Q U E S T I O N 3 What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? Follower Chloe Cook

M A I N S T R E A M and I N D I E film/ companies differences. Mainstream films are distributed in cinemas which give films a wider range of releases, making more-or-less the film global. “Mainstream” could arguably be defined as a Hollywood Film, because it’s these films that make up the most of the widely distributed films in the world. Mainstream films are seen in a global perspective. These films are released in big cinemas such as the Odeon and cineworld. These films have; A medium, or large budget – this large budget enables these companies to employ people who have a speciality in special effects, maybe resulting in the film being 3D, ending up with a wider audience. Not many people own a 3D TV therefore the company will have a bigger profit from just the amount of viewings in a cinema. Well known stars Viral campaigns, TV adverts, trailers on social interactive networks for example YouTube. High production values. Examples of mainstream films are : New Line Cinema – Se7en and Paramount – Shutter Island. An independent film is a film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. These indie films are released in smaller film viewing houses such as The Duke of York’s picture house. The people who choose their film to be independent is those who are new starters in the industry, or have used a noticeably low budget, with unknown actors. They would employ a very small group of people, given one person, one role. The editor may likely edit in their own home, due to their hobby of editing. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies for example, Lionsgate (our chosen distribution company). Independent films aren’t so much known globally, as they have limited release. Independent films have factors such as; New, emerging talent Production values may reflect a low budget A smaller marketing campaign – festivals, award ceremonies, websites and so on. Have overall, a low budget in comparison to a mainstream film. Examples of independent films are : Lionsgate – The Holding and Pathe – Adulthood. These films had a low budget, however, done very successful in the box office gross.

Which film company might D I S T R I B U T E your film? “Follower” falls into the category of an independent film production. The chosen distribution company was Lionsgate. We chose this company because it distributes independent (The Holding) and mainstream (The Hunger Games) films. In our film, we obviously have new, emerging actors, camera workers and directors. We have a low budget, so the costumes and our mise-en-scene wasn’t like what you would find in a mainstream film, and there is very minimal special effects which we included in the edit which wouldn’t come under any high expense, therefore, our character and narrative had to drive the film in the right direction. Companies such a Universal, or New Line Cinema wouldn’t be interested in our film for these reasons, not falling under a “Hollywood Style” category. Lionsgate have distributed films such as American Psycho, Saw and many other Thrillers. Although Se7en, and Collateral inspired us to come up with our narrative, and to make sure it’s conventional of a Thriller, we come to a decision on not using the same distribution company. The film distributed by Lionsgate that is similar to our own film is American Psycho. The summed up storyline of this film is; In New York City in 1987, a handsome, young urban professional, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), lives a second life as a gruesome serial killer by night. This is categorised as a Thriller. The narrative of American Psycho is similar to Follower’s. Sam, (our main villain) seems overly ordinary in the society that he fits in, in an Urban setting, society unknown to his danger and threat. However, it is a mainstream film, however, the narrative is or a similar kind. Our film has it’s differences like the character of our main villain is that he fits into society as he looks as though he fits into the British Hoodie group, so his danger isn’t suspected and penalized on him, which makes him a threat to society. In American Psycho, Patrick Bateman is a urban professional, which is similar to Sam’s character that they don’t come across as threatening. The differences are is that he is a professional man, so wears a suit, and Sam is unprofessional, and is into drugs, his appearance is unlooked after. Also, they have spent a money on having Christian Bale, and we have a new emerging main character. American Psycho’s character is similar to Collateral’s character Vincent, which was one of our inspired films, we decided not to have the same distributer as Lionsgate takes indie films as well as mainstream.

Where might “F O L L O W E R” be distributed to? As it’s an independent film, Follower will be shown outside of the major film studio system. Our indie film “Follower” may be shown in places such as Duke Of York’s Cinema, small festivals, Prince Charles Cinema and Picture House Chain. It will also be advertised through the media, but not as significant as what a mainstream film would be able to afford with their budget. It could be advertised on the side of film websites such as IMDB, even on the sides of a Facebook homepage, if we are able to get the permission. We would use these networks as social interactive sites such as Facebook are used everyday by millions of people, and may catch a few “thrill seekers” attention. Also, IMDB is a popular film information website, so to promote on a site such a this would be ideal for a small independent film starter. What box office figure would you hope to get? Basing it on independent films such as The Holding’s budgets of £3,000,000, we would hope to get something similar to this budget from the box office.