Question 3;What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

What is a film distributor?• A film distributor is a company, usually different from the production

company which is responsible for the marketing of a film. Distribution deals are important part of financing a film.

• A distributor may set the release date of the film and the method by which a film is to be exhibited or made available for viewing. For example directly into cinemas or available for home viewing.

• A limited distributor may only deal with particular products, such as DVDs or may act in a particular country or market. The primary distributor will often receive credit in the films titles or other marketing material.

Major or independent distributor?• Because we want our film to be released and shown in a big multiplex

chain of cinemas we think that it would be necessary to use a major distributor for our genre for example ‘Blumhouse Productions’ They have been involved with the release of ‘Insidious’ ‘Paranormal Activity’ and ‘Oculus’ These films have been successful when hitting the big screen which proves that this production company is successful. Also by using a major distributor with a good reputation means that when the film is released people would associate that production company with good horror films meaning they would be encouraged to watch the new film released by this distributor. As opposed to using a smaller more independent one which the audience may not be familiar with meaning they would not have any associations with that distributor which might put them off wanting to watch our film.

Blumhouse Productions • If I had the chance to release a film with a real life distributor for our

genre I would use ‘Blumhouse Productions’ as they have been responsible for some of the best horror films of all time for example; ‘Ouija’ ‘The Purge: Anarchy’ and ‘Jessabelle’. These films have been prosperous in the cinema meaning that more than likely our film would be too. People make connections between production companies, for example Walt Disney and good films who appeal to all ages.

Low Budget Horror Films• There are many well known horror films with small budgets, this just

proves that successful horror films can be created on a tight budget. For example;

• Paranormal Activity = $15,000

• The Blair Witch Project = $60,000

• Saw = $1.2 Million

• Insidious = $1.5 Million

• The Last Exorcism = $1.8 Million

The information above shows how much money Paranormal Activity made in the box office. It supports the fact that low budget horror films are very successful if marketed correctly.

Marketing• There are many options when it comes to marketing a film, but for our

film to ensure attain views from the widest population possible it would be marketed everywhere. I would market it on social media firstly because most of our target audience will more than likely use it. If marketed on social media people can share and the advert is spread further and further afield. I would also start advertising the film months before release with a teaser trailer advert on a prime channel on TV such as ITV 1. But I would only show this after 9pm watershed as younger children may be watching TV with their parents before this time. When it gets closer to release of the film I will create an advert with the full trailer on to entice people to see the film. I would also create an app so that people can count down to the release of the film and also play games related to the film. I have also considered showing the film trailer at a film festival to gain more interest before the release. Some films sometimes release a soundtrack for the film prior to the release so that people know the film and some of the tracks from it.

Online Streaming/ On Demand• I think so that we can achieve the maximum amount of people

watching our film, after it had been released in cinemas our film should be available to stream and on demand. By choosing this it will mean that our film will have a wider audience. I would not want our film to be put on Youtube as that way people can watch for free, whereas On Demand and Online Streaming have to be paid for per month. Meaning that each film will make profit each time their film is streamed or the companies will pay the production company to have their film on their website or system.

Conclusion• In summary, I would use a major distributor such as Blumhouse

Productions to market our film as I feel that by using a big, well-known production company means that our film will most likely do well. I have found out that it is possible for low-budget horror films like ours can be very successful without spending the cash. I would like to release our film into big multiplex cinemas around the world so that everyone can see our film. I would also like it to be on streaming websites such as Netflix. Finally our film would be marketed in several ways, such as; use of social media to attract the target audience and television adverts so that everyone can see it on a mainstream channel such as ITV.