The film "Live For The Weekend" meets the brief set out. It is under the 10-minute maximum (9 mins approx.) length allowed for the film and also is very relatable to the target audience that will be watching it as it is about the party life of many teenagers today. It is also in a recognised genre - a Drama film so would be accepted by distributors and is something that meets the brief.
Distributing The Film
The film would need a distributor so it can be marketing and also exhibited. Special companies exist that specifically do this - separate from the production companies. Examples of these include: Candella UK, Journeyman Pictures and Future Shorts.
Candella UK promotes films made by small filmmakers and then promotes them with the goal of reaching huge audiences and winning many awards. Most of the profits are then giving back to the filmmaker so they can then use the money to make more films. Films are distributed via DVD and also shown at many film festivals around the world. An example of a film Candella distributed is "Jade". This film was incredibly successful being nominated for 30+ awards and also winning many of them. It is quite similar to the film we are producing as it is a short drama that focuses on a young girl having to make some difficult decisions. The film was nominated for one BAFTA award.
Journeyman Pictures distributes documentary-style short films through online media outlets such as YouTube, Vimeo, Google Play and iTunes. They use there expertise and experience to promote films through these online media platforms on behalf of the producer. They mainly focus on documentary-style films about current issues. A recent example is a documentary called "The Brexit Effect" which has successfully gained over 70,000 views on YouTube.
Future Shorts promotes films through holding film festivals/events around Europe. They mainly focus on fictional/drama short films. The films are shown to a total audience of over 40,000 people and the winning filmmakers win $250. The idea is that other people get to see how good you are at making films, by them seeing a film at the festival they may contact you to make enquiries. An example of a film they have produced is "The Summer Movie". A short 9-minute film that follows the lives of some children in their summer holidays (this is not dissimilar to what we are trying to make).
I think out of these options the best distributor for our film would be Candella UK. This is because they previously have distributed films very similar to the one we are producing (Drama films follow the issues of young teenagers). This means they will have the knowledge on how best is to reach this young target market as well as what platform is best to distribute the film on. I think the initial start of showing the film at festivals would benefit our film because it would allow us to 'test' it on an audience. Depending on feedback we can then go forward with Candella UK to distribute on DVD. I would also consider publishing it digitally through YouTube etc. as I think this would be a great way to reach our target market of teenagers (people who use this platform a lot). This is something Journeyman Pictures have expertise in (so if it was possible to use multiple distributors they would definitely be the ones to turn to develop an online presence). I didn't choose Journeyman Pictures overall as I don't think they have the experience of promoting fictional drama as they mainly focus on documentary style films (which are very different types of films).
Promotion of the film
As the target audience for our film is young people. I think a similar approach should be taken with marketing the film. A focus on digital marketing would be very important. Paying for adverts on social media sites such as Instagram and Twitter would be much more valuable than traditional TV ads as young people spend more time on these sites then they do watching TV. Clips and previews could be shared through social media as well as interactive polls and Q&A type content. This is more likely to get people involved as there is something for them to interact with, also leading them to more likely remember the film and go and watch it. I think billboard ads could still be used at the train station and on buses etc. as these are types of transport that young people most commonly use, Advertising on the roadside may not be as important and less young people drive.
