Distribution

What is Film Distribution?
The distribution of film is what makes the film available for an audience. Accompanied by promotion, when the film is initially produced it will be shown to audiences in a movie theatre.
A professional film distributor would typically devise an efficient marketing strategy to get a film to be seen by the intended target audience. Knowing what dates are best to release the film. What cultures should be targeted and where the film is promoted is key. The film should be available to the public either by movie screening, television viewing, or online for personal home viewing.

Distribution Companies include:
There are many different distribution companies which would specialise in the promotion and distribution of film. Those may include, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros,  Film4 etc.
I believe the best movie distribution companies suit for our film would be ones within my region being Ireland and the UK. 

What distribution company would I work with and why?
I would choose a company such Northern Ireland Screen, Northern Ireland Screen was the production company incorporated in the making of 'Cherry Bomb', which I believe is one of the best films to come from NI. This company is also growing rapidly with success due to the amount of films coming to be shot in NI. This company also funds some popular film festivals in Northern Ireland such as a Queens film festival, Cinemagic fest and Belfast film festival, working with this company could benefit our film as it could potentially be shown to an all Irish audience that I believe would enjoy it the most as they may be able to relate to the themes within the film.

Script

*Short opens with black screen, fading in to a Spearhead Productions logo*

Filmed at Donaghadee pier, Bangor:

SCENE 1

Establishing shot shows picturesque views of the beach, harbor and the pier, 3 different shots showing a dull early morning. Setting the scene of location.

Long Shot shows car parked to right of the shot. Character 2 stands in the middle of the shot, watching character 1 opening boot of the car to collect props for the days filming.

Close Shot shows the car boot opening to unveil props for the students’ film. A bag of equipment, a packed lunch, props include cheap Halloween decorations (skeletons, costumes, masks) shots directed in similar style to Robert Yeoman POV shot.

Character 1- walks over to character holding the props in his hands

Character 1- ‘Here it all is’  handing some props to character 2.

Character 2 looking at the props disheartened, and sighs ‘This is actually going to be brutal’

Character 1 ‘well you could have actually done a bit of preparation for this and it wouldn’t be so brutal’

*Mid way through Character 1’s response, camera switches from a Mid shot of the 2 characters to an Over the shoulder shot of an unknown walking towards the 2, tension builds as C1 and C2 bicker*

Another over the shoulder shot in the middle of character 1 and 2 reveals character 3, arriving to the set dressed in a pathetic monster pajama onesie outfit

Character 3- “Well boys”

2 shot of C1 and C2. Character 1 is unamused and his annoyance is shown growing, while character 2 sees the funny side of it and starts laughing, the two shot shows the contrast between the two. 

C1- 'what is that... why are you a lion'

C2- *still sniggering*  'yeah where's your da's Freddie Kreuger costume'

C3- 'He's using it today'

The 2 just look at him in complete confusion again.

C3- 'Do we have everything?'

C1-'Have the props, shot list, camera, script etcetera etcetera...' *As he lists the accessories, shots show C1 from a POV angle grabbing them one by one. on 'etcetera, etcetera...' it will show character 2 holding said necessities for the film.

C3- 'right sorted, and... where's the boat'

SCENE 2

* 3 quick shots show the all over the boat, inside, front and side of the boat *

* A mid shot pans across the boys one by one standing together looking at the boat *
* Enter Captain Cooper, shot from outside the boat walking to the edge holding a mug of coffee*
Cooper- 'What are ya waitin' for! Jump on, we don't have all day!!' (He laughs a little and walks back in to the inside of the boat)

* The first shot on the boat, shows the 2 sitting together in boredom twiddling thumbs, while character 1 is at the edge getting some establishing shots for 'Monsters and Caves' *

Cooper- 'don't be lookin' all dull and spiritless, there's a lot in store for you today'
C3- im so cold and hungry, i'm just gonna eat now

walks over to C1, while he's filming outside of the boat
'what do you think of the islands, any good pictures'
'Well theres no lighthouse on lighthouse island and yeah I'm taking some video'
*Captain shakes head and walks to the middle of the boat to make an announcement*

Captain - "Have any of you boys ever heard of Samhain? Or better yet...
C1 - "What... chicken and samhain sauce?"
Captain -

Costume Ideas 2

From researching websites, films and documentaries, I have now seen a lot of different pagan groups and their styles and different costumes, ranging all over Europe. I have gathered from my research that many of the materials which are used to create these costumes are easily accessible, some customs use simple cloth or burlap dyed different shades. Pagans also tend to blend in man made materials with natural, such as a normal fabric base layer covered in leaves, feathers or fur. Some Pagan wildmen also wear goat horns on their heads and in some costumes they may wear a full animal skull. Another natural material incorporated with the costumes could be vegetables, wearing a necklace of chilis or garlic is part of some pagan traditions.

With all that I have gathered, I sketched some ideas I thought of to create the costumes with:

Concept 1

This costume idea uses a base layer of normal fabric clothes. These clothes will have different colours of fur sewed to them.

A largish sized helmet will be worn when wearing this costume (such as a hard hat or american football helmet), by attaching many pieces of fur to the top of it so it hangs down and makes the pagans head look big will create a frightening character. 

To also create a more unusual looking costume which is what I am aiming to do, I designed the top of the characters head to have stray pieces of rope coming from the top. On the eyes of the character I designed, it shows goggles being worn, as goggles are man made and usually come from store and are branded, it does not completely fit the pagan codes and conventions, but I designed them to like very hand made and amateur, using ropes, and wood carved in to circles for the eyes of the goggles.

Concept 2

The second drawing is a more humane concept to the first one. With more of mixture man made and natural materials.  The head of pagan shows a simple fabric mask with an odd slice above the eyebrow region, again just added this to make it look more unusual. I also designed this mask to have horns of a goat, to display a more a satanic effect to the costume.

The base layer of the costume is a tunic made using fabric, and over the front, shoulders and upper arms, hangs some seaweed, which is relevant to our story as it takes place on a seaside island. Thin brown ropes are used to keep the tunic tight and on the legs I designed fur shorts that will be worn. On the characters feet normal shoes will be worn but will be wrapped up in bandages and when worn for a while when walking around, they will look quite fray and used. In the characters hand is a small brown pouch prop that fits the outfit.                 

                

The third concept would be designed to fit a smaller person for the role, Using a large white fur overcoat with a large fur mask, again using the helmet method to make the head look bigger. Black leather gloves would be worn to keep the heat in. This design is more fitted to a snowy environment. I sketched this 'wildman' with a spear type weapon with a bag similar to the bag held in concept 2. These pouches I've drawn may or may not be used in the film with a sacrificial significance, maybe the hearts of those sacrificed will be put in the bag. Rope again is used as a belt but more for the hand made pagan aesthetic. Below the waste of the character is a skirt/kilt made from straw, In my research I came across many different pagans with different tradition but many had straw in common, so I believe that it is well fitting to our short.

Treatment

Lá Bealtaine

School students reluctantly go on a trip to shoot their film for media studies in school, very half heartedly preparing for their movie, just wanting to present enough to pass.

Their film is called 'monsters and caves' for some reason (not mentioned) , they are filming at the local seaside by the caves. They use their own halloween decorations and things found around the house that sort of fit in the theme of monsters but not really.  The movie (film within the short) is meant to be presented as amateur and lacklustre.

3 characters, 2 of them commit sin in different ways giving off a jerky, disrespectful attitude, misbehaving throughout the film. The 3rd character is quite timid and doesn't involve himself with the bad behaviour of the other two kids he has been placed in a group with. the two jerks tease the timid child having 'banter' throughout the film. The quiet one of the group is the only one who is focused on creating the boring film, trying to make it as good as possible with the pathetic resource they are stuck with, by bringing all of the props, his car, his camera etc. Only one of the two disrespectful boys brings a very unfitting monster pyjama onesie on board with him.

One of the students notice multiple St. Bridget's crosses hung around different sections of the boat. The captain tells the students of ancient Irish mythology, rambling on about scary stories which the 2 annoying children don't believe, joking about him, mocking the myth. The quiet boy turns to the captain and is attentive to his story. He speaks about the pagan wildmen that live on these islands, speaking tales of sacrifice, which the wildmen believe is necessary to keep the crops from failing. As it all might seem like a big joke to the 2 kids, the captain stated that the tradition was not to be taken lightly by the students when entering the islands. The St Bridget's cross is used to ward off the evil spirits on the island.

The group arrive at the island, jump off the boat and immediately begin to prepare to shoot for their film. The shy boy does not feel comfortable, feeling an odd presence, where he and his class mates are not welcome. During the process of the group filming, many things are 'off' and weird things are happening around the island, hearing things, seeing things that are unnatural. The 2 naive characters think nothing of it, taking no notice to some of the odd distorted objects and human like figures that the main character is seeing. 

The final scene shows 4 towering figures, all dressed in pagan costume, not happy to see the boys filming. The sailor turns the boat around leaving them stranded on the island against the pagan wildmen, he yells in an ancient dialogue to the pagans from the boat encouraging them to advance with the ritual. The 3 are taken away and their lives are taken for the benefit of the pagan's customs.

Prop Research CB

Prop Research

Prop Research

• Boat

A boat will be needed for a large part of our film as we would like to get some shots of the coastline and nearby islands. We will also be doing some filming of the captain on the boat as a way to explain the backstory to the audience.

We have found two potential companies that may take us out on their boats for filming. Both are giving a similar quote of between £150-£200 for a half-day on the boat. As filming is weather dependant, we will have to wait until nearer the time to decide on a date for filming.

• Halloween decorations (Fake props)

These props will be used to show that the film being produced in our film is very amateur and is lacking quality. The characters in our film will be in the same situation as us and plan to shoot a scary movie on the island. They will have various props and costumes for their movie that are clearly not up to a high standard.

• Car

We will need a car for our film. The first scene will consist of the three main characters getting out of the car and one of them taking equipment out of the boot. This is the only time the car will be used in he film and therefore the model and colour of the car isn't important. 

• Camera

A camera will be needed for when we are filming on the boat. One character will be filmed taking photos of the sea and surrounding cliffs, caves and islands. This will be used to establish who the sensible character is and will show that one character actually has a genuine interest in what the group is doing.

• Backpack

Each character will have their own backpack as they will be on a school trip and this will make it more realistic and genuine. These could contain the various props needed for their movie.

• Celtic sacrificial weapon

A celtic sacrificial weapon is needed when filming on the island. The pagans will have this weapon to show that they are a potential danger to the three boys making the film. These weapons were used in sacrificial ceremonies to cut the thoughts of animals and sometimes, even humans. 

• St. Brigid's cross

We will need a St. Brigid's cross to put on the side of the boat. These were usually set over windows and doors in order to protect homes for any harm. As we will have these crosses around the boat, it would suggest that the captain is trying to protect the boat form something in particular.





Costume

The sailor will wear glasses similar to these in order to make him and his style look dated.

The sailor may also wear a pair of fisherman's trousers to give him the look of an authentic sailor. These will be worn over regular, casual clothes such as a wooly jumper, boots and a wooly hat.

This is a 'Pagan Wildman' from eastern Europe. His costume is made from burlap, string, stones and bits of wood. 

• Shells

We will need shells in order to create one of our costumes. Our costume has been inspired by this pagan dress made with rocks and bits of wood. We will drill holes through the shells and hang them from pieces of string.

• Seaweed

We will use seaweed in this costume as well in order to make it more relevant to the setting. As our movie will be filmed near the seaside and contain many shots of the coast, it would make sense to give the costumes a seaside related aspect.

• Burlap Fabric

We will use some burlap fabric to make the base layer of the costume. 

This is a 'Pagan Wildman' from eastern Europe. His costume is made from a straw-like fabric and has several cowbells hanging form it. The cowbells could be to symbolise nature or maybe just as decoration.

• Cowbells

We have taken some inspiration from this costume and have decided that we would like to use some cowbells for one of our costumes.

This is a 'Pagan Wildman' from eastern Europe. His costume is made from red fabric strips along with a wig made from wool and a wooden animal mask.

Additional Notes.

• As our film entails students preparing their own film, I will add in parts throughout the film which is footage of what the characters made. 
• I will incorperate a documentary feel in to parts of the film. 
• To show the audience which film is the one that the characters are creating,  I will edit the 'found footage' clips to make them look more underwhelming and amateur, also when filming this 'found footage', the actual filming technique I will use will be very sloppy and careless.

• The one character who is taking his role to film for his school project seriously will have a religious element to him. Wearing a cross on his neck.
• This cross that he wears juxtaposes the beliefs of the pagans on the island. In the sense that they will sacrifice a human so that the crops will not fail, Jesus sacrificed himself for sins of others willingly, where our character is not willing to give his life for vegetable growth.

• I am a fan of how directors add subtle but key things in the film that you wouldn't notice first time, very minuscule details that tell you what is going to happen before anything kicks off, I plan to devise a way to incorperate objects or perhaps things that people say and by using my editing and camera work skills correctly I could add 'Easter Eggs' to the short.

Target Audience