Evaluation Question 3 Plan

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

Film distribution is defined as the process of making a movie available for viewing by an audience. The distribution process is a fundamental aspect in the success of a film. Regardless of the quality of the film's production, if it is not distributed effectively, there will be no audience to consume the product, and subsequently there will be no revenue to be taken in order to reinvest in future products or to finance the initial production. This means that there will be less risk associated with a product if it's distribution process is efficient and well coordinated, as the companies associated will be more likely to receive a return on their investment. In the film industry, there are major distribution labels - companies that are commonly associated with distributing films with high production values and large markets - and there are independent distribution labels - companies who distribute productions with smaller budgets and target markets. The film market is oligopolistic in nature, meaning a few large companies dominate it. Generally, the major distribution institutions consist of six conglomerate Hollywood companies - Warner Bros., The Walt Disney Company, Universal, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Colombia, whereas there are a vast number of independent labels, both in the UK and the USA.

An example of a Hollywood distributor that might distribute our product would be New Line Cinema, a subsidiary of major label Warner Bros., who have a history of distributing successful horror productions, such as The Conjuring, Se7en and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. If I were to use a major Hollywood distributor, I would consider New Line Cinema because of it's good track record and history of previous successes, such as with the aforementioned films. For example, The Conjuring received a $300m revenue from a $20m production budget, Se7en received $327,311,859 from a $33m budget and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which was budgeted at only $9m received a gross revenue of $107,071,655, again highlighting the company's ability to distribute horror products. Also because of the previous successes of New Line cinema, a larger audience would naturally be interested in consuming the product, as they may associate this name with successful past film releases within the horror genre that may be similar to our product, and subsequently believe that this product will be of a similar standard.

In addition, there would be many other advantages to using a major distributor or a subsidiary of a major, such as the aforementioned Hollywood conglomerates to distribute our film - Captive. Firstly, using a major distributor such as this would ensure that the film would reach a vast audience, due to the money that would be spent on the marketing process. From prior research, I found that often majors would budget the marketing process almost equally to the production. For example, Skyfall, a film distributed by 20th Century Fox, cost almost the same to market as it did to produce ($200,000,000). This meant that the product could reach a much larger audience, as more large-scale marketing methods could be used, such as trailer distribution, creating additional products such as merchandise or using synergy to collaborate with other companies, in order to raise awareness of Captive's release.

Although using the experience of a major label to distribute our film would be more likely to maximise revenues, there are many reasons as to why I feel that it would not be an appropriate means of distribution, and would instead use an independent company to distribute our film. The first reason for this is because Blood Orange Productions is not a well-established production company, and is not responsible for any successful films. Due to this, it may be difficult to secure a deal with a major conglomerate or subsidiary of a conglomerate, as they too would be looking to partner with companies also with an accomplished track record in order to minimise the risks associated with distributing the product.

In addition, Captive has a very low production value including no well-established actors, increasing this risk even further, as viewers may expect a higher budgeted film including well known stars, if consuming through a major label at the box office. Also, because the film has a low production value, it would be more realistic to distribute using an independent institution, as they would be more experienced in handling small as well as large-scale products, as historically they have distributed films of various production values. Furthermore, securing a deal with major institutions would be very costly and time consuming, due to the scale of the distribution that would be on offer, whereas it would be relatively easy to secure with an independent label.

I believe that it would be in Blood Orange's best interest to distribute through an independent UK distribution company such as Hammer Films. Hammer, a studio that produces as well as distributes film, was founded in 1934 and has since been responsible for many successful horror products, such as Let Me In and The Woman in Black, a 2012 film budgeted at approximately £11.6m and grossing at over £80m, illustrating that UK independent labels are also capable of making huge profits from smaller scale films. Contrasting to most major labels, many independent studios, such as Hammer have a history of distributing films specific to the horror genre, meaning they are very experienced in their chosen field. This experience would be very beneficial to our product, as the company would have prior knowledge in the best means to distribute the type of film.

I would also consider it to be important that Captive is distributed in the UK rather than the USA. The main reason for this is because I feel that it would be received much better by a British audience than an American one. This is because firstly, our product contains is set in British surroundings with British actors. This means that it would most likely be slightly more relatable to viewers who are of a similar geographic demographic. Furthermore, later in the plot of Captive, it was planned that there will be many social and cultural references, and will show undertones of social-realism. From research, we found that UK based companies tended to be much more focussed on this kind of film, whilst it is notable that American productions rarely focus on any aspects of British social-realism, once again meaning that it may be less relatable for a foreign audience, potentially making for a less pleasurable viewing experience.

When distributing my film I think that it would be most advantageous to use digital as well as traditional means of distribution (through the box office). Initially however, I think that Captive should be shown in the cinema for a short period of time, as it would be costly to keep it being screened for a prolonged duration, when the estimated audience would be fairly small. It would be best to do this after creating an initial 'buzz' by marketing the film, using trailers, promotional posters. These would mostly be exhibited through a social media campaign, using a platform such as Facebook. This would be an ideal medium, as it is possible to reach a huge audience, of the demographic that we are targeting, very cheaply. After generating some initial revenue through cinema screenings, I think that the film should be distributed digitally. This means that it could be shown through online streaming platforms for example. This would probably be beneficial to introduce after the initial 'buzz' has deteriorated, and will help boost interest again, as a larger audience will be able to view the product cheaply and at their own convenience.

In conclusion, I feel that Captive would be most suited to being distributed by a UK based independent company such as Hammer Films. This is mostly because the product has a comparatively low production value, negotiations with the company would be simpler and because it would have better access to more niche audiences i.e British teenagers. Furthermore, my product will rely upon many forms of cheap marketing, mostly through social media, and will be distributed through both digitally and physically (box office) in order to maximise revenues.