1. What kind of media institution might
distribute your media product and why?
What is distribution?
Distribution is sharing something out among an
audience. A film distributor is an organisation
responsible for the marketing of a film, aiming to the
audience to watch the film in a cinema or at home,
such as a DVD player.
Some examples of major film distributors are Walt
Disney Pictures, Universal and Lionsgate. Independent
UK distributors include Icon Film Distribution, Working
Title and Momentum Pictures. Distributors will find
new films to represent at film festivals and markets
around the world.
2. A very popular psychological thriller film is Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock. We got a lot of
inspiration from the film Psycho, such as a blonde vulnerable protagonist, a murder and the
types of conventions used. Psycho was distributed by Paramount Pictures, which suggests
how this distribution company may be interested in my film. They have also distributed the
famous Psychological thrillers Shutter Island and Vertigo, which would perhaps suggest that
they may be interested in our film as it is of the same genre and could be popular. However
there may be a possibility that they would not be interested as Paramount Pictures are
considered one of the “big six” films of Hollywood. This is supported by the fact that the
budget for Psycho was $806,947 and its box office was $50 million. Therefore, Paramount
may not take an interest in my film ‘Evade’ due to its low budget. Despite this, another
distributor which may perhaps be interested in my film ‘Evade’ is Fox Searchlight Pictures. It
specializes in US distribution of independent and British films, which would be very useful for
my film of a low budget and it is also a British film, therefore Fox Searchlight Pictures would
be a suitable distribution company. Further, they distributed Black Swan, an independent
Psychological thriller, similarly to ‘Evade’. Black Swan follows the same plot of using the
theme of visions and dreams which results in a death. In conclusion Fox Searchlight Pictures
may take an interest in my film because it is an independent psychological thriller like Black
Swan and has a similar plot; Black Swan was very successful with a box office $329.4 million,
which may suggest my film would be successful. A useful alternative would be to self
distribute my film and show it at a film festival which works for a low budget. At this moment
in time I have distributed my film onto the social networking site YouTube.
3. How film distributors distribute their film to audiences.
These major film distributors distribute a certain film
onto various media platforms such as:
Cinemas
TV’s (such as on demand)
DVD
Blu-Ray
Websites (such as Netflix)
Social Media
Film Distributors also have to advertise their film. They
can do this through social media sites such as posting
trailers of their film on YouTube. Trailers would include
the most exhilarating parts of the film which would
entice the audience to go and watch it. Most major
distributors such as Paramount and Universal would
distribute their films through cinemas and DVD’s.
Whereas most independent distributers, such as
working title, may distribute their films through
websites such as Netflix. Social media sites are a
popular way to market films as a lot of people use
them, particularly teenagers, who are part of my target
audience.
In addition, another popular way would to market films
on TV as all ages watch TV which would enable my film
to gain attention from a wider audience, particularly
from those who don’t use social media.
Distribution methods
4. Audience Appeal
My film would most definitely appeal to an audience in
the UK as it is set in London and has British characters
which an audience in the UK could relate to, so would
therefore be interested in my film. However it is
debatable to suggest that my film would interest an
audience globally. This is evident as it is just set in the UK
and other certain cultures would not be able to
understand the language and wouldn’t be familiar with
the setting. Nevertheless, the plot may attract an
audience from different countries as they may be able to
relate to my protagonist in my film, but this may be
unlikely. Further, my film would only fit a budget for a UK
audience as I would find my own way to self distribute my
film, as it cannot afford to be global due to a high budget.
