Evaluation Post 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

We chose 'Summit Entertainment' as our distributor and 'BBC Films' as our production company.

This company is part of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which originally produced only television programs, but now produces both films and TV shows. I believe this would be a good production company to use, as they are experienced with making films with a strong British setting, cast and crew, and because they have successfully some thrillers that are similar to ours. Some examples of similar films are shown below:

Our distribution company is 'Summit Entertainment', a major distributor and part of the even larger 'Lionsgate' Entertainment and media corporation. I have focused on the company in more depth in the slideshow below:

I believe that this would be a good distributor for our film because they have experience with distributing low-budget thriller/stalker films successfully.

'Shadow of Your Past' could be marketed in a variety of traditional and new innovative ways, similarly to 'P2' which was distributed by 'Summit Entertainment'. An example of this would be through TV advertisements which show a variety of exciting moments from the film to drum up excitement and catch the attention of audiences.

A film poster that clearly presents the main appeal of the film would also be a vital part of a marketing campaign, likely containing a reference to the stalker aspect of the film and showing Shania Molcott in a state of fear. This would appeal to thriller fans who are experienced with the themes of stalking and fear, and if the poster was styled similarly to much loved, classic films in the genre to inspire nostalgia in the target audiences.

The 'P2' poster for example is heavily reminiscent of the poster for psychological thriller/horror movie 'The Shining', a film that many thriller fans enjoy, so these fans would associate the film with feelings of nostalgia and the aspects of 'The Shining' that they enjoyed, likely encouraging these fans to watch 'P2'.

Viral marketing would also be an option, as this has been incredibly successful in recent times with horror film 'Get Out' starting a viral trend powered by social networking sites vine and Twitter, known as the #GetOutChallenge. This trend helped the film to top the US box office and to increase awareness to the film, and I believe a similar viral craze could be extremely beneficial to 'Shadow of Your Past', although it is difficult to successfully push and successfully promote a trend of this nature.

'Shadow of Your Past' could additionally be promoted at independent film festivals - 'P2' for example, was supposed to appear at the FrightFest UK festival, but was ultimately withdrawn at the last minute. These festivals would give films an opportunity to reach an audience who may not have otherwise heard of the film - as they might have gone to the festival to watch another film and then discovered ours. It also allows the film to be directly brought to our target audience of thriller fans, as they are likely to attend a festival focused on this genre.