Sam Parker

Foundation ProductionEvaluation
Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

My production company ident is a key part of the thriller opening because it shows who will be
distributing the movie. I based my ident on a mixture of two existing company idents- Universal and

Lionsgate. I took the space theme from Universal and the clouds from Lionsgate and I merged the
two ideas together to create a nebula scene with the company name pulsating in the centre.
A production company is responsible for the production and distribution of media products. This
basically means making a movie viewable to a public audience. Generally certain production
companies are known for distributing one type of film genre or sub genre, for example Lionsgate

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are known for distributing horror and thriller films, and Dreamworks are known for distributing
animation and childrens films.

For my distributor I chose Lionsgate. It seemed like the logical choice as they are the main film
distributors for horror, thriller and other alternative film genres. Lionsgate, which was formally
known as Cinepix Film Properties is a Canadian-American production studio and a division of
Lions Gate Entertainment. Its the largest and most successful mini-major film studio in North
America. It focuses mainly on independent films and has distributed many successful titles, ranging
from the Twilight Saga (partially), the Hunger Games and the Divergent series. Lionsgate
specialises mainly in horror and alternative film genres, a space that is mainly dominated by them.
They have a subsidiary company named Summit Entertainment who are responsible for the
distribution of a large part of the Twilight Saga. Other titles include Silent Hill: Revelation (a horror
film), Texas Chainsaw, Saw 3D, Hell and Magic Mike- all of which are thriller films. I believe that
Lionsgate would be a suitable company to distribute my thriller film because they are known for
thriller and alternative films. By selecting Lionsgate as a distributor I will inherit their already loyal
fan base of horror/thriller viewers which would only boost my fan base. They have a large portfolio
and are a growing production company. Lionsgate have a very similar audience to what I expect
mine to be, so therefore it would be beneficial for them to produce my film. Since my thriller has a
psychopathic quality to it I believe that a company such as Dreamworks or Universal would not be
a suitable company to distribute it.

In order to procure the funding I would need I could advertise on the internet on sites such as
YouTube and Facebook, as both of these sites are available worldwide and would provide me with

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a global audience. The are likely to be seen a lot because of the large amount of traffic these sites
generate. It would also be possible to advertise on TV and Radio but I dont believe that they would
generate much interest or revenue due to diminishing use of those services. Most of peoples spare
time is now spent on the internet so it would probably benefit me more to stick to this area.
Because its going to be rated 15 (BBFC) it would be best to place the advertisements on age
specific sites and content so it would be better to put a YouTube ad on a video thats of a similar
subject and age range than to a video that has no relation and is aimed at a younger audience. I
could also pitch directly to Lionsgate for funding. If I could produce a convincing pitch with
predicted sales figures and popularity charts with statistics the production company could weigh up
the the potential for the film and grant funding.

From watching existing film openings I know that the main cast and the main production crew are
named and their titles/roles are highlighted. Because this is a general convention I had to include it
in my thriller opening. Leona and Cameron are the cast and they are presented first in the opening,
Leona being the lead so her name comes first. Then myself, Leona and Cameron are included and
our roles within the crew are stated. I am the director of music, camerawork and editing. Leona is
costume design, co-editor and screenplay. Finally Cameron is the co-editor and director. I didnt put
the titles in any particular order, but I made sure that our names werent next to each other
consecutively, for example I wouldnt put Sam Parker camerawork and then Sam Parker director
of music because I felt that this would look a bit unprofessional. There is only one other name on
my opening titles which is the composer of the soundtrack- Matt Uelmen. Its important that I
included this name because its not a soundtrack that was composed for my opening, therefore it
could be seen as copyright infringement if I didnt give credit to the creator. I took inspiration from

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the opening to films such as The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 and Silent Hill: Revelation
because I like how they are composed and the varying shot types they use.

Due to the parallels to many current Lionsgate films such as Silent Hill: Revelation and
Insurgent and my own thriller Eat. Sleep. Breathe. I feel that its important that I follow the
release process that these films did. Both of these films trailers were displayed as ads at the start
of some YouTube and advertisements on many websites and before screenings in cinemas.
Lionsgate has subsequently acquired Summit Entertainment for the distribution of Twilight:
Breaking Dawn Part 2 and they have also acquired stakes for Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Homegrown Productions could follow in a similar way with its release of Eat. Sleep. Breathe. as it
is quite clearly an effective way of advertising and releasing film.