RA: [QUESTION 3] What media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Left Films are a UK independent distributor of horror, action and sci-fi films. Left films distribute in cinemas, on DVD and download. Their previous titles include Cowboys & Zombies (Perez, 2011) and the film Memory Lane (Holmes, 2012). Memory Lane had a micro-budget of only $300. Left Films has received the NESTA Insight Out award to Innovation in creative industries.

I feel that this distributor would be suited to our project as it is UK based, so would be easier to contact and collaborate with than one overseas, they specialise in independent film, which mean they will have a good understanding of our film, as a micro-budget horror, and how best to market it. The fact that they distribute to cinema, DVD and download will allow us to reach a wider audience, as even if our cinema release is small, the film can be accessed globally via the internet.

As well as securing a distributor, I would also try to screen our film at as many film festivals as we can. If we failed to first get the attention of Left Films or a similar institution, there will be many distributors at festivals that could potentially approach us. As well as this, by screening your film at festivals you can gain a fan-base for your film, create buzz, and even win awards, which will open doors in terms of acquiring a distributor, and will help to market the film if potential audience can see that the film has critical acclaim.

Memory Lane has achieved success in this way, showing at many festivals, from Cannes to Sci-Fi London. The positive reviews it has received from these screenings has helped it to generate a buzz. This is something that we would aim to replicate with the distribution and marketing of 'Gutted.'

Lastly, we would create a viral marketing campaign using web 2.0. This is a really effective way of gaining and engaging audience without expense. To do this, we would upload our trailer to Youtube, create Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr pages for our film and encourage fans to 'like' or follow these pages, which will promote the pages to other social network users.