Film distribution is the way in which the movies get marketed to the public. The more public distribution, the more success the film will have, as more people will be hearing about it and interest in seeing it will grow. The trailer is a key way for the film company to market the new movie. This trailer can be distributed to be played at the cinema, on TV adverts, and online. This creates mass marketing for the movie, as millions of people will be watching it through chance, and then they are likely to want to see the film to find out more. Likewise, another way to market and distribute a movie is to put up the film posters on billboards and on the side of buses. This gathers audiences, as people are interested in finding out new movies that are being released.
The type of distribution depends on the type of movie that
is being promoted. For example, when watching The Walking dead on TV, the most likely trailer to be put on in the
adverts is a horror, such as World War
Z this is because it suits the audience who are watching a zombie programme. However,
this wouldn’t be the type of movie to promote in the adverts of a children’s
programme. The age group is a large factor to know what can be shown, and when.
For a teen audience, the most likely place to advertise would be online, as the
majority of young adults and teen spent most of their time on the internet. Likewise,
social networking sites are helpful to promote now releases, as the trailer can
be shared amongst friends and be sent out to a mass audience. This is why it is
very important to conduct audience research, as the feedback we receive is
helpful to know what they are interested in doing, so we can reach the target audience.
For example, Slumdog
Millionaire had a massive release and was marketed widely across the world.
This gained mass public response.
Viral ads are fast becoming one of the most popular ways to
advertise. They are short snippets of footage that engage the audience’s
attention for a short while. They leave the audience hanging to want to find
out more, making them want to watch the film. This is a different technique to
just using the trailer, as it gives away even less of the narrative.
It is important to have a unified look of the film. This enables the audience to recognise the film whenever they see it, making them more likely to be interested in watching it. This is true of the Harry Potter franchise. The font on the merchandise and posters all conform to that of the movie title. This makes it easily identified as part of the franchise. Likewise, Daniel Radcliff is the star of the movie, and his face along with the iconic glasses are collectively used.
Here is the ways I used my trailer, magazine front cover and poster to market and distribute my film:
