Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

If I were to choose an existing company to distribute my film I would be likely to approach a company similar to Warp Films; our thriller is a ‘pioneering film’ due to the exploration of the theme of deviant/criminal women and the challenging of stereotypical genders. Alike most of the films distributed by Warp Films, such as This Is England, our thriller does not featured established or famous actors; Warp Films declare that the celebration and promotion of undiscovered talent is prime in their aims of developing and experimenting with the film production industry. The 2006 production This Is England could be seen as similar to our thriller in that we did not cast established actors to feature in our film, either as main characters or otherwise. The target audience of our thriller is also similar to that of This Is England, as well as being comparable in style; both productions have an urban, gritty style and address underlying social issues such as gangs and violence within the lower social classes, found in the less developed urban slums. Another reason to approach Warp Films would be that this distribution company supports lower-budget productions, made by independent, art-house companies, such as ours is.

This shot of Lol from This Is England is similar to the shot of Katt in our production (shown below).

Screenshot from our production, Envy.

Our thriller would have a limited distribution due to the low budget set, however, I am inclined to believe that our production would be exhibited in an establishment such as Cinema City; cinemas such as this support lower-budget films and independent producers, allowing less expensive exhibitions for non-mainstream productions. An example of a production similar to that of my own would be North by Northwest which was also exhibited by Cinema City and shares a similar style.

New technologies enable audiences to consume film through alternative services and devices such as the websites LoveFilm and YouTube. Distribution can be aided by advertisements on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Proliferation of portable devices and technological convergence also aids distribution; websites and companies such as Film 4 and LoveFilm can be downloaded as applications onto games consoles and similar devices. If publicising our production we should consider making the film available to the various different methods mentioned to increase accessibility and audience. Distribution methods such as these online digital services would be more beneficial in today’s market compared to the classical methods of hardware materials such as DVDs; sales and consumption of film through DVD has decreased dramatically due to the proliferation and availability of film on the internet.

Being a student film-maker, distribution of our production could be increased by entering into competitions and organisations for aspiring directors/producers. There are many schemes available today, such as the British Film Institute (BFI), to encourage and develop the young talent around today and provide an introduction to the film-making industry. These schemes can also offer opportunities to young, inexperienced students to involve themselves in the professional industry and publically showcase their original productions.