International Film Distribution: "Localization Really Matters"

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Global Watchtower

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Posted by Donald A. DePalma on January 28, 2008 in the following blogs: Translation and Localization
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Films can make money 3 ways: at the box office in the country in which they're made, in DVD form for purchase and rental, and in the international market. Producers hit the trifecta when their films score in all 3 venues. Getting that international hit is not as simple as just finding an international distributor. Essential components for global success are a story line with international appeal (boy meets girl), recognizable situations or locations (a restaurant or a cityscape), good cinematography and other high production values, recognizable actors (Johnny Depp, Shah Rukh Khan), and words that "foreign audiences" can understand -- dubbing or subtitles (although there are some films with limited primal utterances that have trans-lingual appeal). Some recent films highlight the critical need for language and a surprising reality about location.

Language matters, even in the songs. Disney translated "bop to the top" from its "High School Musical" into Hindi as "Pa Pa Pa Paye Yeh Dil" as part of its worldwide roll-out of that film franchises. According to Rich Ross, the president of Disney Channels Worldwide, it's important to tie its properties into the pop culture of target foreign markets. Ross told the New York Times that “Localization really matters...We're pushing deeper into various countries. With the first movie, we didn't do something special for the Netherlands. This time we did." Incidentally, this film strikes us as similar to a Bollywood extravaganza -- as in the old Hollywood musicals, everyone periodically bursts into song and dance.

Location matters. Whenever it comes time for an urban scene, just about any city will do. When the Canadian dollar was low, U.S. filmmakers turned to Toronto and Vancouver for sidewalk and street scenes (Boston is now a preferred venue due to the higher value of the loonie). European cinematographers would use Prague for the city street scenes in the nineteenth century. But once you get to wide-angle shots of a city in the throes of some disaster, filmmakers love New York -- they repeatedly blow up the Big Apple. According to Hollywood studio executives, "New York City...is the only United States metropolis with a skyline that is instantly recognizable the world over." Non-U.S. audiences flock to disaster films like "Cloverfield" and "The Day After Tomorrow," post-apocalyptic visions such as "I Am Legend," and maniac-on-the-loose epics like "Spider-Man 3." Louisville (U.S.) and Liberec (Czech Republic) just don't have that global recognizability.

Note to budding film directors: Localization and location matter.

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