Evaluation Question 3

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

The distribution is a vital part of a successful film. The main, most notorious distribution that occurs will be the distribution done by the Hollywood ‘big 6’. The big 6 are a group of distributors that work along side smaller companies to allow then to vertically integrate their films. However this is only for established companies with very, very high budgets for the distribution.

Due to the lack of budget, our film would be classified as an independent film, meaning we will require choosing an independent movie company to distribute or film. The main difference between an independent company, and a conglomerate would be that the conglomerates aim their movies at tent pole audiences, appealing their films to the masses. The independent companies on the other hand do not have the money to be able to reach a tent pole audience, so they go more for niche, local audiences to promote their films to.

Examples:

Lionsgate

Lionsgate is an American-Canadian distribution company, founded in 1997. The company mainly focuses on foreign and independent films, with its most commercial success being the twilight saga, the hunger games, and saw. However even though it focuses on independent, a film like the hunger games had a $78 million budget.

Universal Pictures

Universal is an American film studio, owned by Comcast, founded in 1912. The company is part of the Hollywood ‘big six’ meaning the budgets for the films it distributes will likely be very high as they will be reaching a wide tent pole audience. The company’s most noteworthy films would include jaws, Jurassic park, and fast and furious 7. Fast and furious 7 had a budget of $190 million.

Film 4

Film 4 is a film studio owned by British televisions channel 4. ‘Film 4 productions’ was officially released in 2006, with its own coinciding channel on British television. The company focuses on films produced in the UK. Some of the films the company distributed include a field in England, 127 hours, and the inbetweeners. A field in England had a budget of just £300,000.

Upon evaluation of these distributors, I believe that film 4 will be the most suitable for our film. This is due to the reason that the company is highly experience in the independent film market, and in particular, UK independents. Although the company focuses on small independent films, which will have a low budget, like ours, meaning we can easily fit in, it also has global success with films; for example the inbetweeners movie has a domestic gross of $35,000, showing the companies high success rate, as they appear to know what they’re doing, they’re reliable, and most accurate for what we need.