Name: Haisi Jiao

Student Number: s3445133

Tutor: Elliot Heatwole

Workshop: Thursday 11:30-13:30

As we all known networking is like a big community. In this community, people do their own jobs, establish a relationship net and contribute to the community. In filmmaking, it is the same thing. In this essay,I will investigate the distribution part of film network from a traditional way and a new digital way. Also I will compare this two different way of film distribution and define a best way and direction the future film distribution might go.

A distributor is the individual or organization that represents the film at festivals and world-widely market. Also a distributor is the one who sell the film to the studios, television, airlines and some other companies who screen films. The distributor is in charge of the theatrical release of a film in general in a particular country. In addition, they also are in charge of marketing and circulation of films for home viewing like DVD, Video-On-Demand, download, television and so on. Different distributors arein charge of different areas of distribution. (Film Network, 2014)

In the traditional way of film distribution, there are several sections being mentioned, the first one is territory. In which specific area or country this film can be distributed is very important. The second one is term, in other word, the time period for the distributor to hold the distribution right of this film. The third is rights granted, you need to distinguish the rights granted to the distributor and the rights reserved to the producer. You should be aware that if they are exclusive or not. If it is an exclusive, you should not allow others to show the film within some other areas, media forms and terms. Fourthly, the producer has to make sure that there is no infringement of copyright. Fifthly, the distributor actually received the all monies once the film gets exploited. No deductions have been made by then. Sixthly, net proceeds, this part of money is for producer. Usually producer will receive this money after the exploitation of the film with some deduction including distributor fees, commissions and expenses. Seventhly, expense caps should be established to prevent the distributors from asking for extra and unreasonable amount. Also in this way, the producer can get the deserved amount. Eighthly, the distributor should do his/her best to realize their obligations, owning the most of the gross receipts from marketing and exploitation of the film. Ninthly, the distributor should be honest about all of the sales and expenditure. They should also keep a very accurate and true record of it and preset it to the producer the regular accounting statements on the film. Finally, termination, after a long time of negotiation and cooperation with your distributor, in order to terminate the relationship or keep cooperating, you need to pay attention to every details and circumstances. (Film Network, 2014)

Some people choose to distribute their films by themselves, however there are both advantages and disadvantages about the self-distribution. From my point of view, the online distribution is a little bit similar to self-distribution. The advantages about self-distribution are as follows, firstly you can get the full control and rights of your own movie and you can have it show wherever you want. You don’t need to pay for the distributor, this means you can get all of the money made from your film. The disadvantages about it are as follows, firstly it is a big workload for you. You have to chase buyers and sales, fill in plenty of paperwork and so on. It will take you lots of time. Secondly, you don’t have enough buyer sources. Distributors have established relationship network among all kinds of buyers and it is easier for them to sell the film out. Thirdly you need to be cautious about signing away your film’s rights that will be the barrier for you to show it elsewhere. (Film Network, 2014)

As we all known, it is a long process from festival premiere of a film to its final release. Many people might wonder why it takes so long to finally come out. There are several reasons for this. I will introduce them next. Firstly, it takes time to find a most appropriated buyer. This is a market and competition among buyers. Secondly, after the deal was made, the contract and delivery usually take months sometimes. Thirdly, ‘long lead times for press are required, at least four months, and that planning usually does not happen until after deal closure’ (Ravid, 2012). Fourthly, the booking of an appropriate theatrical slot take time, again months, because it is competitive out there, the best screens are usually booked in advance, to book one takes time, to book a right one takes even longer. Fifthly, the launching of marketing campaigns costs money, the distributors need to deal with cash flow, which also takes time. Sixthly, uploading and making a movie available on digital outlet like VOD, DVD takes time to arranging, planning, slotting everything. It contains lots of strategic about releasing a film. Seventhly, the time of releasing a film deserves considering carefully. A specific time like Christmas and Halloween might be a better timing to release the film. Eighthly, the internal schedule of distributor is also important. They also have other films to release at the same time period. Ninthly, ‘grass roots and other marketing also demand lead time’ (Ravid, 2012). Finally, in traditional distribution, everything cannot be planned in advance. Everything needs to be done step by step after the festival premiere. To give you further information about traditional distribution, click here to read.

There is a new kind of distribution in the digital age, for professional sites like Netflix and for non-professional YouTube. However there is big difference between platforms like Netflix and YouTube. Netflix is more professional from the aspects of copyright, sources, payment, distribution strategy and film prescreens and so on. There are lots of online distribution platforms nowadays like Netflix, iTunes, BitTorrent, Vimeo On Demand, Amazon On Demand. To choose a best option, you need to ask yourself if you need exposure, profit and accessibility. To read more information about different online film distribution, click here. (Kroll, 2013)

There is another platform YouTube has been very popular since it was established in 2005. This web site is created for people to upload and share video with the rest of the world. It became very popular immediately. At the beginning, YouTube was just a simple platform for people to upload some interesting video sharing stories like interesting location, crazy stunts and hilarious pranks and so on. With time going by, YouTube has gradually developed into a multiple media platform with completed system. For instance, nowadays you can even see some political debates, formal musical and dancing performances, tutorial video, war footages without prescreening, etc. There are thousands of people uploading videos onto YouTube, so sometimes these video cannot get prescreen before releasing. Also the most of the video clips and short films are usually free on YouTube. The ‘distribution’ here just means uploading video by author himself/herself. There is no long and complex process for YouTube’s ‘distribution’. However it has the access to plenty of audiences. Once you upload the video, the rest of the world can see it and make comments about it. (Strickland, 2014)

‘The emerging digital entertainment economy is going to be radically different from today’s mass media market’ (Anderson, 2006). There are several differences between traditional way of film distribution and new digital online film distribution. The most obvious one is the time. Traditional way of film distribution has a very long and complex process that takes lots of time to finish. However online distribution takes less time and steps to complete one. The second one is profit. As I described above, traditional distribution cost the filmmaker a lot to do a good campaign. The profit of your film needs to be shared by yourself and filmmaker. If you want more profit, you can try some online distributions like BitTorrent and Vimeo On Demand that save some money for you. The third one is the access of audience. As we all known, the Internet is like a big community with very quick and wide connections. It is fast, convenient and has sufficient sources for people to choose from. People can just download, rent or buy the film and then watch it on computers. Instead of waiting for a long time and go to theatre, many people prefer watching at home. From the angle of both filmmakers and audience, the online film distribution is much convenient, easier and cheaper than traditional film distribution. Nevertheless, online distribution is developed on the base of Internet and traditional distribution. The Internet provides a good environment for online distribution, and traditional distribution provides the flow path for online distribution.

As far as I am concerned, we should not abandon the traditional way of film distribution because it represents the authority and model. Then we should try to improve functions of online distribution and try to do it better. Online distribution might be a main part of the film distribution in the future because the Internet has become an essential part of individual’s life. The only thing we should keep in mind is that keep everything in order.

Reference:

1.  Anderson, C. 2006, The Long Tail, WIRED, viewed 16 October 2014, <http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html>
2. Courshon, J. 6 Lies of Film Distribution, Writers Store, viewed 19 October 2014, <http://www.writersstore.com/6-lies-of-film-distribution/>
3. Film Network, showcasing new british filmmaking, BBC, viewed 19 October 2014, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/distribution/distribution>
4. Kroll, N. 2013, Breakdown Of The Major Online Indie Film Distribution Platforms, The Beat, viewed 20 October 2014, <http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/breakdown-of-the-major-online-indie-film-distribution-platforms/>
5. Ravid, O. 2012, Premiere to Release-Why does it take so long? THE COLLABORATIVE filmmakers first, viewed 17 October 2014, <http://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/blog/tag/traditional-film-distribution/>
6. Strickland, J. How YouTube Works, how stuff works, viewed 14 October 2014, <http://money.howstuffworks.com/youtube2.htm>
7. 4Filmmaking, HOLLYWOOD, viewed 19 October 2014, <http://distribution.4filmmaking.com/film-distribution.html>

Image Source:

1. http://www.raindance.org/wp-content/uploads/Film-Distribution-BAsics.jpg
2. http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/breakdown-of-the-major-online-indie-film-distribution-platforms/
3.  http://i.dawn.com/2012/09/youtube_logo_670.jpg
4.  http://thumb101.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/102804/99875567/stock-photo-group-of-frightened-people-watching-movie-spill-popcorn-99875567.jpg