Research into the Film Industry - Production

Production

Production companies provide the foundations for the production of a movie. They look into all major components that are needed to be able to create and develop a film including; looking at the script, casting the actors and actresses, and providing directors, crew and equipment. In order to be able to provide all of this however, funding needs to be attained.

 The entertainment industry is centered around funding and this can come from studio investments, private investments, or self-investments either from earnings from previous productions or personal wealth. It is up to the production company to produce and attain this money and can often come from sponsorship through product placement. For example the latest addition to the ‘James Bond’ franchise ‘Skyfall’ had productions costs of $200 million and the beer ‘Heineken’ paid $45 million of this to have their beer replace 007's vodka martini - shaken, not stirred. This money also paid for a scene in which it is implied the beverage is the best pale lager on the planet.

Product Placement - Daniel Craig as 'James Bond' holding a Heineken Beer

The amount some companies paid to have their branded products placed in the franchises received much criticism from the world’s press but, the director of the movies Sam Mendes said that, ‘without the sponsorship there would be no ‘Skyfall’’. This shows how attaining funding is vital as without it a movie can simply not be produced and made.

A production company is usually run by a producer or director, but can also be run by a career executive. In entertainment, a production company relies highly on talent or a well-known entertainment franchise to raise the value of entertainment projects and draw out larger audiences. An example of a well-known franchise as mentioned before is the ‘James Bond’ series and its last film ‘Sky Fall’ has currently raised $0.5million dollars in the box office alone. This is testament to the $200 million dollars the production company rose in order to produce it.

 

 

'Sky Fall' FIlm Poster

We are lucky in that we did not have to think much about the budgeting aspect of our film. We were given a small production budget to spend on props and costumes, but we always knew that we woukd mostly have to manage the process within very limnited means. We did not have to go through the process of raising huge sums of money to begin.
 

There are 5 main stages of the production system:

Development – A script is looked over and edited to the preference of the producers in conjunction with what they believe will make the movie sell. A director is also chosen, often someone who has previous links with the production company or who has worked with them more than once.

An example of this is Steven Spielberg and Universal Studios, for the production of movies such as ‘E.T’ and ‘Jaws’.

All of our debates around the storyline and how it would work show how important the development phase is because if you do not get this right, the whole film will not be successful. There were differences of opinion which also shows how difficult it is to get the huge numbers of people involved with a film and putting money into it to agree to a certain direction.

Pre-production – Once a final script has been produced by the screenwriters, the production enters into the pre-production phase. Actors and crew are handpicked by the producer, director, and casting director, who often use collaborators or referenced personnel.  

An example of a reoccurring Director/Actor collaboration is Tim Burton and Johnny Depp; films they worked together on include, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, ‘Sweeney Todd’ and ‘Alice on Wonderland’.   Helen Bonham Carter has also worked with both Depp and Burton on many occasion including both ‘Sweeney Todd’ and Alice and Wonderland’ as well.

Sweeney Todd - Featuring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter,
 Directed by Tim Burton

We had to choose our cast and organise locations, props, costumes etc so again, we did carry out this part of the process.
 

Production – The film enters into principal photography and the filming begins. (Often secrecy is a big part of the main production of a film as many actors and extras never receive full copies of scripts, locations are kept secret and private studios are used to keep the production under wraps.)

We will be coming into this stage when we begin filming.
 

Post-production – The editing of the film begins and can often months to do. It is handled by a post-production company and overseen by the production company. The editing, musical score, visual effects, re-recording of the dialogue, and sound effects are "mixed" to create the final film after the film has been made. 

We will have around four weeks to edit our film, which sounds like a long time for two minutes but will probably feel quite short once we begin.
 

Sales and Distribution – It is at this stage that the film it is handed over to the Distribution companies.