Evaluation Question 3By Kirsty Steward

DefinitionsProduction company: Provides funding and recognition of the specific film it produces. It handles budgeting, scheduling, scripting, post-production and some larger companies even help with distribution (www.wikipedia.com .

Distribution Company: A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for the marketing of a film. The distributor may set the release date of a film and the method by which a film is to be exhibited or made available for viewing: for example, directly to the public either theatrically or for home viewing (DVD, video-on-demand, download, television programs through broadcast syndication etc.). A distributor may do this directly, if the distributor owns the theatres or film distribution networks, or through theatrical exhibitors and other sub-distributors. A limited distributor may deal only with particular products, such as DVDs or Blu-ray, or may act in a particular country or market. -(wikipedia.com)

What production companies may be suited to my production?

Three production companies that would be suited to fund my thriller film are: Universal Studios

Warner Bros Pictures

Lionsgate

This is because all had produced top 10 thriller films in 2012 , as I found in my research (boxofficemojo.com),which proves their success which is what I would want to experience with my film. In particular Lionsgate produced the highest grossing thriller film of 2012 with ‘The Hunger Games’. Referring back to my research, all three companies have good reputations with blockbusters they have released such as:Universal- E.T, Jaws, Schindler’s List etc.Warner Bros- Inception, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and the Dark Knight Rises etc.Lionsgate- The possession, The Expendables etc. The films are significant in the companies reputation as Steven Spielberg directed both E.T and Jaws which are both well renowned timeless films and Harry Potter includes a well liked class of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watsonm, as well as being adapted from the multi million selling book series. This is also the case with The Expendables which includes the famous actors Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham as well as many others.

What Film Studio Production I’d like to choose The film studio I would choose to produce my film, if the opportunity arose, would be Universal Studios as they had three films in the top ten top grossing thriller films of 2012 therefore they show they produced a range of successful film rather than just have one bit hit. Also they are a big company meaning my film would be more recognised and be considered more prestigious in industry terms.

What Film Distributor I would choose

I feel as though 20th Century Fox would be suitable to distribute my film as they are a household name and have distributed a large quantity of successful TV shows as well as films. Furthermore, they are the company that distributed the film, Taken, in which we took a lot of inspiration from, thus it makes sense to use the same distributer as ‘Taken’ had such a great success therefore I feel I could achieve the same by choosing this company.

However Universal Studios isn’t usually affiliated with 20th Century Fox (as I found in my research) as both are big corporate companies. Yet Universal studios does have its own means of distribution so I would still gain the recognition I desire as well as having my film widely available to the general public.

Further referring back to my research; Universal studios commonly works with Columbia Pictures which is also another successful distribution company therefore if Universal Studios didn’t provide the distribution, I could try and pitch my idea to Columbia Pictures in hope that they would agree as they are associated with Universal Studios.

However …Although I'd like to choose one of the big conglomerates to fund and distribute my film, as a minor film producer with no previous experience they would be unlikely to buy into my idea. This is also because the conglomerates dominate every aspect of marketing and are purely out to make money as a business rather than allow artistic interpretation and would likely want to change aspects of my film to fit to their worldwide audience.

Therefore realistically, I'd approach Film 4 as they are an independent film production and distribution meaning my idea would likely to be more suited to their ethos as they look for films that 'demonstrate innovation, experiment and creativity in the form of content' and 'appeal to the tastes and interests of a culturally diverse society' (as stated on the Channel 4 remit). By pitching my idea to them, I'd have more of a chance as my film can fit into the category of films they're looking for based on the content and themes and it will still allow my own creative input as well as having some success in the film industry as Film 4 is a highly recognised name in the UK.

FundingWith my film that I produced, all funding was accounted for by my team as well as myself although the budget would have been small as most items featured in the sequence were pre-owned by the actors or my team. However if I did have the opportunity to export a finished film I would try to gain funding for the BFI. This is because in my research I found that the BFI are a big company who gladly fund films that display British traits that would fit into their niche market. My opening sequence displays easily identifiable British traits and there is originality in regards to my storyline so if I had the opportunity the create a whole film, I would make sure the have the theme present throughout the film. Also I found that the BFI are well recognised, they would be the most successful in getting my film viewed by the public hence the sequence will gain more recognition and will be more widely distributed.

TitlesIn terms of creativity, what my production titles held was limited. In my first production company title ‘LKS Productions’ the acronym was simply my production team’s name’s initials (Leo, Kirsty and Shannon) and with the second, MS Media, it simply stood for Manshead School Media. Yet even though I feel the title names are not very creative, they are original. Also the black background, dark blue fading mist and metallic looking writing give the company a sense of individuality and recognition. Moreover the genre of film that the titles accompany is a thriller so it also displays the conventions of the genre e.g. eerie mist and low key lighting.

However we would only have to use this titles if we could not receive funding from bigger companies such as the ones that were previously mentioned or from lower scale companies such as the BFI or national lottery. But the titles are sufficient enough in terms of originality and the actual display of the titles fit with the conventions of the film therefore overall they’re successful.