digital technology

1. Evaluate digital technologies used in
the marketing of film in the UK
• Impact on marketing
• Synergy – using one product to sell another
• Horizontal Integration – all content produced under one
• Roof film, CD Soundtrack, DVD
• Web based marketing
• Viral/interactive marketing
• 360 degree marketing strategy
• Stealth marketing
• Broad/niche tactics – placement of marketing
• The official website – downloads, merchandise
• Interactivity
• Trailers
• Posters
• Internet
• Reviews
• Word of mouth – fan sites
• Special articles, teasers, log lines, exclusives

2. • Digital technology is seen to offer a more cost effective and
logistics-light alternative to the tried and trusted, but unwieldy
model of 35mm print distribution described above. It will,
eventually, be cheaper and much less stressful to send films as
computer files to cinemas across the UK, than to transport 20-
25kg tins of film in the back of a van.
• Digital distribution and exhibition on a large scale has started to
appear in certain parts of the world, notably China and Brazil,
where conventional logistics cannot, for one reason or another,
efficiently bring together supply and demand. In the UK, digital
technology has been embraced by the non-theatrical sector, in
film societies and schools, where the use of DVD and mid-range
digital projection has replaced 16mm.
• In principle, digital distribution will, in time, change the
paradigm of 35mm print logistics. It will be possible for the
distributor to send feature film files electronically, via broadband
networks, thus eliminating dependence on transportation.

3. Discuss how important these are in
relation to marketing and exchange
• Film distributors - the companies that release movies
and market them to the public - will benefit if there are
substantial reductions in the costs of duplicating film
prints and transporting them to cinemas. The UK is one
of the most expensive markets in the world in which to
release a film. FDA members spend approximately
£125m a year on prints, duplicated in high-tech
laboratories. A digitally produced or converted film
could be delivered quickly and reliably via disc (a much
smaller, cheaper physical medium than a 35mm print),
fibre optic cable or satellite - triggering a huge systems
change for the whole industry.

4. • Cinemas that book and receive a digital copy
would store it on a computer/server in the
projection box, which would serve it to a
particular digital projector for each screening.
Importantly, distributors should be able to
encode and encrypt their digital files, to
ensure that each film is as secure as possible
and that access to them throughout the
theatrical lifecycle is controlled and traceable.

5. • In due course, it may be possible for distributors to deliver
newly cut digital trailers to cinemas at very short notice,
capitalising on topical developments such as awards
nominations or wins, favourable reviews and box-office
success, much as other forms of film advertising already
do.Film archiving could also be transformed by digital
progress. Professional storage of 35mm reels can demand
considerable space, care and funding. For cinema
audiences, all these opportunities may result in wider
choice. In addition, the digital images on screen will be
picture-perfect every time. By contrast, the more often
celluloid is run through a projector, the more prone it
becomes to scratches and fading, wear and tear.

6. Consider how audiences use and
consume film via digital technology