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

Our production 'Beach Comber' is a low-budged, independent British film; so more likely to appeal to a more niche audience.

Distribution Company

    Our product would most likely be distributed by StudioCanal (formerly Optimum Releasing)  as they have distributed films such as Shane Meadow's 'Dead Man's Shoes' and Richard Ayoade's 'Submarine'; both being productions from the independent Sheffield based Warp Films who make productions in gritty contemporary settings . They have also distributed films such as Jeremy Lovering's independent British thriller 'In Fear' and Joe Cornish's directing debut in film with the British sci-fi comedy 'Attack the Block', which is centred around a group of deviant British youths - similar to the antagonist Ian Moone in our thriller production 'Beach Comber'; as well as Paddy Considine's directing debut with the gritty British drama 'Tyrannosaur'.

Theatrical release

 

     In terms of theatrical release, our film would be shown in a small, local cinema such as cinema city - in screen 3 as it is the smaller screen they have with a capacity of 63, so is the screen more likely to be used to show a new, independent  British  film.  Cinema City is a Picture House cinema in Norwich, with Independent, art-house and foreign-language films being central to Picture House's profile. Cinema City are known for showing a range of films from different genres, ranging from mainstream films such as Tomas Alfredson's mystery thriller 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy', to niche, arthouse period drama films like Joe Wright's 'Anna Karenina'. This would attract a variety of audiences to the institution, as well as audiences who are familiar with Cinema City and their ethos, so would be more likely to take a chance with a small, low-budget independent film that they are screening. Another reason that Cinema City would be a fitting media institution to distribute our production is that it is a local Cinema in Norwich, so as part of our thriller text was filmed in the local area and part of it was filmed in North Norfolk, our production would appeal to a Norfolk audience.

The screening schedule for Cinema City on Sunday 30th March 2014

Cinema City have shown independent British films such as Shane Meadow's 'Dead Man's Shoes', which was a big inspiration for our thriller production 'Beach Comber'; which shows that Cinema City would be a fitting choice of media institution to show our production at, especially as our thriller text is also a low-budget, independent British production.

 

Digital Distribution

     Our production would be distributed digitally with companies such as LoveFilm as not only would it make our production more widely accessible to audiences, but StudioCanal - the company most likely to distribute our production- signed an exclusive long-term deal in the UK and Germany giving LoveFilm members access to the portfolio of new and library movies from StudioCanal for a 12-month window as part of their subscription at no extra cost. This means that more people are going to be exposed to low-budget independent British productions like ours, so would be very fitting for distributing our thriller text 'Beach Comber'. 


 

     Similarly, we could distribute our production 'Beach Comber' on Youtube as it is a low budget independent film; which means our thriller text may get more exposure if it circulated via this platform. It would also be useful to take advantage of this platform as not only is it free, but it also suggests videos that an individual may be interested in based on what they have viewed- once again meaning that our production could get exposure to a wider, more diverse audience. Distributing our product on youtube also gives us a way to get audience feedback as users can comment on the video, encouraging communication between production and consumers.

    Through this, we could use social networking sites such as Tumblr and Facebook to promote our product; films like Peter Jackson's 'The Hobbit' have used their Facebook page to promote their new releases; and also enables audience response and feedback.

 Similarly, in the run up to Edgar Wright's 'The World's End' being released in cinemas, they made a Tumblr page for fans of the Cornetto Trilogy to share their creations and dedications with other like minded people, helping to create a community feel and build up buzz in anticipation for the release of the third and final instalment of Wright's Cornetto Trilogy. 

Television 

    In regards to TV, our production is most likely to be shown on Film4 as channel 4 as a multi channel company -which includes Film4- as part of their Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) requirements pledge to 'Innovate and experiment, to develop talent, to break the mould and take risks', 'Supporting small British companies... also support the British film industry' as well as 'Cater for all tastes and interests....including the needs of the minority groups'. This means that Film4 would be a very fitting channel to show a low-budget, independent British film like our production 'Beach Comber', especially as it would fulfil many of their PSB requirements -as our production is aimed at a niche audience- as well as benefiting the film itself; creating a reciprocal relationship. Another reason why Film4 would be a fitting choice for our thriller production is that the company has helped produce films such as Shane Meadow's 'This is England' which revolves around a group of young British individuals, and Johnathan Glazer's new release 'Under the Skin'. They also broadcast a wide variety of films from a plethora of different genres, including thrillers such as Kinji Fukasaku's cult classic 'Battle Royale'. 

Part of Film4's broadcasting schedule for Sunday 30th March 2014