“Distribution is about releasing and sustaining films in the market place. In the practice of Hollywood and other forms of industrial cinema, the phases of production, distribution and exhibition operate most effectively when 'vertically integrated', where the three stages are seen as part of the same larger process, under the control of one company. In the UK, distribution is very much focused on marketing and sustaining a global product in local markets.
In the independent film sector, vertical integration does not operate so commonly. Producers tend not to have long-term economic links with distributors, who likewise have no formal connections with exhibitors. Here, as the pig-in-the-middle, distribution is necessarily a collaborative process, requiring the materials and rights of the producer and the cooperation of the exhibitor to promote and show the film in the best way possible. In this sector, distribution can be divided into three stages - licensing, marketing and logistics.”
This is an interesting article, and it links to my production and leads me to the question ‘How will I distribute my film?’ A short film like mine would be released through the BBC with their short film scheme, or Film4 who are the same. Both of these companies independently fund British films, shorts and features, with both being vertically integrated. Film4 would have been the company that I would have tried to get funding from, so I feel that they would be the company to distribute them too, especially as it is part of their vertical integration system. As an independent filmmaker I will also upload my film to websites such as Vimeo and Youtube so that a community of other filmmakers and the public could watch my product and I wouldn’t be paying a fee, I wouldn’t be receiving money for my film too though, but because I didn’t actually pay much money for it anyway this doesn’t matter.
Proficient research/thought about institution.
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