What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
As a director of amateur and low budget films, this has presented many limitations; I have
minimal budget which is reflected in the quality of my product –camera and
sound clarity and quality, synchronized sound, customized locations and various
other conventions that are often incorporated into this genre which are very
often seen as vital for success as a blockbuster movie are under sacrifice due to my lack of budget. If I had the opportunity to create this film again I would probably run fundraisers and find other ways to earn money in order to buy more things to create a better quality piece of work. After a short look at Westminster Film School I was able to understand the importance of fundraising in film-making as it gains publicity for the film, an eager audience of donators as well as money to heighten the quality of both acting, editing and filming.
However, this is not to say amateur footage is not fit for big streamers such as Netflix, Lovefilm and many more. ‘The Blair Witch Project’, a physiological horror film, which is presented as "found footage" and was filmed by amateurs on a minimal budget, proving that you don’t need the budget to be discovered or to heighten the quality, making it one of the most successful independent movies of all time, courtesy of Haxan films. This has helped me to see that if you play to your strengths your film could be incredibly successful whatever your circumstances. However, without a film distributor it would be almost impossible to reach this position. Although, what is available for me to do is
try and attract interest with my finished product and promote it through ‘YouTube’/ other social networking sites such as Facebook and Vimeo as well as Indy specialists for it to be seen anywhere near as the "next big thing", this global viewing with pratically no boundaries for who sees it - I noticed as well at Westminster Film School that by having a facebook group for your video you gain alot of publicity as anyone in the world can see it, except those without access to the internet, which as time goes on is now becoming a bigger and more essential part of peoples lives; within work, education, leisure time. But most effectivley to encourage the spread of ideas and news, which McLuhan has cleverly illustrated through what he describes as the 'global village' which describes the link of social, political and many more functions together through the web.
The sheer size of people who have access to these Indy specialists and big streamer websites is incredibly vast - this give amateurs the chance to share their products with the world in the most cheapest and easiest way. Video On Demand Services such as 'YouTube' and 'Vimeo' is one of the ways to share with the world without paying anything. . However, even where I edited my footage together offers the chance to promote my product, especially as Ilfracombe Arts College specialises in art, this gives me the opportunity to let my product be viewed at Art festivals that the school hosts. Being heavily involved in a charity called the Wayfarers Trust, where artists, film-makers, actors and directors come together to galvanise artistic energy, has meant that I have had huge opportunities to gain advice from professionals as well as publicize my work fully. Conveniently the art festivals participants fit perfectly for the younger half of my target audience - the school enrols 11-18 year olds. As for YouTube this would give the opportunity for me to share my product with the older half of my target audience, but it
also covers a much wider selection of people. The school newspaper could also be another form of promotion for my product directly and also for the art festivals which would eventually mean more publicity and support for the product in the long run.
Another form of exposure that could be effective for distributing my media product would be film festivals. This year I have had the pleasure of being invited to the BFI London Film Festival, and entering the competition with my film would have been an incredible subdual for publicity as young film-makers from all over the world come to watch a small selection of films. Unfortunately my film was not complete by that date however it would be a good opportunity for film publicity and advice. Film would benefit my media product mainly because it would be viewed by people in the industry that have knowledge and experience on this criteria, possibly giving feedback as well as sharing and discussing ideas if they think the media product has potential for growth and stimulation in the public eye. Therefore if its something that appeals to them, they might take the initiative to then pass it on to someone above them and that is an important stage in distributing my media product to the the right institution. Another benefit of these film festivals such as; Sundance film festival, Edinburgh film festival and London film festival is that it has a lot of media coverage - promoting my product further and there are distributors and movie studios there that are looking for potential, perhaps particularly for a less mainstream niche product.
Independent films don’t have the same success compared with big Hollywood films, such as The Harry Potter Films which were extremely successful group of films, shown in cinemas worldwide. Independent films don’t always have the same success; however there are ways that independent films can be become successful - mainly due to promotion. If independent films can get advertisement that has a lot of
viewers then it has big effective on its success. For example, Empire Magazine is the biggest film magazine, meaning its advertising would be very effective promotion, especially if the media product appealed to a large audience it would be very helpful. Films such as The Blair Witch Project appealed to a large audience but were independent and still achieved success - although not as much compared to big worldwide Hollywood films. Although if a film is an independent film this does not necessarily mean it will be a unsuccessful film, as there are certain ways a film can be become success such as good advertising which worked for the film The Blair Witch Project.
The Blair Witch Project is predominantly my strongest example for showing how amateur filming such as my own product can be experienced by industry professionals and film distributors by using advertisement effectively and appealing to the audience and specifically a wide audience. To capture a wide audience, it would be a effective decision to make my media product look appealing on first glance, this is what captures film distributors attention and what would make my media product seem to have
potential - most useful for doing this is at festivals but before then I could show evidence of feedback from an audience via YouTube, locally - at school and also possibly in local newspapers and magazines.
As a director of amateur and low budget films, this has presented many limitations; I have
minimal budget which is reflected in the quality of my product –camera and
sound clarity and quality, synchronized sound, customized locations and various
other conventions that are often incorporated into this genre which are very
often seen as vital for success as a blockbuster movie are under sacrifice due to my lack of budget. If I had the opportunity to create this film again I would probably run fundraisers and find other ways to earn money in order to buy more things to create a better quality piece of work. After a short look at Westminster Film School I was able to understand the importance of fundraising in film-making as it gains publicity for the film, an eager audience of donators as well as money to heighten the quality of both acting, editing and filming.
However, this is not to say amateur footage is not fit for big streamers such as Netflix, Lovefilm and many more. ‘The Blair Witch Project’, a physiological horror film, which is presented as "found footage" and was filmed by amateurs on a minimal budget, proving that you don’t need the budget to be discovered or to heighten the quality, making it one of the most successful independent movies of all time, courtesy of Haxan films. This has helped me to see that if you play to your strengths your film could be incredibly successful whatever your circumstances. However, without a film distributor it would be almost impossible to reach this position. Although, what is available for me to do is
try and attract interest with my finished product and promote it through ‘YouTube’/ other social networking sites such as Facebook and Vimeo as well as Indy specialists for it to be seen anywhere near as the "next big thing", this global viewing with pratically no boundaries for who sees it - I noticed as well at Westminster Film School that by having a facebook group for your video you gain alot of publicity as anyone in the world can see it, except those without access to the internet, which as time goes on is now becoming a bigger and more essential part of peoples lives; within work, education, leisure time. But most effectivley to encourage the spread of ideas and news, which McLuhan has cleverly illustrated through what he describes as the 'global village' which describes the link of social, political and many more functions together through the web.
The sheer size of people who have access to these Indy specialists and big streamer websites is incredibly vast - this give amateurs the chance to share their products with the world in the most cheapest and easiest way. Video On Demand Services such as 'YouTube' and 'Vimeo' is one of the ways to share with the world without paying anything. . However, even where I edited my footage together offers the chance to promote my product, especially as Ilfracombe Arts College specialises in art, this gives me the opportunity to let my product be viewed at Art festivals that the school hosts. Being heavily involved in a charity called the Wayfarers Trust, where artists, film-makers, actors and directors come together to galvanise artistic energy, has meant that I have had huge opportunities to gain advice from professionals as well as publicize my work fully. Conveniently the art festivals participants fit perfectly for the younger half of my target audience - the school enrols 11-18 year olds. As for YouTube this would give the opportunity for me to share my product with the older half of my target audience, but it
also covers a much wider selection of people. The school newspaper could also be another form of promotion for my product directly and also for the art festivals which would eventually mean more publicity and support for the product in the long run.
Another form of exposure that could be effective for distributing my media product would be film festivals. This year I have had the pleasure of being invited to the BFI London Film Festival, and entering the competition with my film would have been an incredible subdual for publicity as young film-makers from all over the world come to watch a small selection of films. Unfortunately my film was not complete by that date however it would be a good opportunity for film publicity and advice. Film would benefit my media product mainly because it would be viewed by people in the industry that have knowledge and experience on this criteria, possibly giving feedback as well as sharing and discussing ideas if they think the media product has potential for growth and stimulation in the public eye. Therefore if its something that appeals to them, they might take the initiative to then pass it on to someone above them and that is an important stage in distributing my media product to the the right institution. Another benefit of these film festivals such as; Sundance film festival, Edinburgh film festival and London film festival is that it has a lot of media coverage - promoting my product further and there are distributors and movie studios there that are looking for potential, perhaps particularly for a less mainstream niche product.
Independent films don’t have the same success compared with big Hollywood films, such as The Harry Potter Films which were extremely successful group of films, shown in cinemas worldwide. Independent films don’t always have the same success; however there are ways that independent films can be become successful - mainly due to promotion. If independent films can get advertisement that has a lot of
viewers then it has big effective on its success. For example, Empire Magazine is the biggest film magazine, meaning its advertising would be very effective promotion, especially if the media product appealed to a large audience it would be very helpful. Films such as The Blair Witch Project appealed to a large audience but were independent and still achieved success - although not as much compared to big worldwide Hollywood films. Although if a film is an independent film this does not necessarily mean it will be a unsuccessful film, as there are certain ways a film can be become success such as good advertising which worked for the film The Blair Witch Project.
The Blair Witch Project is predominantly my strongest example for showing how amateur filming such as my own product can be experienced by industry professionals and film distributors by using advertisement effectively and appealing to the audience and specifically a wide audience. To capture a wide audience, it would be a effective decision to make my media product look appealing on first glance, this is what captures film distributors attention and what would make my media product seem to have
potential - most useful for doing this is at festivals but before then I could show evidence of feedback from an audience via YouTube, locally - at school and also possibly in local newspapers and magazines.