PLANNING: HOW MY PROJECT WOULD BE DISTRIBUTED AS A REAL MEDIA TEXT

HOW MY PROJECT WOULD BE DISTRIBUTED AS A REAL MEDIA TEXT

I completed research on the FDA website by watching A VIDEO about the role of the distributor. I learned about the specific steps which are taken to distribute a film.

How Are Films Distributed?

In an independent film project, strategies around sales and distribution, how and where a film is released are an essential part of the finance process further up the value chain. The existing model for the exploitation of films is the concept of ‘windows’. Distribution, the third part of the film supply chain, sometimes referred to as 'the invisible art', a process known only to those within the industry, barely written about and almost unnoticeable to everyone else. Although films are released in many different windows, distributors often focus most on the cinema performance of a film.

What Do Distributors Do?

Film distribution is making a movie available for viewing by an audience. This tends to be the task of a professional film distributor, who would control the marketing plan for the film, the way people could see the film and who may set the release date and other things. The film may be exhibited directly to the public either through a movie theatre, television or personal home viewing. For adverts, film distributions usually go together with a film promotion. In addition, film distributors work on the film’s promotion by airing adverts and trailers on various platforms. They also have to decide what elements make the film so they can choose what age to target the film at or genre of the film. 

FDA (Film Distributors Association)

Below is a link to the FDA alongside pictures of videos from their website. When our project is done it will be distributed by a distributor. To understand more I watched videos from the FDA’s website. From my research I have found that the main role of a distributor is to bring a movie into the market. Another role of distributors to identify the target audience. In one of the videos Mark Batey said that "the process of bringing a film to market is fast, highly competitive with each film being different".

http://launchingfilms.com/furtherdiscussions#fragment-2

The Business Of Film - Week 3

Another way in which I found out more about distributors and what they do was by using the business of film week three this website (link below) helped me a lot with regards to having a clear understanding of what distributors do. The screenshots and link below are proof of my research.

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/business-of-film/5/todo/20856

The Distribution Of A Film Life Cycle

Film Production - The casting and filming of the actual production.

Film Distribution - Film reels are produced and sent to as many cinemas as possible.

Film Exhibition - Getting the film into multiplex cinemas and shown to the public.

Film Marketing - Advertise the film as widely as possible.

CASE STUDY - DISTRIBUTION OF TORTOISE IN LOVE
Today in class we looked into the making and results of the independent film Tortoise in Love. The film was made in the village of Kingston Bagpuize. Tortoise in Love is a 2012 British romantic comedy film. The story follows a microbiologist turned stately home gardener who enlists the help of his village in an attempt to woo a Polish Au pair he has fallen in love with. It was first shown at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, the film received its world premiere at Odeon West End, Leicester Square, the first film to premiere at Leicester Square since its official re-opening. The film made headlines as a result of having its funding entirely crowd sourced from the village of Kingston Bagpuize and the neighboring village of Southmoor. Whilst the BFI has been running its rural Cinema Plot Scheme recently, most films are still only available to non-mainstream venues 12-16 weeks after their cinematic release. It was the BFI P&A fund that supported them financially and helped them with other things.

CASE STUDY - DISTRIBUTION OF '71
'71 tells the story of a British soldier who becomes separated from his unit during a riot in Belfast at the height of the Troubles in 1971. First of all the distributors war benefited from holding the film release until american audiences had seen Jack O' Conell in his first major Hollywood picture, Angelina Jolie's Unbroken (2014) which earnt him a BAFTA. The distribution strategie also involved targeting UK and US audiences who were concerned about the radicalization of young men.