Notes

Distribution

• It is the third part of the film supply chain, and is often referred to as 'the invisible art' 
• Distribution is often considered the most important part of the film industry because it is the point when completed films are brought to life and connected with an audience
• Distribution can be divided into 3 sections (licensing, marketing and logistics)
• In the UK, distribution is very much focused on marketing and sustaining a global product in local markets
• Independent producers have to sell their films to different distributors in each territory 
• The distributor will usually pay the producer a minimum guarantee for the licence

The Launch of the Film

• In the UK, feature films are release initially theatrically. A theatrical opening is seen as the most effective way to create interest in a new film
• Months after the theatrical release, a film will be packaged and released on DVD and VHS video, then on various forms of pay television, and after a couple of years of it being in the cinemas, on free-to-air TV
• Incest as much as is needed in promoting the films to draw out the maximum returns

Marketing

• In the UK, new films are released theatrically on Fridays
• A further consideration for scheduling a release is the seasonality of the film
• The distributor will try to position the film distinctively and avoid a release date occupied by other films with similar traits (story, subject, country of origin)

The Theatrical Release

• The costs of theatrical release are often referred to as 'P&A' or prints and advertising
• P&A also pay initial fee for right, and can range from £1,00 to £1 million for the release of a film in the UK

The Logistics of Distribution

• The distributor will enter into an agreement with the cinema to screen the film on certain 'play-dates'.
• It is the responsibility of the distributor to arrange the transportation of the film to the cinema as part of its wider coordination of print across the UK
• Logistics represent the phase of distribution at its most basic - supplying and circulating copies of the film to theatres of tapes and DVDs to shops and video rental stores, and managing the effectiveness of the supply
• For UK theatrical exhibition  the distributor typically handles 35mm of film print. These are generally broke down into smaller reels
• Each print is made for repeat use, this means that they may get damaged as they pass through different projectors and projectionists

Catfish
Catfish is a 2010 American film, directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, involving a young man being filmed by his brother and friend as he builds a romantic relationship with a young woman on the social networking website Facebook.

• Hit at the Sundance Film Festival
• Distributed by Momentum Pictures
• The release was first available on Video On Demand/Pay Per View and at the cinemas simultaneously, then just two weeks later was released on DVD, also on Lovefilm
• £67,000(P&A funding) was awarded to launch the film on a wider scale
• The lead in the film, Nev Schulman also did a Q&A discussion, where he took questions from audiences at cinemas, and from twitter (technology, more promotion, gets more people talking about it, widespread advertising)
• Catfish grossed £48,469 in its opening weekend, and by the second week the box office was £89,721. By the end of the eight-week theatrical run the film had grossed £144064
• Most successful simultaneous multi-platform release in the UK 
• Multi-platform message did not take away from the cinema performance, however the DVD sales did not actually benefit from the very short window

Another Year

A look at four seasons in the lives of a happily married couple and their relationships with their family and friends.

• Another Year premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in October 2010
• A portion was allocated to expand the UK premiere from the London Film Festival's Mayor of London Gala. Footage from the premiere and the Q&A session was beamed to 33 sites in Greater London and across the UK, who also screened the film to paying audiences. This event cost about £13,00