Guardians of the Galaxy: Case Study

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

  
Certificate: PG-13   Running time: 122 minutes 

Sequel: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (estimated release is July 28th 2017) 

What is the film about?
Marvel, the studio that brought you the worldwide blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and The Avengers - and now The Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-filled, space adventure; Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' expands the universe of all Marvel cinematic history. Adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the main target of a manhunt after stealing a mysterious orb from Ronan, a powerful villain with the ability to threaten the entire universe. To elude the tenacious Ronan and save the galaxy from his power, Quill is forced to create a team of space heroes - Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-resembled humanoid, the deadly Gamora and the revenge driven Drax the Destroyer.

James Gunn (Director) & Kevin Feige (Producer)

Director: James Gunn; an American writer, director and producer. 

Producer: Kevin Feige is the main producer for this film, alongside executives. He is also an American film producer and 

president of Marvel Studios. 

Film editing: Fred Raskin, Hughes Winborne and Craig Wood

The budget for this film was estimated to be $170,000,000 (£105,984,046.90) and earned an astonishing $94,320,883 in the opening weekend of it's release in the USA across 4,080 screens. The majority of the filming was done in England, UK; Shepperton Studios and Longcross studios in Surrey and Millennium Bridge in London.

Main stars:

Chris Pratt (Peter Quill), Vin Diesel (Groot), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Dave Bautisa (Drax) & Zoe Saldana (Gamora)

The amount of detail and the technological use was insane in the making of 'Guardians of the Galaxy', and to construct the characters of Rocket, Groot and the rest of the team - the technological effects house of Territory Studios were responsible. They modeled everything out from the iconic prison scene to the 3D panels and UI stuff in Quill's ship, Milano. 

Rocket (raccoon):

The process to make the character, Rocket, was a long and detailed procedure. It was carried out by a visual effects company called Framestore who have produced many furry characters previously over the years, from the Polar bears in The Golden Compass and Aslan in the Narnia films. 

Rocket

The first thing they did was rebuild their fur system using fcHairFilters, which multi-threads the way they process the hair and also improves the efficiency. They then took the time to improve their fur stimulation by using a tool called fDynamo, which helps provide new ways for the creature FX teams to direct the motion of Rocket's fur. Lastly, the shaders of the team worked together closely on the shades of the fur on Rocket. 

Knowhere environment 

 

Another important technological process of the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' is the making of the world 'Knowhere.' The advanced tool they used was called fStop which helped project paintings onto particular sets to assist a preview of what the final image would look like.

Chris Pratt: before and after

Karen Gillan's big change 

Karen Gillan had to shave her hair off before taking the role as Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy. Speaking of the drastic change, she told Screen Rant (TV news website) that she did not hesitate to shave her head for the role. Additionally, Chris Pratt (who plays the role of Peter Quill in the film), had to lose 60 pounds in 6 months for his role.



Disneyland Advertisement

Guardians of the Galaxy is being marketed in various ways e.g. huge billboard posters to grab the attention of an audience, train tunnel posters and also advertisement in attractions like Disneyland. However, Marvel studios have used a variety of other marketing strategies; e.g. before the film was even released, they released a trailer teaser which received a remarkable 3,606,751+ views. They also created an app on iTunes called 'Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon' after the film's release which costs £1.99 and has a rating of 4.5 stars. 

Guardians of the Galaxy app

Subway poster promoting the deal

Another method Marvel used to promote their film was to team with food chain Subway and hold a promotional deal for children  to purchase a 'Kids' Pak' with a free Guardians of the Galaxy bag (links to synergy of merging two companies). Linking to this, they also hosted a competition to win a private screening and several different goodies before the film was released. This was posted on the Disney website and gave the opportunity for 200 people to win a prize. 

Galaxy Getaways star ships

Marvel also came up with a clever promotional idea to launch an online travel agency called 'Galaxy Getaways' that introduces destinations featured in the 'Guardians of the Galaxy.' The site (so far) features 3 destinations - Xander, Morag and Knowhere - with images, street views of the planet's streets and even recommendations of where to eat. The star ships (right) feature extra large arm rests  for a comfortable experience and beverage carts.

Guardians of the Galaxy vinyl

This limited edition release of Guardians of the Galaxy: Mix Volume 1 is pressed on Purple Infinity Stone coloured vinyl, and housed in a printed single sleeve. As of right now, it is only available for pre-order at $50 and will be shipped early 2015; the artwork for this vinyl sleeve is by Tyler Stout.

The use of synergy occurs at the marketing of the app 'Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon' which is now available for Android and iOS (released 02 October 2014). To bring the comic book and the cinematic versions together, Disney Interactive Studios brought aboard Cosmic Marvel/Guardians of the Galaxy writer Dan Abnett. Together they created this app which has had a total of 118 ratings, most of which have been 4.5 stars.

There is a range of merchandise available for the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' film in the Disney Store in the USA, and also a complete different range in the UK. This rocket toy is selling for $24.95 (£15.52) and has been awarded 5 stars on the Disney website.

Release dates:
The release dates of 'Guardians of the Galaxy' are different for many different countries. It was premiered in the US on 21st July 2014 and was released on 1st August 2014 in 3D and IMAX 3D. It was also premiered in London, UK on 24th July 2014 and was released on 31st July 2014 in various cinemas such as; Vue, Odeon, Cineworld and Empire.
Other release dates: Australia, Switzerland and Thailand / 31st July 2014

 

Blu-Ray and DVD

Guardians of the Galaxy will be available in several different formats, for example; DVD and Blu-Ray. The release date for these formats is confirmed for 9th December (Digital HD is released 18th November) which include special features such as deleted scenes, gag reels, and an exclusive look at The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Additionally, Amazon have made the film available for pre-order in three editions: a standard one-disc 2D Blue-ray, a two-disc 3D Blu-Ray combo and a one-disc DVD and it will also be available as a Best Buy Exclusive Steel book.

The target audience for 'Guardians of the Galaxy' are people who enjoy action packed films filled with adventure. This usually could be referring to anyone from young children aged 13 (PG-13) to older adults.

Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE9vypfwbvk