Homework

THE FILM INDUSTRY

                                     PRODUCTION

There are different stages involved when producing a film. The first stage is called the 'Pre-Production'. This is the stage where all the planning takes place. This means the production team identify the different components of the film (such as; the different locations, props, cast members, costumes, special and visual effects). The script, if it is not ready yet, is written at this stage. A thorough schedule is also produced to make sure all the necessary elements (e.g. props) and people are available to film at specific time. 

The second stage is called the 'Production'. This is where all the filming takes place. Everything that was planned in the 'Pre-Production' stage is carried through (for example; the characters are filmed at a certain location issued before). To ensure only the best quality is used in the film, each scene is filmed as many times as the director says. It is important that great care is taken to make sure all the filming is done correctly and all the right shots are taken as it is difficult or sometimes even impossible to go back and change certain aspects if they do not fit at the 'Post Production' stage. 

The final stage is called 'Post Production'. This is where the film is put together by the editor. The first job of an editor is to build a rough cut taken from the scenes based on the shots. The second step is to create a fine cut. This is to get all the shots to flow smoothly in a seamless story. This is also where trimming is done (the process of shortening the scenes by a few minutes,seconds or even frames). Editing is also done. All the music, graphics, etc are added at this stage. 

After the fine cut has been screened and approved by the director and producer, the picture is then 'locked'. This means no further changes can be made and that is the film that will be shown to the audience. 

PRODUCERS IN AMERICA

Steven Spielberg- produced ET, Jaws, Saving Private Jane, War Horse, etc. 

James Cameron- produced Titanic, Avatar, The Terminator, Rambo, etc. 

Martin Scorsese- produced Goodfellas, The Wolf of Wall Street, Shutter Island, etc. 

Michael Bay- produced Transformers, Armageddon, Bad Boys, I Am Number Four, Unborn, etc. 

Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney founded The Walt Disney Company, however, Bob Iger is now the CEO and Chairman. 

Kevin Tsujihara is the CEO of the Warner Brothers Studio. 

Jim Gianoplus is the CEO and Chairman of 20th Century Fox studios. 

The ownership of the studio can have an impact of what type of films the studio makes because it's in their name and they are the ones sponsoring the film. The studio has its own type of audience, for example- Disney is mainly aimed at children so they would not go and make horror film so it is not in their criteria. 

Independent Production- is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system.  

DISTRIBUTION 

Meaning the selling of the film to companies ready for exhibition. 

A film distributor is a company or an individual with the job of marketing a film. This mainly includes setting a release date and the method of which a film is to be exhibited or made available for viewing (for example- either through cinema, DVD, download, etc.). It is someone who will represent your film at festivals and markets around the world. The most traditional way of distributing a film is through posters. These can be placed on billboards,newspapers and in cinemas. The visual effect lures people in to seeing it. If the poster is appealing (even if the film is bad) then more people will want to see what the film is about. A new way of distributing films however is through things like trailers and apps. Trailers entice the audience into wanting to watch the whole thing. Apps are a big part as a high percentage of the population has a smartphone which allows you to download apps. This means films can be distributed anywhere you go.  

Film festivals are an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more screening venues. More often, these festivals are starting showing films outdoors. This allows a wider audience to view the film and helps in contribution of distribution. 

A distributor may deicide to release the film one a particular weekend rather than the other due to the time of the year. For example, a horror or thriller film would be better released near Halloween time rather than Valentine's Day. Another reason may be due to when everyone receives their pay checks, a film is most likely to be released after pay day as it allows for the audience to spend the  money they just got on the latest release. 

Distribution is essential to the film chain because it also the film to receive publicity before its release that which will increase the box office once it actually comes out. If a film cannot secure a distribution deal than less people will know that it will be released, which means less people will go see it and the film will lose profit. 

MARKETING

Attracting and showing the film to an audience.

This is different to distribution as marketing is more to do with a direct audience-film relationship, unlike distribution which has a middle man between the film and audience. This is more direct. 

DIFFERENT TYPES OF MARKETING

This is the poster for the new Drama/Thriller that is going to be released next month into cinemas. The posters are everywhere, many of them on the bus or in a train station and many on billboards around the country. 

Another form of marketing is through social media. Many films promote their releases online as more people are likely to see it as more and more people are signing up for social networking sites. The Hunger Games have their own Facebook page which expands their community as there are many people around the world which are fans of the book/film. This page allows the joining of them as they also help promote the film at the same time. 

DIFFERENT TYPES OF AUDIENCES

American Blockbusters (such as, Avatar) need to be promoted in different ways in order to communicate with the non-English speaking fans. For example the trailer can be translated and/or with subtitles to help its promotion. 

Here is a trailer but in Italian- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSRMC5JNww 

Here is also a Italian poster for Avatar. 

EXHIBITION 

Audiences now see films differently to how they would normally see them 50 years ago. Now, audiences can view film by; cinema, TV, internet streaming, Apps (e.g. Netflix), On Demand services and iTunes. 

Box Office Film- A place of theatre, cinema, etc. where tickets are brought or reserved. 

This basically means a place like the cinema where you can purchase tickets for a film to watch. This is useful to identify the success of the film because the more tickets are sold for a film, the more likely it is that the film is successful as more and more people have watched it. 

When you go to pay for your ticket at the booth, only 25% of that goes back to the cinema itself. The rest goes back to the studios. So when movies are really successful, the more the cinema earns. 

Cinemas make around 40% profit from refreshments alone (this includes things like popcorn, drinks and hotdogs). The rest is earned through ticket sales. 

This is one of the reasons why cinemas encourage people to go to the cinema to watch the movie rather than at home because they make profit from it.

Ancillary Market- are non-theatrical markets for feature films. Such as; home video, TV, Internet Streaming, etc.

BFI stands for British Film Institute. It exists to promote greater understanding and appreciation of and access to, film and moving image culture in the UK. 

They are required to support British Films. 

The BFI helps the British Film Industry as it acts as an distributor which allows the films to be shown which can make them more popular and it can bring in more profit.