A Field in England

Film Industry: A Field In England

A Field In England is a low-budget arthouse film by award-winning director Ben Wheatley. It was released on 5th July 2013 across cinema, DVD/Blu-ray, TV and VoD.

It has certain similarities to Chicken and provides a useful second case study in exploring how low-budget British films are funded, produced and promoted to an audience.

A Field In England is described as a psychedelic trip into Civil War era rural England and attracted attention due to both the director and the highly creative release and distribution method.

A Field In England is an excellent second case study because the official website contains a huge amount of information about the film from initial idea and financing to filming, editing and its remarkable release strategy.

The more you read, the more confidently you will be able to make links with Chicken and answer exam questions on the British film industry.

A Field In England: blog tasks

1) Write a 100 word summary of the Media Magazine article.

The way a film is distributed is the way a film sells and appeals to their audience. For without
effective distribution, film product rarely finds an audience. That’s why according to the UK’s Film Distributor’s Association (FDA), UK distributors spent £330 million in 2012 of which, "£184 million of this was allocated to media advertising, the rest on film prints, advertising production, publicity, premieres and related costs". 

2) Read the following pages on the official website for A Field In England and write a one-sentence summary of each. Each page provides explanations of the unique release strategy that the institutions behind the film chose: 

Industrial Evolution: Producer Andy Starke on the music industry influences informing A Field In England’s release strategy. A Field in England had a simultaneous release in the independent film industry.

Screening/radical release: Commissioning Executive Anna Higgs on the groundbreaking release plans for A Field In England. 

Audience: Anna Higgs discusses where A Field In England sits within British cinema and how it will reach its intended audience for the film. This film is a cult classic that will hopefully be recognised by the audience as a brain working film made with total creative freedom. 

3) How was A Field In England’s release different to typical film releases?

A Field In England's release was different to typical film release's as it was released in cinemas, DVD, TV and VoD all on the same day - 5th July 2013.

4) What are the advantages to releasing the film across all platforms on the same day?

The film is available to watch everywhere and easy to reach for wider audiences.

5) What are the disadvantages to this approach?

People are more likely to watch the film in the comfort of their own home rather than go to the cinema and pay a more expensive price to watch it so there will be less views of it at the cinema.

6) What target audience would A Field In England be aimed at? Think about demographics and Psychographics.

A Field In England would be aimed at a niche audience. The content and general art-house style of this production also suggests that the film would be targeted at a slightly older, more mature audience as they would be able to appreciate the artistic value of the film. I think that the film would be targeted at those in the ABC1 audience demographic - mainly middle class and above.

7) Do you think all films in future will be released across all platforms simultaneously in future? Why? What role will technology play in film distribution?

There is a possibility that films in the future will be released across all platforms simultaneously in the future but this may cause industries such as cinema to fail as more people are likely to stgay at home and watch the film. I think that technology will play a part in film distribution in  the future for quicker release or quicker distribution of film to a wider audience.

8) Why was Chicken unable to use such a release and distribution strategy when it was made in 2014? 

Chicken was unable to use such a release and distribution strategy when it was made in 2014 because it had a lower budget - this meant that the distribution process took longer and mainly relied on film festival to catch the attention of potential distributors.

Extension work: read the rest of the official website's digital masterclass – there is a huge amount of information about the film from initial idea and financing to filming, editing and release.