There are three main stages to making a film: production (the filming, editing etc.); film distribution (dealing with the licensing, publication and printing of the film) and film exhibition (showing it to the general public). There is an abundance of different film developers in the UK alone, and the process of choosing a definite company would be lengthy and difficult. However, the first thing to decide would be where the film would be shown depending upon the type of film you’ve made and who its audience will be. For our film we think it would be most realistic to publish a small section (e.g. the opening, or a section from the middle) on the internet as a free download and asking the viewers to leave comments and rate as to whether they would pay to see the film in a cinema. This is because we believe the storyline has blockbuster-style film potential in its themes and style (detective story), but as new filmmakers it would be unlikely that any distributors would agree to a deal without us having provided some evidence that it would make any money. After securing this, we would attempt to make a deal with the
mainstream film distributors such as Lionsgate or Twisted Pictures (known for the thriller horror genre), or somewhere like New Line or Sony Pictures which deals
across all film genres. The reason I mention New Line in particular is because we think our film would have a similar audience to that of ‘Se7en’ – it being a detective thriller with a twist in the storyline. We think that our film has potential to be taken on by one of these distributers because the themes and issues explored are similar to those in many blockbuster films, although not exactly the same. Obviously, there would still be a lot of discrepancies to be ironed out before it could be a truly successful storyline. We do not think our film would fit into the independent or art house scene as it would not be made in a stylised, artistic way.If our film was taken up by one of these companies, they would then purchase the legal rights so they can begin distributing the product by making deals with exhibitors – it would be their responsibility to make sure the film is seen. This is where having a well established distributor would be of extreme use; cinema chains are more likely to take on a film if a reliable company which has fronted successful films in the past is selling it to them. It would be important to ensure that the release of the film in cinemas was not at the same time as another film of the same genre and similar themes, so as not to create competition. It would be useful to release it at a time when there are most people going to the cinema (i.e. school holidays, bank holidays etc.) and I think the best season would be autumn as the weather isn’t too cold that it means people just want to stay in, but not too warm that people don’t want to be sat in a cinema for the evening. The best day seems to be Friday for film release dates as that’s when most people want to go to the cinema – relaxing at the end of a hard working week.
I would want the marketing to predominantly be done through trailers (cinema and TV) as that is the most classic and effective form of distribution. The internet would be a very important tool in distribution as that is increasingly becoming (if it’s not already) the most popular piece of technology used by the majority of people in the UK. This could be utilised through online forums, trailers on YouTube and advertisements on certain websites (e.g. Facebook, Bebo, Myspace and other online social networks) that would all increase publication of the film. The style of film this would be wouldn’t suit having ancillary markers (such as merchandise which goes with the release) nor video games being made based on the plot as it would not become a franchise as it is just a one-off detective thriller.
Obviously all these kinds of decisions would primarily be considered by the distributor.
However, if it turned out the film would not be well received in the cinemas by the general public, the other option to consider would be selling the rights to a channel like Sky or Channel 4 so the film could be shown on television. Although this would obviously not make it as successful as going to the cinema, it would definitely be something to consider in the face of poor reviews from the free download.
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