Evaluation Question 3 Essay

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

The Distribution industry is vital for films as it connects the film to an audience. In any case, whether the product is of high quality or not, unsuccessful distribution leads to an insufficient audience being reached and therefore minimal publicity and financial income with be a result. This industry is therefore extremely significant in relation to the success of the film as it determines any profits made. Ultimately if a film is distributed successfully there will be a considerable higher probability of he product to attract and consume more substantial earnings. In the film industry there are two main very opposing companies. There are conglomerates, A corporation that is made up of a number of different subsidiary businesses who run independently of the other business divisions. On the other hand, there is are independent companies that operate on a much lower level to the conglomerates. The American Film industry is dominated by the "big six", consisting of The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros, Universal, Paramount pictures, Columbia and 20th Century Fox who all own many subsidiaries. Contrastingly there are countless minor Independent companies based both in the US and UK.

New Line Cinema is prestigious subsidiary to Warner Bros. that specialises in distributing successful products in the horror industry such as The Conjuring and Se7en. If I had a substantial budget I would definitely considered this distribution company due to its impressive historic archive in distributing very successful films in the horror genre. The business' tendency to distribute successfully can be illustrated by the two films which I have previously mentioned. The Conjuring amounted a revenue of $300,000,000 from a $20,000,000 budget and Se7en gathered $327,311,859 from an initial production value of $33,000,000. Another reason to why I would consider New Line Cinema, if I had the finance, is that they obtain a specifically broad audience that tend to consistently be interested in the films in which the company distributes. This is because they audience will automatically associate the company to stereotypically display films living up to the extremely successful standards of their history, coming to the assumption that the new films will be of an according standard. Moreover, other advantages of choosing this prestigious American distribution company is that they will contain an intelligent knowledge in the sense of marketing products effectively. Due to previous research in major American films I have discovered that American distribution companies habit different methods and techniques to UK distribution companies. This is mainly caused by the immense different in budget and multi-media connection. These companies have the ability use product placement and cooperate with other major businesses in completely different fields of work and in turn receive a great amount of post-release publicity and advertisement.

However, due to my budget being extremely low I would then opt to take interest into more independent companies, perhaps based in the UK. Hammer Films an example of this as they still specialise in the horror industry, similarly to New Line Cinema. This business is located in the UK basing their headquarters in London, England. They also have an intriguing history as they have distributed extremely prestigious films such as The Woman in Black which roughly grossed over £80,000,000 from a £11,600,000 budget. This demonstrates how that despite not being as major as New Line Cinema they are still capable of producing significant profits, employing techniques that will stereotypically suit the horror industry. I believe that my product is capable of mainstream intentions as it conforms to the conventions, including targeted audience, characters and mise en scene, of internationally successful horror films. However, in a more realistic tone I feel that Hammer Films will be equally effective as it is more important that Captive is distributed in the UK instead of the US. This is because I feel that it would be interpreted more effectively by a British audience as it is set in a British location and used British actors and therefore be more relatable to this particular audience. The plot is also designed more to suit this audience more as it connects with them on a social and cultural level, allowing them to recognise there social-realism. Whereas the viewing would be less pleasurable for an American audience as they wouldn't connect with some of the themes and social-realism. 

In terms of distributing my film I have decided that I will venture down the traditional route of creating the initial "buzz" by marketing the film, using trailers, posters, websites etc. I would use social media campaign to my advantage creating profiles on twitter, facebook and youtube which allows me to interact with my targeted audience.The first screening of Captive would be at the cinema where I will provide viewers with the opportunity to view the film in 3D and 4D, enhancing the suspense and tense atmosphere it creates. Then I would continue the "buzz" of the film by making it available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray, allowing customers who hadn't seen the initial screenings of the film to now have continuous access to it. After receiving substantial revenue from the initial screenings and DVD/Blu-ray sales I would invest in distributing Captive digitally. Meaning it can be shown on services such as Sky Box Office, Netflix and also available for online streaming. Therefore continuing the interest of the film, forming consistent feedback and profit. 

To summarise I have chosen to allow my film to be distributed by a British Independent media institution like Hammer Films. Resulting in Captive being dispatched to and have better access to the niche audience of British teenagers who will fully understand the content of the film. It will rely on cost-effective marketing methods massively through social media and distributed traditionally to maximise gross income.