Michael Siscar AS Media Studies

In what ways does the production, distribution and exhibition impact/

affect the films success?

The impact on the films success is used in three different ways in the film
industry: production is production there are a number of stages to go through in
order to get the film to an audience. These stages of production varies in
complexity from project to project. Distribution is another process of making a
movie available for viewing by an audience. This is normally the priority of a
professional film distributor, who would determine the marketing strategy for the
film, the media by which a film is to be exhibited or made available for viewing,
and who may set the release date and other matters and finally exhibition is
where you exhibitors show films in cinemas or on DVD. Media attention through
opening nights and premieres How the audience can see the film: in cinemas, at
home, on DVD, through downloads, through television, including premieres and
box office screenings.

Firstly, the production impacts the films success. For example, Disneys Frozen
uses a lot of CGI effects to bring the experience. Approximately, the cost for the
animation that was used in the film costed $24,510 per second. On average, an
animated film usually costs up to $21,156 depending on its success. This
however, became a success in the history of Disneys Animated Films alongside
the first hand-drawn animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The
differences between both of these Disney classics is the change in technology;
the rise of new technology allows producers to make it spectacular with visual
effects. Frozens unique selling point is a female role model which means that the
protagonist does not need a man to the way to which Disney is trying to evoke a
message to their female majority as well as respecting differences as other
Disney animated films are well known for providing an important message to
their younger audience- this connotes a third example of their selling point as
they are persuading them to watch not only the film, but to decode what the film
is really about. On the contrary, Frozens budget was $150 million. In
comparison, Skets budget was $1 million which contrast differently by the
audience. It shows how limited indie films are compared to blockbuster films. The
cause of this difference is the lack of visual effects used in indie films as
producers have to stick to their budgets.
Secondly, distribution plays a part in a films success; the 2011 movie Sket was
promoted using two social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. This
encouraged them to reach a wider audience interested in watching this urban
crime thriller. Most importantly, the impact of tweets, likes and retweets played a
significant role in its distribution- it conveyed their target audience; teenagers
stereotypically. Distribution is vital to blockbuster films- synergistically, Frozen
was promoted through teaser trailers (it was released 5 months before the actual
release). Cross media marketing is another example of distribution- a marketing
campaign was launched with partnerships with Disney and frozen food retail
shop, Iceland to promote the film to the British audience by offering their
customers a complementary child ticket as well as a purchased adult if they
spend over 15 more. This promotion demonstrates how it can communicate
with the conglomerates customers in a fun and engaging way, encouraging
them to take part in a competition. Film reviews from critics was another way to

Michael Siscar AS Media Studies

inform their audience on Skets success whether if it this indie film was well
received or not. From my further research on this British indie, some of the
comments in IMDB were very informative; the way it told other users about the
conventions in this film were highlighted to show what viewers should be aware
of. The growth of e-media impacts massively on the films success- Frozen has
their own official website to attract their young audience which is another
marketing technique to promote their products to their customers, allowing the
conglomerate company Disney to continually earn money thorough circulation
even after the box office screenings. Upon distributing the film, frozen was
promoted in cinemas which eventually promoted its own soundtrack, dolls and
other products that appeal to the younger audience.
Exhibition affect the films success. Frozen as shown in Multiplex cinemas as it
had gained popularity from its paying audience. However, the threats of this film
affected its unique product as the threat of piracy became a growing issue71,061 jobs were lost in the United States every year due to piracy but also it
was the second film to be pirated which in statistics, showed that 29.219 million
units were illegally downloaded by torrent users worldwide. A blockbuster film
like this immediately lost its value, causing their paying customers to watch it
through illegal means, emphasising the loss of box office and other financial
vices. The consequences for piracy is the impact on so many hard working
producers losing their jobs- 71,061 jobs were lost in the United States due to
piracy, instead their audiences would not take interest in viewing a film because
of the trends of HD, 3D TV etc. the consequences for online piracy is that the
conglomerate would lose 170 million a year. On the other hand, the advantages
of this is that the conglomerate will still be able to make money from pay TV
subsidiaries such as Sky Movies to which their customers can rent or Buy and
Keep- it impacts this films success as the conglomerate offers their subscribers
to watch it not only on one type of media, but also on 4 devices.
In conclusion, production, distribution and exhibition impacts on a films success
because it is used to distribute the film though external means. I found out that
blockbusters have much more influences in the media industry rather than indie
films as they are well-known and well promoted in order to draw a particular
audience in. Encouraging other films to be exhibited with the use of new
technology is used to develop the audiences needs. I also learnt that
blockbuster films especially from Frozens conglomerate Disney distributes
externally to draw their target audience in.