1.4 Research - Exhibition

During, after and even before producing a film of any form, production companies look into the ways in which they will exhibit the film to its audience. Due to the growth in society, and an even bigger growth in technology, production companies are being with more choices in the mode of exhibition they are going to choose for the film.


Apart from the obvious of using the cinema to advertise and show there film, companies can do so so much more to advertise there film, sometimes before it is even finished. This is because of the growth in the internet. The internet is seen as an everyday tool in life today, therefore many production comapanies are starting to advertise their films using trailers on many different internet sites, one of the biggest being "youtube". Instead of just having the final product online, trailers and short trailers are being published online to try and create a bigger fan base before the film is released.



Along with watching the film or trailer online they can also research a specific film as the internet is seen as key mode of research. Sites such as "IMDB" which provides information on characters, the plot and other film facts is a good way to research a film, or the typical search engines such as "google" is another way in which people can research the film.


The obvious way to exhibit a film is the cinema, thousands of people visit the cinema regularly, and production companies take advantage of this, however having a film screened at a cinema costs and therefore can't always be a way of exhibiting a film for everyone and this is where film festivals come in.


Film festivals are an organised extended presentation of films that allow smaller budget films to be shown, although there is usually an entry fee for bigger film festivals such as "Cannes" not all require an entry film. This allows people who have created a film to still have it shown to people without having to pay a huge sum of money, as well as showing the films at the film festivals, awards are awarded for certain categories.


The cinema not only allows prodution companies to show there movies but it also allows them to advertise there upcoming movies with trailers or even short trailers, this then allows the audience to witness a range of films that are going to be released soon which they may be interested in. Not only does it allow an audience to start to progress before the films are even released it allows people to get a feel for the film as there at a cinema watching a trailer on a large screen with good sound, rather than watching it on a small computer screen at home.

Another way to get peoples attention for an upcoming film is through use of ancillary tasks. Although its not directly a mode of exhibition it can be seen as a helping hand. Production companies use posters and other advertising agents to advertise the film before it has been released in the hope of creating a large audience. Posters, advertisements on film magazine covers, flyers and other ways to advertise a product/service are all ways in which production companies would use to create a bigger fan base.
Below is an example of a magazine cover used to advertise a "Harry Potter" movie.