Film Distributors set the release date of a film and the method by which the film is to be made available for viewing. For example, directly to the public (DVD, video on demand, download, television programs through broadcasting). It is the process of making a movie available for viewing by an audience, normally the task of the film distributor, who would determine the marketing strategy for a film, the media by which a film is to be exhibited or made available for viewing and who also may set the release date. The film may be exhibited directly to the public either through the cinema or television or through home viewing. Below i am going to attach a video telling you all about UK Film Distributions if you didn't understand my worded description above.
There are many media platform in which films can be exhibited. For example, there is DVD, TV, Cinema, Internet etc.
Pre-studio Era
The states rights system. Films were sold on a local territorial basis. Film copyright holders would sell rights of a movie directly to the theatre or franchise. This system was generally the best way to ensure national release of a film, particularly for shorter films. However, in terms of profitability, the state rights system wasn't the most effective way to screen feature length films since the films producers only made money on the initial sale of each film copy.
With the road show system, the producer would enter into an agreement with each theatre. Money would be made via each ticket sale. Although this method helped increase films earnings for the producer, a movie's release would only be regional.
Standard Release
Also known as the release window. The release window system was released as a strategy to keep different instances of a movie from competing with each other, allowing the movie to take advantage of the different markets like cinema, home video, TV etc. at different times.
In the standard process a movie is first released through cinema (theatrical window) and then approximately 16 and a half weeks it is released onto blu-ray and DVD. After several more months is is usually released to pay TV and approximately 2 years after its theatrical release date it is made available for free to air TV.
Simultaneous Release
A simultaneous release takes place when a movie is made available by means of many media (cinema, TV, DVD etc.) at the same time or with very little time difference.
This is an advantages as audiences who want to watch the film can choose the means in which they watch the film that suits them. However, it could be said that it could spoil the magic of moviegoing.
Straight to Video Release
A straight to video release occurs when a film is released on home video formats like DVD without being released in cinemas first, therefore not taking into consideration the theatrical window.
Internet Release
Internet release is when people can access films from their devices such as laptops, computers, mobile phones etc. They can download films on things like Netflix. This is a very effective way of distributing films as more and more people are using the internet therefore getting a wider and broader market watching the film.
DVD
A film that is released on DVD is Harry potter and the prisoner of Azkaban. This film was released May 31st, 2004 in the UK. and on June 4th 2004 in North America, as the first Harry Potter film to be released into IMAX theatres and to be using IMAX technology. It is also the last Harry Potter film to be released on VHS as well as the last film until Harry Potter and the half blood prince to be rated PG in North America. The film was nominated for two academy awards Best Original Music Score and Best Visual Effects at the 77th academy awards 2005.
TV
A film released on TV was Descendants. This film made its debut on family channel in Canada on July 31st 2015, at the same time as the United States. It was also the last Disney Channel Original Movie to air in Canada on Family after moving all Disney content to Disney Channel. The film premiered on August 1st 2015 on Disney channel in Australia and New Zealand and on September 25th 2015 on Disney channel in the UK and Ireland. Descendants was released on DVD on July 31st 2015.
Theatre Release
A film that is released in the Theatre that never made it to DVD release is dream demon. A british horror roughly contemporary with the likes of hell raiser and paper house. On VHS this sat in the palace horror series alongside the hills have eyes, basket case and the evil dead. Likely due to the bankruptcy of Palace Pictures. Palace only had distribution rights to a lot of their hit titles which is why they are still available with no problem, having been picked up again by others. But Dream Demon was actually produced by palace and three other companies that no longer exist either. This is why it was in cinema but was never released on DVD.
VOD Services
War Machine is a new film that is a Netflix original movie so therefore is not available on DVD. In June Netflix acquired one of the most high profile feature film projects yet in this satirical war comedy. The movie will get a qualifying theatrical run, and then a big Netflix world-wide bow sometime in 2016.
The most appropriate media platform for our thriller would be theatrical release. A platform release is a type of limited release strategy whereby a film opens in fewer theatres (typically 1,000 or less) than a wide release. If the film revives positive feedback, then it will be gradually expanded to more theatres as the marketing gains momentum. If the film is successful it will even have the possibility of expanding into a wide release. The advantage of this strategy is that a wider audience will see the film as moviegoing is a very popular activity with thousands of people visiting cinemas around the UK each month. More people will see our film if it bought out in the cinemas first rather than just bringing it straight out on DVD. If people bought it straight away on DVD and they didn't like it then they will not watch it again whereas if they see it on the cinemas they will definitely stay and watch it as they have paid to watch it.
Films Similar to our Thriller
The Boy
One film similar to our own thriller is the boy. A young American named Greta takes a job as a nanny for an 8 year old boy in a remote English village. To her surprise Greta learns that the child of her new employers is a life sized doll. They care for the doll as if it was human, which helps the couple to cope with the death of their own son 20 years earlier. When Greta violates a list of strict rules, a series of disturbing and inexplicable bring her worst fears to life, leading her to believe that the doll is alive. The genre of this film is thriller/horror which is similar to our film which is a thriller. There are the same characteristics of a thriller like our film. There are psychotic characters playing psychotic mind games, there is tense music, dark colours etc.
The distributor of this film is STX Entertainment.
The Hoarder
Another film similar to our thriller is the Hoarder. A woman enters an underground storage facility, where she soon finds herself trapped and stalked by a killer. The genre of this film is again thriller/horror. This is similar to our film as ours is a thriller. This film is a lot more similar to our film than many other thrillers out there as this film is about a woman who is being stalked by a killer. Our film is about a boy who is being stalked, which is challenging the convention of this thriller and also many other thrillers. Both films are to do with stalking.
The distributor of this film is Ascot Elite Entertainment Group and RLJ Entertainment.
Single White Female
Having recently split from fiancé Sam Rawson, Allison Jones welcomes new room mate Hedra Carlson. The young woman quickly forms a bond, but as Allison starts to rethink her engagement, Hendra grows jealous and hostile. As Allison learns new details about her room mates life, Hendra gets violent in her efforts to get Sam out of the picture. With Hendra turning more menacing by the minute, Allison finally understands what she's up against. This is similar to our film as it is a stalker film where one woman stalks the other because she starts to like her and get jelous of her relationship with her fiancé. Our thriller is also a stalker film using tense music and low key lighting.
The distributor of this film is Columbia Pictures.
Here is a brief history of one of the distributors of these films. Warner Bros.
Film promotion is the practice of promotion specifically in the film industry, and usually occurs in coordination with the process of film distribution. Sometimes called the press junket or film junket, film promotion generally includes press releases, advertising campaigns, merchandising, franchising and media, and interviews with the key people involved with the making of the film, like actors and directors.
In Theatres
- Trailers are a mainstay of film promotion because they are delivered straight to moviegoers. They screen in theatres before movie showings. Generally they tell the story of the movie in a highly condensed fashion compressing maximum appeal into two and a half minutes.
- Film Posters.
- Slideshows - stills, trivia and trivia games from the film, shown between movie times.
- Hollywood movie distributors spend about $4 billion a year to buy paid advertising (30 second TV adverts, newspapers etc.) and over half that total is placed on broadcast and cable TV, which are the main vehicles for advertising movies to audiences. TV is effective because it is an audio visual medium - like film - and can deliver a vast audience quickly, which is crucial because films typically don't linger in cinemas for more than 4-6 weeks.
- For more information on Television and Radio click here.
- Creation of stand alone studio sponsored per-film websites such as "example-the-movie.com"
- Online digital film screeners - These digital film screeners have the benefit of letting you send individual copies of your film or a promo to the press, sales agents, distributors etc. Using them it's simple and send individually controlled copies of your film to various recipients with different expiry dates. Along with the security of individual expiry dates, you can see reports of who viewed your film and track their viewing of the film.
- For more information click here.
- Paid advertisements in newspapers, magazines and inserts in books.
- Cross promotion of original book or novelisation including special printings or new cover jackets.
- Comic special editions or special episodes.
Our film will be released before christmas. This is because after christmas is when the most film come out and are released. This means that if we were to release our film after christmas we would have too much competition which could reduce the number of people wanting to watch our film. By releasing it before christmas there are is less competition which means there are more likely be more people wanting to watch our film. I would release it on DVD 12 months after it has been in cinemas so it gives people a chance to watch the film in the cinemas and then they can buy it on DVD.
The next post will be Evaluation Question 4.
