JC - Evaluation question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?

Although - as we have previously stated - our film has drawn inspiration from the large blockbuster/mainstream films that we studied in the process of gathering ideas, I feel that, for a number of reasons, our film would be more successful if it were distributed via the /British Film Institute/lottery funding, rather than a large media conglomerate such as Warner Bros.

Our story prides itself on its' high quality, original narrative. The British Film Institute (formerly UK film council) often invests in projects which have strong story lines and films which are likely to be successful (such as The Kings Speech), whilst also supporting emerging talent (such as Adulthood).  If our project were to be approved by the BFI, our belief that we have a strong storyline would be reinforced, and because we would be using soft money from the institution to produce our film, every element of our script/plans etc. would be retained, whereas if we were to use hard money from a foreign investor such as Warner Bros., elements of our script would be adapted to suit both a global audience and the investors' wants.

Furthermore, the promising young actors who appear in our opening would most likely not secure those roles in our film, which would instead go to bankable stars who would be likely to draw big crowds, should we opt for funding for a media conglomerate. I believe this would be detrimental to our piece, as we want it to be a predominantly english based storyline, whilst also promoting british talent, and without government funding which allows for the film to be made as we would wish, we would not to be able to fulfil our promotion of british talent.

In addition, our film does not require a large amount of investment to be produced - we have no special effects, with the majority of the cost of our production revolving around the need for camera and sound recording equipment etc. This reduces the need for hard money from a large institution, whilst it would enhance our chance of securing cash from the BFI, as they would have to provide less to us than other potential projects.

I feel that even if our film were to be distributed by the BFI, we could still aim for a mainstream release, through multiplex's such as Odeon and smaller independent, perhaps arthouse cinemas - due to the film's unique and high-quality storyline - in the same way that great British films such as the Kings' Speech have reached mass audiences. I would give our film a 12 certificate, as despite the 'gangster' connotations, the film actual revolves around Renwick's struggle with his morality, and therefore the few dark moments that would occur in the rest of the story would be when he has a particularly low point. Giving the film a 12 certificate would allow us to target a much wider audience, enticing both young and old to come to watch the film. I feel that the ideal target audience for our film would probably be 25-40 Male category, as they are likely to understand the storyline more than younger audiences, whilst also being more engaged by the storyline than females simply because it is a male-dominant world.