Distributor

Universal Ident

Now that I know my target audience, my marketing strategies and the audience expectations about my film, I can research the distributor I would chose to distribute my film, based on other films.  For example, Universal is a distributor that would be good for my film in the crime thriller genre.  Films that have been distributed by Universal include Collateral, Shaun of the Dead and Illegal Tender.  Collateral is a film that is similar to the storyline of my film as it is about a man hired to seek revenge by killing the key witnesses of a crime. Shaun of the dead also incorporates the idea of gruesome zombie death.  This links into my film with the idea of horror and gruesome murders.  In Illegal Tender, there is also an underlying theme of crimes which is the basis for the storyline for my own film.  As these three specific films were distributed by Universal and have similar underlying theme of crime, revenge and thrills, the marketability for my film would have most likely watched these films and would therefore be interested in this film if they see that this distributor is the same in the other films.  Additionally, having a well known distributor such as Universal could also be an effective marketing technique because it will be recognised for distributing good films.

  Another distribution company that could be used to distribute my film is Warner Brothers because it has also distributed films in the crime thriller genre.  Two films that I have researched to find out more about the genre of my film is Goodfellas and The Dark Knight Rises, both of which where distributed by Warner Brothers.  Goodfellas explores themes of criminal activity and the gangster hierarchy which is similar to the criminal aspect for my own film.  The Dark Knight Rises is crime/thriller also that explores terrorism plots from the Bane and the fight of good versus evil which can be linked to the good of the witnesses to the bad of the villainous killer.  Also, my film would explore the brutal side of the killer which could be likened to the similar character type to the Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.  Just as with the films distributed by Universal, the marketability might also have watched the films distributed by Warner Brothers and would therefore recognise this in my own film.  This, like in the case of Universal, would be an effective marketing technique as having a big distributor for my film might attract more attention as being a good crime thriller.  As Warner Brothers is part of the Time Warner company (one of the Big six) which is both vertically integrated, for all parts of the film from production to distribution, and horizontally integrated for other business ventures.  This is good because if Warner Brothers was the distributor for my film, this could lead to going into other avenues such as merchandise.

  Overall, I have decided that Universal would be the distributor I would choose for my own film.  Despite the benefits of Warner Brothers being part of a vertically and horizontally integrated which allows for more opportunities for my film, the films that were distributed by Universal fit the genre and story of my own film.  Therefore, the marketability might have a greater awareness of what my film is about.  Furthermore, Universal is a big and well known distributor in the film industry so could promote the film by just being a part of the film.