MEST1 Section B: A Field In England

100 word summary

The article goes on to talk about the original distribution schedule and how it become to be the success of the film. It compares itself to much larger distribution methods and whether that would be an effective way to make money in the future as the digital age is on the rise as more and more different media texts are being streamed illegally online.  Paramount and Warner Bros will need to change their ways in the future and do something like A field in England does with its release.

How was a field in England release different to others?

A Field in England had what is called a simultaneous release  strategy which involved releasing the film across various platforms on the same day. For example, the film was released on TV, DVD, Cinema and on demand in mid July. This strategy is different to that of a Hollywood distribution schedule,  Paramount uses a method which involves releasing the film on different platforms over a different period of time, for example they could release a film at the start of a year but not release it on DVD till the other half of the year.

Advantages of releasing a film across all platforms on the same day?

In this case, as the film in question is an art house producation we can assume that the films intentions were not to make a large profit but to give a specific audience what they want or to provide a narrative something unique. As a result of this, using a simultaneous relase strategy could have been used to raise more awareness of the film so that it peaks media attention and makes for sales in the short terms than it ever would in the long term. Also, a simultaneous release means it would be aired on TV which means it can reach the widest audeince possible and possibly those who were not in its intended target market.

Disadvantages to this approach?

A Field in England cost approximately three hundred thousand pounds to make so by releasing it across all platforms all at once makes it less likely to recover all of the cots and maybe unable to generate a maximum revenue that they could have gained from using strategy.