What kind of media institution
might distribute your media
product and why?
A film distributor is an organisation or individual who is responsible for the marketing of a film. An
example of a more specific job role belonging to a distributor is where they may choose the
release date of the film and the way it is to be displayed or made available to the public. The
distribution of a film is the process where the movie is made available to an audience by the film
distributor. This can be done in a variety of ways such as with a home entertainment release such
as through DVD's, or Blu-Ray which are commonly used, or through theatrical releases and
television program.
The majority of very successful media institutions are based in
America - too be specific, Hollywood and Los Angeles. The
institutions are in charge of making the film's existence clear to the
public to gain a substantial audience and to ensure that the film
receives the best advertisement for maximum income and profit.
Hollywood and Independent films are factors which I have to
take into consideration when thinking about who may
distribute my media product.
Hollywood productions are hugely mainstream and can be major film studios
which produces and distributes films on a regular basis. They usually include
big budget blockbusters such as 'Home Alone'. The films are usually created for
the masses and are based on cultures that were popular during that time.
Hollywood productions are hugely successful in the filming industry due to a
variety of different reasons such as having a bigger budget which can pay for
very successful and popular actors, a good location (California), studios and
props. Hollywood productions are very popular in different countries which
means theyhave a very wide spread audience.
An independent film is funded, produced and distributed privately and made apart
from the control of a large corporation. Independent films can be distinguished by
their style, content and the way the filmmakers' personal artistic vision is shown.
They are also know to be 'non-mainstream' as they tend to have much smaller
audiences than Hollywood films and are made with lower film budgets than major
studio films. The marketing of independent films can be characterized by limited
releases, however they can have big marketing campaigns with a wider release.
Usually, these types of films are often screened at local, national or international
film festivals before they are distributed. An example of an independent film is
'Pulp Fiction'
As my media product would most likely be an independent film, it would be difficult to find a well known Hollywood institution to
distribute my media product as there would need to be a huge amount of money invested, consequently introducing many risks. If I
had the choice, I would be pleased if a well known media institution such as Warner Bros could distribute my media product as it
was originally independent but has been very successful. From this, I would most probably gain a wide spread audience,
meaning substantial profit. One of the reasons why I chose Warner Bros is because they have distributed millions of movies, such
as the popular thriller film Goodfellas which is similar to my media product as one of the main story lines is of a man being captured
and eventually murdered. They used multiple marketing strategies such as through social media, online reviews and youtube
trailers which was so successful as it reached many different types of audiences of all ages.
Having a big company like Warner Bros distribute my film would bring many advantages due to a
number of reasons - one of which I quickly mentioned previously; if my product were to be in the hands
of this company, it would give it the opportunity to be distributed in many different countries all over the
world, therefore reaching a mass target audience and a huge profit. This distributor also have sister
companies and a large marketing department, meaning they would be able to provide synergy within
the marketing, therefore creating an even bigger outcome. Possibly the most successful independent
film ever made which was distributed my Warner Bros. was Happy Potter.