The Film Distributors' Association

This website explores and explains what happens to a film once it has been produced; including aspects like 'competition' and 'marketing plans'.

Distribution

Films exist to be watched; the better distributed they are, the more viewed they become. There is a colossal group of people working in the heart of the film industry to try and achieve the highest audience possible for each film.

Not all films are distributed into cinemas. Many low budget films are distributed straight onto home entertainment. Each film is distributed slightly differently however the main stages are:

• Released in cinemas
• Released onto Home Entertainment packages like DVD and Blue-Ray
• Payed occurrences on t.v
• Free-to-air t.v, where the film can be repeatedly shown on that channel

Distribution is carried out by one or more distribution company, for instance 'Working Title' (see previous blog), Universal Pictures, Studio Canal and Walt Disney.

This is an ordered sequence of events, ending with the film having been distributed. I have taken this of the FDA website.

1. Producer/company acquires rights to film a story or treatment
2. Screenplay is developed
3. Production finance and cast and crew are confirmed
4. Principal photography takes place, in studios and/or on agreed locations, followed
   by some months of post-production, editing and scoring
5. Master print of finished film is delivered to local distributor
6. Distributor determines release strategy and release date
7. Distributor presents the film to exhibitors and negotiates bilateral agreements
   to have the film shown in cinemas

Target Audience

Before deciding on how to distribute a film, you have to fully understand the target audience your film is aimed at. This becomes even more crucial with smaller titles and low budgeted films because they only have a small amount of money to use, so they have to get it right first time. Target audiences are deterred from general knowledge,genres, focus groups and past statistics and data. Marketing can be expensive, so it is important to know where to advertise and at what times. For example the 45+ age group tend to be persuaded by trailers on the t.v, however it usually takes 2-3 weeks before they decide to go out and see it at the cinema; where as a group of 15-16 year olds may turn up at a cinema one night and choose from what is on. So different age groups have to be targeted differently to make the most out of the budget they have.




Advertising and Release Dates


There are just under 2000 films relased each day, world wide; so there is alot of competition. It is important to release your film at an appropiate time. For films targeted at the younger age groups(school goers) the October half term is a prime week to release, as children will be off school, and it will be dark, cold and most likely rainy- this is the perfect weather and week for going to the cinema.


The seasons/weather also ditermine how films are advertised. In the summer there is no point advertising heavily on t.v as people will be outside, enjoying the weather. A better strategy for the summer would be to advertise on bill boards and on the sides of busses as people would be out and about are more likely to see the film.



Funding for Distribution


The funding for distribution would  could from the film's budget, investments from distribution companies and lottery based companies. The UKFC (a lottery funded organisation) has a fund specialising in the distribution of films: 'Prints and Advertising fund' donate £90,000 annually. Other of the UKFC's funds also help distribution for example: 'Regional Screen Agencies', and the 'New Cinema Fund'. It is the convergence of all these aspects which result in enough money being raised.

Working Title

Working Title Films

         http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/
Working Title Films is a British film company based in London(although it also has offices in Los Angeles and Ireland). It was set up in 1983 by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe. In 1992 Radclyffe left Working Title, and Eric Fellner joined.Tim Bevan was also appointed the chairman of the UKFC in 2009. Universal now own 67% of the company, this is a major benifit for Working Title as on the more mainstream funds, theire marketing budget is supported by universal, making it a lot bigger. It is a film production company, however it also dabbles in producing TV series. financially they have a high end production budget of up to $25 million, the owners (Bevan and Fellner) consult with the studio executive from its parent company; NBC Universal. Working Title is known for having few employees. It's a profitable organisation, who use their profits to invest in new films. Working Title produce both major blockbuster hits along with smaller less public successes. It works with films of all genres-from Atonement to Mr Bean's holiday. However, it mainly produces films of a rating of PG or above. The reason for this could be due to competition. Dreamworks and Disney are 2 of the biggest production companies around- these both specialise is U and PG films, so if Working Title produced films in this category too, they would not have as interest as the main demography would be viewing other, bigger production companies films. Working Title work in convergence with the UKFC. Many UKFC funded films for instance One Wish and Blood Oil are distributed by Working Title.

An example of a well known film produced by Working Title is Love Actually. Released in 2003, this Rom-Com Drama was nominated for 2 Golden Globes and many other awards. It was directed and written by Richard Curtis and it contained some very well known actors; such as Bill Nighly, Colin Firth, Kiera Knightley and Gregory Fisher. With so many famous actors/actresses the budget of this film is consequently high; it was estimated for £30 million. [With using famous faces it costs a lot more, however more people are likely to view the film, making a higher profit and consequently being able to make a net profit: this can work just as well using the opposite idea. Less well known faces cost less money, there for needing fewer people to view it in order to create a profit.] In the opening week, Love Actually was released onto 126 screens, taking in a profit of over a million dollars. Because it was predicted to be such a hit, it was translated into 3 languages:English, Portuguese and French. Over all, it came out with a Gross profit of around 59.3 dollars, which is roughly 38 million pounds. Love Actually has 4 production companies; Universal Pictures, Studio Canal, Working Title Films and DNA Films. Due to the fact that it was released in so many countries, there are 9 different distributing companies; such as Universal Pictures and RTL Entertainment. Although Working Title is an English production company, Love Actually was filmed in both England and France.

An example of a less well known film which was produced by Working Title is Long Time Dead. This was released in 2002 and was directed and written by Marcus Adams. This was a low budgeted film and was rated a 15 in the UK by the BBFC. As it was not a major mainstream film, it was only produced in English. In its opening week it was released into 233 screens, and it made just over £580,000; its overall gross profit was £1.5 million. It has a running time of 94 minutes(which is considerably less compared to Love Actually's 135 minutes). The production companies for this film are; Working Title, Film Council, WT2 Productions, Midfield Films and Studio Canal. It was distributed by United International Pictures and Focus Features. Because it was only released in England, and because it was a low budget film, fewer and less well known companies were used. However, also due to its length and its nature of being a first time low publicity film it was granted £1,000,000 from the UKFC from the 'Intermin Production Fund'.

A further, well known film, produced by Working Title is Hot Fuzz. Written and directed by Edgar Wright, Hot Fuzz was released on the 14th of February 2007. This- coincidental is valentines day (and although its not the typical loved up valentines day film, it's a funny genre that is bound to be enjoyed), the following week is the school half term holidays- this mainstream, well publicised film was perfectly position, as it would get more viewings due to the kids being off from school. Like Love Actually, Hot Fuzz had many famous actors/ actresses for example; Simon Pegg, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighly and Nick Frost. Hot Fuzz is of an action, comedy, mystery genre. Due to some graphic images and vocabulary it was certified by the BBFC as a 15. Filmed only in England, it was released on 825 screens, making just under $6 million in its opening weekend. Its overall gross profit was $23 million. This was exceedingly good, as it was budgeted for $16 million. The production companies involved are; Big Talk Productions, Ingenious Film Partners, Studio Canal, Universal Pictures and Working Title Films. There were 17 different distribution companies for example; Paramount Pictures, this is because of the amount of countries it was released in. Due to this being a more mainstream film, more well known companies are involved, because the demography will notice them on the film and subconsciously remember them.

For each film there is likely to be more than one production company. From the case studies i have looked at, it would suggest that some production companies have a tendency to work on the same films. In the case of Working Title, the production company that appear to be the most connected is Studio Canal. The main reason for companies converging together is to get more productions. this is because if Working title is asked to produce a film, they could suggest that Studio Canal is another good production company to hire as well. This 'favour' could work both ways.

Working Title Films website

The website has a theme of dark, duck egg blue running through it. The whole page has a blue  border, surrounding a white background on which the text and pictures lie. This border aids the eye to focus on the main part of the page, and it help to keep the eye on the page. The general lay out, colour scheme and text is very sophisticated. Moving graphics are used, but not in a childish, in-your-face way. Down the left hand side, there is a column of the contents, this denotes organisation, which connotes easy navigation of the site. Under the moving graphic banner at the top the page is split into two columns. Each column has a main picture on the left, sided by smaller pictures on the right. Each picture has anchors, enabling the audience to be clear and precise on each topic. Overall the website looks very slick and clean. It would appeal to a demography of around 15-36 year olds (this is the 1st and 2nd most popular cinema going age); both genders, as the blue is stereotypically a male colours, but the metallic, soft finish appeals to females also; and the middle and higher end of the hierarchy, this is due to the connotations of blue which are associated with royalty and wealth, also the formal, neat lay out would encourage a 'brighter' more academic demography- this could be the aspect which is intended for people to see and then choose them as their production company. This website has many different aspect to it, it shows trailers, new releases, archive, downloads, on release and many other aspects. This synergy of information is what makes it so concise and practical. A wide range of genres of films is represented on the opening page of the website. It shows children orientated films for example Nanny McPhee and also action films like Green Zone. The aspect of this website that I don't feel meets the required standards for its demography is its history, and information about itself. There is no where which says what it aims to do- no mission statement and in general there is no 'personal' aspects, leaving the audience to feel slightly alienated and estranged by the website.





Since i last looked at the Working Title website (prior to the October holidays- 2010) it has been updated to be more interactive, appealing and to synergise more. The main aspect that has changed is the size of the rolling images. Previously there was solely a band going across the top with rolling images on, now as soon as you go to the website, the whole of the visible page is a rolling image. This instantly gains more attention as it is bold, moving and fills the whole screen.

How does the funding for 'This is England' illustrate the way convergence of different institutions is crucial in the UK film industry?

How does the funding for 'This is England' illustrate the way convergence of different institutions is crucial in the UK film industry?

This is England was released on the 27th of April 2007, written and directed by Shane Medows. It was a Warp X production, and had backing and funding from: UKFC, EM Media, Screen Yorkshire and Film 4. I will look at each of these individually later on in this essay. First i would like  to look briefly at the figures and appearances This is England made with in the first 5 weeks.

Week 1

-Screened in 62 cinemas

-Total takings: £2700

Week 2

-Screened in 83 cinemas

-Total takings: £500,000

Week 3

-Screened in 128 cinemas

-Total takings: £927,000

Week 4

-Screened in 151 cinemas

-Total takings: £1.1 million (this was the peak week for both profit and screenings) 

Week 5

-Screened in 86 cinemas

-Total takings: £1.3 million

There overall profit from 10 weeks was £1.5 million, a large proportion of this would go towards advertising and the distribution company, however they would continue to gain sales from: art house cinemas, DVDs and T.V screenings.

Convergence in media is where something is only possible where companies entwine, and are all inter-linked. In the case study of This is England, all of the companies converged with each other.


The UKFC is the main source of money. They receive £27 million annually from the Lottery, and another £27 million from government money. The UKFC have 4 separate funds within, and also they have 6 regional screen agencies- this is where all of the money is divided into. The 4 funds are: 'Film Fund', 'Innovation Fund', 'Prints and Advertising Fund' and the 'International festivals Fund'. The 'Prints and Advertising Fund' focuses on helping the distribution and marketing strategy of specialised films. Many films have been supported by this for instance; 'A Prophet', 'The Lives of Others', 'An Education', 'Red Road', 'This is England' and many more. This fund alone has a budget of £2 million.

Film 4 are the other big contender of providing money. They receive £10 million a year from Channel 4's revenue from advertising. Film 4 invest in many films independently for instance Slumdog Millionaire.

EM Media and Screen Yorkshire are 2 of the 6 regional agencies that the UKFC funds. Screen Yorkshire relies on the UKFC 'rife' fund. It distributes this money, with the aim of inspiring and promoting the media sector in Yorkshire and Humber. It  has financed films for example The Damned United, Unforgiven and wuthering heights. These films are aimed at a wide audience range.  In 2008 Screen Yorkshire set up a Film Friendly Partnership, this is where local organisation(with in Yorkshire and Humber) work in alliance "recognise the benefits and value that film and television production can bring to the cultural and economic wealth of the region." This is an example of convergence on a smaller level, however this smaller level convergence also contributes greatly to the larger scale convergence. EM Media have co-financed films such as The Unloved, Bronson and Control. They are a non profit organisation, and specialise in developing talent with in the East Midlands. Since 2002 they have invested in over 700 film projects, which have generated £175 million for the economy in the East Midlands. To get financial support from this organisation you have to be either an East Midlands resident, or the film must be filmed in East Midlands. EM Media put in £250,000 in to a film production company called Warp Films. Warp films receives money from the Film 4 budget, EM Media, Screen Yorkshire, and they also receive around £668,000 from the 'new cinema fund' from the UKFC. This is England is a Warp Films production, consequently it was funded by the convergence of all the agencies above.

The distribution company for This is England is Optimum Releasing. Optimum Releasing receive money from the 'Prints and Advertising fund' from the UKFC, of around £90,000 annually- of which some was put toward the film This is England. Optimum Releasing managed to release this particular film in 62 cinemas in the UK, they marketed the campaign, and also released the DVD.

If only one of these agencies has funded This is England then it would not have been the hit that it was. The companies had to converge together to make it possible. This is England is a good example of the concept of conversion being crucial as all of the companies rely on another, for instance Warp Films is funded by Screen Yorkshire and EM Media, which are in turn funded by the UKFC.

This is England (case study)

http://www.thisisenglandmovie.co.uk/#

Statistics

This is England was budgeted for around £1,500,000

Companies involved

Copy Right holders of this film consist of: Warp Films Limited, FilmFour, The UK Film Council, EM Media and Screen Yorkshire.

Funding

The UKFC (who are funded by the Nation Lottery and the tax payer) have split the distribution of their money into sections; 'Film Fund', 'Innovation Fund', 'Prints and Advertising Fund' and the 'International festivals Fund'. The 'Prints and Advertising Fund' focuses on helping the distribution and marketing strategy of specialised films. Many films have been supported by this for instance; 'A Prophet', 'The Lives of Others', 'An Education', 'Red Road', 'This is England' and many more. This fund has an annual budget of £2 million. The 3 main aims of this fund are:

To improve access to the range of films available;

To improve opportunities to view such films across the UK; and

To enable the audience's awareness of the range of films potentially available.