RESEARCH: FILM DISTRIBUTION

On the Film Distributors’ association (FDA) website I watched a presentation on how distributors work to create a successful marketing campaign for each film, by Kezia Williams – head of theatrical distribution at Pathe. It was also explained by Chris Besseling, Director of Marketing at Pathe, that distributors market a film's USP (Unique Selling Point) such as its star cast, its provenance, its awards, and good reviews to bring positive attention to the film.

I decided to research the film THE TURNING, a 2020 American horror film directed by Floria Sigismondi and written by Carey W. Hayes and Chad Hayes. It is a modern adaptation of the 1898 ghost story The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.

The story follows Kate Mandell, who takes a job as a nanny for two young orphans at an isolated Gothic mansion in the Maine countryside. She soon learns that the children -- Miles and Flora -- are emotionally distant and unstable. When strange events start to plague Kate and the siblings, she begins to suspect that the estate's dark corridors are home to a malevolent entity.

I researched all the different aspects of a marketing campaign and ways of distributing this film. This consisted of film posters; the film website; film trailers; social media such as Facebook; Twitter and Instagram as well as news articles; interviews; award ceremonies and cross-promotion.  

Entertainment One UK has released the sinister new UK quad poster and spine-chilling trailer for DreamWorks Pictures’ upcoming supernatural horror, THE TURNING, out in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 24th January 2020. The film stars: Mackenzie Davis, Finn Wolfhard, Brooklynn Prince, and Joely Richardson.

Other alternative posters were created that were digitally and hand drawn. The first poster shows the characters involved standing by the window. Outside the window the weather is gloomy and dark, which craetes an eerie atmosphere for the film, the dark fade around the edge of the poster also adds to this. This catches the eye as the bold red curtains, clothes and title contrasts against the dark fade. This would collect a target audience because at first glance it is clear that this film's genre is horror/thriller, and so that target audience would be attracted to this. By closer look, you can see the eyes of the characters are completely white, and their facial expressions are very solom, which also adds the the sinister mood. 

The second poster shows an ariel shot of one of the main characters which the film follows. The character is shown to be upsidown and hanging over the mansion the film is based in. There is the same dark fade around the outside the edge of the poser and the little light shown onto the character and house is the signiture bold red colour. The two other main character's faces can be seen at the bottom of the poster, either side of the upsidedown woman. Their faces are ghost-like as their is no real defined details on their face, creating a supernatural atmosphere, perfect for the target audience. The facial expression of the characters are eerie and scared, with the character's eyes completely black, which is similar to the first poster.

As the posters have similar themes such as the colour red, the blocked eyes and the facial expressions, it makes it creates an image for the film, and when the target audience sees these posters they associate a theme for the film, which encourages them to go see the film and promoting it to other people. 

The Turning had its world premiere at Los Angeles Film Festival on January 23, 2020. 

The Turning was theatrically released on January 24, 2020, domestically and in select international territories. Universal Pictures had originally scheduled the film for February 22, 2019. In September 2018, the film was moved back, with DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World being slated in its place.

The trailer was released on the 9th of October 2019, by Universal Pictures. The trailer has 10,431,825 views. 

For even more promotion, the cast of the movie, featured on the BuzzFeed Celeb youtube channel.