Tasha's Question 3 Answer

Question 3- Institution

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

There are three stages involved in the process of a film getting to the spectators:

Film Production – Making the film

• Film Distribution – Securing the placement of the film on an exhibitors screen and for home viewing
• Film Exhibition – The place the audience watch the film

As a British independent film production company we have two choices in relation to distributing our media product:

• An independent film distribution company - this means that we as the films production company will license the film to the independent film distribution company. Meaning that the distributor is given the legal rights to exploit the film by us; the production company, in return for a financial agreement.
• Distribute the media product ourselves- meaning that we will have no help from any other film distributor companies. By using the advantage of the various possibilities of the digital age.

An example of an independent distribution company that could distribute our film would be Momentum or now know as Entertainment One which is a private film distribution company. They would promote our film in various ways such as; using adverts or by using a trailer of our film. They would be able to secure an exhibition for our film in an independent cinema like the Duke of York’s in Brighton.

Alternatively, our production company could be independent and not use a distribution company. We would then use our own resources to promote and market our film. We would exhibit our film on a source like YouTube.

Various ways the audience get to see the film:

There are various ways that an audience can view a film, this can be achieved through multiple media platforms. However these platforms are either chosen by the distribution company or the production company distributing the media product independently.

Ways audiences can view films:

• In the Cinema
• Through home viewing; TV or DVD
• Or on the move i.e. portable viewing; mobiles, tablets etc
• Video On Demand

• Downloading - the film is owned by the consumer and they can watch the film without internet access.
• Streaming – consumer can watch the film from various devices but cannot own it.

Film release:

There are numerous ways a film can be released e.g. on different media platforms but each platform has to release the film at a different time:

• Cinemas (Theatrical release) - 0-4 months
• DVD release - 4-6 months

•  Pay TV / VOD - after 6 months
• Free to air TV (e.g. BBC, ITV) - after 2 years

What cinemas would your film be shown in?

Mainstream vs Independent-

As our thriller has been produced on a low budget by our independent British film production company, it is therefore realistic that we show our thriller in an independent cinema. An example of an independent cinema that would be suitable to show our film is the Duke of York’s in Brighton. As it is well known for showing films that are independent and don’t meet the criteria of a mainstream film.

Independently distributing our film digitally:

In the digital age new devices and platforms have made it easier and more of an option to reach audiences through these new media devices. For example, YouTube is one of the sources that we could use to distribute our thriller as it is the third most popular website in the world. People who use YouTube can access it on any device at any time as long as they have a connection. This gives independent production companies like us an advantage as it’s free to upload our media product and will be released to a global audience. Also as a result of people viewing the film we will gain an advert revenue, which is a prime example of monetization.  

Marketing the film:

Huge mainstream films will usually spend a lot of money to market their film, here are some examples of how films are marketed:

• Radio
• TV
• Billboards
• Synergy-with other businesses e.g. McDonalds promotes Star Wars by containing images and characters from the film on their products
• Interviews- with the director and actors

When marketing our film independently we would use:

• Social Media- this is a key source when distributing a film independently
• Hold screenings
• Independent film festivals

Overall, I think the most realistic option for releasing our film is to do it independently as a production company due to the fact that we are on a low budget. We also won’t have any licensing agreements preventing us from marketing and distributing our film in a particular way. This is also a very wise chose in this day and age as we have the advantage of new media to help make our film successful and get the best possible outcome.