Evaluation – Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media

product and why?

Examples of popular media institutions

Paramount is America’s oldest running studio – founded in 1912. They have produced some of the highest grossing films such as Paranormal Activity and the Transformers series.

Warner Bros. Pictures is one of the major films studios. The have produced films such as The Dark Knight trilogy and the Harry Potter series. They generally distribute films that are Action/Adventure.

New Line Cinema are a subsidiary of Warner Bros. They have produced films such as the Lord of the Rings series, The Conjuring and A Nightmare on Elm Street.

DreamWorks is an American film production label. They have produced films such as Collateral and the Lovely Bones.

20th Century Fox is a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. They have produced and distributed films such as the Star Wars series and Independence Day.

Lionsgate is a film production/distribution studio that focuses on Action, foreign and independent films. They have produced and distributed films such as the Hunger Games series and the Saw series.

Universal Studios are an American film studio owned by Comcast. They have produced films such as the Jurassic Park series and the Fast and Furious series.

MGM is an American media company who produce and distribute feature films. They generally distribute Comedy and Adventure films. Examples are The Pink Panther and 21 Jump Street.

Why is it important to identify and choose the correct institution to create and distribute a film?

It is important to choose the correct institution when distributing a film due to a few important factors. These include audience appeal, genre understanding and the industry’s reputation of that particular institution.Genre is vital as a particular institution may be known for producing thriller films, as well as their experience in making films of a certain genre. For example, if a media institution released multiple thriller films a year in comparison to an institution which only released two or a three in a year, the first institution would have more knowledge about conventions, distribution as well as production techniques. Therefore, they should be able to control and provide guidance on production, as well as when and where to release the film, as well as how to market it. Audience is important when identifying the correct institution as the audience are the ones who control how long the film runs for in the cinema due to popularity, hence financial success. Some audience members may also be loyal fans to certain institutions and therefore know what to expect when an institution releases a film. We had to be very wary of the different institutions as they generally have quite different audiences. Some institutions like Disney aim at younger audiences, whereas Warner Bros. aim for a much more varied audience. If an audience has watched something previously made by them and enjoyed it , the audience would be more inclined to watch another film produced by the same studio.Industry reputation is also important when choosing the correct institution. If a certain institution is popular and are reputable, then they are more likely to attract a wider audience, whereas an institution with a previous record of films that were critically and commercially panned, it is most likely to not attract audiences and therefore the film would be unsuccessful.

Who I would choose to distribute my thriller and why.

After a lot of research into different media institutions and studying the different films they produce, my group and I decided to choose “New Line Cinema” to distribute our thriller for various reasons. New Line Cinema is a film distribution company set up in 1967, they later merged with their much larger sister studio Warner Bros. in 2008. Examples of popular films with high grossing figures that ‘New Line Cinema’ have distributed are, ‘Se7en’ (1995), ‘Final Destination’ (2000) and ‘San Andreas’ (2015). These films are all commercially and critically successful and therefore the company would be an efficient distributor for my thriller film. More popular films, specifically of the thriller genre include ‘The Conjuring’ (2013) and ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ (1984). These films are both horror/thrillers and have been distributed greatly and on an international scale, therefore will be efficient for our thriller film as it is also of the horror/thriller sub genre. I also believe ‘New Line Cinema’ have great experience within the thriller genre therefore they will be able to market the film accordingly to ensure it is a commercial success. This is very important even if the film isn’t a critical success.

Comparing my thriller to existing thrillers made by New Line Cinema.

Some comparisons can be made between our thriller

and the ones ‘New Line Cinema’ have distributed.

For example, ‘Se7en’ (1995) has an antagonist we can compare our one

to.

This character “John Doe” can be compared to our antagonist Jaime Anderson. This is because they both

are seemingly emotionless and are wearing smart clothes. This can be to suggest a normal life aside

from whatever the antagonist gets up to during the course of the film. ‘John Doe’ appears calm as he is covered in blood, this can suggest a sense of mental instability. This can be compared to our antagonist who carelessly steps over dead bodies which also

suggests mental instability.

Another comparison can be made with the victims in ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ (1984).

The victim can be compared to the ones in our thriller as they both wear light coloured clothing to

portray innocence and purity. This is quickly destroyed by the

antagonists as they murder them. This is suggested in our thriller but is clearly shown by this still image from A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Another example to show similarities in

theme would be ‘Solace’ (2015).

This film distributed by ‘New Line Cinema’ has a character

who is a serial killer, quite similar to my thriller. It also follows very similar themes to my thriller with murder

and death being the primary themes.

The benefits of choosing this institution for my media product?

As explained earlier, we chose ‘New Line Cinema’ for various reasons and this was supported by the comparisons we made to the films they have already distributed, therefore we are confident with our choice. Films such as ‘Se7en’ and ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ were both extremely popular amongst audiences and critic choices which increases our confidence in our choice. They were both critical and commercial successes and can be related to our thriller. We are hoping to bring the same commercial and critical success to our film and we believe with ‘New Line Cinema’s’ experience, reputation and audience appeal, we will be able to achieve this. ‘New Line Cinema’ has grown considerably in the past few years, not with just thriller films but others. Examples of this are the ‘Lord of the Rings’ franchise and the ‘Final Destination’ franchise where multiple films are being made and the commercial success continues. As New Line Cinema are a large company. They have many other advantages:

• High budget• Experience in thriller films• Experience with many different popular genres• Merged with Warner Bros. so they can distribute even

further on a much larger scale.• Have many film franchises. They may encourage my

thriller to become a series.