1. Channel of distribution:
Social networking sites are a good and easy way to create awareness of my documentary, this is
because it is free (unless I were to purchase an ad and ad space), it will also create a lot of awareness
as Facebook is one of the most used/most popular social networking sites. It will also be a good way
to get my documentary out there because it will be seen easily by the correct people, my target
audience. The benefits of using social networking sites are that my documentary will be seen by a lot
of people and it could be seen by people all over the world as these social networking sites are
international, also another benefit is that there are many different social networking sites, so it will
be easy to appeal to a more mainstream and diverse target audience. A weakness of me using social
networking sites would be that people may not really want to be serious/view anything too serious
when on social networking sites as they may only want to socialise and have fun.
Video sharing websites are also a very good way of getting my documentary noticed. I would use
YouTube as it is the most popular video sharing website and because it is free. It is also a very good
way of relating to my target audience because a vast majority of people use YouTube. YouTube is
good for making awareness of videos this is because it appeals to a wide audience and as it is
international it is available for anyone to see. A benefit to me using YouTube to publicise my
documentary would be that depending on how many views and how many subscribers I get, I may
be able to get paid from my videos. However a weakness of using a video sharing website to
publicise my documentary would be that people may not want to watch it or may not watch it.
People may also find my documentary by accident.
Film competitions could also be a good as it is free, it could possibly create a lot of awareness
because a lot of well known film makers go to watch film competitions and they might commission
the ones they like. A benefit to using film competition as a distribution method is that depending on
what film competition you enter, (most of them do this) they will give you a certain amount of
money for you to create your documentary, they will also support you as much as you need. Also
another benefit is that if you win, you automatically get entered into a film festival. A weakness to
using film competitions is that although it isn’t that hard to get into a film competition, it may be if
your film/documentary doesn’t fit into the brief of the competition.
Mailing list is a very good way to distribute your documentary, its free if you have your own mailing
list; however it is quite expensive if you don’t. It is a very good way to create awareness as it gets
your documentary out there and recognised by well known people in the industry. Benefits of using
a mailing list are that your documentary will be recognised by people high up in the industry
depending on who you know, or who the person you purchased the mailing list of knows. A good
way to get your own mailing list would be ‘networking’, this could be done by going to certain events
in the industry and introducing yourself to people, that way you could get them on your mailing list
and it would be free. The only weakness of using a mailing list is the price, it is exceptionally high.
Media space isn’t free but is also a good distribution method. Prices range from £8,000 upwards.
This is a good way to increase awareness as it will get your documentary viewed easily buy a lot of
people. Benefits of using this distribution method would be that you can use an ‘advertorial’ and
that will increase awareness also. A weakness of using media space is that people may not always
listen to reviews so no matter how good the review is people still may not view your documentary

2. and also another weakness is the price, if you were to use an advertorial it would cost you at least
£10,000.
Video on demand, this is good as it is free and it could be viewed by a wide amount of people and
will be easily relatable to the target audience, which is another way to increase awareness. Benefits
of using video on demand to distribute your product would be that you would have support of the
industry, and there would already be an established audience. A weakness of using video on demand
is that it would be very hard to get your documentaries on there.
Film festivals are good because it is free and a lot of people go there which will increase awareness
by the public and the industry also. A benefit to entering into a film festival would be that industry
types attend will be looking to commission films and distribute. Also another benefit would be that it
will increase awareness in an international market. A weakness of film festivals is that it is quite
difficult to get your film entered into them.
Institution channels are free and could create awareness as it has a big reach. A benefit to using
institution channels is that it is a well known institution and they will give you all the support that
you need. A weakness to using institution channels would be that although it is cheap, it is extremely
difficult to get your films on there.
My primary target audience is 15-17 year old boys who live in London and whom would be
interested in doing things like socialising, going on social networking sites, listening to music etc. The
media they would use would be social networking sites, for instance Facebook or Twitter as these
are the most commonly used social networking sites and the most commonly used by teenagers.
They would also use video sharing websites, preferably YouTube as YouTube is easy to access, easy
to sign up to and easy to watch videos from. They would also use Institutional channels such as the
BBC channels. This is because these channels are well known, they have big reach and they are
popularly viewed channels by teenagers.
I think that the three most effective ways of distribution are Film competitions, social networking
sites and video sharing websites. I think this because they are all free and easy to get into. I also
think they are good distribution methods because if you enter a film competition they will give you
all the support you need with things like equipment etc. They will also give you some start up money
to help you develop your film/documentary. Social networking sites are a very good method to use
as most of them have a substantial amount of members; it is also free and easy to set up. It is very
easy to promote things on there as you could create a ‘group’ which is a page that is solely dedicated
to your documentary. Also if using Tumblr is a good way to distribute, Tumblr is another social
networking site which is mainly used by 14-19 year olds, both male and female. Tumblr would be a
good place to distribute teenage related films/documentaries as it is easily viewable and Tumblr has
a wide audience with a substantial amount of members also. Video sharing websites are also good,
for instance, YouTube. YouTube is easy to set up, easy to use, easy to upload and easy to search and
also depending on how many subscribers and views you get you will get paid from the videos that
you upload.