Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

After a lot of research into different production companies, distributors and the types of films they buy the rights to, we concluded that E.G.A productions and Universal Pictures UK were the right choices for us.

In this Prezi I explain a little bit about E.G.A productions and why they would produce our film:
[Please enlarge to read properly]


I have also created a screen recording of how Universal Pictures UK describe themselves of there website.
[Please read what i have highlighted with the mouse]

Our decision as to why they might distribute it was predominately based on how they described themselves (in the video above) and what films they have released (the list below).

Reasons from the website:

• They said that Universal Pictures Uk "creates and distributes theatrical and non-theatrical filmed entertainment" which means that even though our film is small and independent they will still distribute it, as a theatrical release (in cinemas) is not necessary.
• The website also stated that "Universal's theatrical slate includes films developed internally, along with co-productions, acquisitions and films developed by outside partners and distributed by the studio". This means that they would still be willing to buy the rights to distribute our film despite it being an E.G.A production.
• Finally, the website stated that "for almost a century, Universal has been known for its diverse slate of films". This anchors that they distribute both high-concept large blockbusters and small independent films.

Reasons from the films they usually distribute:

• Universal Pictures is a huge institution that distributes a large range of genres and styles of films, all with very different budgets (as can be seen from the list above). We like this as it gives us security that they will be able to distribute our film on the small scale that we want, but also, due to the fact that the company is vertically integrated, there is also the possibility of something larger.
• Secondly, other UK independent comedies have been distributed by them. Simon Pegg's 'The World's End' is just one example of this. Their whole budget was only $20,000,000 and it had huge success, grossing $13,354,358 in the UK alone. Another example is "Bridget Jones' Diary" which grossed $60,296,418 in the UK despite the $26,000,000 budget.
• Thirdly, due to Universal Pictures being an established household name, we thought that it would help make the film more accessible to young people (those who aren't very interested in independent cinema).

With all this in mind i think Universal would be well within their capabilities to market and distribute our film. Like "The World's End" i think that they would start by distributing our film in festivals and advertising on social networking sites. This is in order to create as much free interest and awareness as possible, so to prevent a loss of money. Following on from this, it would be likely they would exhibit it on online platforms, such as VOD (as they are doing with The Knife That Killed Me). However if the film had potential to do well in the box office, like "Bridget Jones' Diary" there is the potential to release it theatrically due to the companies vertical integration.

In conclusion, I think that Universal Pictures UK was a realistic and suitable choice for our film distributor and the partnership would work very effectively.