A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for the marketing for a film. The distributors can be responsible for the release date of the film either cinematically or home viewing.
A film's distributor can play a main role within the success of the film. The distributors decide how often the film should be advertised and where it should be advertised, e.g though tv commercials, posters, billboards, trailers, trailers in the cinema for films with related genres, special promos, etc. How often and how the film is advertised plays a crucial part of the films success as it gains awareness and engages their audience.
The distribution companies also decide how many cinemas the film will be screened in, as well as the length of time it is shown for. This allows the companies to maximise their revenue, depending on the success of the film.
Film distributors could be seen as more important for smaller, independent films as they are less known and need to utilise marketing methods to build awareness of the film. Also, as these films tend to use new, upcoming actors rather than established ones, it may be harder to gain an audience as the consumer are expecting big name stars who they admire or enjoy watching on screen. Film festivals like ‘The London Film Festivals’ and the ‘Sundance Film Festival’ are so important as it is a common place where distributors sign films, with smaller films now gaining support and funding for the marketing of their products.
20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox is an American film studio and one of the six major American film studios. Located in the Century City area of Los Angeles. It is the world's second largest major film studio, after Warner Bros. This distribution company resonates both mainstream and niche films. 20th century fox has distributed some of the most well known films such as Avatar, Titanic, Home alone, night at the museum , etc. Furthermore, they also distribute many television programmes, one being well known 'American Horror story'.
American horror story trailer is similar to our opening sequence, using some of the same shots, and editing it together to make it glitch and fade. Below you can watch the trailer to american horror story.
Looking at the opening credits for american horror story, 20th century fox may be able to use our opening sequence within their practices. Many similar technique and aspects had been taken from this opening credits into our own sequence, such as the short clips or props and images throughout the sequence. With 'American horror story being a well-established series with much success. Although, 20th century fox does not focus on a particular genre, which could result in a downfall of the advertisement as people might not recognise the genre being horror/thriller, however the use of different genres by 20th century fox could be a positive to us as we could engage much wider target audience as well as people who have similar interests to 'American Horror Story'.
'Mute' comes under the horror/thriller genre which perhaps relates to some of the previous hits distributed by this company. Its independent style may prove a change to the conventional films of this genre and allow the audience to experience a different sort of film that may prove successful. Though aspects had been taken from 'American Horror Story', it still remains unique and different with the use of specialised props, actors and cinematography, yet the similar aspects to the film allow audiences to relate to the genre of the film. 20th Century Fox distribute a variety of various films, so in some way the genre may not be as important, their audience is highly diverse with various films accounting for the different successes for the films that had been distributed. However, being a large, multi-national firm, they may be suitable to distribute ‘Mute' as they have experience, funding as well as reputation to distribute the product and perhaps make it a success.
Being a large, well known company, the distribution methods used by this company could come from a variety of forms. They could produce trailers within movie cinemas to gain awareness for the audience and hold vast premiers for the film to gain publicity for cinema releases. They could further set times and length for viewing times for the film allowing the audience to view the product in several different cinemas, such as Odeon or Empire. With the increase in downloading and streaming movies, 20th Century Fox could use websites such as Netflix and Lovefilm to appeal to a larger audience and distribute their films accordingly to meet a specific demand as 'American Horror Story' is featured on Netflix and has similar qualities to 'Mute'. They could also distribute DVD’s and Blu-Ray products through various shops such as HMV or Supermarkets, allowing a vast audience to be aware of the product and potentially purchase it.
Maxim Media
Maxim Media International is the largest worldwide distributor of independent horror and thriller films. The library of indie horror, thriller, paranormal, and reality/shock films are the main focus of the company, especially similar to the area of our film 'Mute'.
Most, if not all, the films Maxim Media distribute are from independent or indie film companies, targeting a niche market rather than mainstream market. They specialise in horror and thriller films, linking to the genre of ‘Mute’, being focused within a mixture of these genres. Some of the films they have distributed currently include: ‘The Innocent’, ‘Nightmare Asylum’ and ‘Wild Justice’.
'Mute' could be a suitable film for this distribution company as our film is designed to fit a smaller target audience. Our camera shots, and editing being distorted, and the blues and whites contrasting the stereotypical horror film, creates an indie outlook, that may be successful for the niche audience.
Having many international distribution channels, the company may be able to create DVD’s and Blu-ray copies of the film, although there would be limited theatrical release (with smaller films perhaps not suitable for trailers, being a highly competitive market). The Internet may also be used to allow audiences to stream, download or to rent the movies. International DVD release is another method that may be used, having regularly selling DVD rights to distributors. Some of the companies they are in partnership with include Netflix, Amazon,iTunes, Xbox Live and Sony Entertainment.
Glitch Studios
Our group decided to create our own distribution/production company, to create a unique and individual feel for our film. 'Glitch studios' would be described as an independent company for nice films as it won't be as big as companies such as 20th century fox, it still has the power to create awareness for our film. This 'made-up' company can relate to maxim media as it will not market as much as large multimedia organisations.
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