Thriller opening sequence – Evaluation: Question 3

‘What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?’

The thriller opening that I have created could be is intended for a more smaller audience, rather than a mainstream one. The reason it could be considered a mainstream film is that most the cinematography, sound, mise-en-scene, and editing conforms to the thriller genre itself. Because of how it conforms with the genre itself it may have an appeal to a somewhat larger audience. However, my thriller would be better suited to the title of a more independent film as it is specifically a crime-thriller, rather than a thriller that conforms to all sub-genres. To make myself clear, an example of a thriller that does conform to more than one sub-genre would be any of the Batman films. Whereas my crime-thriller has more of an appeal to a specific audience.

Distribution companies:

The thriller would be considered a low-budget, British, crime-thriller. Because of this it would be a UK based distribution company. The first the comes to mind is Film 4. Film 4 is a UK based distribution company who have produced some low-budget films, such as Inbetweeners 2. The fact that Film4 is sister company to UK TV channel would suggest that they have experience with how to appeal to a British audience and that the company will have lots of knowledge on the British film industry. Although the question is about distribution it would be worth mentioning that Film4 have exhibited smaller thrillers such as Old Boy, as well as better known thrillers such as Se7en. I have mentioned this to show the experience and knowledge of thrillers the sister-companies have. In terms of distribution our film matches with the ethos of the company, which is that the company is trying to develop new British talent. Therefore, making it more likely for them to be the company that distributes our film. Another company that could be the distributor would be the, again, UK based company Entertainment Film Distributors. The company itself has been known to release more ‘niche’ films such as Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. Like Film4 (production company) the company itself has distributed what most would consider ‘bigger films’ which shows a great promise, as it is a great proof of knowledge about the industry, as well as the genre itself. Out of the two companies, it would be Film4 who I think would be more likely to distribute our film, as they are a company who focus more on the smaller films and would be able to cater to all the needs.

Which cinemas would exhibit the film?

Realistically, Cinema City would be the cinema to exhibit our film. As I have previously mentioned our film has more of an appeal to more specific audiences. One of these audiences are students, who are studying media. The reason this is relevant to who would exhibit our film is that Cinema City are known for having a variety of features that could appeal to this target audience. The first would be the ‘Slackers club’ at Cinema City. This is a club which is targeted at all students, which would allow us to access one of one of our target audiences. Another target audience would be an older audience. The reason being is

that our film is a crime-thriller and this subgenre has a specific appeal to older audiences. Again, at cinema city there is a club that appeals to the older, more mature audiences. This is the no popcorn club, the club appeals to an older audience and shows films that appeal to them, although some of the films shown are more arthouse, thrillers and crime-thrillers are still exhibited. A more mainstream cinema who could exhibit my film would be Vue. Although it is very unlikely, the idea that the thriller conforms with common thriller conventions suggests it could be considered mainstream, which a cinema such as Vue are known for exhibiting. This would allow a wider audience to access the film. The idea of putting the film straight to DVD release wouldn’t be practical as it wouldn’t allow me to access the target audience of which I would like to access the film.

Opportunities for distribution being a student film maker:

I don’t want to sound as if I am repeating myself, but being a student film maker would make it likely that Cinema City would be the company to distribute the film. The reason being is the interaction between Cinema City and students. Cinema City, as of late has adapted to distribute and exhibit more popular films, the company in Norwich is known for focusing on the smaller films that have an appeal to a more specific audience. Another proof of the connection between students and the company would be the slackers club, but also that it allows for screens to be rented and this is commonly used by teachers and students to exhibit films. It may not be directly relevant to the distribution side, but it’s showing the connection between students and the company itself, in which gives the idea that being a student provides opportunities for distribution.

How could digital technologies offer opportunities for distribution?

Since the proliferation in use of digital technologies from laptops to tablet devices social media has become a platform which a wide variety of ages have access to. Social media advertising has become increasingly popular and would be most appropriate for our thriller as the most common users of it are those of the age of one of the target audiences. According to the 2013 BFI report most of the users of digital technology, more specifically social media are those of the age 16-24. This is the age of A-level students and most of those studying a degree within media, overall this means we can gain easier access to one of the target audiences. Another platform within the realms of digital technologies that could provide opportunity would be YouTube. YouTube is a platform that is accessible to everyone and used by most ages, but more specifically a younger audience. I don’t want to repeat myself but YouTube would allow access to the younger, student audience rather than an older audience. Overall, digital technologies provide us with an opportunity to distribute to a younger audience rather than an older one as the technology is more popular amongst them.

What difficulties might you face when bringing your film to market?

The first, most obvious difficulty to overcome would be the lack of experience that I have when it comes to distributing a film, considering the fact that this is my first production. I

have no proper knowledge of how the industry works and therefore to overcome this issue would have to research into making a systematic plan, as well as getting advice from companies and people within the industry. Another difficulty would be the lack of recognition in which I as well as my production partner has. The lack of recognition would be difficult for any distribution company to overlook when deciding to distribute. Or even if I chose to distribute myself, even more so would the lack of recognition hurt my chances of successful recognition. The final difficulty that I would face would be the fact that my film is a low-budget film, which would mean it would have no chance of ever having any mainstream attention, so to speak, payed to it. To resolve this Cinema City or Film4 would be the distribution company that I would turn to in order to distribute.