Question 3

QUESTION 3

:

WHAT

MED

IA IN

STITU

TION

MIGHT

DISTR

IBUTE

YOUR

MEDIA

PRODUCT

AND WHY?

WHAT IS A FILM DISTRIBUTOR?

A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing

films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing.

You can get major or independent companies which are very different and tend to distribute different film

types.

WHAT IS A MAJOR DISTRIBUTION COMPANY?

A major film studio is a movie production and distribution company that releases a substantial number of films annually and

consistently commands a significant share of box-office revenues in a given market.

EXAMPLES.

-Universal

-Columbia

-20th Century Fox

-Warner Bros.

-Paramount

FILMS DISTRIBUTED BY MAJOR COMPANIES.

Universal Jaws, Jurassic Park, American Pie, Bourne Identity and Fast and Furious

Columbia Men in Black, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Karate Kid and 2012.

20th Century Fox A-Team, The Chronicles of Narnia, Avatar, Night at the Museum, Transporter and Cheaper by the

Dozen.

Warner Brothers Inception, Sex and the City, The Hangover, Harry Potter, Invictus and The Dark Knight

ParamountPuss in Boots,Kung fu Panda, Captain America, Shutter Island and Iron Man

WHAT IS AN INDEPENDENT DISTRIBUTION COMPANY?

• An Independent film is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system.

• Independent films are sometimes distinguishable by their content and style and the way in which the filmmakers' personal artistic vision is realised.

• Usually, independent films are made with considerably lower film budgets than major studio films.

• Independent films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals before distribution.

• An independent film production can rival a mainstream film production if it has the necessary funding and distribution.

EXAMPLES. THE FOLLOWING STUDIOS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE THE MOST PREVALENT OF THE MODERN INDEPENDENT STUDIOS

-Film4

-Entertainment One

-IFC Films

-Fox Searchlight Pictures

FILMS DISTRIBUTED BY INDEPENDENT COMPANIES.

Film4 Shaun of the Dead, 127 Hours, Inbetweeners MovieThis is England

Entertainment OneThe Bridge, Our Brand is Crisis andThe Official Story.

IFC FilmsHuman Centipede, Strangers, Chalet Girl and My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Fox Searchlight Juno, Black Swan, (500) Days of Summer, Whip It, History Boys and Napoleon Dynamite.

RESEARCH

Juno Avatar 0

2

Box Office Revenue

We did research into the Independent film ‘Juno’ which was distributed by Fox Searchlight and the Major film ‘Avatar’ distributed by 20th Century Fox on there Box Office revenue. As you can see Avatar made around $2 billion on the box office alone compared to Juno who accumulated $2 million from box office. These results show that majorly distributed films tend to make

more money as an end result as they are targeted to a much wider audience and are marketed on a much larger scale than independent films.

RESEARCH

77.27.47.67.8

88.2 We researched the two films using

the ‘Rotten Tomato’ review website and found that Juno (the film independently distributed) scored 8.1/10 from critics. Whereas Avatar (distributed by a major company, and with a much higher budget profit) only scored 7.4/10.

This goes to show that as Independently distributed films are used to target a niche audience the overall reception will be much greater. Whereas majorly distributed films are shown to a much wider audience with completely different interests when it comes to film, this is evidently shown in these results where Avatar which has spent millions on its production, scored less on reviews as not all of the public may have liked it.

OUR DECISION...

When asked what institution might distribute our media product, we had a long discussion about it and after our research we decided that we would want an independent distribution company to issue our final media film.

WHY?

• more creative control

• more of an overall profit

• low budget

• target a niche audience

• more rewarding process

Please listen to Podcasts Below…

Podcast 1

Podcast 5

Podcast 4

Podcast 3

Podcast 2

SUMMARY

So overall, an independent distribution company would be the most suitable choice for our thriller as our individualistic style and genre would be able to relish unlike with a major company who may change or manipulate our idea in order to reach a bigger target and make a bigger profit.

Although film distributed by Major companies tend to make more overall box office revenue and profit we feel as we have a very low budget even by going independent our profit will be huge in comparison to our starting costs.