Opening Sequence Evaluation Q3

Q3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Our film would be shown in a small screening as it is a low budget film. It is likely to be shown at places such as film festivals, through the internet on websites such as YouTube. After the film has been completely put together the final print of the movie will be sent to distribution companies. They will show it to prospective buyers representing the movie theaters. The buyers will then negotiate with the distribution company on the movies they chose to lease, after which they draw up an agreement. The prints are then sent to the movie theatres who show the movie for a certain amount of time. This time is called an engagement. After this the prints are sent back to the distributor who makes the payment to the theatre on the terms of the agreement.

The better the director and producers of the film mean the better media distributor the film will get. As our film has only been produced by students who made it on a low budget, we are unlikely to get a big named distributor as we will be unheard of. Therefore it would be more likely to be distributed by a small independent distributor. These are companies such as ‘Dogwoof’, who have distributed films such as ‘Enemies of the People’ and ‘Into Eternity’. Also companies such as ‘Artificial Eye’, ‘Metrodome Distribution’ and ‘Short Circuit Films’. I feel that companies such as these would consider distributing our film as they are small and independent.

Our film will be shown in small screenings at small cinemas which will be attracting a free audience. The audience will not have to pay anything. By doing this we will get recognition as film makers. It will also mean that we will be able to network with other film makers and even perhaps potential film distributors or other potential workers who we may be able to work with in the future.

Other institutions such as the internet may distribute our film. For example, Twitter and Facebook. They can post our film on their website in order to attract a niche audience. As statistics show users of Facebook and Twitter are mainly teenagers. This is likely to be because they have a lot of free time to spend using such sites. By gaining a teen niche audience we will be able to network with other young people who may also be trying to get recognition from producing such things. For example, short films or clips. This would mean that not only would our film be being watched however it will be being watched by others who also have knowledge in the field which would benefit us. It would benefit us as we would be getting constructive criticism from people who have
Also had experience in this field.

Other ways in which we could distribute our film would be to enter competitions such as the ‘Young Filmmakers competition’. These are usually organized by media institutions such as Film Four. This would help us as we would of course be getting recognition from the public. Also, Film Four is a well established company who attract a wide mass audience although they specialize in independent films. This would help us as it is probably one of the most well known institutions our film would be able to work with therefore our film would have more of a chance at attracting a mass audience. Also, by entering such competitions we will be able to work with famous filmmakers and directors who would have a lot of knowledge and experience in this field. This would therefore benefit us as we would be able to get feedback and in some cases even get help from them.

Heena