a considerable knowledge of the story and characters when a particular shot comes along. but take that shot out of the set and it stops making sense (from the publicity’s perspective). Those shots were not meant to be seen out of the edit by someone who has not yet started to watch the film and has not been through the previous scenes in the story – lacking precious information. That shot splashed on a magazine may be meaningless. From this point of view, the goal is to obtain photos that, by themselves and removed from any viewing experience, represents the entire scene or the whole film. FRANTIC (1988) gives us a great example: one of the best publicity photos of the film is a shot that is absent from the scene it represents.

The photo taken communicates tension, danger much more effectively. And for those who haven’t yet seen the film, they show the best production value of them all: the stars (now facing the camera). The photo also show more effectively the object everybody is looking for (almost lost in the shot from the movie). On a magazine, the original shot would make no sense: two people whose faces we cannot see stretching towards an object we can barely figure out what it is. The publicity photo does a much better job communicating the scene, its goal and the film’s stars.

And that photo is so good that is was used everywhere to represent the film. Just take a look at the two home video versions of the film. From all the photos available, they selected this one.

It is fundamental to understand that, more than show the film, the publicity photos sell the film. And for that to happen, they have to (when necessary) abandon the director’s camera setup and try to truly represent the best things the film has.

Another example shows two images with different functions.

In the previous scene, Dr. Richard Walker finds a box of matches from a club called “Blue Parrot”. On the next scene, (left photo) the emphasis is on the connection between the finding of the matches and his arrival at the club (with the neon sign standing on a similar level of importance as the star). Harrison Ford’s presence is obvious. There is no need to draw all the attention to him. By the time the audience gets here, the star is taken for granted. But more, this is just a quick transition scene that situates the next scene: the interior of the club. The publicity photo, however, tells a different story. No box of matches, no transition, no next scene. Just the main character under neon lights. How is it possible that a scene of no importance becomes one of the key photos of the film (take another look at the DVD back cover)? It’s very simple: there is no necessary connection between the importance of a scene and a great photo taken from it.

Imagine that the camera shows a two people kissing 500 feet away from the camera against a gorgeous scenery of mountains and sky. In the movie, we know who they are. We can afford to see them kiss from afar. It would make no sense to keep the publicity photo so far from the kiss. On a magazine, they would be size of an ant (and probably we would see no kiss). But for those who haven’t seen the film, a much closer photo where we can actually see the characters kissing would be much more important than the sky and the mountains. Unless there is something drastically dramatic about the sky and mountains like a tornado coming to get them.

2 – Crew and behind the scenes will be more or less interesting (and valuable for publicity) depending on the type of film you are making. However, the importance of those photos as deliverables should never be underestimated. In a film where the special effects are an essential part (no matter how simple or complex), capturing images of how it was made fuels the interest of that part of the audience who gets fascinated by the film making process and the more specialized press that caters that audience. But more than that, those photos show the technical, creative and financial investment made in the film – giving the producer some leverage to try to bring up the the price of the film when comes the time to sell it. If the film is a co-production, these photos will document the different nationalities coming together to make the film. They are also a good public relations tool that shows the creation of value, making a bridge between filmmakers (those who make the movies) and financiers (who are seldom in the terrain and, sometimes, know very little about how their money is spent).

Great behind-the-scenes photos like the ones below are loved by the press, since they bring the production values to the front, sparkling the curiosity of the audience.

They do not need to be spectacular, but they should try to communicate the uniqueness of the film.

Sometimes they put the audience on a privileged a point of view that instantly generates curiosity.

Stanley Kubrick was also noted for having the perfect notion that quality and quantity of behind the scenes help keep a film on people’s minds. And decades after the release of his films, we still see photos that extend our look into his work. Very few films can be that lucky.

 

3 – Director and talent are ALWAYS important because they bring forward the excellence of the creative work and the film’s biggest production values (its stars). The director must be photographed in different contexts. The most usual one is during the shoot (below) as he works.

Or interacting with the cast:

Or completely immersed in his own universe:

Or simply alone for any use the market demands – like festival catalogs and the press.

David Cronenberg is a director who’s very aware of the importance of being photographed in the most different contexts – something that he does since the beginning of his career.

4 – Character photos are extremely valuable regardless of if they are or not part of the film (just like the screenshots). The photo below supplied by the producers of ORLANDO (1992) is not part of the film. However it is gorgeous and it offers us something about the character that goes beyond the film:

The photo is so good that it was used for the film’s re-release.

It was also used on the tie-in – in this case Virginia Woolf’s book.

In some cases, the characters are taken from the scenes and photographed together. In the example below – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVON (2011) – the characters Eva (Tilda Swinton) is photographed alongside her son Kevin through all of his ages during the film – something that cannot happen in the film. This is a great way to call attention to the evolution of the character:

Going back to FRANTIC , we have an example o characters who look directly at the audience.

The photo below works very well and comes from a scene that was cut from the film.

The goal of this post is to call your attention to the importance of thinking the promotional life of your film from a strategic point of view with the care and love it needs. A lack of attention to this element of your film’s production will cost you dearly later on since you won’t be able to take advantage of everything that promotion can do for you – specially when you have little money and need the best results.

Ten Ways of Making a Great Horror Film

1 – Make sure the theme is understood.

Put in a very simple way, the theme in a film is a statement that you make with the film that should be clear to the audience as the story unfolds or when the whole film ends. Some people reduce the theme to a feeling (this film is about love) or a thing (this is a film about my father). The problem is that while these statements may be true, they are too general (most films are indeed about love, aren’t they?) to be viable themes. Instead, you should think about your theme as the thing that makes your story possible; what makes it move. In THE GODFATHER (1972) the theme is not the mafia, or the mafia family. The theme is one’s impossibility of escaping the destiny that flows in our veins despite one’s attempt to renounce it. That’s Michael Corleone’s story, isn’t it? In a horror film, it is the same thing. Find your theme and make sure it sticks to the audience’s mind. In POLTERGEIST (1982) the theme is the destruction of a happy family due to the impossibility of changing the evil nature of a place just because you built something nice on top of it. ROSEMARY’S BABY plays on two themes. One that develops as the story goes: the fact that Evil completely surrounds you when it wants something from you; and one that only becomes clear in the end: the inescapable love a mother will feel for her child. The clearer your theme is, the easier it becomes an effective guiding post to help you write a great story.

2 – Is this real or not?

It can be a great thing to keep the audience wondering if what’s happening in the story is real or not. Or better yet: if it’s real, how real it really is. You can build interest, drive engagement and empathy as the audience gets caught up in a guessing game. “Could this be really happening?” This happens because, while guessing, we extract some fascination from guessing where will this all go. In GOODNIGHT MOMMY (2014), two brothers are in a house with their disfigured mother. Is she really their mother? Are the boys really her sons? As the story goes, more and more questions will pop up. In HONEYMOON (2014), as two newlyweds arrive at their cabin, the husband starts to suspect that he really does not know his wife. How well do we know the people we think we know? Is the character’s reality real? That’s a fascinating game for your audience’s mind. Explore it.

3 – Do not be afraid of the good ol’ storytelling.

The three-act construction is far from dead. But you can also have two, four or five acts. Classics like THE HAUNTING (1963) and PEEPING TOM (1960) may be old, but newer films like THE CONJURING (2013) and LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008) share the same craftsmanship regarding structure, plot and character. They succeed not because of the gore or the violence, but because of their careful construction that delivers the goods on the right place at the right time. Never underestimate the importance of great execution. Narrative is power!

4 – Select a period or a location we don’t see often.

A guy on a street, running from zombies. That’s everywhere, right? Some films gain extra points by taking us to a time and place we rarely go in the horror genre.  THE WITCH (2015) takes us to the 17th century. THE SHINING (1980) takes us to a huge hotel that’s closed for the Winter. CHERNOBYL DIARIES (2012) takes us to Pripyat. Period and location alone do not make a great film. However, they add new space to your canvas. And if you think that most stories are retelling of older stories, that added canvas can be a precious element that will give your film a taste of new.

5 – Do not hurry the story.

ALIEN (1979), THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (2009), THE OTHERS (2001), THE ORPHANAGE (2007) and many other great films do not seem to be in a hurry. Yes, some people like their splatter before the opening credits end. However, remember that the genre is so wide and filmmakers can get so creative that you can have a great horror film that burns slow. Just make sure you deliver the goods when the time comes. Remember: sometimes the foreplay can make all the difference.

6 – Craft your intensity.

Sometimes some stories will naturally demand that you forget the advice #5 and go straight to the violence. When that happens it is important to measure how much of it you will give your audience as the story goes. If you put it all out there on minute one, you may find yourself struggling to keep up with it or surpassing it. Some directors are professional managers of the intensity. They give us the right amount just in time for the more intense dose ahead. [REC] (2007) does it beautifully. ALIENS (1986) and THE EXORCIST (1973) turned this management into an art form in itself. Recently, THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE: FIRST SEQUENCE (2009) did it so well, that it can be unbearable while showing almost nothing, ever!

7 – Use space to make a difference.

Two different films are great examples of this and they do it in very different ways. BURIED (2010) keeps the character locked in a box for 90 minutes. Is it a problem? No, because the film keeps complicating the character’s problems in unexpected and interesting ways. It never gets boring (or unbelievable). IT FOLLOWS (2014) goes for a totally different strategy. The spaces are wide open. So open that the relentless nature of entities that are coming for the protagonist gives us a tension that is seldom that strong.

8 – Know the history of the genre and acknowledge it.

Horror fans love when they realize they have the same references as the filmmakers. Perhaps this sense of brotherhood is unique to the horror genre. SCREAM (1996) is a great example of this. Yes, it was made by a horror master. But more than that, by being so self-referential, it shows a genuine love for the genre. FUNNY GAMES (1997) and YOU’RE NEXT (2011) do the same. They offer us a slightly different take on elements we know well (like the omniscient murderers or the final girl) and keep us in the new ground that comes with that.

9 – Have good acting.

Good acting does miracles. In many horror films – especially at the micro-budget level – producers and directors are tempted to hire their brothers, girlfriends and friends, assuming that’s the only solution they have. This happens often because there is no money for stars. But that battle is far from lost. Assuming that the stars you would like to have are also great actors, one must realize that the universe is also filled with great actors who are not stars. The road to the stars is long and you will find great actors willing to work with you. THE BABADOOK (2014) is one great example of a film that gets its mileage from great acting. The same thing happens with CHEAP THRILLS (2013) and THE BATTERY (2012). Never give up looking for great actors who have what it takes and will give the role what it needs.

10 – Copy from the best (and never apologize for it!)

Few people know that the axe murder in FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980) is a direct copy from Mario Bava’s A BAY OF BLOOD (1971). In the same vein, INNKEEPERS (2011) steals a lot from THE SHINING (1980). And the most beautiful thing is that they do it without ever apologizing for it. And why would they? They are building their own great films upon the masters that came before them. You can do the same! If you love a particular scene, a film, a character or a story, then take something from it and improve it. Or just give your audience your own personal version of it. The great thing about Art is that you can use it to fuel more great Art.

Ten Women in Horror Films You Would Never Want to Meet.

Here is a list of ten amazing female characters who will light up the screen with evil. They are great examples of rich female characters who are as evil as any of their male counterparts. Some of them appear briefly, but their presence helped bring those films out of the ordinary.

1 – MARGARET WHITE from CARRIE (1976)

Carrie’s mother was a religious freak who would stop at nothing in order to keep sin away. Piper Laurie played her beautifully. Every scene in which she appears is a tour de force. The moment you see her, you know she will end up losing control.

2 – MADEMOISELLE from MARTYRS (2008)

Madmoiselle played by veteran French actress Catherine Bégin shows up from nowhere, half way through the film, and simply steals the spotlight away from the protagonists. Her honest and heartfelt desire to understand what’s on the other side really makes us care about her – to a point we almost take her side. She alone delivers one of the most fascinating endings in horror film History.

3 – ASAMI YAMAZAKI from AUDITION (1999)

The moment you see the beautiful and innocent Asami, played by Eihi Shiina, you will not believe the horrors she is capable of. The character plays like a girl who’s lost in the woods. But this girl is not for the faint of heart… and definitely not for dog lovers.

4 – ANNIE WILKES from MISERY (1990)

Raise your hand if you knew Kathy Bates before MISERY. Nobody? Kathy Bates had a long career in television and roles in minor films. All until she played Stephen King’s über-psychotic nurse and book lover Annie Wilkes. The book itself is already fascinating, but Bates brings a vulnerability to the character that struck gold at the Oscars. And let’s face it: how many horror films ever win an Academy Award?

5 – NOLA CARVETH from THE BROOD (1979)

David Cronenberg’s THE BROOD is not one of his most remembered films. However, his female characters are always rich with extreme contradictions and unconscious desires. Nola Carveth is the perfect example of a helpless victim who turns out to be something quite unexpected.

6 – RHODA PENMARK from THE BAD SEED (1956)

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about Rhoda Penmark (brilliantly played by Patty McCormack) is not how evil she is, but how innocent she looks. On the outside, she is a gorgeous eight-years-old angel. On the inside she is a ruthless killer. A villain like this is practically invincible. Plus: there is no reason behind her evil. She was never abused nor neglected. She is just evil. Period. Here’s a film that could never be produced today. Give me back my shoes!

7 – BABY JANE HUDSON from WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962)

Baby Jane Hudson (played by Bette Davis) is not your average horror villain. She is not a monster. She was simply a misguided soul who turned out to do horrible things out of feeling that are very human: fear, anger, envy, loneliness. We never know how crazy she really is, but the torments she imposes on her sister Blanche will tell you a lot.

8 – MINNIE CASTEVET from ROSEMARY’S BABY (1968)

Ruth Gordon won an Academy Award playing this satanist talkative neighbor from Hell. The beauty of this character is that you don’t see her do anything wrong. However, as we’ll see along the film, behind that fragile old woman, there is an evil mastermind.

9 – LA FEMME from À L’INTÉRIEUR (2007)

There are characters who are crazy; there are crazy characters; and then there is La Femme. Her desire for another woman’s baby is so absolute that you will never look at scissors the same way again. The French never disappoint when it comes to the extreme. This film has it in spades.

10 – MRS. BAYLOCK from THE OMEN (1976)

She is a nanny from Hell, literally. Murderous and completely devoted to protecting Damien Thorn, who is… well… you know. Poor Lee Remick couldn’t stand a chance.

These are some of the greatest female characters in horror films that we know. Leave us a comment and let us know who are the female characters in horror films that you love. We’ll surely take the opportunity to add a second list with more characters.

 

Is There a Future for Physical Media Formats?

For decades the joy of home video relied upon physical media: Betamax, VHS, Laserdiscs, DVDs, Blu-rays. One after another, new formats improved not just our experience of “movies”, but also our relationship with them. Cassettes were first bringing us the bare bones: just the film. Eventually they evolved to give us a couple of trailers that we all hated while pressing the fast-forward. Laserdiscs were never as popular as cassettes. They remained a niche product (except in Japan, land of all exceptions) with advantages and drawbacks. Depending on who you ask, the drawbacks were kind of a minor problem: not as portable as cassettes, films being split over several disc sides and (among more) no freeze frame depending on the disc you have and the player you are using. The advantages, however, were amazing: clearly superior sound and image, a non-linear reading system based on disc chapters and (depending on the disc) some extras.

Those advantages changed the way we (who were lucky enough to be able to afford the format) related ourselves to the films. The linear transportation system of the cassettes pretty much made the existence of extras a bit silly, since going back and forth trying to locate extras took too long as we waited for the transport mechanism to move tape from one reel to the other. Rewinding or fast-forwarding was as anti-climax as it could be. Just ask any teenager from 1984 how angry we used to be when we got home from the rental shop only to find out we would have to rewind the whole film in order to start watching it. The rental shops knew it and started imposing fees on customers who were not kind enough to rewind.

Trying to locate one specific extra using rewind and fast-forward would never work. Non-linear chapters changed all that. Just like on the CD, with a Laserdisc we could jump from point A to point Z in seconds… well… if they were on the same disc.

DVDs brought together the best of both worlds: extreme portability, non-linearity, perfect sound and image, lots of space for extras without the need to change sides/discs, great price… and only one caveat: no recording from the TV (which helped prolong the life of VHS for a few more years). With the DVD, extras became a sure thing. The disc space was there and the always-perfect image was indeed perfect for the multiple rewindings and pausings at, for example, Sharon Stone’s megastar-making moment. Thanks to the DVD, something very important and fast was happening: we were spending more time around a film. It was not just the 90-minutes experience anymore: it was the supreme achievement of being truly entertained beyond the film. Suddenly, a new industry was born: the “extras industry”.

At a certain point, we were not buying THE MATRIX (1999) because of the film. We were buying the DVD because those extras were even more interesting than the film we already had seen on theaters. Marketing DVDs became a new art form and even those who could never afford the Laserdisc experience were now being able to see how a scene was made. Suddenly (and ironically) some DVD editions started bringing three, four or more discs just for extras – something Laserdisc never dared to do!

Director’s Cuts, Special Editions, Platinum Editions, Collector’s Editions, all became a staple in every shelf in every home. Plus: we were buying films and not just renting them. The first home video edition of GREMLINS (1984) was released on VHS in late 1985. The price? $79,95 (back then, movies were marketed and  priced for rental shops. It took at least six months until the price dropped to $19,99 for direct sale). At that time, people did not have the urgency of owning a film. Rental was the business. DVDs changed all that. Did home video change or did we? Both.

After a steady sales growth that peaked around 2006, with the digital revolution well under way, disc sales started a steady decline. The same thing had already happened with music CDs years before. Faster internet, the too-easy to find and download movie file, Pirate Bay (and its many smaller incarnations), You Tube and the lawlessness that results from the impossibility of effectively enforcing copyright laws marked the twilight of the DVD. What about Blu-Ray? Ironically, the hi-def format that emerged as the winner after a brief (yet bloody) format war with HD-DVD did not really win anything. By the time it arrived, people were already abandoning paying for contend in favor of piracy. Plus: streaming is now the de facto way most paying consumers want to enjoy home video. Blu-Ray sales numbers never compensated the decline of DVD. As a whole, physical media seems to be going the VHS way.

It seems many of us are regressing to the 80’s when simply buying a film (to own) was an alien concept (and I have always wondered who bought the GREMLINS VHS tape in 1985 for $79,95 to have at home). Well, yes and no. The advent of Video on Demand (VoD) either through set-top boxes or subscription platforms like Netflix or Amazon made something that was not possible in the 80’s: it brought the entire rental shop into our own homes. Or better yet: we now live inside rental shops. Plus: the rentals are free. Well, they are not really free, but they taste that way with a monthly subscription that is very low against all that we can watch.

When living inside the rental shop, the urgency of owning a film is very limited and debatable. There are hundreds of films there just waiting for our finger on the remote. That sheer saturation of always-available content is a disincentive to ownership – especially to that portion of the audience that is too lazy to go buy a disc. And why would they? Most films will only be watched once, anyway.

But physical media is far from dead. Really. What is happening is just an advancement in the sophistication of our relationship with films. To some of us, physical media plays a role that VoD will never replace. With the untouchable, invisible, uncharacteristic, generic, inconsequential, fast, and cheap face of VoD, there is a celebratory dimension to physical media that makes more sense now than it ever did. Physical media is love, homage, Art, dedication, fandom, respectfulness, acknowledgement, and haptic. It has soul, a face, a body, a touch. Holding it on the hand gives one pleasure. Looking at it on the shelf or displayed inside a glass cabinet makes us feel we belong. It puts us in state of admiration, adoration, awe. It brings back memories, feelings, sounds and flavors. It captures our eyes, our desires… us.

What other reason on Earth would drive someone to spend $999,99 on a 31-disc abso-fucking-lutely gorgeous HARRY POTTER box? Or circa $600,00 on the highly collectable Platinum Series Special Extended Edition Collector’s Gift Set of the three LORD OF THE RINGS films? Or the MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE: PHASE ONE – AVENGERS ASSEMBLED for $505,99? How about $259,99 on the ALIEN ANTHOLOGY EGG PACKING? For the same price you can also get the incredible THE WALKING DEAD: SEASON 2 whose discs come lodged inside a zombie head with a screwdriver stuck in the eye. To put it differently, if you were the person who bought for $2.250,00 on Ebay a replica of the lightsaber used by Obi-Wan Kenobi, would you be satisfied with a computer file of the films? Of course not.

In a way, our relationship with the films we adore (not just love) is reaching new plateaux never imagined before. Today, an 85-inch UHD TV costs over $5.000,00. That same TV will probably be much more affordable in less than three years. Things like High Dynamic Range and Dolby Atmos will also become more and more common in middle class homes. In that context films should speak closer to the ear of many moviegoers who will demand a type of wholeness only physical media can offer.

So physical media is not dead. It has its role inside a home video universe that is changing – from a cheap object into an object of desire for a special type of customer: the fan. There is no need to go to the $100,00+ price point to see that happening. The market is already offering highly desirable editions to those who also love the films but have a more modest spending fire power. For just $79,54 one can buy the DIE HARD collection inside a replica of the Nakatomi Plaza; and for only £19,99 one can get a Big Sleeve Edition of GUARDIANS OF GALAXY that resembles a Laserdisc edition (this is a UK-only edition). It holds a Blu-ray disc, a DVD (no actual Laserdisc here) and five large cards with exclusive key art.

Refusing to die easily, physical media is trying to make an offer you cannot refuse, regardless of how mush money you’ve got. And the studios are making them because, well, they sell and show a profit – otherwise physical media would already be where VHS is today.

The bad news lies elsewhere. In no moment I mentioned that Hungarian-Belgian-Dutch co-production that played at Un Certain Regard in Cannes, three years ago. Or that Argentinian art-house film that played at the IFFR last year. For those films, physical media is kinda dead. They don’t move enough audiences in order to justify the investment needed to turn mere discs into a more desirable object. They will eventually get a release on DVD with a low number of copies. Their audience is rarefied and will probably become more and more so, as those editions naturally fail to reflect the sophistication and care that is more and more in demand by those whose relationship with physical media is also evolving. We have traveled a long distance since the old generic typefaces and templates used in VHS.

The message is very simple: physical media as a celebration works fine for two kinds of films: the classics (where a timeless value is always renewing its viewers and being continuously rediscovered) and the films that have a large fan base (who look at the film as a part of them).

Beyond that, nobody knows. Of course physical media is just one slice of a larger cake. However, the evolution and future of Film favors the works that can adapt and make good use of the here and now. Other films, beware! Their slice lies somewhere else in this mess we call the digital revolution.