Distribution In The Film Industry Essay Research

Distribution In The Film Industry Essay, Research Paper

Over the past decade the independent film industry has grown and is now considered a staple in the film industry as a whole. Many filmmakers find more artistic freedom in this side of the industry. They are not bound by a studio s politically correct and profit driven decisions, although recently production companies have been heading in that direction. By raising the money for the picture on their own the filmmakers give themselves artistic control over the film and have to answer to no one. The one problem many independents face however is once they ve completed their film it needs to be distributed. That s where a distribution and releasing company comes in. Film festivals have become a major marketplace for independent filmmakers. There are many festivals throughout the year but there are only handfuls that are known to launch many careers. These include The Sundance festival, Toronto, Cannes, etc. Months before the festivals begin, a filmmaker must submit his/her film to be viewed and then hopefully entered into competition. There are hundreds of films entered but only a handful make into competition for awards. At the festivals, distributors from all over come to view the films in competition and depending on their liking they may sign a deal . Or two. If the filmmaker can afford he/she would set up a screening for distributors to come and view the film. These screenings take place at different locations throughout New York City in small theatres specially made for a small crowd. At the screenings, the attendance may be a full house or just a single person depending on the buzz of the movie or even availability of the distributors. In addition to or instead of the screening the filmmakers may send out a cassette for the distributor to view. If the movie matches the criteria the company has set for their type of film they may ask for a cassette to view it again and be able to dissect it more easily. If the film turns out to be to the overall liking of the company they will set up a meeting with the filmmaker to discuss the rights that are available for the film. The rights of the film may include domestic distribution, foreign distribution, video, and television rights. It is important to note that one distribution firm may not own all the rights to a picture. For example, a film that is currently being released by Lions Gate is Monument Ave. Lions Gate has the distribution rights for the film in North America and internationally. Miramax at a recent film festival purchased the video rights and the television rights.If the film is acquired the promotional phase begins. Professional posters will be made for the film. In some companies they have a department within the company that creates the poster but for most of the firms an outside supplier handles the poster. Once the film is acquired, whether it is through a festival or through a screening, the company may decide to enter it in other more prestigious festivals so the film will gain some publicity and maybe even some notoriety. During the whole promotional phase of the film the company is making cassettes of the film and trailers for the film to be distributed to the theatres when the film is released. The purpose of the cassettes, which are called screeners , is that the theatre owner may want to view the film to determine whether or not to show it. In addition the screeners are sent to the press so they may give their critique on it. During the promotional phase the company will set up it s own screening throughout the country in the different markets that it deals with. The company usually has different publicists in every market or may have one publicist that covers a few different markets. These publicists assist the company in many different ways. For example, when the company is setting up a screening in that town or city the publ89cist will deal with the theatres and the prices that go along with it. When the company chooses to open the film in a particular, market it can show the film in a few different ways. The two major ways are promotional screenings and press screenings. The press screenings as in the name, are for the press to view the film and review it for the local publications. As said above some publications request a screener in addition to the screening or in some cases in a market where there is no press screening. In addition to the press screening a city may have promotional screening to promote the movie. This screening usually may have some of the actors present and/or the director. Included with a promotional screening may be a P.A. tour. This is a personal appearance tour of the actors and/or director throughout that city. The expenses for the tour usually include travel and lodge for the actor or whoever is appearing, transportation, etc. The actor may do an interview with local press, appear on a local show or on the local radio show. When a local publication is doing a review of the film they tend to require some photos from the film which come in either stills (black+white or color) or color slides. These usually come in a package along with other items. These include a press kit and a flyer. The press kit is a summary of the movie, history of the main actors and the director, list of all the crew and some press contact numbers. The flyer is a review of the movie, usually a positive one from a major newspaper or magazine, such as The New