Marketing and distribution consist of creating awareness of
the product and making it available to the consumer. It’s important as without
the two, audiences would become passive and would not know the availability,
(exhibition). However to market and distribute the product the practices of
production need to be considered as it provides the actual product/ film to do
so and to engage a specific target audience. If there is no investment in the
actual making of the film it would prove difficult to market the product as
there is nothing to engage the audiences. However this is debatable due to many
films being distributed on large platforms that are not rated very highly are
still extremely profitable. Therefore I believe that the two stages carry an
equal weight.
Distribution is very important to a success of a film
because it is the main platform of how available it is to an audience and their
awareness. For example Sherlock Holmes 2 was distributed by Warner Bros which
is a highly successful conglomerate. Being distributed by Warner Bros allowed
high profitable success due to its high advertisement and being able to make
deals with other companies such as games companies and creating technological
synergy of a game and film. It received
a blockbuster of $504717354. Another advantage of being distributed by a
established company is the use of their reputation, as Warner Bros also
distributed films such as Happy Feet which was highly commended, the
perceptions that an audience will have will be that they previously distributed
good films so the next film should reach the standards, however it could be
argued that even if the film is not good the audience have already spent the
money to experience it. Another example of the importance of distribution would
be the unsuccessful distribution of Attack the Block by Film 4. The distributor
was an independent distributor called Studio Canal UK which was a subsidiary.
Due to the distributor not having access to huge grants of money it resulted in
only reaching 3rd place in the box office despite its reviews by
film festivals as one of the best action movies of the year. This was due to
the limited amount of screens the film was on, limited advertising and
promotions for the film.
The exhibition of the film aids the success of the films as
it allows the audience to see the film and create a reception. The woman in
black was showed trailers and teasers at the comic kapow and also on MTV. This
aided the success of the film as it engaged and interested the specific audience
that they were targeting and created a word of mouth buzz for the film. This is
also an example of the UK British film industry making an impact on the film
industry as they engaged the audiences with the genre of the film and the
storyline of the film rather than the special effects and expositions using the
use of social media. For example there was many websites and campaigns for the
Woman in Black especially on facebook and there were also synergy between
mobiles and games for the film, they created an app for the iphone which was a
simple but effective game based on the woman in black.
Poor exhibition could result in the fall of films for
example 5,4,3,2,1 starring Adam deacon as it was not shown in all cinemas, was
not available at any festivals or public appearances and also the release
pattern was not thought out very well the timing was off and many people were
not interested in the films causing them to become passive and did not
acknowledge the film.
Production is highly important as without a product there is
nothing to distribute or exhibit. Slum dog millionaire won a Grammy and had put
a lot of thought and time into their characters and story and not on the
‘’special effects’’ and it was also not highly publicised and only conventional
campaigns were used such as teasers posters and trailers. They produced a
engaging and interesting film which attracted a wider audience as it is argued
that many people are becoming bored of the regurgitated storylines and SFX.
However the money invested by big Hollywood companies also
seem to always gain profit and success for example transformers 3. They used
expensive digital Medias and special effects to create massive and realistic
realms. This attracted people who do like films with dull stories but a fantastic
décor of explosions, actions sequences and famous names which is argued to be
the main consumers of the films.
Overall I believe that marketing and distribution has the
same importance as production practices as without one or the other the film
would not be as successful. Hugo was a multi-winner of the Oscars and film
awards for its production, cinematography, story and characters. This was
because of the creativity put into the film but also the horizontal
distribution methods used. The package of the film was a huge influence on the
future of the cinema as the director believed in the art of digitalised
media.
Success for a film can come in two ways, either
profitability or recognition from critics for its engaging storylines and
characters. I believe the future of the film industry will remain as it is as
big Hollywood film companies will continue to make big movies with lots of
different SFX and using big names actors to attract the specific audience who
are passive and look for adrenaline and excitement. However due to the other
audiences who are engaging with their creativities, they will want films to be
more intellectual and interesting. Which means that the importance of
distribution and exhibition vs production will heavily depend on the target
audience the directors and are aiming for.
