The Role of the Film Distributor

Distribution is a big part of what makes a film successful and there are many roles which the distributor fulfils to allow this to happen. The main task of a distribution company is to 'identify and deliver the largest possible audience for every film.' This is a very big task, especially because there are so many other entertainment options available outside the home. A film won't have much of an impact unless it's able to connect and catch the attention of it's target audience, therefore the distributor must know the audience extremely well in order to appeal to it. It has been confirmed by research that the majority of people who go to the cinema will know which film they want to see beforehand. This will most likely be due to the film having caught their attention by being vastly promoted. We can tell that the role of a distributor is vital and integral to a films success.

Distribution is a very highly competitive business with the job of launching and also sustaining films in the market. A film doesn't become a hit or becoming a major talking point without a lot of work going into making it happen. Overall there are a number of jobs a distributor will need to fulfil in order for a film to become successful. They will need to identify it's target audience and consider the reasons why this audience would want to see the film, they need to develop plans and partnerships in order to spark interest and awareness of the film, ensure there are cinemas which will be willing to play the film and estimate what the revenue potential of the film is across all forms of its release.

Many entertainment forms nowadays are product driven and entirely reliant on the product itself being what draws people into paying for it. Films are no exception to this. Consumers decide what they want to, or don't want to see. A distributor needs to make their film something that people do want to see so the marketing compaign will need to effectively draw interest from these people. The first steps of a Distributor are to develop a release strategy for a film and take careful consideration of a release date which would optimise success. They must then present the film to distributors and negotiate for arrangements of the  film being shown in cinemas. The last step for Distributors would be the generating of a marketing compaign to create a buzz for the film amongst the target audience and make people want to see it before the film is launched.

Before a marketing plan can be produced the distributors will need to consult with the producers and possibly studio of the film to gauge the audience that they feel would be most appropriate to target the film too. They need to think about who could be convinced to but a ticket to see this particular film and why they would want to, if the film could be positioned within a popular genre and they might also look into recent releases of similar types of films to see the audience that they have attracted. There is however a risk with distribution because audiences tastes are generally unpredictable. This is why extensive research on an audience must be carried out. They must look at the age group and gender, lifestyles, social network use and media consumption patterns. It is a distributors job to not only appeal to the core target audience of a film but to also generate an attraction for the film as wide spread as possible. Research has shown that the most frequent cinemagoers tend to be between 15 years and 25 years of age. This will result in social networking and internet being an important way for distributors to generate buzz for a film.

As well as the target audience there are a number of other factors that distributors must take into consideration when coming up with a release plan. Some other factors are:

• Competition with films with similar release dates (Would an audience choose to see their film over other ones that are showing?)
• If there are any major and well known stars in the film or if the Director/Producer is well known. (Many people will see a film due to certain actors being in them or certain directors or producers being a part of them.)
• Cast members availibility (Will they be available for promotion for the film and attending the premiere?)
• If the film be a candidate for any awards (Scheduling of release will need to take this into account.) 

Not only do distributors have to put a lot of thought into the release of a film they must also market and publicise the film well in order to make people hear about the film and want to see it. There are a number of ways this is done, such as:

• Posters - These will need to stand out amongst a variety of posters for other films so the designers will need to work very hard to make their posters stand out. Most posters will have the stars of the film to help promote and a tagline to tease the audience.
• Trailers - The most cost-effective marketing technique. Trailers are very important when it comes to promoting a film. If a trailer is put together in the right way it should capture the target audiences attention and make them want to see it. They often consist of glimpses of exciting and dramatic moments from the film to draw people in.
• Online/Mobile - Most films will have an official website which will consist of trailers, stills, behind the scenes footage and more. The internet will also help build awareness for a film, even in it's early stages, by keeping fans up to date and providing snippets and teases from when filming is going on. It will also help build awareness by advertising online.
• Social Media - Once a film is released the internet will become home to peoples reactions upon seeing the film. If these reactions are good then this will encourage others to see the film. People will share opinions and converse on sites such as Twitter and hype for a film can build even more.
• Other ways of promotions: Advertisements in magazines, trailers shown on the TV, cast members appearing on talk shows/being interviewed, promotional partnerships, merchandising, previews and the premiere (which for films such as Harry Potter will be streamed online to the world).

Overall the role of a Film Distributor is very vast and extremely important. If the Distributors role isn't done well then a film could easily flop and the opposite can occur also. The production of a film is a major process involving dozens of people, but making sure the film sells and people want to see it is also of great importance.