Distribution

WHAT IS FILM DISTRIBUTION?

>Describes everything in between production & exhibition.
>Distribution involves all of the deals done to get films shown and promoted
>Promotion involves : Paid for 'above the line' (which will be funded as part of the project e.g. trailers, posters, billboards and various spin offs.)
>Also includes mechandising 'below the line' publicity (which is not paid for but generates mutal interest e.g. interviews.)

Tony Angellotti:
-The audience has the greatest power
-If the audience like a particular superstar, then Hollywood is forced to use the superstar

Toby Miller
-Hollywood anticipates tastes & forms them
-Distribution & promotion is key to success

IS IT ALL FAIR...?
Do distributions treat all films equally & ensure fair play in getting films to the publics attention.

Consider...
*The big companies who control much of the industry control distribution of their own products and of other (e.g. 20th Century Fox & Avater).
*Films are loaned out to cinemas for a finite period & release deals are done that secure access to a certain number of screens at a time. But in the UK film market, an increase in the quantity of screens showing films HAS NOT led to an increase in the number of films shown.

5 Major distributors dominate the UK film industry
1) United International Pictures (Universal is a part of this company)
2) Warner Brothers
3) Buena Vista
4) Twentieth Century Fox
5) Sony

KEY POINTS
*9/10 films seen in the UK are viewed as a result of these distributors
*In most cases these distributors are directly linked to Hollywood production companies who make the films AND exhibitors who prioritise Hollywood films over others for profit
*Usually Blockbuster films we are familiar which are distributed via 'blanket release' so even if a small UK independant company manages to get its product into cinemas, it is usually competiting for attention with one or more films that take on the status of an event
*One of the outcomes of the above distribution arrangement is that half of the films released in Britain do not reach the whole country.

Problems Smaller Companies Face
*Every film shown in cinema needs a seperate 'print' projected on a reel.
*Major companies can afford to produce a lot more than small companies. This is because the money they will make in box office returns.

Does Marketing A Film Really Matter?
*Pirates of the caribbean recieved many bad reviews however it still made over £50 million in the UK box office & 1.5 million copies of the DVD were purchased in the 10 days after release.

The Dark Knight
*In terms of viral promotion it broke records.
*Cost £185,000,000 to make.
*Shown on 4336 screens.
*This is England (film4) shown on 62 screens.

Piracy Problems
*Piracy is a major concern. With Hollywood investigators claiming a 10% increase each year in revenue lost to illegal distribution.

Main Problems
*UK high degree of DVD piracy.
*The UK film councils recommendations include responding to internet distribution opportunites.

Digital Distribution Advantages
*Promises to transform the film industry more than any previous technological change since sound.
*Once is becomes a norm to download a film via broadband, the potential for a new form you no longer need multiple prints. You can also bypass the cinemas (although the big screen offers a serperate experience that is likely to remain attractive)
*Control and Security.

RELEASE OF A FILM

Marketability

• Identify target audience and the best way to approach them (devicing a strategy).
• Decide who best to link with (radio,tv,online etc).
• Got to decide best way you can reach your target audience using the correct marketing method.

Positioning and Audience

• Genre, age, group, director.
• Are the audience media consumers - know the directors and are aware of them.

Target audience

• If 45 + it takes a week for them to decide what to see, teens are more spontaneous.
• Where people will view the film ( which cinema ).
• They track whose going and what decisions they make.

Marketing Plan

• Advertising (expensive) - magazines, newspapers, internet.
• Press (free) - stories about films in newspapers.
• Out door advertising, buses, bill boards.
• Screening programs (free screening) - Word of mouth (live blog fees) - CRUCIAL

Film Distribution

• Competition