Evaluation Question 3 - Distribution

Media Institutes – Distribution

A film distributer is a company or individual responsible for making a movie available for viewing by an audience. A professional film distributor would set the release date of when the film is available for viewing in theatres and/or home viewing (DVD, Blu-rays etc.).

 The film distributor is very important as their actions can either make a film a huge success or make it a total shamble. Film distributors control marketing an decide when, where and how a film is advertised, such as TV commercials, posters, billboards, on the internet, newspapers, special events (Comic-Con etc.), trailers (on the internet and in theatres) and many more. Advertising the film is very important as it makes it public knowledge and also gives the film a lot of media exposure; insuring that many people are interested and excited to go and watch it.

Another significant role film distributors have is to decisde how many theatres will screen the film, as well as the length of time. Depending on the success of the film, companies can maximise their revenue and the film gets lots of financial support which is crucial because the film doesn’t want to lose money, it wants to make money.

Films like ‘Avengers’, ‘Titanic’ and ‘Avatar’ are all box office hits and without a film distributor would have still succeeded because of the brilliant director, established actors and gripping story. However, it is vital that small and independent films get themselves a film distributor because they are less known in the film industry so will need lots more marketing and exposure in the media to succeed. The way most independent films get noticed by film distributors is by attending film festivals like ‘BFI London Film Festival’ and ‘Portobello Film Festival’ where they gain support, funding and media coverage for their film.

Warner Bros.

Warner Brothers is an American film studios which was established in 1923 by the four Warner Brothers, Albert, Harry, Sam and Jack. Over the course of 91 years their films have grossed over 12 billion dollars, making it the largest major film studio in the world. The WB Network was launched in 1995 by Warner and Tribune Media Comedy as an effort to seek niche market in teenagers in films and on television. The network commissioned popular shows like ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, ‘Smallville’, Dawson’s Creek’ and ‘One Tree Hill’; all with the hope to attract a new social group of teenagers. ‘7^Th Heaven’ and ‘Charmed’ become the channels most watched shows, with ‘Charmed’ running for an outstanding eight seasons; making it the longest running drama with female leads. Warner Brothers has a long history of distributing successful, box office hits; going for more mainstream films including ‘The Dark Knight’, ‘The Harry Potter Series’, ‘Inception’, ‘The Hangover Trilogy’, ‘Gravity’, ‘300’ and ‘Sherlock Holmes’.

This company is known for producing unusual and fiction films that attract both niche and mainstream audiences. ‘Mute’, being an unusual and fiction film, fits the criteria for Warner Bros. films and therefore be distributed, marketed and produced by them. A very popular film they have distributed is ‘The Dark Knight’ which its opening sequence is very similar to our opening sequence. The main similarity being the colour blue is present in the opening titles and a very similar technique to our opening sequence is used when the bat signal appears through the blue mist. The fast paced action in the rest of the sequence is similar to the ending of ours, as it puts the audience on the edge of their seats and makes them want to watch more. Roland Barthes theory of enigma codes was present in both films and were both the same narrative enigma. Both antagonists’ identity were kept a secret; the robbers wearing marks and the kidnapper not being shown, only heard. ‘Mute’ could follow in ‘The Dark Knights’ footsteps and make multiple films because of its similarities and ability to appeal to a wider target audience.

Here is the opening sequence to 'The Dark Knight': 

The Warner Bros. Logo is in all blue which is one of the main colours we used in our opening sequence. The logo can change depending on what film they are distributing.

This scene in the opening sequence for 'The Dark Knight' is very similar to the opening and ending of our opening sequence; using a blue mist to connote mystery and elegance. However, this shade of blue is darker than ours which juxtaposes with our storyline which is darker than 'The Dark Knight'. 

We chose to categories ‘Mute’ in the genres of thriller and horror which relates to some previous hits distributed by this company. Its unconventional attributes may prove a change to the conventional films of this genre