Main points:
OPENING SENTENCE:
1.(Make sure that you have the question above written on your blog). Answer the question directly: " An independent distributor would distribute my film" (state which one you have chosen, e.g. Verve) Explain why your chosen distributor is a good fit.
Explain what distribution is: Distribution is the process of getting the film into the hands of the theatre chains, broadcasters, video stores and video on demand (VoD) operators. The companies that do this are called distributors. In general a producer uses a sales agent to license a film to distributors outside the producer’s own country.
As I made a film opening, I would look to find a distributor to distribute my film.
2. Explain what you learned about distribution from the FDA. What precisely do distributors do?
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| From www.launchingfilms.com The FDA site |
- I researched distribution on the FDA website
- as well as through the FutureLearn course entitled The Business of Film
- and at an AL study day at the BFI delivered by Rob Miller
- I also looked at case studies
- In brief, distributors are responsible for....(Say what distributors do)
- SAY WHAT DISTRIBUTORS DO (digital and conventional screenings, cinema exhibition, DVD and other sales)
- and HOW THEY RAISE AWARENESS ( P & A, film websites with interactivity, social media (such as Twitter, FB, Snapchat, Instagram), TV spots, trailers)
3. Explain what you learned about the difference between the distribution of big budget films and small or micro budget films such as yours. Refer to real case studies to explain and support your points.
From my research into the Hollywood Big 6 and other big studios, I learned that big budget films have a wide range of distribution strategies at their disposal. I had already noticed from my own interest in film how distributors drew my attention to films, such as London Has Fallen, as I had seen billboards and a trailer. Then I did a case study on the distribution of JURASSIC PARK. However, low budget films, like mine, can struggle to find any distributor at all. I did a case study on the distribution of Tortoise In Love, having discovered that the BFI's P & A fund stepped in to help them distribute their film.
4. Research a particular distributor and explain what kinds of films they usually handle. You will need to go to their website to see their mission statements. Explain why you would like them to distribute your film. What would make a good fit for your film?
After having researched many aspects of film distribution, I would pick Warp (Vertigo or whichever...) to distribute my low-budget indie feature film.
GIVE EXAMPLES OF CASE STUDIES ( eg a film by your chosen distributor)
Marketing glossary of vocabulary from MediaKnowall here.
- PRESENT THIS IN PREZI EXPLAINING WHICH DISTRIBUTION COMPANY WOULD PRESENT YOUR FILM AND WHY YOU CHOSE THAT COMPANY (their track record). You attended a BFI Southbank AL study day Introduction to the Film Industry: an AL Study Day’ at the British Film Institute on Wednesday 2 November 2016. This may inform your choice of distributor. For example, Vertigo Films state on their website:
- The company’s mission is to
create and distribute commercially driven independent cinema and since
inception it has produced 28 films and distributed a further 35. The
Films span a range of genres and audience taste and include the box
office smash hit Streetdance 3D, the biggest independent UK DVD of all time The Football Factory, the multi award winning Monsters, Vertigo co-production Ajami (nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film), smash hit family film Horrid Henry The Movie, audience favourite The Sweeney, and the hottest director of the moment, Nicolas Winding Refn's first English-language film, Bronson.
Championing new talent has been key to Vertigo Film’s production strategy and it continues to pride itself on being at the forefront of breaking new talent, including Tom Hardy (Bronson), Scoot McNairy (Monsters), Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist), Gareth Edwards (Monsters), Paul Andrew Williams (London to Brighton), Ben Gregor (All Stars) and Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson). Does this make it a good fit for your film?
Current FDA members:
• Artificial Eye
• Dogwoof
• E1 Entertainment UK
• Entertainment Film Distributors
• Eros International
• Icon Film Distribution
• Metrodome Distribution
• Momentum Pictures
• Optimum Releasing
• Paramount Pictures UK
• Park Circus
• Pathé Distribution
• Reliance Big Entertainment PLC
• Revolver Entertainment
• Soda Pictures
• Sony Pictures Releasing
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Co.
• Universal Pictures UK
• Verve Pictures
• Warner Bros. Distributors
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, UK
The King’s Speech (Tom Hooper, 2011)
Distributor: Momentum
Home page: http://www.momentumpictures.co.uk/
Mike Leigh was recognised for Another Year with a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Since its international premiere at the Cannes film festival, Another Year received critical acclaim and grossed £1.6m at the UK box office.
UK independent distributor Momentum Pictures and Paramount Pictures International have struck a six-picture deal whereby Paramount will book the films and Momentum will handle marketing and publicity, as on their traditional releases. The deal comes at a time of increasing consolidation in the UK distribution sector. Other recent pacts struck in the sector include Warner Entertainment UK’s agreement to handle distribution of Pathe productions in the UK and Ireland and Metrodome’s deal to “represent” Palisades Tartan’s TV and VOD library in the UK.
Momentum is part of the Goldman Sachs-controlled Alliance group in Canada which also includes Spanish distributor Aurum. The company has had a lacklustre year at the UK box office with titles such as Dorian Gray, The Young Victoria and A Perfect Getaway.
Both are stating that their new joint venture has no “longer-term implications.”
Under the terms of their alliance, the two companies will collaborate on the release in the UK theatrical marketplace of six high profile US films: Law Abiding Citizen and The Rebound from The Film Department, The Crazies from Overture/Paramount Vantage International and Dear John, The Season Of The Witch and The Fighter from Relativity Media.
WHAT IS DISTRIBUTION?
from BFI Screenonline by David Sin
Screenonline
Distribution, the third part of the film supply chain, is often referred to as 'the invisible art', a process known only to those within the industry, barely written about and almost imperceptible to everyone else. Yet arguably, distribution is the most important part of the film industry, where completed films are brought to life and connected with an audience. So what is involved in this invisible process? Distribution is about releasing and sustaining films in the market place. In the practice of Hollywood and other forms of industrial cinema, the phases of production, distribution and exhibition operate most effectively when 'vertically integrated', where the three stages are seen as part of the same larger process, under the control of one company. In the UK, distribution is very much focused on marketing and sustaining a global product in local markets.
In the independent film sector, vertical integration does not operate so commonly. Producers tend not to have long-term economic links with distributors, who likewise have no formal connections with exhibitors. Here, as the pig-in-the-middle, distribution is necessarily a collaborative process, requiring the materials and rights of the producer and the cooperation of the exhibitor to promote and show the film in the best way possible. In this sector, distribution can be divided into three stages - licensing, marketing and logistics.
THE LOGISTICS OF DISTRIBUTION
Screenonline
The distributor will enter into an agreement with the cinema to screen the film on certain 'play-dates'. It is the responsibility of the distributor to arrange the transportation of the film to the cinema, as part of its wider coordination of print use across the UK. Logistics represents the phase of distribution at its most basic - supplying and circulating copies of the film to theatres, of tapes and DVDs to shops and video rental stores, and managing the effectiveness of the supply. The showing of films in cinemas is a time-pressured activity. Cinemas spend their money publicising film play-dates and times in local papers or through published programmes. There's an imperative for the distributor to deliver the film on time. For UK theatrical exhibition, the distributor typically handles 35mm film prints. Each print can cost around £1,000 - or twice that if subtitled - so a degree of care is required of everyone involved in handling the print. In the UK, prints are generally broken down for ease of handling into smaller reels, each lasting around 18-20 mins when run through a projector at 24 frames per second. So a feature print, in its physical form, will usually be 5 or 6 reels, stored and supplied in a single hard case, weighing in at 20-25kgs. Prints are hired by the exhibitor for the duration of their play-dates, and therefore each print is made for repeat use. It's easy to see from this that, during the course of even a short theatrical release period, any single print needs to be moved many times from the main print warehouse, onto a delivery van, to the cinema, onto an assembly bench, through the projector and then back through the process and onto the next cinema.
THE LOGISTICS OF DISTRIBUTION
Screenonline
The distributor will enter into an agreement with the cinema to screen the film on certain 'play-dates'. It is the responsibility of the distributor to arrange the transportation of the film to the cinema, as part of its wider coordination of print use across the UK. Logistics represents the phase of distribution at its most basic - supplying and circulating copies of the film to theatres, of tapes and DVDs to shops and video rental stores, and managing the effectiveness of the supply. The showing of films in cinemas is a time-pressured activity. Cinemas spend their money publicising film play-dates and times in local papers or through published programmes. There's an imperative for the distributor to deliver the film on time. For UK theatrical exhibition, the distributor typically handles 35mm film prints. Each print can cost around £1,000 - or twice that if subtitled - so a degree of care is required of everyone involved in handling the print. In the UK, prints are generally broken down for ease of handling into smaller reels, each lasting around 18-20 mins when run through a projector at 24 frames per second. So a feature print, in its physical form, will usually be 5 or 6 reels, stored and supplied in a single hard case, weighing in at 20-25kgs. Prints are hired by the exhibitor for the duration of their play-dates, and therefore each print is made for repeat use. It's easy to see from this that, during the course of even a short theatrical release period, any single print needs to be moved many times from the main print warehouse, onto a delivery van, to the cinema, onto an assembly bench, through the projector and then back through the process and onto the next cinema.
35mm theatrical prints invariably suffer cumulative damage as they pass through different projectors, and the hands of various projectionists. There are also overheads incurred by the distributor for the storage of prints at the UK's central print warehouse in West London. For these reasons, each theatrical print has a finite lifespan.
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
Screenonline For exhibitors, digital projection, especially when married to the increasing use digital formats in production, can now replicate - if not surpass - the image quality of conventional 35mm cinema presentation. And, of course, digital sound systems have been used in cinemas for some time.
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
Screenonline For exhibitors, digital projection, especially when married to the increasing use digital formats in production, can now replicate - if not surpass - the image quality of conventional 35mm cinema presentation. And, of course, digital sound systems have been used in cinemas for some time.
In distribution terms, the advantages of digital technology are even clearer, though perhaps longer term. Digital technology is seen to offer a more cost effective and logistics-light alternative to the tried and trusted, but unwieldy model of 35mm print distribution described above. It will, eventually, be cheaper and much less stressful to send films as computer files to cinemas across the UK, than to transport 20-25kg tins of film in the back of a van. The distributor will send feature film files electronically, via broadband networks, thus eliminating dependence on transportation.It will be less expensive in the coming years to offer a wide theatrical opening with many copies, and also conversely, to screen a film for just one performance at any cinema. Theatrical opening may used as a way of providing a loss-leading marketing platform for the highly lucrative DVD leg.
THE UK FILM COUNCIL
THE UK FILM COUNCIL
The UK Film Council has been responsible for the creation of a digital screen network; support for independent cinemas; and improving access to cinema for people with disabilities.
Fifteen million pounds of capital funding has been delegated to the UK Film Council by the Arts Council of England, which is allocated as follows:
Digital Screen Network The largest proportion has been used to create a network of screens dedicated to the exhibition of specialised films in locations across the UK where there is no such provision currently.
Capital funding for cinemas This fund assists cinema operators to undertake and/or complete capital projects, particularly where the works are considered essential to the cinema's continued existence or of benefit to audiences that may currently be excluded (for example, by improving access for disabled cinemagoers).
Please note: no funding is currently available for cinemas.
