Film Distribution and Marketing Strategy

This assignment requires students to explore the film distribution process, including marketing sales and distribution planning. It also delves into the development of inexpensive production methods that enable filmmakers to create movies without traditional studio backing. The task encourages students to think critically about the film industry and its various stakeholders.

Business Systems Analysis INFS 5093
SP2 2018 Systems Planning Assessment
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1. Develop a business profile for Nexus Distribution. The profile must include mission,
functions, how the organisationis organised, products, services and customers.
 Copyrights acquisition and distribution for different media rights various films.
 Distribution and production of feature films and other contents.
 Distribution and production of content to different overseas nations
 3D or 2D stereotypic conversion for animation, video formats, corporate films,
advertisements, television programs and many more.
 Studio facilities involving latest equipment and technologies catering needs of post
production perquisites of entertainment industry (Ciciretti, Hasan and Waisman 2015).
2. List four of Nexus’s business processes. Aim to identify business processes that are related to
the proposed Nexus app.
Cost of budget of the
film
It is summation of advertise costs, post production, film production
and pre-production.
Distribution This is the film-marketing after post-production.
Exhibition It includes usually paying customers in a site devoted for motion
pictures, multiplexes and movie theatre (Roux 2017).
Film promotion It is the promotion in coordination with procedure of film distribution.
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Film Audience
Advertising
Public relations
Media Buying and planning
Telemarketing/Internet
Deals/Alliances
Creative support
Ground support
Pre or posts launch activities
3. Draw models for two of the business processes listed above, including events, processes and
results. Examples are available on p10 and p11 of Tilley & Rosenblatt (2017).
Figure 1: “Film promotion”
(Source: Garden and Awards, 2018)
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Figure 2: “Cost of budget of the film: Crafting Film Budgets for Nexus”
(Source: Mueller, 2018)
4. Write must do, should do, could do and won’t do lists for the Nexus project.
For Nexus project, the filmmakers must be helped to maximize their reach through getting
to best festivals and best distribution.
 Instead of making film and then considering the way to get to film distribution, Nexus should
consider aspects related to film distribution while screenwriting process goes on (Carroll Harris
2018).
 Nexus could see of their tasks as an overreaching effort to develop profitable or successful
films.
 Nexus would not think about their film distribution as their films are already made.
5. Write a scope statement for the Nexus project.
Foreign distribution for Nexus has been developing to turn into a single largest film
distribution category income exceeding domestic theatrical exhibition with video sales revenue
(Sutter 2014).
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Key
Trends
Marketing
Forces
Industry
Forces
Macro-
economic
forces
Technology
Trends
Regulatory
Trends
Societal and
cultural Trends
Socio-economic
Trends
Market
Segments
Needs and
demands
Market issues
Revenue
Attractiveness
Global
market
sconditions
Capital
markets
Commodities and
additional resources Economic
infrastructure
Film
production
and
additional
value chain
actorsStakeholders
Competitors
New entrants
Substitute
products and
services
6. Prepare a constraints map for the Nexus project. There is an example of a constraints map
on p60 of Tilley & Rosenblatt (2017).
Figure 3: “Scanning Nexus’ Business Model Environment for Disruptive Threats and Opportunities”
(Source: Garden and Awards, 2018)
7. What approaches to fact-finding will you adopt for the Nexus project? Why?
 Creating a motion picture marketing campaign
 Having a schedule deliverables providing distributors
 Preparation for supporting language translation queries from distributors.
 Creating distinct local home entertainment marketing campaign from deliverables.
All these must be done since Nexus intends to distribute good films (Smits 2016).
8. List four questions that will enable you to investigate the feasibility of the Nexus project.
 What are realistic and comprehensive understanding is to be made from production sector
demand?
 How to identify resources those are both financial and non financial retrieved from different
sectors?
 What feasibility model must be used for delivery of training and content?
 What kind of support and training must be undertaken?
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9. List two tangible and two intangible benefits of the planned Nexus app.
Two tangible benefits for Nexus app are improvement in productivity of process and
personnel lead time decrement. Besides, an intangible advantage is that is saves high effort and
time regarding data entry (Romanowski 2017).
10. Section 4.2.1 of Tilley & Rosenblatt (2017) lists various requirements modelling tasks. Which
of these tasks are likely to be applicable to the Nexus project? Why?
The modelling tasks include:
Domain properties These are the things in application domain that are true whether
Nexus create proposed system.
Requirements These are the things in application domain wished to be made up by
providing suggested system.
Specification Description of behaviours possessed by Nexus’s programs for meeting
requirements (Eby and Thomas 2016).
The reasons for the above models are to understand outcomes determining what are
expected by Nexus. This also includes animating the model to help validating or visualizing
requirements.
11. In your previous answer, you stated which requirements modelling tasks are applicable to
the Nexus project. Estimate the time required to complete each task and estimate the time required
to create system models.
Time requirements Discussion
Identifying domain properties Two weeks
Identifying requirements Two weeks
Identifying specifications Three weeks
Creating system models Five systems
12. IT Foundry costs your services at $80 per hour. Derive a cost estimate from your time
estimates in the previous question.
The total cost estimate is
((7*2)+(7*2)+(7*3)+(7*5))*(24*60*80)=$ 88704,000
13. Preparefor this meeting. Identify and list the four most important discussion topics.
The discussion topics must include:
 The ways to self-distribute films
 Submissions of film festivals knowing the options
 The steps that must be undertaken as after an award is won at Film Festival
 Expectations attending film market (Gunter 2018)
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14. Stage 1, perception. Identify all ethical issues suggested by the scenario above.
With the help of ethical standards Nexus never wants to be upset, offend or anger people
animation and film companies having ethical regulations. This must be undertaken such that no
ethical challenges occur.
The ethical issues rising for Nexus regarding film distribution:
 Intellectual property
 Nondisclosure
 Image content
 Business ethics
15. Stage 2, discernment. Which of the ethical issues is the most significant? Why?
The
intellectual property is the most significant ethical issue. This is because they can help
Nexus’ producers attract funds required get any film project off their ground. Further, they have
been enabling directors, screenwriter, actors, artists and technicians to earn living. Moreover, they
have been spurring technological innovations pushing boundaries of creativity. Further they have
been making seemingly impossible very much possible (Finney 2014).
16. Stage 3, resolution. Articulate your resolve with respect to the most significant ethical issue.
Nexus needs to look at long list of credits during the ending of any movie. This is to get hint
of crowd of people involved for marketing that. This has been a complicated and collaborative
endeavour providing the rise of various distinct layers of rights related to various elements of
productions. This includes music, direction, performances and production.
Rights connected to all of that requires licensing, transferring and documenting for allowing the
producer to turn creative concepts to marketable concept. This is to claim ownership of film and
raising needed money to develop the film. This also involves distribution of license rights such that it
gets reached to most of the audiences (Crisp 2015).
17. Stage 4, assessment. Are you qualified to act in accordance with your resolve or do you need
to seek the advice of an independent expert? Why?
Nexus must seek expert advice to face the above discussed issues. Instead of any permits or
permission manipulates should shut down. Their production, fine them or potentially confiscate
equipment. Private locations on the other hand might stop Nexus at any moment. Along with bigger
budget production in hand, set gets meticulously managed with small chance of anything that
accidentally makes onto the screen. Under no-budget world, filmmakers of Nexus captures scene at
their most liked diner. Further, they require to pay attention to branding or music sneaking to a shot.
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18. Stage 5, decision. What are your professional duties in this situation? Why?
A production company should also consider whether the script infringes the copyright
associated with another work. Typical measures to avoid such an issue would include doing a
Copyright Office search and having the copyright holder make certain representations and indemnify
the company for any such breaches. Note that copyright is only validly transferred by a signed,
written agreement.
Nexus must consider whether their script infringes various copyrights related to other
works. There have been typical measures for avoiding that kind of issue including conducting a
“Copyright Office” search and have copyright holders making particular representations. It has been
also including indemnifying Nexus for those kinds of breaches. It must be reminded regarding
professional duties that copyright is the only validity that is transferred to be signed or is a written
agreement (Koçer 2015).
19. Stage 6, action. Have stages 1-5 enabled you to form a commitment to action? Why?
The above stages have been helping to form commitment to undertake various actions. This
is because production companies have owned copyrights to scripts. These must be shot by Nexus.
Since copyright is developed by people fixing work in a tangible form of expression, this indicates
that instead any contrary, person holding the camera possess the copyright to hold the audio-visual
recorded work. In most cases one probably never intends to let cameraperson won their property
forming core of Nexus’ business.
20. With respect to the
systems planning tasks your team completed above, identify problems
that may arise for the following stakeholders. The answer should have six unique problems (two per
stakeholder).
a. Nexus
Nexus’ core product is their intellectual property. This is the copyright as discussed above. As
they wish their film to be seen under the daylight without being named as defendant, they need to
consider how the right could be handled.
b. Nexus’s customers or the wider community
Performance in public might infringe owners of copyright like Nexus till they have purchased
PPR or Public Performance rights from various copyright owners. Further, there is some applicable
exception for PPR requirements (Drake et al. 2015).
c. Your own future work tasks (systems analysis tasks)
The film distribution must shift from supply led to a demand-led marketplace. Thus
independent distributors like Nexus should break away from their rigid singular value chain that has
been dominating the industry and adopting various bespoke release strategies. These must be
tailored to individual perquisites of every film. It has been arguable marking the starting of basic shift
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in relationship between primary segments in film value chain (Romanowski 2017). It has been
permitting independent distributors to develop more attractive product through conducting
business against consumer demands as opposed to complex market-driven conditions.
21. With reference to these two problems, what are your conclusions about the importance of
attention to detail with respect to
system planning?
System planning personnel must focus on details of rules and procedures applicable under
different jurisdictions they have been serving and helping filmmakers to navigate a wide range of
pre-permit issues of locations. They are not limited to the follows, but including these aspects.
 Identification of logistical challenges
 Understanding particular filming conditions and other distinct characteristics of
neighbourhood.
 Using Nexus’ online library.
It must be reminded that commu8nity stakeholders also get benefitted from the above
process. This is because their concerns have been known early to the producers weight what
location is to be selected for production (Carroll Harris 2018).
22. How do peer reviews support the development of professional skills?
Creative, commercial and professional skills are needed in all branches of the film industry,
including distribution. Their films get released in the whole country on about 400 prints around
multiplexes and few independents. Holdovers for films are negotiated readily on the basis of
successful start, strong reviews and word-of-mouth. Then exit polls are considered (Tilley &
Rosenblat 2017). Distributors then considers based on the prior stage for spending excessive
marketing money beyond that over radio or Internet. This is to support and maintain the momentum
for seven days or more.
23. Are learning outcomes meaningful if peer reviews are untruthful?
Yes, the learning outcomes are meaningful. It would help the distributors of Nexus to invite
journalists and exhibitors along with watch parts of their shoot and create anticipation for actual
release. Further, distributors can present their film to board of film classification certificate of the
nation assuring that no issues are taking place with certification. Next, screens to negotiate and
exhibitors’ bilateral agreements are allowed to show in cinemas (Finney 2014). Further, marketing
campaigns have been aiming to create a buzz of “want to see” among targeted audiences and then
launches the film. Lastly, the run of Nexus’ films extends on any number of weeks subjected to
demand. This can be augmented by additional marketing.
24. When reviewing peers, tell them three things they did well and three things they can
improve.
While getting their films into cinemas, Nexus can cost a fortune. In this case distributors are
never in making any loss. Hence they pen down a cross0collateralization clause indicating that they
can offset theatrical losses against various profits from additional windows.
Secondly service deals are able to work. Here filmmakers hire specialists taking over
distribution process as a fee (O'Boyle 2002). Moreover, preview screenings are set up for various
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cinema booking agents. Next specialists are booked. Publicity and advertising campaigns are been
designed and launched and money gets returned to filmmakers which is lesser than the money sent.
The third suggestion is capitalizing expenses of film distribution. Nexus should remember
that any marketing campaign is costly. As their deal calls for the split of profits after gaining
expenses, they must assure that they have capped expenses or profits that can simply melt away.
25. Name two learning outcomes.
1. As developments in inexpensive production technology get coupled with access to marketplace,
this indicates Nexus can make, do marketing and then sell their movie without any permission. They
have been aware that their audience is their business, without whom they cannot gain profit.
Further, they are liable to source their own audience.
2. Secondly sourcing their own audience and then executing their own marketing sales and
distribution plans are smarter than making a movie or equipping own self with filmmaking tools.
26. Foreach of your learning outcomes, name one relevant UniSA Graduate Quality.
Example: “As noted above, my first learning outcome is sourcing to the own audience. This
learning outcome correlates to marketing sales and distribution plan. My second learning outcome is
developments in inexpensive production. This learning outcomes correlates to perform marketing
and then sell movie without any permission”
27. In your previous answer, you correlated two learning outcomes to two Graduate Qualities.
Focusing on these two Graduate Qualities, and addressing each one separately, explain how this
assignment’s tasks enabled you to further develop these qualities.
The two learning outcomes retrieved from the above discussion would help Nexus to come
up with relevant concepts. They are also helpful to catalyse and drive every technical aspect
undertaken by Nexus’ project.
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References:
Carroll Harris, L., 2018. Film distribution as policy: current standards and alternatives. International
Journal of Cultural Policy, 24(2), pp.236-255.
Ciciretti, R., Hasan, I. and Waisman, M., 2015. Distribution strategy and movie performance: an
empirical note. Eurasian Economic Review, 5(1), pp.179-187.
Crisp, V. (2015). Film distribution in the digital age: Pirates and professionals. Springer.
Drake, P., Franklin, M.I., Sathe, D. and Tierney, S., 2015. We Are Colony: Digital VOD Distribution for
Independent Film.
Eby, M. and Thomas, V., 2016. Haus piksa: The informal economy of film distribution in Papua New
Guinea. Information Technologies and International Development, 12(4), pp.23-33.
Finney, A., 2014. The international film business: A market guide beyond Hollywood. Routledge.
Garden, H. and Awards, M. (2018). How Movie Marketing Works. [online] HowStuffWorks. Available
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Gunter, B., 2018. Is Studio Size Important to Box Office Success?. In Predicting Movie Success at the
Box Office (pp. 35-49). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Harvard Business Review. (2018). What Is Disruptive Innovation?. [online] Available at:
https://hbr.org/2015/12/what-is-disruptive-innovation [Accessed 27 Mar. 2018].
Koçer, S., 2015. Social business in online financing: Crowdfunding narratives of independent
documentary producers in Turkey. new media & society, 17(2), pp.231-248.
Mueller, A. (2018). Why Movies Cost So Much To Make. [online] Investopedia. Available at:
https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0611/why-movies-cost-so-much-to-make.aspx
[Accessed 27 Mar. 2018].
O'Boyle, E J 2002, 'An ethical decision-making process for computing professionals',
Ethics and
Information Technology, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 267-277.
Romanowski, W.D., 2017. Risky business: Rock in film. Routledge.
Roux, E., 2017, January. THE IMPACT OF BRAND FAMILIARITY, BRANDING AND DISTRIBUTION
STRATEGY ON LUXURY BRAND DILUTION. In The Customer is NOT Always Right? Marketing
Orientations in a Dynamic Business World: Proceedings of the 2011 World Marketing Congress (p.
100). Springer.
Smits, R., 2016. Gatekeeping and networking arrangements: Dutch distributors in the film
distribution business. Poetics, 58, pp.29-42.
Sutter, K., 2014. Distribution revolution: Conversations about the digital future of film and television.
Univ of California Press.
Tilley, S & Rosenblatt, H 2017,
Systems Analysis and Design, 11th edition, Cengage Learning.
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