Task 10

What is Film Distribution?

• film distribution is the way that a film is shared to a audience.

What is the distributors role?

• the distributors role is to decide how and when the film is released to view by an audience, this includes whether the film is released directly to the public or through cinema. 
• If the distributor is theatrical then they will have a contract with a theatrical exhibitor about when the film is released and how many ticket sales are available.
• If the distributor is non-theatrical the distribution is mainly of a feature film and is not released through a theatre but to a closed audience.

What is a distribution plan?

• A distribution plan is a plan that specifically focuses on how the distributors wish to transfer there product to retailers and consumers. The plan may also include a production distribution plan to help aid there entry into the target market.

What's a P + A budget?

• Also know as the Print + Advertising budget of a film.
• Print is the physical copies of the film that can be bought a viewed in cinemas, these cost a lot to distribute and are usually bought depending on how many screens the film can be viewed on.
• Advertising is the budget that is specifically used on advertising the film (e.g. trailers, billboards).

Simultaneous Release? 

• this is when a film is released to the viewing public through cinema, dvd and further viewing platforms at the same time.

Main distribution companies?

• 20th century fox
• paramount pictures
• universal pictures
• warner bros
• sony pictures
• walt disney
• dreamworks
• miramax

What's the link between audience and distribution?

• the link between audience and distribution is key, this is because the audience determines when and how the film is going to be distributed to maximise gross profit, for example if the target audience is young teens the distributors will aim to release the film during a school holiday or simultaneously to increase the accessibility of viewing fr the younger audience.

Target market audience and audience positioning?

• target market audience is the predetermined audience or specific group of people that the film is specifically distributed, marketed and produced for.
• audience positioning is the relationship a film has with the with its audience and the response that it receives from its audience through encoded messages.

 

Media terminology

·         Mainstream Film/Mainstream Cinema – a term used to refer to the current majority or most popular (blockbusters) / a cinema that screens films that are mostly produced by the big six or that are of the most popular genres (action, adventure and comedy).

·         Independent Film/Independent Cinema – a feature film that is produced outside of a major film studio (low budget with a message) / a cinema that screens mainly independent films instead of blockbusters.

·         Production - The process can apply to any type of media production including film, video, television and audio recording.

·         Distribution – when a film company helps to share another companies film, mainly independent films.

·         Marketing - the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.

·         Exchange – the way in which an audience can view a film, what devices?

·         Multinational Conglomerate­ - is the combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate group, usually involving a parent company and many subsidiaries. This is on a large scale and across multinational companies.

·         Monopoly - the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service.

·         Oligopoly - a state of limited competition, in which a market is shared by a small number of producers or sellers.

·         Big Six – 20^th Century Fox, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Sony, Disney

·         Horizontal Integration (cross media ownership) - is the ownership of multiple media businesses by a person or corporation. These businesses can include broadcast and cable television, film, radio.

·         Vertical Integration - the combination in one firm of two or more stages of production normally operated by separate firms.

·         Synergy - the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations.

·         Merchandising - the activity of promoting the sale of goods, especially by their presentation in retail outlets.

·         Ultra Violet - situated beyond the visible spectrum at its violet end.

·         Above The Line – the portion of a films budget that covers the costs.

·         Below The Line – the portion in which the budget doesn’t cover (e.g. actors advertising).

·         Technological Convergence/Cross Media Convergence - different technological system sometimes evolve toward performing similar tasks/ refers to companies coming together vertically or horizontally

·         Consumption - the action of using up a resource.

·         Exhibition – the way in which a film is shown (e.g. IMAX)

·         Piracy - the unauthorized use or reproduction of another's work.

·         Hollywood Franchise 4S Model – Synergy, Spectacle, Sequelisation, Story

·         Tie- in

technology

production;

• Filming (3d, 38mm, slow motion)
• Green screen/Bluescreen - used in most big 6 films
• CGI
• Motion Capture- Jurassic World
• Virtual reality
• 4K cameras - Star Wars
• 3D printing - Guardians of the galaxy

Distribution;

• Social media
• Trailers
• interactive websites - Jurassic World, Spider-Man and Evian, Ellen and Dory.
• Interviews
• Company cohesion

Exhibition;

• IMAX
• 3D/4D
• straight to TV, smaller films(Disney originals)
• Cinemas - mainstream, indie, drive in.

Exchange;

• Online streaming - Netflix, Amazon.
• Smart Phones
• Tablets/PC
• sky store, virgin movies.
• Film apps - Curzon home cinema, BFI player, Now TV. 

mainstream film

independent film

Representation Of Disability.

Editing;
The edited effects like the target on the disabled brother when he is learning to ride his bike is showing how disabled people at targeted in society. As well as this is sees the more able brother behind the target and in a higher position of control. This shows the discrimination of how disabled people are believed to be more vulnerable and weaker mentally and physically in society.
Sound;
The music is used to emphasise the control of disabled people. The final shot sees a change I the tempo of the music, with it slowing once the disabled brother is by himself, there is then an increase in sound background noise, with the speaking and laughing symbolising how disabled people are stereotyped to be mentally unstable as well as needing continuous care.
Mise en scene;
During the opening scene the birds eye shot of the brothers rooms is showing a clear divide between the two halves of the room and the two brothers, with the disabled brothers half of the room being messy and colourful and the able brothers room being organised and dull. This represents how disabled people are stereotyped to be childlike and have little control/ability to look after themselves.
Camera;
high and low camera shots are commonly used through out with the disabled brother being shown at the bottom of the tree being entertained whilst his brother tried to fix his mistakes. This represents how disabled people are discriminated and stereotyped to be at the bottom of society as well as always taking up everyone else's time and space.

Task 2

The Big Six:

Independent Film:

Blueprint Pictures was founded in 2002 by David Blake Knox. The company has produced a large number of high quality programmes in a wide range of areas, but with a particular focus on original arts and entertainment.

Blueprint Pictures have produced many highly rated films in the recent past, some of these are;
The Outcast (2015)
The Riot club (2014)
Now Is Good (2012)

The Outcast - as Blueprint Pictures most recent production, this film is a coming of age film, set post war Britain, as a child struggles with the loss of his mother and parenting of his father.

Top Films Of 2016

the top grossing films viewed in 2016 were;

1. Finding dory - Pixar (17.06.2016), adventure
2. Rogue One - Lucas film (16.12.2016), adventure
3. Captain America: Civil War - Marvel Studios (06.05.2016), action
4. The Secret Life Of Pets - Illumination (08.07.2016), adventure
5. The Jungle Book - Walt Disney (15.05.2016), adventure

What are the big six film companies?
The top six big film companies are;

Warner Bros. Pictures

20th Century Fox

Paramount Pictures

Sony Pictures Entertainment

Walt Disney Studios

Which films are on general release?
The big six film companies generally tend to release films during either school holidays, winter or spring. The reason for this is due to there being a wider variety of people having the time and ability to view a film during the school holidays, the main holidays they release films are during the winter as there is limited options when it comes to outdoor activities, so it is more suitable to go out and view a film when its cold and you have a lot of time available.
What genre of films are there? blockbuster, indie, foreign?
the available genres to see are; horror, action, comedy, sci-fi, romance, crime/thriller, war, adventure and documentary
How many are sequels?
only two of the top five grossing films of 2016 were sequels, these were Finding Dory (sequel of finding Nemo) and Rogue One (sequel of Han Solo: a star wars story).

How many are blockbusters aimed at a younger audience?
Out of the top five grossing films 2016 there are 3 that are blockbusters for a young audience, these made it to the top 5 as they used successful and effective marketing towards a young audience. The 3 films are Finding Dory, The secret life of pets and Captain America: civil war.

How many were produced by the Big Six?
The only film from the top 5 that were produced by any of the big six was The jungle book, this was produced by Walt Disney, who also had part of distributing Captain America: civil war.

How many different formats are there? Name them.
Types of film format;
70 mm - Rogue One
35 mm - Finding Dory, The secret life of pets
D-cinema - Captain America; civil war, The secret life of pets, The jungle book, Finding Dory, Rogue One
Digital - Finding Dory

What kinds of films seem to be missing?
The main type of films that is not featured with in the top 5 grossing films is independent and romance/romantic comedies. The reason for this is down to the great difference in the budgets of independent films and action/adventure, independent films are not able compete with the big 6 ad they have a smaller limited budget that doesn't allow them to reach the level of editing, effects or marketing. Also this is because of the audiences of action and adventure are a much more common audience compared to indie and romance.

How many of the film distributors seem to be producers as well?
many of the film distributors are large film producers like Walt Disney and Universal, the reason for this is so they film can be accessed by a larger audience as well as the film being able to gain a larger budget to benefit the quality and overall distribution and marketing of the film.

Who do you think are the target audiences for these?
I believe that the main target audience for these top 5 grossing films of 2016 are mainly the teenage and young adult era, this is because each film is of high content of action/violent references so cannot be of a audience below 12 but can still be suitable for young adults due to the mature and adult scenes and action.