D.B: Discuss the ways in which horror films are distributed and produced

There is extensive proof that the 6 major Hollywood studios have gained a hegemonic status in the film industry. Their dominance over the industry creates difficulties for independent films to become successful. In the past 10 years there have been major technological advances that have changed the way consumers receive and demand products produced by the film industry. Since the adaptation of web 2.0, sites allow users to interact and collaborate with the media content, for example, VoD sites such as Netflix and LoveFilm that are fighting for subscribers. The Internet democratises the film industry creating a ‘we media’ so that the audiences can participate in the pluralistic media landscape. Producers and distributors have come to the realisation that they should better reflect the evolution of audience expectations and revolutionise the audiovisual market. This is proven in the fact that digital video spend in the UK has grown from £0.1bn to £0.5bn over the period 2006 to 2012, mainly due to the introduction of the VoD services and other sites such as YouTube. The evolution of technology has created both positive and negative aspects of production and distribution for filmmakers. This can specifically be noticed in the film genre Horror

The evolution of digital technology has determined the movement of the expectations of the audience. Expectations that a film will provide a more spectacular viewing and portrayal of a story by using high quality effects are all prejudices made before a viewing of the film. Independent producers may find it difficult to find enough funding to meet these expectations meaning that the ultra-high budget tentpoles and mainstream films appear to be more appealing to consumers. However, the conventions of a horror film allow independent movie producers to create films that can be visually spectacular. For example, The Loved Ones (2009, Sean Byrne) had a small budget of $4 million. The budget enabled an original soundtrack to be composed including music from various Australian bands. The film is set in a normal town and does not feature any abstract locations. Horror is normally set in everyday locations to maintain a sense or normality in the otherwise twisted and unrealistic narratives, this is often a characteristic of an independent film. Independent films often favour style over genre and challenge conventional film techniques. The experimental nature can benefit producers because they can substitute expensive techniques with cheaper and often incredibly similar practices. The film was not successful which can be argued to be because of the distribution rather than production.

Industrial films can have high to ultra-high budgets enabling them to invest in more pre and pro filmic effects. Warner Brothers, part of the six major Hollywood studios, has had countless successes that enable them to gain access to a vast amount of funding to be used to create a continual flow of ultra-high budget tentpoles, such A Nightmare of Elms Street (2010, Samuel Bayer) that used CGI to create the excessive burns on the antagonist, Freddy. The film had a budget of $35 million enabling the producers to create seemingly ‘old and decaying’ sets that fit perfectly with the narrative. The film was able to cast 200 extras for various school scenes and the crew travelled to both Illinois and Indiana to make the desired shots. The soundtrack was completely original composed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony. The original soundtrack meant that music could be individually made to perfectly suit the atmosphere and storyline of the film, providing no limitations for the production team.

The Loved Ones made only $34,880 worldwide which made an incredibly large loss. When it comes to distribution, it is difficult for independent films to gain prominence over the ever-present hegemonic status of the 6 major Hollywood studios. The film screened at several festivals, including Toronto International Film Festival, Dallas International Film Festival, SXSW Film Festival and San Francisco International Film Festival but only had limited theatrical release in the USA. The film was widely acclaimed, earning a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com and a spot on their top 100 movies. Despite the fantastic reception from critics the film did not manage to create enough publicity and popularity to gain notice from the mainstream audience. Independent films rely on the ‘water cooler’ culture and cinephiles but often find it difficult to budget enough to globally advertise their movies to the extent that the 6 major Hollywood studios do. However, with greater technological advances independent movie producers are able to buy better quality filming equipment at a lower cost. The lower percentage of budget that is spent on equipment enables producers to experiment and invest more into visual effects. They have more resources to reach out to audiences through the new web 2.0 and the expanding popularity of social media. Posts can be made on social media websites that lead to viral marketing and popularity of the film created by independent producers.
 

Large conglomerates, such as Warner Brothers, are often comprised of subsidiaries that allow synergistic promotional activity and symbiosis. The addition to the company creates fluidity between the different areas of expertise ensuring that production and distribution can exploit the various platforms to their advantage. The synergistic and symbiotic promotional activity creates a wider audience and greater recognition through multiple platforms of advertising. For example, A Nightmare on Elm Street was originally a franchise and NECA, a manufacturer of collectibles, released two new Freddy Krueger action figures and a replica clawed glove to provide for the original fanbase. At the same time as the release of the film, an online game was released to greater increase the interest of the audience. The film was released to over 3,000 theatres and approximately 4700 screens increasing the audience reach to an even greater extent. The expansive reach that the distributers where able to travel to, factored into the success of the movie. This was a factor that independent movies producers are not able to achieve.

In conclusion when it comes to production and marketing campaigns it is clear that the hegemonic status gained by the six major Hollywood studios and their industrial counterparts have an overall advantage over independent producers. Independent producers have much more limited funds and therefore find themselves having to restrict their creativity. Independent film producers often focus of particular genres so that the budget can commensurate with target audiences. With the evolution of genre, genres such as horror and dramas can have smaller budgets whilst still producing beautiful pieces of film. Their main problem is with marketing and reaching out to target audiences. Web 2.0 has helped a great deal and made exposure more possible than ever before; it's just hard for their films to be heard over the projecting voice of the industrial producers. Independent producers need to become more aware that the budget for marketing should  consist of 50% of the final production budget. the fact that industrial producers are often consistent of conglomerate that enable synergistic and symbiotic promotional activity adds to the limitations of independent producers. The ways in which horror films are produced and distributed differ whether they are produced by independent or industrial producers both containing limitations and evolutionary advances. The future for independent producers is extremely invigorating as possibilities widen alongside the further evolution of web 2.0 and viral marketing. Audiences can also be enthralled by the developing digital technology that play homage to loved genres and produce visually outstanding masterpieces.