Film Industry:

Distribution

Distributors

• Individual distributors may release any number of films – up to 30 per year

• Competition – a typical week 10 new releases• More than 500 releases a year

Distribution processes

• Using your research from the homework task…• Create a flowchart poster / handout of what takes place in

the distribution process

• Include these people and what they do at each stage:• Publicists• Film makers• Producers• Designers• Cinema Exhibitors• Distributors• Media Agencies

Marketing (distribution)

• Create a table

• One side – traditional forms of marketing• One side – new forms of marketing

• Brainstorm as many different forms of marketing as possible that are involved in film• E.g. poster / social media

Marketing research

• Film distributors have to decide how to present a film to potential audiences

• USP – UNIQUE SELLING POINT• What sets this film apart from other films – director /

actor / producer / storyline / special effects

• The marketing campaign will be focused around these USPs• It will help potential audiences understand what they might

expect and provide a narrative image of the film• NARRATIVE IMAGE• An idea of the story of the film based on the way it is

presented through marketing material

Cross media marketing

• CROSS MEDIA• Different medias (TV/Radio/Print/Film) or different

media institutions (studios/newspapers/TV networks)

• CONVERGENCE• Joining of two or more media companies or

technologies to form a new object / promote a new product

• CROSS MEDIA CONVERGENCE• More than one company benefits from working in

partnership, ensuring a film reaches the widest audience available.

Example – The Dark Knight

• Produced by – Legendary Pictures with Warner Bros

• Distributed by – Warner Bros• Directed by – Christopher Nolan (Inception,

Memento)

Example – The Dark Knight

Example – The Dark Knight

Example – The Dark Knight

www.thegothamtimes.com

Example – The Dark Knight

• Publicity stunts – inviting fans to follow a case of clues around the internet, tracking the joker

• Date and time to meet up – hundreds of fans in New York saw the bat symbol projected onto the side of a skyscraper

• Collectables – offered as promotional item in newspapers, etc.

Marketing campaigns

• Choose one blockbuster and one independent film and plan your marketing campaign

• Use the questions on my blog to structure your planning

• Be prepared to justify the choices you are making

• Don’t forget to revisit the budget information from last lesson – remember that your options might be limited!

Exam question

• In what ways does the production, distribution and exhibition of a film impact / effect the film’s success?