MEST1 Section B: A Field in England

100 word summary:

Ben Wheatley wanted to try and distribute the film ‘The Field in England’ across many different media platforms in order for the film product to be found by the audiences. They released the film on 4oD/iTunes (VOD), Film4 (free broadcast TV), DVD & BluRay and cinema (across 17 arthouse’s) all simultaneously. They need to estimate the potential revenue that they can gain from this film, across all the platforms it was released on, and what audiences will be attracted by it. Trying to earn the highest amount of revenue is hard for film distributors as they need to ensure a certain film will make back the money that they put into the film. Hollywood films are usually with high-budgets, which means they can promote it more, with the money that they have. 

1. How was A Field In England’s release different to typical film releases? 

The films release was different to other films as they released it on many different platforms simultaneously. This is usually not carried out by film distributors, however they have done this so they can project the film to many different audiences. This type of film which is seen as a more interesting topic are not released into cinemas for long enough for people to watch them or become familiar with the franchise. 

2. What are the advantages to releasing the film across all platforms on the same day?

The advantage to releasing this kind of film across all platforms is that audiences will be able to view this kind of film through one of these different platforms. An independent film does not usually release it's film on a lot of different platforms and usually show at Arthouse cinemas. Arthouse cinemas are not as common as regular cinemas and people usually may just not travel to one, as they may be far away etc. However if the film was released on many different media platforms, it can help the promotion of the film and what values is carries. 

3. What are the disadvantages to this approach?

The disadvantages to this is that the film may not receive the audience it may original want and it may not gain a high box-office. The film received a different reception as it was the first film to release on all the different platforms simultaneously. 

4. What target audience would A Field In England be aimed at? Demographics and Psychographics. 

I think that this filmed would be aimed at an audience aged 21-35 and for the audience to be a majority of males. This is because the story line is quite moderate and it is during an older period of time (based in the 17th Century).

5. Do you think all films in future will be released across all platforms simultaneously in future?

I think that if a film had a high level of promotion of it's franchise, it can help a film be more successful when releasing it on many different platforms, simultaneously. I think some film may do this, however due to the success rate of 'A Field in England', they may not carry out that this kind of method of distribution.