EVALUATION QUESTION 3

1. EVALUATION QUESTION 3 What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? JAKE MACLEOD – 105D

2. These are the main differences between mainstream and independent distributors…. MAINSTREAM • There success is likely to recorded by the amount of money taken by the box office. • Generally large budgets. Averaging between $60-100 million, for example Shutter Island has an estimated budget of $80 million. • Household names working in all aspects of production, for example directors like Spielberg and actors like Daniel Day Lewis or Bradley Cooper. • Use of Special Effects to create a visually appealing piece and will often heavily use green screen, for example Life of Pi which was solely created by special effects. • High production value, indicating quality and a professional level • Large scale marketing and advertising, for example, billboards, urban travel, tv, online.

3. INDEPENDENT • Very small budget. Films like Down Terrace and Monsters made on budgets under £20,000 are classed as independent but the budget can range up to £1 Million • They are often funded by organisations like Film Trusts or Lottery Funding as they do not have the powerful backing behind them like mainstream films. • There success is normally recorded by reviews and critical acclaim • Often due to budget restrictions, new and rising actors are employed. An example of this is Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Brick. Actors are chosen more by there talent rather than there fame. • Special effects will be kept to a minimum, due to lack of funds. However new innovative ideas are often found. • Small scale marketing. Far more viral marketing for independent films in recent years, also making use of film festivals like SXSW and Cannes film festival • Difficulties in producing revenue

4. Our film Fabian fits into the category of Independent Fabian has all the characteristics of mainstream Hollywood blockbuster because of its, simple and arguably straight story line. However if our OTS was turned into a full length feature film, a number of factors mean that Fabian is definitely an independent film. One of the first reasons for our OTS being independent, is our violent and niche audience content. A lot of scenes in our film would be gory, violent and probably quite un appealing to the mass audience. It is also unlikely we’d be able to secure a large budget for piece and would have to seek indie distributers such as Film 4, Pathe or Revolverforany kind of release. A way to gain recognition would be to enter our film into film festivals such as Cannes, BFI, SXSW. Getting a release into one of these festivals would enable us sufficient publicity to hopefully enable a return on our profits. Another idea to try and generate the finale for a feature film would be applying for Lottery Funding which is invested into the British Film industry. We may also approach Film 4 as they support a huge number of independent films which vary massively in our genre.

5. If Fabian was able to secure an investment from production company… An ideal place for a film like ours to be showcased would be in the nationwide cinema Picture House. This firm would advertise Fabian to a required market audience, and probably not take a cut as big as other distributors such as Odeon and Cineworld. But before the distribution, the film would need marketing. The film would probably undergo below-the-line advertising, for example, using social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to share the film (Viral Marketing). Viral marketing would most likely be essential in distribution as the internet is a massive source of publicity if managed correctly.