I believe my media product would be distributed by a company such as 'Optimum Releasing' because this is a distribution company which tends to distribute UK independent films such as my own. They recently distributed the film 'Kill List' (2011) which was also a crime film and, similar to mine, it was made on a very tiny budget, in fact with just £500,000. It then went on to make a worldwide gross profit of $171,760. Therefore I think this would be the perfect institution to distribute my film as it's success is clear with other films in similar genres also made with limited budgets in the UK.
Other UK films also distributed by Optimum Releasing are 'The Awakening' in 2012 which had a budget of $3 million and made a worldwide gross profit of $209,696.
Optimum releasing was founded in 1999 and is currently owned by one of Europe's leading companies in the co-production, acquisition, distribution and marketing of feature films - StudioCanal.
The company acts as StudioCanal's releasing subsidiary in the UK. In 2011 StudioCanal re-branded Optimum Releasing to become part of the StudioCanal brand. It is now called StudioCanal UK.
After looking at the distribution process and the production of other low budget films, I believe I could make my film opening into a full feature length production on a budget of around $3 million pounds. It would not need a huge budget anyway as it is set in only one location - Dreamtown. The location itself would be very naturalistic and would not need editing or aftereffects therefore saving a lot of money in post-production.
It would, however, need a signifiant cast to recreate the atmosphere and feeling of a town and large groups of professionals e.g. the police force, doctors, teachers etc. I would therefore need extras to work for me but would have to keep numbers low as they can sometimes cost up to £80 a day each.
There is one main protagonist but also several other characters with whom she connects to and works with, one of which would be a female police officer who almost becomes her maternal figure and caregiver after the loss of her parents. These salaries would also have to be covered by the budget.
The fact that everything must be naturalistic may actually increase the budget as convincing costumes, props and locations (hospitals and police stations etc) must be sourced and used.
I would also have to cover the cost of the equipment however, I would not need massively expensive equipment as the conditions we would be filming in would not be too adverse e.g. there is not very much shooting in the dark therefore large, expensive sense would not be needed and would not be shooting on difficult terrain as a lot of the scenes take place in buildings and during working hours in a residential town.
To keep costs down I would use unknown actors so their salaries are more manageable. I would also have minimal sets and costume.
I would then have minimal theatrical release so the film would only go into specific cinemas to reduce distribution costs. I would also have to use creative and cheap marketing techniques as usually one third of the films budget goes on this. To bring these costs down I would have to use methods such as engaging in social media to reach a wide audience quickly and cheaply. I could do this by covering different platforms, for example, having a Facebook page for the film as a central hub which could then link to a youtube account releasing trailers, behind the scenes clips and cast interviews to create hype around the film. These videos could also be spread using the site Instagram where clips of the interviews and trailers could be uploaded with links to the youtube channel. This would also be a good platform to use in displaying posters or stills of the film, again to raise awareness and get the film marketing out to a very wide audience for very little cost. This method of distribution would be cheaper than creating billboards and TV adverts whilst still creating widespread publicity about the film.
I think I would have my film shown in film festivals such as the Cambridge - Watersprite International Student Film Festival for young film makers. This is a good way to get my film seen by the public in a more cost efficient way than through theatrical release.
I would also have to cover the cost of the equipment however, I would not need massively expensive equipment as the conditions we would be filming in would not be too adverse e.g. there is not very much shooting in the dark therefore large, expensive sense would not be needed and would not be shooting on difficult terrain as a lot of the scenes take place in buildings and during working hours in a residential town.
To keep costs down I would use unknown actors so their salaries are more manageable. I would also have minimal sets and costume.
I would then have minimal theatrical release so the film would only go into specific cinemas to reduce distribution costs. I would also have to use creative and cheap marketing techniques as usually one third of the films budget goes on this. To bring these costs down I would have to use methods such as engaging in social media to reach a wide audience quickly and cheaply. I could do this by covering different platforms, for example, having a Facebook page for the film as a central hub which could then link to a youtube account releasing trailers, behind the scenes clips and cast interviews to create hype around the film. These videos could also be spread using the site Instagram where clips of the interviews and trailers could be uploaded with links to the youtube channel. This would also be a good platform to use in displaying posters or stills of the film, again to raise awareness and get the film marketing out to a very wide audience for very little cost. This method of distribution would be cheaper than creating billboards and TV adverts whilst still creating widespread publicity about the film.
I think I would have my film shown in film festivals such as the Cambridge - Watersprite International Student Film Festival for young film makers. This is a good way to get my film seen by the public in a more cost efficient way than through theatrical release.
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