Thursday 29 November 2012

Research Into The Film Industry


Production

Production companies are key components of the film industry, as they are responsible for a lot of tasks. They are responsible for the main concept of the movie and developing a script for it in the initial stages, from then they have to pitch the ideas to potential partners, sponsors, and investors in order to gain funding. Using the funding, they can hire casts and crew, create scenes/sets and condition for making the movie. Each of these tasks is under taken during the 5 main stages of the production process.

The main 5 stages

Development- During this stage in production, the writing of the script will be written, and a plan of action will be made, so that the production will run smoothly and on time. Also a cast and crew list will be made and maybe finalised.
Pre-production- During pre-production, the location ideal for the movie will looked at; budgets and funding will also be looked into. Props, cast wardrobe and technical items will be bought. The shot list will be made, so the filming is time convenient, and the rehearsing of the script with the cast and director will also take place.
Production- This is when the film company reaches the point of no return. Which is when the company is financially unavailable to cancel the film and it is cheaper to carry on and finish until you get a final product. It is the main filming of the required shots yet there is most likely going to be mistakes which are resolved in post-production.
Post-production- This is a very important part of the production process. It involves editing the footage already filmed and also editing the soundtrack of the film and adding in the sound effects. Titles and credits are also placed within the film along with special effects. Pick-up shots are also used as there may be scenes missing within the film.

Production companies are normally owned or on a contract with a Corporate Entity. These can include a Media Conglomerate, Film Studios and Entertainment Companies. Within the production company there are a lot of jobs. Below is a list of the main jobs in the film production.

Director- A director is the person responsible for the may the movie is filmed.
Assistant director- Assists the director with the making of the film
Casting director- This person is responsible for assigning roles in a film (selecting actors)
Director of photography- This person is responsible for the filming of a scene after being given orders from the director.
Director of audio- Directs the sound department within the making of a film. Responsible for mostly all sound in a film
Location managers- These people has the responsibility of finding and securing locations for the use of filming. Things such as accommodation and food supply are needed for other cast and crew.
Storyboard artist- The person responsible of the whole storyboard of the film.
Makeup and Costume designers- The people responsible for the make up and costume for the film.

We are acting as a production company and therefore have been responsible for everything above, which is quite a lot for a small team.


Director
Christopher Nolan is a British-American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He co-founded Syncopy Films with his wife, Emma Thomas, and they have produced all his films since 2006. He is renowned for his works on the Dark Knight Trilogy and Inception. Christopher Nolan’s choice of genre is similar to our film, psychological thriller. He uses his own label Syncopy Films or collaborates with the well known Warner Bros in producing and directing.

Distribution


Distribution is normally undertaken by a company or an individual; they have a tight relationship with Production companies. The production company simply makes the film whilst the distribution company releases it to the public (cinemas) or for home viewing (DVD or On Demand). The distribution company has to decide what kind of marketing they will do in order to achieve maximum exposure of the film to the public. To achieve this; the distributor needs to create many forms advertising campaigns that attracts target audiences in many ways. The distribution company also has to put together a trailer for the movie, this is a vital part of distributing as the better the trailer is, the more likely people are going to be interested to watch the film.

The film distributor can play a huge factor in a film's success. Because distributors control the marketing and circulation of movies in theatres and also home viewing. Ultimately the film itself is the biggest factor in whether or not a film is successful, but the distribution is nearly as important. 

Distributors decide how much the film should be advertised (TV commercials, internet, magazine, posters, trailers, special promos, etc.) - this is crucial for the film because it gets the word out there and gets people interested in it.
 
They also decide how many theatres in the film will show in and for how long, thus how much money it can be allowed to make during its theatrical run. Distributors ensure their physical delivery to the theatre by the opening day, monitor exhibitors to make sure the film is in fact shown in the particular theatre with the minimum number of seats and show times, and ensure the prints' return to the distributor's office or other storage resource also on the contract-based return date. 

Film distributors are even more important for small, independent films because they are less known and usually don’t contain the big name stars that studio pictures do therefore it is crucial for the word to get out on them. As ours is likely to be a film of this kind then we would need a good distributor as we would not be able to manage this part of the process ourselves.

Other Jobs
  •        Securing dubbing or subtitling for the film.
  •           Securing censorship or other legal or organizational "approval"
  •            The distribution company shows the movie (screening) to prospective buyers.

Examples of films and their distribution companies

Avatar
Produced by - James Cameron & Jon Landau
Distributed by – 20th Century Fox
Box Office- 2.8 Billion


Fast Five
Produced by – Vin Diesel, Michael Fottrell & Neal Moritz
Distributed by – Universal Pictures
Box Office- 630 Million

Limitless
Produced by – Leslie Dixon, Ryan Kavanaugh & Scott Kro
Distributed by – Relativity Media
Box Office- 170 Million






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