qUESTION 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Here is a small video I made to discuss and explain what Distribution companies are currently up to as well as what SYNTH could require in order to be successful in the current market of films. I chose to do a bit of a speed talk as for starters no one want's to wait around for long periods of time for me to make a point and secondly as an editing challenge that acts as a testament to my progress since making SYNTH nearly a year ago.
I've included a transcript of what I said as well just encase you can't pick up on what I'm saying:
"So a distribution company is responsible for shipping out the films you love to the cinemas that over charge you. Heard of fox? Good, that’s a big one. Disney? They’ve spent dollars and years making sure you know them. Sony Pictures? More like ‘The Amazing Spider man 2 can be terrible and you’ll still watch it!
Horror films need these guys too, cheap as they may be to crank out, somebodies got to slap the lead actress voyeuristically on the side of your bus to work,
those bills don’t come cheap and as such in this ever turbulent economic climate where budgets are reaching dizzying heights and profit margins are all the more precious, your films pretty much gotta be a hit like it or not.
This would be why we’re seeing so many ghost movies ranging from passable to skin wearingly awful right now,
Paranormal activity basically opened the flood gates with it’s cheap as chips budget and ridiculous returns making distributors do that weird eye spinning thing you seen in cartoons.
Right now, particularly with the advent of video streaming services in the UK we’ve hit a bit of a state of meritism where it’s really quite affordable for an independent film maker to get their title off their laptop and into your face pipes which isn’t to say it’s gonna succeed just that it now stands a better chance of reaching that golden goose ‘cult status’.
Hammer Films is the obvious one for UK audiences with its long running history of classics like THE ORIGINAL Dracula but with the notable exception of maybe The Woman in Black they’ve really struggled to consistently hit markets in recent years, especially when you consider that SYNTH is a slasher flick more than anything else.
There is the aforementioned fox of course who’ve got a bit of a better track record with horror Jennifer’s body (behave) and Alvin and the Chip munks but again, they’re not where it’s at right now, especially for a title like SYNTH.
What about Lionsgate I hear you cry? What, you mean the distributors of mainstream powerhouses like SAW, The Last Exorcism and My Bloody Valentine! That sounds more like it but then you gotta consider that they’re all about James Wan as well as pretty much just sequels as it currently stands despite their creative risks paying off with the SAW franchise, but whatever not the point.
I think I’m gonna go instead then with self-made distributors Stand-BY? Why, well for starters that’s our own company and secondly because with a smaller distributor without as much money to make back, we can follow what Jason Blum, creator of some of the most profitable horrors in recent memory is doing, he says:
“We believe there’s a middle ground that focuses on a more controlled theatrical release driven by digital and social engagement with a specific and identifiable audience.”
There you have it, SYNTH is a socially charged and energetic little monster that just isn’t going to appeal to everyone; it’s about deep ideas and breaks conventions and actually challenges the viewer which isn’t everyone’s idea of a good cinematic horror experience, hence why we’ve seen such insulting movies coming down the pipeline as of late.
Stand-By don’t need to go big, they just need to go smart, getting the film out to selective theatres, festivals and networks (like Film 4) who, if played right, will actually develop a better profit-to-investment return as a result of targeting a set demographic rather than trying o appeal to everyone and ultimately spreading the film too thin and bland, see exhibits A and B.
We’ve seen a similar success through researched and targeted marketing with horror darling and personally hated film insidious which was teased and marketed pretty much independently before being picked up by Sony Pictures for worldwide distribution after the Toronto Film festival, or we’ve got Devlover Digital in the games industry that have built and empire of hard hitting indie classics. It can be done, hence the use of Stand-By.
Slasher’s are not the golden child any more let’s face facts, but there still an adoring and appreciative market out there, add that with the political commentary that gets all of those Art houses foaming at the mouth and you’ve got the potential for a new cult movie built off the back of Stand-By’s more focused distribution behavior."
"So a distribution company is responsible for shipping out the films you love to the cinemas that over charge you. Heard of fox? Good, that’s a big one. Disney? They’ve spent dollars and years making sure you know them. Sony Pictures? More like ‘The Amazing Spider man 2 can be terrible and you’ll still watch it!
Horror films need these guys too, cheap as they may be to crank out, somebodies got to slap the lead actress voyeuristically on the side of your bus to work,
those bills don’t come cheap and as such in this ever turbulent economic climate where budgets are reaching dizzying heights and profit margins are all the more precious, your films pretty much gotta be a hit like it or not.
This would be why we’re seeing so many ghost movies ranging from passable to skin wearingly awful right now,
Paranormal activity basically opened the flood gates with it’s cheap as chips budget and ridiculous returns making distributors do that weird eye spinning thing you seen in cartoons.
Right now, particularly with the advent of video streaming services in the UK we’ve hit a bit of a state of meritism where it’s really quite affordable for an independent film maker to get their title off their laptop and into your face pipes which isn’t to say it’s gonna succeed just that it now stands a better chance of reaching that golden goose ‘cult status’.
Hammer Films is the obvious one for UK audiences with its long running history of classics like THE ORIGINAL Dracula but with the notable exception of maybe The Woman in Black they’ve really struggled to consistently hit markets in recent years, especially when you consider that SYNTH is a slasher flick more than anything else.
There is the aforementioned fox of course who’ve got a bit of a better track record with horror Jennifer’s body (behave) and Alvin and the Chip munks but again, they’re not where it’s at right now, especially for a title like SYNTH.
What about Lionsgate I hear you cry? What, you mean the distributors of mainstream powerhouses like SAW, The Last Exorcism and My Bloody Valentine! That sounds more like it but then you gotta consider that they’re all about James Wan as well as pretty much just sequels as it currently stands despite their creative risks paying off with the SAW franchise, but whatever not the point.
I think I’m gonna go instead then with self-made distributors Stand-BY? Why, well for starters that’s our own company and secondly because with a smaller distributor without as much money to make back, we can follow what Jason Blum, creator of some of the most profitable horrors in recent memory is doing, he says:
“We believe there’s a middle ground that focuses on a more controlled theatrical release driven by digital and social engagement with a specific and identifiable audience.”
There you have it, SYNTH is a socially charged and energetic little monster that just isn’t going to appeal to everyone; it’s about deep ideas and breaks conventions and actually challenges the viewer which isn’t everyone’s idea of a good cinematic horror experience, hence why we’ve seen such insulting movies coming down the pipeline as of late.
Stand-By don’t need to go big, they just need to go smart, getting the film out to selective theatres, festivals and networks (like Film 4) who, if played right, will actually develop a better profit-to-investment return as a result of targeting a set demographic rather than trying o appeal to everyone and ultimately spreading the film too thin and bland, see exhibits A and B.
We’ve seen a similar success through researched and targeted marketing with horror darling and personally hated film insidious which was teased and marketed pretty much independently before being picked up by Sony Pictures for worldwide distribution after the Toronto Film festival, or we’ve got Devlover Digital in the games industry that have built and empire of hard hitting indie classics. It can be done, hence the use of Stand-By.
Slasher’s are not the golden child any more let’s face facts, but there still an adoring and appreciative market out there, add that with the political commentary that gets all of those Art houses foaming at the mouth and you’ve got the potential for a new cult movie built off the back of Stand-By’s more focused distribution behavior."