Media InstitutionsEvaluation Question 3: ‘What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?’

Universal Pictures• Also called universal studios• One of the six major American film studios• Founded in 1912• Oldest American film studio and fourth oldest in the world

• Produces a large range of films from different genres• Atonement, The Bourne series, King Kong, Brokeback Mountain, The

Pianist, Lost in Translation

• The majority of their films are in the Drama, Romance and Action and Adventure genres• Thriller films are not what the studios usually produce so they probably

wouldn’t want to produce or distribute our film

• As such a massive institution, they would charge a huge amount of money to produce and distribute a film. As a low budget, indie film, we wouldn’t be able to afford to use them

20th Century Fox• One of the six major American film studios• Founded in 1935• Merger of Fox Films (founded in 1915) and

20th Century Pictures (founded in 1929)

• Owned by Murdoch’s News Corporation• Produces a large range of films from different genres• Star Wars, X-Men, Ice Age, Die Hard, Night at the Museum, Home Alone

• The majority of their films are in the Comedy and Family Film genres• They are very much associated with these films and therefore a Thriller

film would not be the sort of film that audiences would expect from this institution

• Like Universal, they would charge a huge amount of money to produce and distribute a film and we wouldn’t be able to afford it

Lionsgate• Formed in Vancouver• Headquartered in California

• Most commercially successful independent film and television company in North America

• Produces a lot of films from the Drama, Action and Thriller genres• Kick Ass, The Saw films, My Bloody Valentine, The Eye, Rambo, The

Last Exorcism, Religulous, The Hunger Games• As a lot of their films are Thriller and Horror films, they would be a lot

more likely to produce and distribute our film because they are more connected with the genre• However, they have only been producing very successful films within these

genres for the last seven years and therefore may not be the best institution to use because they have limited experience

• Again, as with the first two studios, they are very successful and only films with a large budget would be able to pay to use them

Hammer Film Productions• Based in The UK• Founded in 1934• Best known for a series of Gothic

“Hammer Horror” films made from the

mid-1950s to the 1970s• The Curse of Frankenstein (and six sequels), Dracula (and eight

sequels), The Mummy, The Phantom of the Opera, The Hound of the Baskervilles

• During it’s most successful years, it dominated the Horror market• Also produced Science Fiction, Thrillers, Film Noir and Comedies• Produced The Woman in Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe, in 2012• As they are completely focused on Thriller and Horror films, they

would be a lot more likely to produce and distribute our film• They also aren’t as massive a studio as the previous three, and

therefore, it would be less expensive for them to distribute our film

Metrodome• A small British company• Has produced and distributed many films in the Horror and Thriller

genres• Sleep Tight, The Devil’s Business, The Lost Episode, Back From Hell,

Fairytale, Grave Encounters 2, Before Dawn• As they have so much experience with these genres, they would be a good production

company to go with as they have lots of good experience

• Released the Oscar winning titles The Secret in their Eyes, The Counterfeiters and Monster - as well as nominees Away From Her, Days of Glory and Water

• Gives small, independent companies 18 days and a budget of £100,000 to make a film• This would be very useful to use because it would mean that we would have a

larger budget to spend on the film if we used this company

• As they are a small studio, their costs would be a lot less than the bigger studios and institutions