Media Studies Evaluation Q3

Media Studies Evaluation Q3

Question: what kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Our media product for starters would need a more independent film distributor (a company that organises the release of a film (cinema dates, DVD releases, Country release dates etc)). The reason for this is because Noir films were far more popular back when they were first being made compared to the modern day so back then, they were distributed by more larger companies whereas now there isn't much of a demand for them so the size of companies that are willing to distribute them has decreased over the years as the overall audience has dwindled.

If we were to actually have a real distributor to release our media product if it were to be made properly and finished, after searching through different distributors both major and independent studios which have released films of either different or the same genre, we settled on RKO pictures which is a company founded in 1928 that became known for their distribution of Noir films such as King Kong. Despite not being well known nor releasing many films since it was sold to new owners, it is still fully functional and operating as an independent film company.

Although people like to assume that most to all budget films can become a total flop, there are those lucky films which actually do become a shocking success such as 'The Following' (1998). The budget was this film was surprisingly low at $6,000 ($7,600 today) made by Christopher Nolan along with his friends which was filmed over the course of a year in the streets of London and the homes of friends and family, it was meant to cost as little as possible and made sure that each shot was done right within one or two takes. The film ended up winning an award-winning low budget masterpiece that would usher in one of today's biggest Hollywood directors.

Some Modern large companies that are well known today also used to distribute film noir's such as Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures. Most off the independent distributors tended to stay specialised in the same genre rather than branching off to distribute other genre films such as horrors or comedies etc. but, as Noir became less popular and the demand for it decreased, the major companies moved onto the new, more popular genres until the only companies that would distribute Noir films are now only independent studios.