Evaluation Question Three

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

Distribution- ‘the commercial activity of transporting and selling goods from a producer to a consumer’

Institution- ‘the cultural and political conventions within which media products are constructed and disseminated ‘

As my film ‘Chase’ is an independent student film, which was produced on a low budget, nobody really knows about it and therefore it cannot be filmed in a large chain of cinemas like Showcase cinema, Vue and The Odeon, as it is not to the standard of Hollywood Blockbuster films. Also it does not have a recognizable cast and therefore not many people would be interested in watching it if it was distributed as a Blockbuster movie. Instead there are many other institutions which will distribute my film in order to get the recognition it deserves.

My film is likely to be shown at The Greenwich Picture House which is open the whole week, has five screens, and has projection facilities that enable film or video presentation, plus the screens are ideal for PowerPoint and slide displays in case I want to do a brief presentation for my audience about my film.  They show independent films so it is likely they will showcase my film because my film is independent. Furthermore, Greenwich Picture house is a local cinema which will attract many people who live in the suburbs, as my film is mainly aimed at a urban audience, and therefore those who are not able, or do not have enough money to travel to the city will go to this cinema. All areas of the building are accessible to customers with limited mobility, including wheelchair users.

My film distributor will attempt to get my film aired at many institutions like Internet video-sharing websites and by renting out local cinemas. There are a number of film festivals in the UK that I’m sure will show my film. The Young Independent Film and Television awards festival in Birmingham is a free convention which showcases any short film, from documentaries to animation films. Another popular film festival in the UK is the Exposures Film festival which is ‘the UK’s largest festival of student moving image work, which takes place every year in Manchester.’  I found that ‘exposures is a unique festival that gives students from across the UK the opportunity to showcase their work to a cinema audience but also gives a unique insight into how the TV and film industry works.’ There are loads of more film festivals around the UK, and I would like my film distributor to get my film into as many films festivals as possible.

Raindance film festival will be a top choice to distribute my independent film; this is because ‘Raindance is dedicated to fostering and promoting independent film in the UK and around the world’. It has a reputation for showing a variety of independent films and has helped start the careers of the likes of, Guy Ritchie, Christopher Nolan and David Yates. With reputation comes expectation, so if my film manages to get into this film, it means it is expected to be really of a high standard, so people who come may potentially be other filmmakers who may take an interest in my film and maybe even hire me.
 

As my film is mostly aimed at an urban target audience, it would be wise to enter my film into BUFF (British Urban Film Festival). This may really help my film get noticed, because although filmmakers are charged to showcase their film, everybody else is welcome to attend the festival free of charge, which means more people are likely to turn up and watch my film. My film is mainly aimed at an urban audience, so I’m sure my film will receive a lot of recognition if played at this film festival.

Another film institution that would be interested in distributing my film is The British Film Institution, which promotes understanding and appreciation of film and television heritage and culture. This will be an important institution for me as it is recognised as a successful British institution that is visited by many people. This institution is visited by many different people, of all different ages and backgrounds, I believe this institution will help raise awareness of my film because for it to be played in the BFI must mean it must be interesting and creative in some way.

One way to distribute my film fast is through Internet video-sharing websites. One very successful and the most popular video-sharing site on the Internet is YouTube.

YouTube is a free and easy site that allows you to upload your video onto a worldwide community site where anybody can view your video. The more views you get the more popular your video is, and by uploading my film onto YouTube I can expose it further by displaying it on social network sites like Facebook and Twitter. By combining both Youtube and social networking sites, I can spread my film, or a preview of my film like a virus, to millions of people across the world. For example, if one person posts my film on their Facebook wall, all of their friends will be able to watch it and post it on their wall as well, eventually you have a never ending chain of people spreading my film, and by targeting the right people on Facebook I can definitely raise awareness of my film. Furthermore, one video-sharing site that is aimed more at independent film distribution is http://www.undergroundfilm.com/ . This site will help my film get recognised by a more urban and local audience, and by word-of-mouth my film may attract audiences from all over the UK.