FROM the CINEMA SCREEN to the SMARTPHONE: a Study of the Impact of Media Convergence on the Distribution Sector of American Independent Cinema 2006 – 2010
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FROM THE CINEMA SCREEN TO THE SMARTPHONE: A study of the impact of media convergence on the distribution sector of American independent cinema 2006 – 2010 Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy by Hayley Trowbridge. September 2014 (initial submission) April 2015 (final submission) Thesis Number: 20120341 ABSTRACT FROM THE CINEMA SCREEN TO THE SMARTPHONE: A study of the impact of media convergence on the distribution sector of American independent cinema 2006 – 2010 Hayley Trowbridge Film distribution has undoubtedly changed during this contemporary era of media convergence, with a range of innovative practices and methods being adopted across US film and the arrival of new organisations to the industry and distribution sector. This should not suggest that conventional distribution and marketing methods are extinct, or that the traditional gatekeepers of these fields are obsolete. Rather it should indicate a merging of old and new strategies, practices, methods, and organisations, and it is through this fusion of tradition and novelty that today’s complex distribution landscape has emerged. At the forefront of many of these changes has been American independent cinema and as such, the central question posed by this thesis is: how has media convergence impacted on the distribution and marketing of American independent cinema, and how can this impact be understood in terms of wider technological, industrial and sociocultural contexts relevant to the current media landscape? In answering this, this thesis provides a comprehensive re-mapping of the distribution sector of American independent cinema, in terms of the distributors involved and methods and strategies through which films are being released, within this contemporary era of media convergence. This thesis uses the concept of media convergence as a complex and multifaceted lens that has dimensions in the technological, industrial and sociocultural realms, through which recent innovations in film distribution and marketing can be examined. Underpinning this framework is the adoption of an approach informed by the emergent media industry studies agenda (Holt and Perren, 2009; Hilmes, 2013; and McDonald, 2013). The implementation of this converged method to understanding media industries has allowed for a fluid, diverse and multi-layered assessment of the area under examination. Specifically, the thesis uses Thomas Schatz’s (2009) macro and micro level framework to examining film industries in order to identify key trends and industrial practices within American independent cinema (and, to a degree, US film at large), 1! ! exploring how they relate to specific films, filmmakers and companies, within a distribution context. From this a number of key findings have emerged, including: • The identification of a new industrial structure that has facilitated a form of re- conglomeration of parts of the American independent cinema that is similar to the co- option of American independent cinema in the late 1980s and early 1990s. • The identification of new, collaborative distribution and marketing strategies being used within American independent cinema that not only seek to connect films with consumers, but also involve them, to varying degrees, in related processes. • An outline and discussion on how changes within the distribution sector have impacted on film form and consumption practices evident in this era of convergence. The thesis provides original contributions to knowledge in the fields of American independent cinema and distribution studies at large by: reconceptualising what independent film is within this contemporary period of media convergence; reframing discussions on film distribution to be more inclusive and less elitist in their scope; providing new methodological approaches to understanding the wider workings of film distribution and marketing; and demonstrating how distribution studies can be utilised to understand innovations within the fields of film production and exhibition. 2! ! TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: Where is cinema? Film as a cross-platform product P5 Part One: Contextualisation of Study P39 1. American independent cinema in the era of convergence: An ever-expanding discourse of uncertainty P40 2. Distributing American independent cinema in the era of Convergence: An overview of distribution methods and strategies 2006 - 2010 P66 3. Marketing American independent cinema in the era of Convergence: An overview of marketing methods and strategies 2006 - 2010 P96 Part Two: Issues and Debates P126 4. Film, But Not As We Knew It? The impact of developments in film distribution methods and marketing approaches on storytelling practices P127 5. From Word-of-Mouth to Word-of-Mouse: Spreading the word in an online environment P153 6. From Do-It-Yourself (D.I.Y.) to Do-It-With-Others (D.I.W.O): An examination of collaborative distribution and marketing practices P178 Conclusion: The Changing Face of Film Distribution P199 Bibliography P211 3! ! Filmography P241 Webography P251 Appendix P263 Item 1 P264 Item 2 P311 Item 3 P312 Item 4 P313 Item 5 P316 Item 6 P320 Item 7 P321 Item 8 P322 Item 9 P323 Item 10 P324 Item 11 P325 Item 12 P326 Item 13 P327 Item 14 P328 Item 15 P329 Item 16 P330 4! ! INTRODUCTION WHERE IS CINEMA? FILM AS A CROSS-PLATFORM PRODUCT One of the most prominent figures in early film theory, André Bazin, posed the question, “What is cinema?”, throughout a number of his essays in the 1950s1. Since the dawn of the millennium, this ontological enquiry has returned to the forefront of film studies as film has undergone dramatic change as part of an evolving media landscape dominated by discussions of convergence. Within this media environment, the way film is both defined and studied are being rethought. Traditional film theory and long-held beliefs about film may not necessarily be adequate in this contemporary climate. Writing about this, Anne Friedberg suggests that the concepts of both film history and spectatorship need to be reconceptualised due to technological developments (2000: 278), and that film as a “discrete object…[is becoming]…an endangered species” (2000: 277). Echoing Friedberg’s sentiment but without the melancholy undertones, Lisa Cartwright described how film is “disintegrating into – or integrating with – other media” as part of this contemporary wave of media convergence (2002: 417). Screen Dynamics: Mapping the Borders of Cinema also adds to this discussion through reconsidering the relationship between film and the movie theatre (Koch et al, 2012: 6). This body of work, underpinned both directly and indirectly by the question “what is cinema?”, suggests that over recent years film has undergone a paradigmatic shift at technological, industrial and sociocultural levels. Film is no longer being seen as (and perhaps never was) an autonomous medium in which images are recorded onto celluloid, developed and then projected onto a screen in a theatre for an audience to watch. Instead, film has transformed into a cross-platform product that is becoming increasingly fluid and mobile as it merges with other media forms. Nowadays we consume films in various ways, from watching films in the cinema to viewing the latest blockbuster on a smartphone. Media convergence has been central to creating the conditions in which these changes have occurred. Yet rather than focusing on what film is or has become, perhaps it is more productive to pursue a topological query, “where is cinema?”. Given that the contemporary media environment is synonymous with “mobile media, ubiquitous screens and moving images on the move”, Vinzenz Hediger proposes that investigating the !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 Hugh Gray translated a number of Bazin’s work into English in What Is Cinema? Volume One (1968) and What Is Cinema? Volume Two (1972). The essays in these collections were translated from Que-est-ce que le Cinéma?, originally published by Editions du Cerf. Translated versions of Bazin’s work have also 5! ! location of cinema is of paramount importance (2012: 61). This has resonance with Victor Burgin’s argument that scholars need to re-examine cinema’s position because of the plethora of fragmented ways consumers now encounter film (2012: 93). The present day physical (and metaphysical) place of film is an area that film scholarship needs to explore due to film’s increased dispersion between movie-theatres, our homes and our pockets. This breaking of the boundaries of the physical space occupied by film is not a recent phenomenon, but today’s enhanced portability of film content and on-the-go viewing practices do represent a significant shift in film consumption trends. Fundamental to the changes in film exhibition that have reinvigorated this questioning of film’s location, have been developments in distribution. Distribution plays a vital role in connecting films with consumers. When this study refers to the distribution sector it is referring to the industry sector that operates between and connects the production and exhibition arenas, encompassing distribution strategies, methods and logistics, licensing and marketing operations. A myriad of organisations operate within this sector, each providing key functions and services that get films to sites of exhibition and thus connect them with consumers. First are the film distributors; these companies generally purchase the rights to a film across specific territories (i.e. geographical