Q3.What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and

why?

‘Homeless’

Low Budget

Independent

Non mainstream

Targets a niche audience

No star marketingFilmed on location in UK

Communicates a message about British/Youth culture

British

‘This is England’

Low Budget

Communicatesa message about British/Youth culture British

Independent

Filmed onlocation in UKNon mainstream

No star marketing

Targetsa nicheaudience

‘This is England’(2006)

-Limited Release -Opening Weekend 62 UK screens

1 US screen - Now occasionally exhibitedBroadway Cinema, Nottingham (Picturehouse) – The film was shot in NottinghamThe Ritz Cinema, Lincoln, Lincs – The film was shot in some areas of Lincolnshire.

-Distributed on DVD by ‘Optimum Home Releasing’ (‘Studio Canal’) in UK. This label distributed many other productions for Independent British film companies. In Europe, ‘Studio Canal’ has deals with ‘LoveFilm’ for online distribution of films. As a result these niche productions are able to reach a wide audience.

- Exhibited on television by Channel Four.

As our thriller opening ‘Homeless’ is similar to ‘This is England’ in that it is a British, non mainstream production focussing on real life issues in society, like racism, it is most likely that the exhibition would be similar. ‘This is England’ also features a very vicious attack, in which ‘Milky’, a British Caribbean, is attacked by ‘Combo’ who is British, similar to the attack portrayed in our thriller opening in which Sam, who is of an ethnic minority is attacked by Norma, a white British female. This similarity may also be a factor in the ways that our thriller opening ‘Homeless’ is distributed.

Due to the low budget of the production, the film’s release would be limited, as not only would we be unable to fund a wide scale blanket release like a mainstream Hollywood blockbuster, but also due to the niche audience that it is targeted at, there would not be a large demand to see the film. Furthermore, the large chain cinemas such as ‘Vue’ and ‘Odeon’ would be least likely to exhibit the production, because their profit driven stance means that only the biggest mainstream films which are likely to attract the largest audiences are scheduled across the network of cinemas. Instead, our production would be more likely to be exhibited by the ‘Picturehouse’ network of cinemas, and more specifically ‘CinemaCity’ located in Norwich, the setting of our thriller opening. ‘Picturehouse’ specialise in exhibiting non mainstream films and as a result attract a niche audience, the target audience of our production. ‘CinemaCity’ has regularly exhibited films about troubled young people such as ‘Dead man’s shoes’ (2004) and ‘Somers town’(2008) both directed by Shane Meadows, showing how our thriller opening fits in with the type of content that they show, making it very likely to be distributed by this institution.

When looking at ‘This is England’, I found that it is still occasionally exhibited at a few independent cinemas; notably at ‘Broadway’ Picturehouse in Nottingham and ‘The Ritz cinema’ in Lincoln. ‘This is England’ still attracts attention in these two locations due to the fact that it is where shooting took place for the film. From this we can deduce that audiences are greatly attracted to films which use a setting that is familiar to them. This is also evident with the 2013 release of ‘Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa’ which, similar to our thriller opening, was filmed in Norfolk, and as a result received great attention in the area including having its premiere at ‘Hollywood Cinema’ in Norwich. Considering these factors, I believe that our thriller opening would be most likely exhibited at ‘CinemaCity’ in Norwich.

Taking information from how ‘This is England’ was distributed, I believe that our thriller opening would be most likely to be distributed widely on VOD services such as ‘LoveFilm’ due to the wider audience that it will be able to reach. As a non mainstream film, ‘Homeless’ would greatly benefit from the greater attention that being available through online streaming services would bring it, as well as the fact that the proliferation of hardware and content in the home means that audiences prefer to consume films in this way.

Channel Four regularly exhibits British films such as ‘This is England’ and funds independent film producers such as ‘Warp Films’ (‘This is England) meaning that this television channel, or its sister ‘Film4’ would be most likely to show it. Other UK broadcasters who exhibit thrillers tend only to target a mainstream audience, most likely due to the fact that they are profit driven, and targeting a mainstream audience is likely to attract the highest viewing figures. For example, on 22 March 2014, ‘Sky Movies Crime/Thriller’ showed ‘All Good Things’, ‘Get Carter’, and ‘Swordfish’, all high budget, mainstream films starring Hollywood actors, meaning that it would be very unlikely that this, or similar television networks would ever exhibit ‘Homeless’.