Distribution Plan

My co-director and I have decided to do a straight to video release for our movie distribution plan. The straight-to video release makes the film accessible on home formats such as DVD and VHS. This technique has been especially successful for independent movie makers which is the category that my co-director and I fall under. This way our movie would skip release in theaters which is better for our target audience since younger people tend to watch movies from home. For the digital option, my co-director and I would want to release our movie onto other popular digital streaming sites such as, Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. These would also be accessible options that would accommodate our target audience.

Distribution Research- Truth or Dare

Truth or Dare is another horror/thriller movie that has a similar young target audience. The film followed a standard release distribution plan as it was first released in theaters on April 13, 2018 and then went on to TV, digital, DVD, and online streaming.

Our film is going to use a different distribution model, but we do plan to release our film to streaming sites similar to the way they did for Truth or Dare. Truth or Dare was released on Amazon Prime Video for online streaming a while after being released in theaters. Our film was will just skip the theaters and go straight to online streaming.

Distribution Research- Happy Death Day

Happy Death Day is a horror/thriller movie that has a similar target audience to the film that my co-director and I are making. The target audience is for teenager to young adults.  Happy Death Day followed a standard release distribution plan because they used release windows. It was first released in theaters on October 13, 2017. Then it was released on digital HD, DVD, and Blu-ray in January of 2018.

Our film is going to use a different distribution model, but we do plan to release our film to streaming sites similar to the way they did for Happy Death Day. Happy Death Day was released on Amazon Prime Video for online streaming a while after being released in theaters. Our film was will just skip the theaters and go straight to online streaming.

Distribution Model Research

The distribution plan for a film is the process of making a film available for the audience to view. This includes marketing strategies such as: releasing the film to a theater, television, or personal home viewing (DVD, television programs ect.) The standard distribution for a film has three different options for the initial release.

First, there's the standard release model. This is the most traditional style and it consists of the movie being released in theaters for 16 and a half weeks. Then it goes on to VHS and after a few months it is released to Pay TV.  After two years, it goes on to free-to-air TV.

Next, there's simultaneous release. This is when a movie is available for viewing at movie theaters, DVD, and internet all at once. This allows viewers to choose the medium of viewing that fits their personal needs and preferences; however, because the film is released all at once this causes it to receive less promotion.

There's also straight-to-video release. This is when a film is released on home video formats and is never released in theaters. Independent movie makers and companies have found the most success with this strategy because of strong DVD sales.


My co-director and I would use one of these models to distribute our film by figuring out which release strategy would be best suited for our target audience. Our target audience is on the younger side, so we would probably use a release strategy that is the most affordable and convenient for them. That would be a straight to video release, so the film would skip the theaters and go straight to the internet. This way our viewers can easily access it.

Revisions-Changing the Mother's Character

After meeting with my co-director, we have decided to change the role of the mother to a sister or friend instead. One of the critiques we received from our class after showing our film was that the role of the mother was unclear because the actress was young and the script does not explicitly state her to be the mother. My co-director and I decided to revise the part by making the actress look older with makeup, but we realized that since all the actors we're using are our peers, it is just too difficult to make the mother look older. We think it will be easier to keep her role unclear as to who she is, but it can be assumed that they have some sort of relation to each other. 

Target Audience Research- The Boy

The Boy is a mystery/thriller film that was released in 2016. It follows a newly single young woman (Greta) who is struggling through life and takes a job as a nanny because she is desperate for the money. Upon arriving at the house she is introduced to the "boy" she is going to be taking care of, which turns out to be a doll. Throughout the film Greta is terrorized in the house by an unseen force which makes her start to question if the boy is really just a doll. The film was advertised with trailers that included jump scares, mystery, and fear which all worked together to capture the audience's attention. The makers of The Boy advertised their movie using the persuasive technique of appealing to emotion. The movie is a thriller/mystery movie and has many creepy elements that are portrayed in the trailer. This creates fear, apprehension, and suspense for the viewer. For mystery or thriller movie lovers, this appeals to them because these  are the main aspects of the thriller/mystery genre and it's what they want to see/feel during the movie. Other forms of advertisement includes reviews and articles online by critics.

The film my co-diretor and I are creating is similar to the genre of The Boy  as it is also a mystery/thriller film. The main difference is that we are incorporating a few horror aspects into our film, but otherwise the film's genre will be very similar as are the ratings. The Boy is rated PG-13 and my co-director and I plan to make our film closer to PG-13, so our film and The Boy will have the same target audience; younger viewers who can handle suspense and some scary elements.

Target Audience Research- The Curse of La Llorona

The Curse of La Llorona is an upcoming film scheduled to be released in April of 2019. It centers around the Mexican legend of a woman who lost her own children so she steals others in return. It takes place in modern times and the protagonist who is a mother and a social worker has to work to fight the evil entity. The film is currently being advertised like most movies are; through trailers that appear in between commercials for a minute or less. During the trailers the goal is to capture the audience's attention; they accomplish this by showing a few clips from the movie that give the general idea of the film in just a few minutes. The makers of The Curse of la Llorona advertised their movie using the persuasive technique of appealing to emotion. The movie is a horror movie and has many scary elements that are portrayed in just a few minutes of the trailer. Jump scares are used to shock the audience and make them feel fear. Characters are put in peril and danger; specifically children, makes the audience feel worried and concerned. Cliff hangers are used to make the audience curious and want to see the full movie in theaters. Once the movie is actually released, it will also gain advertisement through reviews and critics.

The film my co-diretor and I are creating is similar to the genre of The Curse of La Llorona as it is also a horror film with many creepy aspects. We want to incorporate jump scares and evoke fear in our film as well; however the target audience for The Curse of  La Llorona will have to be very mature as it is rated R. The reasons are unclear as to how it received this rating since it is not out in theaters yet, but the film my co-driector and I are making will be appropriate for younger viewers. Therefore our rating will be closer to PG-13.