Task 10: Distribution

• Intro what is film distribution? Film distribution is the process of making a film available to view by an audience, it includes: marketing and promotion. 
• What is the distributor's role? The distributor's role is to market the film and so they may set the release date of a film and the method by which a film is to be exhibited or made available for viewing: for example, directly to the public through home viewing etc. 
• What's a distribution plan? A strategy outlined by the Production Company that's aimed at successfully promoting and distributing a film. 
• What's a P + A budget? A P&A budget is the money set aside for print and advertising of a film. Prints are the actual physical film that are shown in theatres and are quite expensive to make and distribute. Each theatre needs at least one print and possibly more depending on how many screens the film is playing on. The advertising part of the budget is the amount spent on advertising. Most of the money is spent on TV, but radio, newspapers and magazines, the Internet and in-theatre advertising are also very important. The average P&A budget for a major studio release was $34.5 million the last time the MPAA reported the figure in 2006.  
• What is the average distribution cost for a big six film?
• What does the distribution budget include? All marketing costs including press, interviews and billboard campaigns and the cost of distributing the film to cinemas. 
• What is a simultaneous release? A simultaneous release describes a film's release to an audience across all platforms. So instead of being showed in cinemas, then to DVD or Sky store etc. the film is released to cinemas and other channels such as DVD, internet and television, on or around the same date. 
• What are some main distribution companies? Warner Bros, Walt Disney, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Universal, Lionsgate, New Line, Dreamworks SKG and Miramax are the top 10 film distribution companies. 
• What do you think is the link between audiences and distribution? Audiences are crucial to think about when distributing and marketing a film because essentially the audience decide whether the movie is successful so in order for that to happen a film has to be marketed with the appropriate target audience in mind. 
• Define target market audience? What's audience positioning? Target market audience: a particular group at which a product such as a film or advertisement is aimed. Audience Positioning: the relationship between the audience and the responses that the audience will have to the film. A film will be encoded with messages and signs that the audience will have to decode. Different audiences will decode these messages in different ways. Camera shots and angles are used to position the audience; a close up shot of a character's facial expression will help the audience to see their emotion and create an emotional, sympathetic response in the audience.   
• Why is the release date crucial? The release date for a film is crucial because it could determine whether the film is successful or not. For example: Star Wars: The Force Awakens was always going to do well in the Box Office however in order to maximise this success the film was strategically released on the 18th December 2015, the day that schools break up for the Christmas holidays. This means that all of the children who would not have been able to watch it whilst at school can now get their parents to take them, maximise Box Office sales. Releasing it on this date was crucial in Star Wars making over $1.405 billion in total. 
• What is self distribution? A process by which the Director/Producer decides to distribute their film themselves. This means that they can retain the rights to their film and the distributors cut of the sales of their film.