1. Task 3
What kind of media institution might
distribute your media product and
why?

2. What is distribution?
Noun
The action of sharing something out among a number of recipients.
The way in which something is shared out among a group or spread over
an area.
A film distributor is the company or responsible for the marketing of a film.
They will influence how and where the film is viewed. They may choose
this to self-distribute the film, or distribute it directly to the audience.

3. The Big 6
• Paramount
• Warner Brothers
• Universal
• Fox
• Sony
• Disney
These are ‘The Big 6’ distribution
companies. These relate to the major
production and distribution companies. To
be considered within this bracket the
company must release a substantial amount
of films annually and maintain a high share
of the box-office revenues within a specific
market.

4. Examples of Distribution Companies
Sony - Sony distribute under the name Mirimax. Founded in 1979 by Bob and Harvey
Weinstein and headquartered in New York City and Cambridge, Massachusetts, Miramax was a
leading independent film motion picture distribution and production company before it was
acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 1993.

5. Our own distribution company
Our own distribution company that we made, is called Nebula inc. I have talked about
some of the decisions we made when producing it in question 1. We found that a lot of
production companies often produce a lot of films within the same genre, therefore we
wanted ours to appear as if it looked suitable to the thriller genre. To do this we kept the
colours quite dark and wanted to combine the colour, appearance and affects together to
create quite an exiting and powerful start to our opening sequence.

6. Comparison to distribution companies
The film we have produced is a crime thriller, therefore when looking for a company to
distribute our film, we would want one that predominantly focuses on that genre. I
have decided to search distribution companies.
“Kaleidoscope Film Distribution (KFD) is an expanding International Sales outfit based
in Soho, London. Approaching its second birthday, KFD is a one stop shop offering full
UK and international distribution and sales capabilities, and is one of the fastest
growing independents in the market. Having fully or partially financed ten titles from
pre-production so far, supporting independent film and filmmakers, is a key mission”

7. KFD have released a small amount of films, all focusing on thrillers. I believe
this would be a suitable distribution company for us, due to this film “i
Against i” being similar to ours. Although the storyline is quite unique, like
ours it is a crime thriller involving detectives. Their films seem to range
across different thrillers, with some bordering on horrors. Also, because
they are a small distribution company they are likely to not be overly
expensive and are based in London meaning it may be better as our film,
because it’s British, with British actors will probably appeal more to a British
audience. They may be interested in our film as they pride themselves on
“supporting independent film and filmmakers”.

8. Target audience
Our film is likely to mainly appeal to a British audience. This is because of the location, and because of
our actors being British too. This means that a British audience is far more likely to relate to our
characters. Despite this, our genre may still appeal to a wider audience due to the success of previous
crime thrillers. This is because our thriller is still going to maintain the main features of a film like this
with action and suspense. These universal themes will appeal to everyone therefore a lot of our
audience are likely to base weather they see the film or not on weather it has these key features. An
example of how well a British film is abroad that is slightly similar to ours is James Bond.
SKYFALL:
• Budget $150−200 million
• Box office $1,032,863,000

9. Possible Marketing Strategies
Teaser Trailer
One thing we could do is release a teaser trailer. This is affective as it gives the audience a small
snippet of what the film could be about. These are far more anticipated if the film or company is well-
known. This may mean it’s important to promote the company, by doing things such as attending film
festivals, and maybe even trying to win some kind of award.
Trailer
A full trailer is the main influence on weather someone will end up going to see the film. This is
because this is what will give the audience the best idea about the content of the film. As our
company isn’t well known it might be necessary to release a full trailer earlier than a lot of other
films so that we can try and attract more people, and reach out to a larger audience.
YouTube Channel
These can be very affective during promoting a film. An example is how big movies like James Bond
have kept a steady steam of videos throughout the build up to their film. This was to try and ensure
no one forgot about the release of the film and to build up the anticipation for it by giving the
audience snippets of things such as filming, being on set, the actors etc. As a less well known film, it
may be even more important to try and build up a fan base before hand to ensure people are
awaiting release.

10. Further Possible Marketing Strategies
One of the main marketing strategies that would could do is by taking
our film, before release, to one of the major film festivals. This would
be likely to be either the Toronto film festival, or Sundance. The
benefits of this would be getting critics to review it early. This means if
it is a good review it will increase the anticipation for the film,
meaning the film is likely to become much more well know. Also, the
film would gain strong media coverage, again adding to the
anticipation for it, if it were to win one of the awards they have at
these festivals. It would also get a lot of recognition from people
regarded highly in film, who could again be a key part in letting others
know about the film.

11. Self Distribution
This is a program that has been set up, helping independent filmmakers to self distribute their films. This is one option that we
could take.
“The 4-WALL SELECT PROGRAM offers independent filmmakers the opportunity to have their feature, documentary, or foreign
films shown in our celebrated theater (40 years old this year), in the heart of Greenwich Village. Participating filmmakers retain all
rights to their films, including all DVD, online, and streaming sales.
4-WALL SELECT HIGHLIGHTS:
(1) GUARANTEED OPENING. No ifs, and, or buts. Your film will open on a specific date and will run for an entire 7-day week.
(2) SIMPLICITY. No complex distribution agreements to muddle through. No need for an expensive entertainment lawyer.
(3) YOU'LL RECEIVE 100% OF THE BOX OFFICE INCOME. No hanky-panky. No deductions for overhead expenses and long waits.
You'll receive your check within 7 days after the close of your film.
(4) EASY ENTRANCE TO DVD/ONLINE SALES: With minimum fuss, and no extra expense, we'll encode, package, and submit your
film to the major DVD outlets and digital platforms like Netflix, iTunes (Apple), Amazon, Hulu, Vudu (Microsoft), Zune
(Walmart), You Tube, Sony Playstation and Google Play.”
If we were to do this we would have the benefits of self distribution:
You can retain full control and rights over your film, giving you the choice over where your film is shown.
You don't have to give a cut of the money made from any sales of your film to a distributor.