2. What is distribution?
Distribution is the marketing activities used to make the TA
aware that the film is going to be released. Using marketing
activities such as teaser trailers and posters, builds up
anticipation for the film when it is released. The distribution
stage occurs after post production and prior to exhibition.
I will be looking at the various ways films are distributed and
the positives and negatives of each method of distribution.
Distribution is a very important stage as it involves
showcasing/promoting your film to the correct audience.
3. Cinema Distribution
Cinema distribution is a form or promoting a film in the cinema, this can be through handouts,
billboards or even trailers shown before other films.
Advantages
- Audiences are generally engaged with the film if they are out of the house for instance.
- Trusted by audiences to be a good film as its shown in cinemas.
- Relationships are built up with the viewer (uses and gratifications theory)
Disadvantages
- Getting your film trailer shown in cinemas, generally requires a film with a fairly big budget as
agreements need to be made with distribution companies, there this would severely affect the
chance of independent film-makers getting their content shown.
Summary
Overall cinema distribution is a fantastic way of connecting the target audience with the film.
However this type of distribution is more suited to larger budget productions (such as the dark
knight) that have connections with distribution companies otherwise the film cannot be shown in
cinemas very easily. So for a film like ours its very unlikely that we will be distributing it in a cinema
as the budget is very low and the production quality is far lower than other corporate productions.
4. Online Streaming
(Exhibition)
Distributing your film on online streaming platforms such as “Netflix, Amazon Prime & Hulu” will
offer a great deal of targeted promotion for the film once it’s released.
Advantages
- Easily accessible
- No interruptions like you would find in cinemas e.g. ads
- Cheaper than other forms of the content e.g. DVDs
Disadvantages
- The subscription to stream the content can be significantly expensive
- The internet connection used needs to be fast enough
- Not all viewers would have access to internet/online streaming sites.
Summary
This is a fantastic way of reaching the audience you are intending to target as well as a variety of
other people interested in something different. However for a production like ours it would be
considerably harder to get our content on the website as big production companies work with the
distribution firms to make the biggest impact. So therefore this isn't really an option for a film like
ours.
5. Film Festivals (exhibition)
Film festivals are a frequent form of promotion for smaller production companies or independent film-makers
as it offers a great deal of promotion for larger companies that may be interested in taking the idea on board
to make it to an conglomerate level in terms of actors, setting, location all forms of “mise en scene” but also
production quality.
Advantages
- You can show of your film to individuals interested in the content you are showing.
- Build relationships with other independent film-makers to increase connections.
Disadvantages
- Limited members of the public attend the film-festivals.
- Reaches a very specific (niche) audience.
Summary
Film festivals are a fantastic way of showing of your work when you don't have any other forms of distributing
your film. Film-festivals are generally for applicants that are showing independent films, with the hope of
others liking and sharing the work or even offering to purchase and/or distribute the content. However one
concern is the audience at film festivals may not be young people, which for us could severely affect the
impact it has on them.
An example of a film festival is Sundance Film Festival has grown considerably from its
humble beginnings back in 1978.
6. Social Media
(distribution)
Social media is a fantastic way of distributing a film as it is generally free, making it both useful to conglomerates and independent institutions. It’s a prime example of web
2.0 where by consumers can now comment on there feelings towards a certain media product and they can track updates or progress around a film.
Advantages
- You can quickly update your TA with new teasers of the film (building up anticipation)
- Targeting a specific audience is a lot easier as you can use hashtags to make sure they are interested in certain genres for example.
- Social media platforms offer different types of content that can be shown
- Technological convergence can connect all forms of the film together e.g. poster, trailer; they all link.
- Free to upload content
Disadvantages
- Advertising is paid for on social media (however it is considerably cheaper than other forms of advertising)
- Audience members need to use social media apps & they also need an internet connection.
Summary
Social media is a great way of advertising a film, especially if the film is aimed at younger people as they are more likely to see the social media updates and
advertisements. This would be a fantastic way of advertising the film we are producing as the film can be shown on multiple platforms such a twitter, Instagram, Facebook
& YouTube; and if the content shown engages with the viewer they may share it to friends, family and the rest of world causing our film to be virally advertised at a minimal
cost and if the film isn’t successful then nothing is particularly lost. For bigger budget films they will use social media to complement the advertising in cinemas, buses
(transport) and all of these connect together through technological convergence.
7. Online ads (Distribution)
Online advertisements are a form of promoting a film. Online advertisements are likely to be shown on
website and platforms such as YouTube.
Advantages
The advantages of using online ads are that you can aim your film to a specific audience, this makes the
money (capital) spent on the advertising more effective as you are targeting a specific audience.
Another advantage is that when compared to more main stream advertising forms such as mainstream
TV it can be significantly cheaper, and you are targeting the specific audience you want the film to be
aimed at.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages of using online ads are that it can be infused with the huge variety of other ads for
other films and content, that makes it less eye-catching for the audience.
Summary
Online ads can be another successful way of advertising a film. These are the when advertisements are shown
based on the consumers interest.
The reason why online ads are so powerful are because they can be targeted to a specific audience; and they
can be reminded about the film if they have viewed a trailer or inquired about it elsewhere.
For a smaller film like ours we could use this form of promotion but it’s unlikely as we will need a large initial
investment to get peoples attention.
8. DVD (Exhibition)
DVD’s are used to exhibit content/films to people. This is an older form of exhibition and most film are mainly sold online
or on platforms such as iTunes.
Advantages
- Once purchased the customer can consume the film as many times as they wish.
- You can decide when to watch the film, you haven’t got to go to the cinema at a specific time.
Disadvantages
- You have got to wait significantly longer for a film to be released in DVD form over cinema distribution.
- More expensive than going to the cinema initially
Summary
DVD’s are a fantastic way of extending the profitability of a film. This form of distribution applies mainly to larger budget
productions as the customer can associate the film in shops with previous advertisement they have seen. Therefore if we
were to use this method of distribution are sales would be considerably lower than other films as we don’t have the
recognition like they do.
Our film would not be suitable for DVD distribution as the costs involved are significantly higher than what we are likely to
make, and we are therefore more likely to use other methods of distribution such as iTunes or other online methods of
exhibition.
9. Star Appeal (Distribution)
Star appeal is a way of attracting audience members that like the previous work of that particular star such as
Will Smith out of the film ‘Bad Boys’.
Advantages
- The star attracts customers to purchase the right to watch the film.
- Brings in a new audience, “the stars fans”.
Disadvantages
- The actors name will produce a visual interpretation of the film for consumers. And it may be that the
film is interpreted differently by the audience members as they associate the actor with a different
genre.
- The star may not be well known by the TA, making it pointless to include him/her in the first place.
However this may attract some consumers that are fans of that particular actor.
- Famous stars can be very expensive to use in films.
Summary
So star appeal is a great way of attracting new members of the public to your film, and it can make the film
look more interesting as it’s based around an actor they can associate with. The film can also be publicly
promoted by using that actor in the film, this ties in with social media as the actor is likely to have a large
following, which can be exchanged for sales of that particular film. For our production this form of distribution
just isn’t an option, the cost of involving a well known actor is way over our budget and even the costs for
advertising that the actor is present in our film would be too much. So therefore all our audience appeal
needs to be from the fact that our thriller film is very unique and interesting to watch.
11. Collaborations (Distribution)
Advantages
- Profitable for both firms.
- Can increase the sales for fast food outlet (example) even after the collaboration as the
customers enjoyed the experience they previously had.
Disadvantages
- Both firms may not agree on the basis of the collaboration, for instance the colours used on
the packaging.
- Very expensive to initially setup.
Summary
Collaborations between brands is generally done to merge the customer base. This makes it
profitable for the firms in the future as they now have a larger audience to aim there products at. A
well known collaboration was between burger king and Jurassic park; this produced a large amount
of production for the film and benefited both firms. This form of distribution wouldn’t be an option
for our film, as we cannot provide any value in terms of previous audience members that other
firms could take advantage of, and aim their own products at.
12. Teaser Trailer
A teaser trailer is released before the film is fully promoted in order to
make the audience start thinking about the film, in order to make
future promotions more seamless. They are short, action packed and
show the audience highlights of what the film will offer, but to not
fully reveal what will happen.
13. Theatrical Trailer
This trailer is shown in cinemas to showcase films similar to what the
audience likes to watch. Theatrical trailer tend to be longer and more
revealing than a teaser trailer to make the film more interesting and as
more information is revealed the consumer becomes more intregued.
14. Official Website
An official website is a place that the target audience can go to
consume more information about a particular film for instance here is
a link to 007’s website - http://www.007.com/
This gives the audience more information on films releases and actor
appearances etc.
15. Press Junket
An event which includes press releases, advertising campaigns,
merchandising, franchising, media and interviews with the key people
involved with the making of the film, like actors and directors.
16. Publicity Blitz
A blitz campaign is a marketing strategy designed to promote a
product or a business quickly through the use of mass media; it is also
called a “marketing blitz,” a “ time-based marketing campaign,” and
“intensive marketing.”
This is when a lot of buzz around a certain product launch or service is
emitted through forms of media such as social platforms (Facebook,
twitter and Instagram) but also communication or word of mouth.
17. Publicity Stunt
A publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's
attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can
be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are
frequently utilized by advertisers, celebrities, athletes, and politicians.
18. Trailers (Distribution)
Advantages
Increases audience engagement
The advantages of using trailers are that you can give the audience a clear
insight to the film, while something like a poster may be interpreted a lot
differently.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages of using trailers are that you need to spend more getting
them made, and they may not be successful at showing the audience what the
film is about.
Summary
Trailers can be an effective way of showing the audience little snippets of the film.
This builds up anticipation for the film.
Using trailers allows the viewers to see what the film may be about and using small
parts of the film that are intriguing leave the audience with enigma on what will
happen next.
19. Conclusion
From the research I have undertook I can conclude that
distributing a film in the cinema is the best way of targeting a
wide audience, as the audience is ready to consume the films
trailer or promotion and they are less likely to get distracted.
Star appeal is the second best way of distributing a film in my
opinion as it increases engagement and it persuades the
audience to watch the film as they can relate to the actors
previous work. However due to the nature of our production I
would recommend that we use social media and film festivals as
our primary distribution sources as they fit well with our limited
budget, and nothing is lost if the film isn't successful.
Another reason why we want to use social media Is because our
target audience is young people, and they are known to be
more active on these social networks.
