foton strategy

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FOTONPROFESSIONAL PRACTICE SPECIAL EDITION: THE FUTURE

JUNE 2011

exclusive interviews with the company

special offer: the brand new d.i.y cinema kit

INCLUDES FREE A5 COMPANYSYNOPSIS

CARD

DESIGN STRATEGYFOR A NEW ZEALAND BASED COMPANY

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C L E A N D E S I G N W O R K SE V E R Y T I M E de

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make it stick with sellotapeturning brands into verbs since 1949

Introducing the best-looking vehicle by a long-shot.Contact your local distributor, and see for yourself.

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contents

8 editorial

9 contributors

10 aboutfoton’s ceo publicity & pressfoton’s values business processcyclic flowproject briefswot

Foton Design Strategy 7

24 researchthe audiencethe filmmakerthe plotdigital filmthe cinemacompetition

38 the futuredesign brieflogo designcolour pallettestationerywebsite designopening creditsdiy film festivaldiy cinema kitexperience

54 summaryconclusion strategybibliography

PUBLISHERRuth [email protected]

EDITOR Ruth Sumner

ART DIRECTOR Ruth Sumner

DESIGNERRuth Sumner

ADVERTISING Ruth Sumner

SUBSCRIPTIONS Ruth Sumner

PRINTERBig Picture

FOTON Group, Design Strategy, is the official docu-mentation in accordance with the hand in require-ments for the Victoria Uni-versity School of Design Professional Practice Paper, 2011.

Design By Ruth Ltd1/3 Aro Street

D.B.R

Wellington, New Zealandt. +64 21 1625159

editorial

For me, the Film and the Magazine industries are quite similar, as they are both about providing con-tent that tells a story. If I were to present this design strategy as a film, I would be enacting from the point of view of a customer to Foton, hence my choice to publish the hard-copy as a magazine to represent the fact that I am an employee working on the same page as Foton.What attracted me initially to choose Foton as the New Zealand based company, was not only the fact that it’s a family based company but also their ethics and values which run deeply through the business.This emotional currency definately helped in the creation of a clear brand identity for Foton, includ-ing logo, stationery, website, and more. (see ‘the fu-ture’ section for more details.) The intimate relationship forged through creating a design strategy for Foton has helped strengthen any existing relations, hence I intend to carry on with this project through and with the growth of the company into the promising land of tomorrow.

Ruth Sumner, Editor

8 Foton Design Strategy

US

: $19

.83

NZ

: $24

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FOTONPROFESSIONAL PRACTICE SPECIAL EDITION: THE FUTURE

JUNE 2011

exclusive interviews with the company

special offer: the brand new d.i.y cinema kit

INCLUDES FREE A5 COMPANYSYNOPSIS

CARD

DESIGN STRATEGYFOR A NEW ZEALAND BASED COMPANY

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contributors

CLOUD SOUTH FILMSduel filmmakers and journalists write about the audience. p.26

Cloud South Films is the midlife lovechild of NZ based Emmy nominated, multi-award win-ning Canadian cinematographer Tom Burstyn CSC, FRSA and New Zealand journalist Sum-ner Burstyn. They describe themselves as escap-ees from the fantasy world of feature filmmak-ing and corporate media. Sumner and Tom are committed to factual sto-rytelling. “Our documentaries are personal, well researched, visually compelling and socially rel-evant.”Their second film ‘This Way of Life’, about a local Maori family; six kids, 50 horses and rela-tionship to land as lifeblood has won a number of awards both locally and internationally.

DESIGN BY RUTHpublisher, editor, art director, adver-tising creator, binder and more.

Ruth Sumner grew up in New Zealand with a paintbrush in hand. She studied Fine Arts in a retired Monk Monastery, then went on to study Industrial Design at Victoria University of Wellington. Ruth is an emerging designer who focuses on humanist design, created by a fine blend of science, art and passion.“Design is emotion painted with the brush of reason”In this publication Ruth has researched and cre-ated all that you see, unless stated otherwise.

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THIS WAYOF LIFENow on DVD at:

WINNERJURY PRIZEBERLIN FILM FESTIVAL2010

WINNERBEST DIRECTOR, DOCUMENTARYQANTAS FILM AWARDS

WINNERBEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARYQANTAS FILM AWARDS

WINNERAUDIENCE CHOICE

AOTEAROA MAORI FILM FES-TIVAL, 2010

“... beyond mere portraiture and into the realm of metaphysics.”

Variety Magazine

www.thiswayoflifemovie.com

aboutfoton distribution


Family Portrait in the office of Foton by Yolanda Sonnebend

all about fotonthe family company bares all

Foton are a brand new local film distri-bution company and are also multi-award winning documentary filmmakers; When it came to distribute their films, they found the local film distribution companies treated the filmmaker badly, so they distributed their films themselves. This is how foton began; they identified a gap in the market for a film distribution company that’s concerned with a broader definition of value than purely economic.


THE BOSS KNOWS BESTQ&a with the ceo: The Manager gets her close up.

Sumner Burstyn is a Producer, a writer, a mother of four daughters and the managing director of Foton.I’m lucky to steal a few moments of her busy time to ask a few questions about the film distribution company, Foton.

Ruth Sumner: In your own words, why ex-actly was Foton created?Sumner Burstyn: To distribute our own films. To create a business that could operate without us – unlike our creative filmmaking where we are the key elements.

What’s your mission? To bring documentary to diverse NZ audience. To create a viable business with a clear intent to sell within five years.

Would you say that you’re trading in products or services, and can you describe these?Both. We are providing a service to filmmakers. And a product to cinemas and audiences.To filmmakers we are the go-to distributor where their work is respected, where our books are transparent and they will actually make mon-ey from their theatrical release. To cinemas we are providers of unique, quality product that allows them to grow their audience and serve their communities. We are also very easy to work with.

Who are your customers /target market?We consider filmmakers our customers in that we must take very good care of them.Cinemas across NZ are our customers in the true sense in that we are providing them with a product.

What do you think your customers main needs are? And how would you fulfil these?

Sumner Burstyn, Writer & Producer at Cloud South Films and Manager of Foton Releasing


Filmmakers need warm fuzzies and reassurance we will make money for them. Cinemas need good quality product and all the bells and whistles such as posters and PR and ads.

What are your main forms of advertising/marketing? Ie, how will your customer find out about you?We have to go out and find filmmakers. But as our brand and reputation grows filmmakers will come to us to distribute their work. A website that outlines who we are and how we work and why they should trust us is essential.To cinemas it is all one-on-one as there are only a limited number. However we must also use PR and traditional advertising to connect audience with cinemas. In essence we need to do the cin-emas job for them to ensure they get bums on seats as it serves us.

Why should the customer care? Ie. What makes Foton stand out from the rest? The filmmaker cares because we care about their films as much as they do.The cinemas care because we look after them and provide unique product.

Who are your main competitors/competition?Other independent distributors such as Rialto and Curious.

Is there a competitor you admire the most?No. None. That’s why we set the company up.They all treat the filmmaker like shit and care only to get their films from them at the best price to themselves.

Do you have an existing market research done?No. Other than the release last year of This Way of Life where we got to trial the market.

Can you identify and list Foton’s strengths and weaknesses? (If any)Strengths: passionate, film literate, have had ex-perience as filmmakers so understand the mar-ket from that angle. Weaknesses: Lack of capital to pay Minimum guarantees (MG’s) to secure the best films. Lack

of capital for marketing. Lack of capital to hire good staff.

Can you list the trends and changes that you think may affect your industry? Aging population less interested in Hollywood blockbuster.Increasing affordability to make documentaries using digital Digital upgrading across theatres in NZNew local digital cinemas opening to service their specific community niches

How do you measure success?Money in the bankHappy consumers who know to look for a Foton released film that is synonymous with unique, high quality documentaries

What are your foundation beliefs/values that drive you? That good films can find an audience if they are handled with love and care and passion and business intelligence.

How do you envision the future of Foton, I un-derstand that you are setting up this company to eventually sell on, so what is this future vision that you will be selling? A well organised company with transparent books (Xero) that holds a niche position in the market with guaranteed returns.Respected name to international filmmakers who come to Foton first because our reputation is one of returning profit to filmmakersRespected name to cinema operators who know they are getting a quality product back by a com-mitted, active and supportive team.

What is the rationale behind choosing the name ‘Foton’? Foton is the name of Tom’s fathers film materi-als company in Poland before the Second World War. It was taken over by the Nazi’s and then the government with no compensation given. We are connecting to that history and the story of courage and survival behind it.


Bonnie Sumner of Smith & Sumner Press and Publicity

Foton maintains its roots by acting as a vehi-cle for employing almost every member of the Sumner family; luckily there are a lot of talented daughters.The eldest daughter, Bonnie Sumner has worked in the media industry in a variety of capacities for more than five years, most recently as a former writer for New Zealand’s Sunday Star-Times’ Sunday magazine and deputy editor for the Es-cape travel and entertainment supplement. She is now the Director of a boutique press and management company: ‘Smith & Sumner’.

Bonnie is passionate about supporting local, meaningful businesses and loves to help them grow. “I have a strong ethical drive for social justice, animal rights and environmentalism balanced with a passion for well-run businesses. I believe the two combined can create positive change in the world for myself, my family and every other being.”

Foton capitalises off the multi-talented nature of its employee’s; this is key, as the company trades in both Products and Services by acting as an essential cog in the independent film industry wheel. ‘Foton releasing’ fits snugly between the independent documentary film-maker and the local independent cinema, with the end-client being the audience.

She describes the product as the film that reaches the audience.

The inside scoop from Foton’s top Media Agent.


PUBLICITY & PRESS

Although “It depends on the film – but es-sentially audiences that care about the world around them. Foton deals in films with a social conscience. But in saying that, there are also specialist groups relevant to each film. [People want] to be entertained, enlightened, inspired and to leave the cinema feeling it was money well spent and like they gained something from the experience. We fulfil this by being judicious in our choice of films and by expertly targeting relevant media.”

With the end result being that when someone sees Foton they know what it is and what to as-sociate it with: high quality and important films. Bonnie describes the service as “the distribution and supporting publicity provided to cinemas to entice those audiences into buying tickets. The cinema owners find out about Foton through us contacting them directly.”The foundations being “That Foton is easy and efficient to deal with, that we provide quality films that fit their audiences and that [the cin-emas] want to continue dealing with us on an ongoing basis. We fulfil this by having organised systems in place that meet their needs and having efficient and open lines of communication.”

“We engage audiences at every level, from flaxroots to mainstream media, because we care about the product we are selling and we want to effect

positive change in people’s lives.” The trends and changes occurring that Bonnie feels may affect the film industry are “those [Foton is] exploit-ing and taking advantage of: as we move into an increasingly fractured media age in which indi-viduals seek meaningful individually customised experiences the larger companies are less nimble and therefore less able to meet the needs of this constantly changing audience environment. We are in a unique position to be able to take ad-vantage of this shift due to our size and vision.”

She describes the size of the company as “small and flexible, we care about our product, clients and audiences, [We are] passionate and smart, and we have a totally new approach that involves building audiences through direct contact with flaxroots interest groups and networks.”

The three most important goals for Foton ac-cording to Bonnie are:1) To disseminate important films that entertain and enlighten audiences.2) To create a business with longevity and viability.3) To create a new model of independent film distri-bution that breaks barriers.

When asked to come up with a short phrase that captures Foton’s brand essence, personality and positioning, Bonnie replied: “Foton Releasing: puts the power of film in the hands of the people.”



Best, K. 2010


the cyclic flow of foton groupwithin the film/consumer industry/economy.In the cyclic flow, it starts with the consum-er expressing a need for knowledge and infor-mation of which the filmmaker will see and reciporacate with a film.

Or perhaps it’s the re-verse where the film-maker is the creator of the need, by generating new unforeseen wants, desires and needs in the consumer.

The film-maker then supplies this content to Foton Group (working title) whom also en-force the publics desire for the films content through passion fot heir own force.

Foton then supplies this to the cinemas whom are the public’s show-case arena of these desires and needs ex-pressed to begin with.

Foton Group was formed expressly to release unique docu-mentaries to NZ audiences.Foton release in digital formats to the many independent digital equipped cinemas across NZ.

“The big cinema chains show all the Hollywood studio blockbuster fare - while out in the real world - mostly be-cause of the digital revolution making equipment afford-able - there are wonderful films that do not work for the big chains. and in NZ we are very lucky as once again smart and competent individuals are setting up small cinemas across the country and they need content. And Foton is set up to provide that content. these cinemas are committed to serving their communities, bringing the kinds of films real people want to see.”

“We, the masterminds of meaning in business – the innovators, designers, and marketers – have the great responsibility to create brands, products, and services that engage the “audience formerly known as the audience” as consumers, co-creators, critics, and philosophers – anything else is just a B-movie, easily consumed and easily forgotten.” - Tim Leberecht, Frog Design, 2010

pendent documentaries they can trust they will encourage patronage.In turn the audience will know and love the brand foton and will look out for it when choos-ing films, be it at cinemas, on TV, at the dvd store or online.

As the brand and company develop, foton on-line could be the one-stop shop for viewers to discover some of their favourite films.The website will act as a database for cinemas with times, prices etc and a shop for merchan-dise and previous DVD downloads.

Foton is an independent film distribution company with a strong historical foundation. Their business plan includes a new distinct brand identity that clearly identifies foton in the marketplace, by turning the brand name foton into a verb, much like google or sellotape.This branding will represent foton’s core values: projecting an honest and transparent business model filmmakers trust.

The foton brand will be well-known to cinemas as a provider of quality product. By utilising foton as their distributor of entertaining inde-


strengths

Opportunities

weaknesses

Threats

- Care about the product, the clients and the audience.- A totally new approach to film distribution

- Direct contact with groups & networks- Understand the customer & the market

- Honest & Passionate- Small & flexible

- Film literate

- The first honest film distribution company in NZ. - generate local employment (incl. internships)

- Paying for services rather than products.- State of technology going digital

- The niche experience market- Aging demographic

- lack of capital for marketing - New to this area so a lot to learn- lack of capital to hire good staff. - Need more staff to help with admin, spreadsheets etc - lack of capital to pay minimum guarantees to secure the best films.

- Competition - Film piracy/Illegal downloads- Lack of valuble documentary makers. - Cinema owners not providing adequate service, thus driving away customers.


re-search


Stacks of volumes piled high, gathering dust.


THEA U D I E N C E

“Audience response is a finely nuanced thing. You sit at the back of a screening and feel the audience. You get so you almost notice the shift in air pressure and you become conscious of the moments that work with each audience and those that pass by.

As independent filmmakers submitting proposals to broadcasters, commissioning editors and funding agencies for our new films we are required to indentify audience, often in a precise way. What this really means is audience most likely to realise a financial return.

But we want to make films for audience irrespective of their financial demographic, films that move people from the suburbs of Berlin to the tribes of New Caledonia. But to be a good bet for funders we need to narrow our films to fit market descriptions.” -Cloud South Films

the end user is the most poign-ant figure in the economic cycle of foton’s business. at the end of the day, it’s the audi-ence who are the one’s consuming the product. it is those whom we are telling our story to.


screening of Cloud South’s documentary ‘This way of Life’ at the Berlin Film Festival.

places where customers interface with the product or service.


IDENTIFYINGT O U C H P O I N T SThe typical scenario of a customers initial con-tact with a film includes Newspaper columns, list-ings and reviews, other media including Televi-sion, internet, radio, fly-ers, suggestions from your peers and advertis-ing at the cinema.With regards to a review in the local newspaper, a storyboard scenario was enacted;

scenario for ‘Queen of the sun’1. initial intoduction to the film through a newspaper review.2. search for more info on the internet.3. watch the films trailer online.4. buy movie tickets at local cinema.5. watch the film6. recommend the film to peers

Knowing the key touchpoints provides foton with an opportunity to build loyalty and lifelong relation-ships at every point of contact, enhancing the emotion-al connection between their brand and the customer.

outdoor cinema screening of Cloud South’s docu-mentary at Black Barn winery in the Hawkes Bay.


The documentary appraises reality more than reflecting it. Therein lies the philoso-phy of the ânûû-rû âboro festival, which in its fourth year continues to believe in alter-native unalienated documentaries, articulat-ing the true message of the world’s peoples outside the prism of dominant thinking which as we all know- is that of the domi-nant class.”

Paul NéaoutyinePrésident de la Province Nord, New Caledonia

cloud south films attended the ânûû-rû âboro festival in new caledonia, the following opening speech adeQuatly sums up why they (and everyone else, hopefully) make documentaries;

WHY WE MAKEDOCUMENTARIES


“Those who trumpet the merits of the free mar-ket would have us believe that globalisation is the only path to prosperity.

That we have no choice and that the economy, services and culture should bend to market rules and that we should kneel before the new all-powerful God of merchandise.

Images have become a marketable product and a formidable weapon. We are submerged in im-ages from morning until night, more and more of them, moving quicker and quicker.

To go fast, you have to be brief, to be brief, you have to be simple. But can our world and its peoples’ realities be packaged into simplistic television approaches formatted for maximum audience ratings?

Documentaries are clearly a lifeline in the gen-eral stifling of critical thought by the totalitar-ian market. Where sensationalist society or-ganises a simplified mock portrayal of reality,

the documentary approach is an attempt to grasp and question a complex world.

In the end it all boils down to our innate human desire to tell a story worth telling, and through foton distribution your story can be told to as many people as possible. Think of Foton as your village shaman, or the town gossip.

Thomas Burstyn, Director & Cinematographer at Cloud South Films and Co-Manager of Foton.


THE IMPORTANCE OF

STORYTELLING“There’s still a romantic sentiment out there that you’re not really making movies unless you’re shooting 35. But when it comes to inti-macy and the need for unobtrusiveness digital always wins.

Perhaps some of the anti-digital sentiment comes from how readily available and afforda-ble the technology is. This naturally leads to the erosion of barriers – now anyone can be a film-

maker. But while there are scores of kids leaving film schools with great technical skills – it’s still about the same thing it’s always been – story.

If you have a story to tell and know how to tell it then affordable technology is there to enable.

In the end it’s not about 35 verses HD. It’s about storytelling.” -foton group


Due to inexpensive, quality digital film equip-ment available at the consumer level, independ-ent filmmakers are no longer dependent on ma-jor studios to provide them with the tools they need to produce a film. Thanks to the falling cost of technology, thou-sands of small production companies can ob-tain the resources they need to produce enter-taining films at a fraction of the cost of the big Blockbuster studios. Post production has also been simplified by non-linear editing software available for home computers.Here-by important stories that would otherwise not get their voices heard due to economical barriers, are now available and released through foton to the many independent digital equipped cinemas across New Zealand.

THE

DIGITAL NATIVESthe accessibility and affordability of digital format are not the only outstanding attributes for modern film.

Digital film not only provides accessibility, but also dramatically reduces the film industries carbon footprint, with no films to print and no heavy film canisters to lug around the country.

Foton’s competition Curious Film, based in Auckland are a CarboNZero company; meaning that their carbon footprint is small in compari-son to their output. Foton has the ability to also be this.

Digital film enables the potential to take films to areas that are not serviced by cinemas. This is elaborated upon in the ‘future’ section, with ideas such as DIY cinemas, through to an online store to directly stream the movies.

“DCP (Digital Cinema Package) is a format I love because the film is viewed by an audience exactly the way I intend it to be seen and heard. There is no more worrying about the projection being soft, poor racking or losing subtitles off the bottom of the screen. There are no more reel changes, scratches or damaged prints.” -Asif Kapadia, filmmaker.



Seperating out New Zealand into the distinct regions allows for the local cuture’s needs to be addressed on a greater intimate scale. The sta-tistics for each region were analysed in relation to the percentage of independent cinemas per population head.The chart plays a key role in streamlining the website aesthetic. (ref. p.47)

THE INDEPENDENT

CINEMA

In this world of homogenised everything, with a Warehouse and a Mitre 10 in every town, it is becoming more and more diffi-cult to differentiate one community from another. It’s the same in movies. We’re all consuming the same stuff at the same theatres. The cinemas might be in differ-ent towns but once through the doors you wouldn’t know it. In the interests of branding and customer comfort (ensuring you are never outside a comfort zone) our lives can resemble one big seamless pad-ded room.

Except in NZ we have this thing called the ‘independent cinema’. It’s not even a group or an affiliation. Instead across NZ there are a handful of privately owned and operated cinemas. As a self-funded and now self-distributing filmmaker these cin-emas are pure gold.

For a start their staff are actually film buffs, knowledgeable about film in gen-eral. And they have actually seen your film and can talk to the public from a personal perspective. While they may also serve up the bland mainstream soup of the day to keep a portion of their audience happy they also take chances, they programme creatively and actively support the small or unknown film.

A clearer example of this would be one mid-sized North Island town with a chain cinema that did well (but not block-buster well) with our film on the first week, in-stead of waiting for word-of-mouth to grow as it’s done in other centres they pushed This Way of Life aside for bigger fare. “It just wasn’t interesting enough,” they said. (and we won’t even go near one mainstream chain who said “Kiwi’s won’t come out for a doco about Maoris”)

Meanwhile nearby smaller towns with pri-vately owned, local cinemas were doing and still are doing a roaring trade.

The others are just there to serve up most-ly crappy fast food. So where are the great locally owned cinemas of NZ that care about you, the audience, that love film and run their businesses really well, for the benefit of their communities? read on!

As a first time distributor it seems to me that the growing network of small, local often privately owned cinemas that are spring-ing up across NZ are the new face of community building.

spoken from the mouth of sumner burstyn, who is a filmmak-er, a distributer, a former cinema manager, and at the end of the day, an audience member too.


1. Northland population: 148,470Castle Duo III Kaikohe 23 Raihara St, Kaikohe.Cathay Cinemas 27 Hobson Ave, Kerikeri Dargaville Cinema Trust C/ Walden’s Shoes Victoria Street, Dargaville Whangarei Film Club, 18b Bayswater Place, Onerahi, Whangarei 2. Auckland population: 1,303,068Berkeley Mission Bay 85 Tamaki Drive, Mission Bay Bridgeway 122 Queen St, Northcote Point Capitol Cinema 610 Dominion Rd, Balmoral Hollywood Cinema 20 St Georges Rd, Avondale Hoyts Botany Downs, 588 Chapel Road, Botany Downs Hoyts Hibiscus Coast 6 Link Cresent, Whangaparoa Lido Cinema 427 Manukau Rd, Epsom Rialto Newmarket 167-169 Broadway, Newmarket Victoria Picture Palace 48 - 56 Victoria Road, Devon-port, Auckland Waiheke Community Cinema 2 Korora Rd, Waiheke3. Waikato population: 382,713Mercury Twin Cinemas 1 Lee Street, Whitianga Multiplex Cinemas Thames 708 Pollen Street, Thames Regent Theatre Alexandra Street, Te Awamutu Starlight Cinema Horomatangi Street, Taupo Victoria Cinema 690 - 692 Victoria St, HamiltonWhangamata Cinema 708 Port Road, Whangamata4. Bay of Plenty population: 257379Basement Rotorua 1140 Hinemoa StreetBay City Cinemas Tauranga Elizabeth Street, Tauranga Capitol Cinema 4 131 Jellicoe Street, Te Puke Cinema 5 Whakatane 100 The Strand, Whakatane De Luxe Theatre Opotiki 127 Church Street, Opotiki.Rialto Tauranga Goddard Centre, 21 Devonport Road, Tauranga Tokoroa Cinema 3 34 Logan St, Tokoroa.5. Gisborne population: 44,499Dome Cinema Poverty Bay Club, 38 Childers Road, Gis-borne Odeon Theatre 72 Gladstone Rd, Gisborne 6. Hawke’s Bay population: 147,783Cinema Gold Havelock North 11 Joll Rd, Havelock North Majestic Cinema Taihape 21a Tui Street, Taihape7. Taranaki population: 104,124Arthouse Cinema 73A Devon Street West, New Ply-mouth Hawera Cinema 2 110 Princes Street, Hawera Kings Theatre Stratford Broadway, Stratford

8. Manawatu-Wanganui population: 222,423Cinema Gold Palmerston, Broadway Ave, Palmerston North Embassy 3 34 Victoria Ave, Wanganui Focal Point Feilding 81 Manchester Street, Feilding Focal Point Levin 14-16 Salisbury Street, Levin Regent Pahiatua 64 Main Street, Pahiatua 9. Wellington population: 448,956Ascot Cinemas 68 Queen Street, Upper Hutt Circus Cinema 34 Jellicoe Street, MartinboroughEmpire Cinema Cnr of Parade & Mersey St, Island Bay Light House Petone 52 Beach Street, Petone Paramount 25 Courtenay Place, Wellington City Penthouse Cinema & Cafe 205 Ohiro Road, Brooklyn Regent 3 Masterton 230 Queen Street, Masterton ShoreLine Cinema 10 Mahara Place, Waikanae Time Cinema, 191 Sutherland st, lyall bay, Wellington 10. Nelson-Tasman Bay population: 44,625State Cinema Motueka, Old Wharf Road, Motueka State Cinemas Nelson 91 Trafalgar Street, Nelson The Gecko 23b Wallace Street, Motueka The Village Theatre 32 Commercial Street, Takaka.11. Marlborough population: 42,558Picton Cinema Located at EcoWorld Aquarium, Picton.Top Town Cinemas 4 Kinross Street, Blenheim 12. Westcoast population: 31,329Crooked Mile 36 Revell St, Hokitika NBS Theatre 105 Palmerston Street, Westport, West Coast 13. Canterbury population: 521,832Akaroa Cinecafe, PO box 90, AkaroaCinema Paradiso Methven 112 Main Street, Methven Geraldine Cinema 74 Talbot Street, Geraldine Mayfair Theatre 80 The Esplanade, Kaikoura Movie Max 5 Corner of Canon & Sophia Streets, Timaru Regent 3 Ashburton Cnr of Cass & Wills St, Ashburton Regent Theatre Rangiora Cnr King & High St, Rangiora Rialto Christchurch 250 Moorhouse Ave, ChristchurchSumner Hollywood, 28 Marriner Street, Sumner14. Otago population: 193,800Cinema Paradiso Ardmore Street, Wanaka Dorothy Browns Buckingham Street, Arrowtown Metro Cinema Town Hall, Moray Place, Dunedin Oamaru Movie World 3 239 Thames Street, Oamaru Regent cinema, 17 the octogon, DunedinRialto Dunedin 11 Moray Place, Dunedin St. James Theatre, 61 irk st, Gore15. Southland population: 90873Fiordland Cinema 7 The Lane, Te Anau

nz regional independent

cinemas


THE

COMPETITION“why should the customer choose our products or services over those of others?” is the strategy challenge.

Foton’s direct competitors in the inde-pendent film distribution industry are Rialto Entertainment, Curious Film, and Inside Section Film Distribution.

What sets Foton apart from the rest is thier founding value of providing an honest and passionate film distribution service.

Caring more about the films than the revenue is the winning hand.


RIALTO DISTRIBUTORS

RELATIONSHIPThe ironic thing about Rialto being Fo-ton’s direct competition is that the man-ager of Foton used to work at Rialto Cinemas in Wellington. This inside knowledge of how a cinema is run and how not to treat the distribu-tor is a clear advantage for foton.

The owners of foton have walked in many different shoes, collectively they have been an Independent Cinema man-ager, festival organiser, photographer, cinematographer, director, producer, magazine retail owner, film-maker, audi-ence member, journalist, and now dis-tributor.

RIALTO DISTRIBUTORS

OVERVIEWRialto Distribution specialises in theat-rical film distribution, home entertain-ment and many other media activities. As a market leading independent film company Rialto holds the rights to over 500 feature films and employs a moti-vated team of professionals who are dedicated to acquiring, and successfully distributing award winning films and au-dience favourites.

RIALTO DISTRIBUTORS

HISTORYKelly Rogers and David Ross started Rialto over 15 years ago, beginning with a small cinema complex in Auckland, New Zealand. Rialto has quickly established a glowing reputation for delivering quality films to a discerning audience, and today Rialto is one of the leading independent film exhibitors and distributors in New Zealand and Australia.

(Rialto information quoted from thier website.)



thefuture

DESIGN BRIEFwhat needs to be done to achieve the objectives set out in the project brief.

“The past and the present are our life, but tomorrow is our opportunity.” H, Esslinger.

The future of Foton holds many possibilities to promote the business and catapult it to the top of independent film distribution in NZ, thus we will dish it out in bite-sized phases.

Phase one is what’s needed now in the imme-diate future; this includes the brand/logo, busi-ness cards, letterheads, an opening title anima-tion, and a website that outlines who foton is and how they work and why filmmakers should trust them.

Phase two is what will be required shortly, this includes an online store, and a festival set-up kit.

Phase three is what is not neccessary now, but will be helpful in the future to keep the brand moving steadily ahead. This includes Foton brand screens at cinemas that will encourage a physical brand experience, from ticket purchase through to cinema seats etc. Also a DIY cinema kit is on the cards, that the customer purchases to set up their own cinema screen.

(NB. these phases are an indefinate thing.)

the objective for foton is to turn it the brand into a verb.


LOGO

The initial hand-drawn from memory diamond logo design was inherited from their Father’s film materials compa-ny that was seized in WW2.

Hence the desire to hold-tight to this embedded memory of sur-vival in the brand, whilst also pro-gressing it into the future.

This forward-thinking brand is created through d i s s e m i n a t i n g down the core components and finding the digit-al-age relevance within, while re-taining the roots.


The iterations of the Foton logo allow room for added depth and cultural context relevant to the particular setting.

Foton is an image company, distrib-uting stories that speak through pictures, hence the solution needs to be spa-tial and unique.


c o l o u rstrategy


This colour is New Zealand. It is the ocean, it is the sky, it is the door to the gar-den shed, it is the colour of our bach, it is equally the colour of past memories and the colour of future gains. It is the colour of Foton. This colour is the hue of trust and honesty, it is the tone of respect and experience, it is the value of Foton. R=0 G=183 B=197 R=133 G=152 B=166

Pantone=3125 Pantone=5425

primary secondary



STATIONERY

WEBSITE


WEBSITE


http://www.fotonfilms.co.nz

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FILMS INFOFOTON

please select your region for cinemas nearest to you (scroll down for diagram key)

D I S T R I B U T I O N

FILMMAKERS

CINEMAS

ABOUT US

LINKS


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FILMS INFOFOTON

WELLINGTON CINEMAS

1. Ascot Cinemas 68 Queen Street, Upper Hutt

2. Circus Cinema 34 Jellicoe Street, Martinborough

3. Empire Cinema 214 The Parade, Island Bay

4. Light House Petone 52 Beach Street, Petone

5. Paramount 25 Courtenay Place, Wellington City

6. Penthouse Cinema & Cafe6. Penthouse Cinema & Cafe 205 Ohiro Road, Brooklyn

7. Regent 3 Masterton 230 Queen Street, Masterton

8. ShoreLine Cinema 10 Mahara Place, Waikanae

D I S T R I B U T I O N

FILMMAKERS

CINEMAS

ABOUT US

LINKS

simply click on a pin to zoom in, or click on a cinema title to see screening times.


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FILMS INFOFOTOND I S T R I B U T I O N

SEARCH

WATCH TRAILERS

SESSION TIMES

BUY DVDS

BUY THE DVDSTREAM THE FILMDOWNLOAD THE FILMSESSION TIMES

BUY THE DVDSTREAM THE FILMDOWNLOAD THE FILMSESSION TIMES


illegal downloading a favourite nz pastime by charlie gates

The first New Zealand cinema census of 4000 peo-ple found 62 per cent went to the cinema once a month, with 27 per cent seeing as many as three films a month.It also found 51 per cent regularly downloaded mov-ies, but 87 per cent of those did not pay for them.

“Everyone is online and knows a movie is out and is good, but often it will be out on DVD in the US before it is out in the cinema here,” he said. “iTunes is not really much better. The legal way of doing this is not very good.

If there was a viable, legal and local option, people would use it. It is sad because people are forming habits and learning new ways to access movies.”

“People would pay to download films if they were available. People will get the films no matter what,

whether they pay for it or not. “It took the music industry a long time to set up a new system, but once they did, it went gangbusters.”

However downloading would not have an effect on cinema attendance. “Cinemas offer something so different and unique that I don’t think big-screen movies will take much of a hit.”

Foton will have an online store with different pur-chase options for the consumer. Starting at free trailer clips to view, through to streaming (much like renting a movie) which the consumer can watch just once, next would be the download option where for a smaller increase in price the customer can own a digital copy of the film, and then finally the physical DVD/blue-ray disc for sale. As per image above.

OPENING ANIMATION



The opening animation se-quence is an integral part of the design strategy for Foton. As it’s the first point of con-tact of the brand for a lot of the end-users (the audience) This interactive feeling anima-tion sequence hints at ‘Kiwi’ qualities whilst retaining the digital aspect of the distribu-tion business.Foton’s website address will also be on the title once this is confirmed by the company.

D.I.Y FILM

FESTIVAL

“seeing films and fimmakers connect with new zealand audi-ences is what charges my batteries” -bill gosden, new zealand film festival

The future brings an added element into the mix - Foton are going to put together customised fund-raising film festivals. So corporates or oth-ers can come to Foton to arrange their fund-raising film events. Sumner Burstyn of Foton Films quips “We would put together a film package for them, clear copyright, liase with cinema, provide the film in the correct format and assist with other issues around marketing etc.”

The D.I.Y film festival venture has had its teeth-ing run at a community playcentre in Blenheim. Poster and ticket designs opposite. The press release follows as such:

A film festival with a difference opens in Ren-wick next month, the first of its kind for the region.

The Renwick Playcentre Film Festival features four films screening throughout the month of May, all new to the Blenheim area, that cover such diverse terrain as honeybees, our most fa-mous poet and a family living off the land in the Ruahine mountains.

The family-oriented screenings are part of a film festival that is helping to raise money for the Renwick Playcentre, a parent-run education centre for pre-schoolers.


Bring your own beanbag/cushion/p i l l o w / b l a n k e t

Cash bar available

Tickets available from Three Bears Cafe, Renwick &Purple HitchHiker Gelato, Blenheim

All films start at 7pm Tickets $10 eachSeats are limited [email protected]

11 - 31 May 2011Renwick Playcentre, 26 Havelock Street, Renwick.100% of the ticket price goes directly to Renwick Playcentre

Queen Of The Sun Wed 11 May, 7pmFrom the director of The Real Dirt on Farmer John comes a profound, alternative look at the growing bee crisis through the eyes of experts and beekeepers around the world, including sev-eral from New Zealand.An uplifting call to arms.

One man, One cOw, One planeTThurs 19 May, 7pmA celebration of the success of marginal farmers throughout In-dia as they save their soils and communities thanks to biody-namic farming and an 80-year-old Kiwi bloke.

ThiS way Of lifeWed 25 May, 7pmSpecial encore screening :Fri 27 May, 7pm “What do I do for a living? I live for a living.” Find out why this mas-terpiece, shot over four years in Hawke’s Bay, was shortlisted foran Oscar.

Sam hunT: purple ballOOn and OTher STOrieS.Thurs 31 May, 7pmOur most well-known and loved poet is as talented as he is en-igmatic. This beautiful film takes the viewer on a nostalgic trip around the country through the eyes of a national icon.

Play centRe Film Festival

Renwick Play centRe Film Festival

Queen Of The Sun Wed 11 May, 7pm$10.00

ADMIT ONE100% of the ticket price goes directly to Renwick Playcentre, thank you for your support Renwick Playcentre, 26 Havelock Street,Renwick [email protected] bring your own beanbag / cushion / pillow / blanket

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One man, One cOw, One planeTThurs 19 May, 7pm$10.00

Sam hunT: purple ballOOn and OTher STOrieS Thurs 31 May, 7pm$10.00

ThiS way Of life Wed 25 May, 7pm$10.00

ThiS way Of life Fri 27 May, 7pm$10.00

D.I.Y CINEMA KITPRESENTSTHE

HOST YOUR OWN FILM FESTIVAL IN

THE LOCAL PARKING LOT, WITH THE

PROJECTOR SCREEN WHITE PAINT,

IT’S IN THE CAN!


PHYSICAL BRAND

EXPERIENCE“in principle its all about experiences - but they must be complete experiences.” apple i-tunes strategy, Quoted through h. esslinger

The audience experiences the brand physically through the key touch points. (ref p.27) To en-hance and unify these, a proposal is created for the concept of foton-branded screens at local cinemas. This provides the patron with a clear message of the brand, knowing that when they watch a film in that particular theatre, they are getting a complete package. From tickets, to refreshments, to the chairs, the decor, and of course the quality of the film.Added bonus: A subtly branded foton cushion for added comfort.



CONCLUSION

STRATEGYThe concept of consuming music has been rev-olutionised through the digital age, literature is also heading down a similar path. So what is in store for film?

The film industry has shifted significantly in last decade, where once our entertainment source was held in the hands of a monopoly; Digital technology has opened the doors of accessibil-ity to a far wider market of people who have an amazing story to tell.

This is where Foton Group comes in, they are a new film distribution company that’s family owned, have transparent books, treat the film-maker with respect and most importantly they wear their values on their sleeves.

Foton started out as independent documentary filmmakers, mortgaging the house on their first movie. When it came to getting the film shown to the widest audience possible, they found that the current distribution companies treated the filmmaker like dirt, so they did it all themselves.

from the intimate details through to the big picture.

The story of struggle and survival has forged a strong foundation on which the company is growing; and provides foton with the empathy required in dealing with filmmakers. Here-by their business model is one of transparency and respect, clearly projecting foton far above the competition.

The visual communication design strategy that you have just flicked through is a tool to help foton visualise the exciting direction they are heading, whilst also seeing where they are at present. This strategy also helps to clearly define and strengthen their brand and its core values within the market place.

With the aid of the communication strategy, Fo-ton will be the market leader in producing a new business model for film distribution created out of empathy and the innate human desire to tell a story.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY


create your own media, make a documentary todayfotonfilms.co.nz

If you have a feature film or feature script that you would like us to consider, please send an email with your contact details and a very brief outline of the project to [email protected]

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