Helen Chamberlain - Media Studies

Distribution

My short film will be primarily placed and be available on the internet. This would be beneficial as the internet has become a vital part in today’s society. With the proliferation of the internet and the forms of media which have now incorporate and made their content available within the World Wide Web, the internet has become a global phenomenon. It has allowed people to globally interact with one another, similarly with the recent advancement and emphasis on the use of web 2.0 sites, such as YouTube and Facebook.

It was through YouTube which I originally discovered the boutique film company “Whitestone Motion Pictures”. Upon carrying out research on short films and looking for examples on YouTube, I came across their film “That’s Magic”. Then through their YouTube account, I viewed their other short film, furthermore, I was only then that I went onto their official website. Through my own experience, it shows how powerful and effective the internet is, in particular 2.0 interactive websites.

My film will primarily be released on the official website of “Whitestone Motion Pictures” where they display all of their short films and other recording which they have made.

http://www.whitestonemotionpictures.com/

The company also has their own YouTube account:

Whitestone84 http://www.youtube.com/user/whitestone84?blend=2&ob=1

This similarly contains all of the films which they have produced, but has the addition of behind the scenes videos into the planning and production of their films.

The concept of storyboarding

http://www.youtube.com/user/whitestone84?blend=2&ob=1#p/a/u/1/x1OArdjOkxo

Behind the scenes video of “That’s Magic”

http://www.youtube.com/user/whitestone84?blend=2&ob=1#p/u/13/_rX04EnHHSw

The reason that these particular ‘behind the scenes’ clips are only based on their YouTube account, could be a result of this 2.0 website being less formal. The main focus behind YouTube (and other 2.0 websites) is that anybody can upload and comment of videos. This could then mean that audiences and viewers will be able to see what goes behind making a short film. This is compared to their official website which is much more formal and designed for professional reasons.

By making my short film available on YouTube in particular, means that my short film can be viewed by a vast audience, not only my intended target audience. From my own experience, this has been emphasised and established. By uploading my short film onto YouTube means that it can increase in popularity and as a result gain a larger viewing audience.

Additionally by having my short film produced and associated with the established production and film company, “Whitestone motion pictures”, means that it can almost be a form of product placement and media cooperation. When audience’s watch either my film or any of Whitestone motion pictures, they are likely to come across and view the other. As a result, this would enhance the distribution and marketing of my short film.

Whitestone Motion Pictures, also have created an account on Vimeo and show their films there also. Vimeo is a website designed to allow people to upload their videos and share them globally.

http://vimeo.com/wsprotege

Through other web 2.0 sites, they are able to promote their films, including;

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/whitestonemp
Twitter: http://twitter.com/whitestonemp

Both these common and globally used websites can be used as a form of marketing for the film company and can be used to entice new audiences by commenting on their short films.

All these 'Whitestone Motion Picture' websites all have web links from their main websites.

To enhance my film and its distribution further, I could also place my film into competitions for short films. Such competitions as;

In the can http://www.inthecan.org.uk/
Indie short film competition http://www.indieshortfilms.net/
National film challenge http://filmchallenge.org/

Normally, the films which are entered into the competitions are available on the websites. This could thus gain my film creditability and also enable it to be viewed by a larger and global audience.

Audience Research

The audience of films in general are crucial, it is due to them that films are made, are successful and make the millions of pounds in profit. It is thus critical that films are targeted and marketed right for specific audience's in mind, so that specific audience will view the film and make it successful.

Primarily, short films do not have the wide audience which feature length films do. They therefore have a specialist audience, which consist of a more niche audience. It was this reason why have decided to combine and incorporate my film with the successful, and establish film Production Company “Whitestone Motion Pictures”, which have a global audience. This could thus ensure that my film would be more successful.

With this in mind, it gave a basis of the audience of my film. Through investigating the production company’s followers on their YouTube account, I was able to generalise who their primary audience were.

Through their YouTube account it also indicated the quantitative amount of followers and fans. On their YouTube account alone, they have 1,111 subscribers and 83 friends.

Whilst on their Facebook account they had 3,072 likes. This means that out of the many thousands of people who have viewed their Facebook site, that this amount of people have actually flagged it up stating that hey are a fan of the film company.

Finally, on their Twitter account, they have 1,961 following, 1,840 followers.

This research shows that they have a large national audience and following of their films.

With the fact that they have varied age and global audience, makes it more difficult for me to have my film successfully appeal to them, as their are a greater amount of people and need to accommodate for.

With this in mind, when I make my short film, I will have to make it accessible to all countries, especially the language I include within my film. I will also have to make the plot of the film unspecific to a certain age and make sure that all people are able to relate to it.

With these results in mind, I then carried out a research on my TMG (Target market Group) to see which types of short films they like and their views on film reviews and posters. The results which I will accumulate will be important, and I will need to try and incorporate them into my products, so that they are as effective as possible.

These are the questions which I asked my audience.

Audience Questionnaire

Question 1

What is your gender?

Male	Female

Question 2

What is you age?

10-20	21- 30	31-40	41+

Question 3

What is your Nationality?

England	Scotland	Wales	Europe	Australia	America

Question 4

Do you like to watch short film?

Yes	No

Question 5

If yes, how often?

Daily	Weekly	Monthly

Question 6

What best describes the short films you prefer?

One with a moral message.	One which is artistic	Both	Other

If other, please state.

Question 7

Where do you watch short films?

Local cinema	On television	On the general internet e.g. YouTube	On specialist short film websites

Question 8

Do you make and or upload videos onto the internet (not specifically short films)?

Yes	No

Question 9

Where do you learn about new films?

In film magazines	On the internet	Through friends	on adverts (posters)

Question 10

Do you read film reviews?

Yes	No

Question 11

Do you read the mainstream film magazines (Empire, total film) , or independent ones(vertigo)?

Mainstream	Independent

Question 12

Do the opinions presented by the author contribute to whether you will see a film?

Yes	No

Question 13

Do you think that movie posters are an effective method of advertising films?

Yes	No

Question 14

Do you view a film by how effective and good it looks on the poster?

These are the results which I obtained from my questionnaire.

When I create my short film, poster and review, I will take into consideration all of these factors. By doing this I will create a more effective product which will appeal to the audience who are represented in this questionnaire.

Differences to Internet Reviews

I then decided to look at the differences from reviews from magazines to the ones which are published on their websites.

The magazine review which I extracted from review websites include;

Somewhere -Empire magazine website
True Grit- Entertainment weekly website
Scretariat- Film Four website

Somewhere:

True Grit:

Secretarait:

The only main difference in the actual blurb is the structure of the text. Unlike magazine reviews it is not written in columns, this is the only main real difference. Alothough like other web 2.0 sites, it allows interaction with the public and enables them to leave their comments on the film or review in hand.
However, on the internet reviews there is much more advertisement for other links on the site, or of product placement/advertisement. Such examples include; on the 'True Grit' review, the advert for Bold fabric washing liquid.

On the website for Empire magazine (Somewhere review) there is a key to the breakdown of star ratings, stating to what each of them stand for. Underneath that it also gives a list of recent films which have been rated by that magazine.

However, they do allow more information on the film to be present, with the trailer for the video available to be viewed, and other still images taken from the film.

Overall, there is primarily the same amount of information present on the actual film, but on the internet version of the reviews their is more content on advertisement to other links and aspects of products on the websites.

When making my own short film review, I could take these findings into consideration, especially if I decide to create a review for a website in addition to one for a review magazine.