UK film Showing

Problems that a small UK based film company face in getting its film shown

• The digital revolution has flooded the marketplace

Cheaper digital production methods have helped create more product than buyers. To overcome this problem you would have to make sure that your film is a specific genre, this is because genres are the only ways that film buyers and marketing managers of distribution companies can quickly visualise the films image, trailer and marketing campaign, distributors buy genres, not drama.

• Online distribution is becoming commonplace

Valentine's day 2005, the co-founders of YouTube registered the name at www.whois.com. The company revolutionised film distribution and has changed that way people watch films and TV shows, the impact of illegal online distribution has also had the same impact on the film industry as it has the music industry. A way to overcome this problem is to develop a hybrid distribution strategy that encompasses traditional cinema/DVD/television releases with online distribution.

• You can't fund small companies like before

The Euro economic malaise has translated into public sector budget cuts, dampening the political appetite for using public money to fund films. To overcome this problem film making should be commercially viable without the need for public funding, film budgets need to stand the scrutiny of investors seeking cost-effective production, as well as a reasonable rate of return.

• Producers struggle to get development funding

Development funding is hard to get, yet without proper development movies will continue to suffer from weak storylines, and a way to overcome this is by not creating a film until a script is fully developed.

• Film producers do not necessarily need to be involved with social media

Social media is becoming more and more popular, it is here to stay strong, and it is becoming an essential part of a film's package. For example Paranormal Activity may have cost around $15,000 to make, but what Paramount bought was not the film but the social media strategy that the film maker Orin Pelli developed around the film. A way to overcome this problem is to embrace any film maker, writer, director or producer who has a strong and clearly defined social media strategy.

What are the arguments about who holds the most power in what films get made and seen?

• The BBFC have the authority over what gets shown in film, if scenes in a film are not appropriate for the classification they will have to be cut off, without their permission the film will not be able to be shown to an audience. 
• Another person that holds power is the audience, the film writers will be looking into what the target audience enjoys and what actors they like, so if the audience like a particular actor then they would be forced to use the star which makes that star also very powerful.
• Only 3 companies (StudioCanal, eOne and Entertainment) control half of all box office income made on UK independant incomes.