The Film Chain - Helen Dam

PRODUCTION

There are 12 stages of film making:

• The idea
• Developing Finance
• Script Development
• Packaging
• Pre-production
• The shoot
• Post production
• Sales
• Marketing
• Expedition
• Other windows

The first stage is the idea where you need inspiration to make a film as it takes time and preparation. Inspiration can come from anywhere like books, magazines, newspapers and even your dreams. However ideas are really precious so we must protect them, ideas cost millions so film makers protect against copyright. The second stage is developing finance where you turn your rough idea into a final script that is ready for production. However the producer has to uses the treatment and pitch, the producer also has to use persuasion to get money for the development of the script. The next stage is script development where the writer makes a synopsis and delivers it to the producer and the financiers and see whether they agree on the key events of the film. The forth stage is packaging where the script is complete and the director and producer decide how they want to film the movie and who they want to hire. A good way to make a movie more commercial is to use well known actors/actresses to star in the movie. Fifth stage is financing  as film-making is a very expensive  business so the producer must secure enough funding to make the film as best as it could possibly be. The sixth stage is the pre-production where the financing is secured and the cast and crew are hired and the film is ready to be shot. The next stage is the shoot where the shooting begins and the funding is released, this is where hundreds of people can be involved and can be a struggle to keep everything on schedule and on budget. The eighth stage is post production and that starts during shoot when the footage and sounds are available. This is where the editor turns the shoots into scenes and assembles it together with sounds. The ninth stage is the sales, this is where the producer tries to sell the film but not to the public as the producer needs a distributor. To sell the film to the distributors, the producer secures the services of a sales agent to help sell the films to the public. The tenth stage is the marketing where the distributors plan their strategy of marketing and selling the film, They need to know their audience. The eleventh stage is expedition, this is where they launch the film to the public with an explosion of media. The last stage is other windows where the film is a successful run in the cinemas then it can be sold through other channels like DVD's, videos and games.

The main studios in America are Warner Bros owned by Time Warner, The Walt Disney Studios released under Walt Disney Production and NBCUniversal. The main producers are James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and Spike Lee. The ownership of the studio may have an impact on what films the studio makes as each persons minds are differnt which means different ideas. Independent production is when a film is professionally made mainly or completely outside the major film studio system.

 

DISTRIBUTION

Distribution is the process of making a movie available to the public (audience). This is when you determine the marketing strategy of the film, where its available for viewing and when the release date is. The movie may be exhibited directly to the public through movie theatre or television.

The traditional way of distributing a film is by film festivals. The modern way is the cinema or to get people to help and post it online which can cost a lot. Most of the audience/public go to the cinemas on Wednesday or Friday so the distributor may decide to release a film on those particular days. Distribution is essential to the film chain as they help and simplify how every consumer gets what they want and they can suggest what films they want to watch.

MARKETING

Marketing is the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising. Marketing is different from distribution as distribution shares the movie around whereas marketing sells the movie to the audience.

Here is a trailer of "If I Stay":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH6PNeTy6Nc

Films are promoted to different audiences by adding subtitles to the trailer or doing a voice over. An example of this is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXOWpNgYj-g

EXHIBITION

Audience get the see films by the cinema, DVD, blue-ray, Smart-TV, Netflix and other apps. The 'box office' for a film is a place at a theatre, cinema, etc. where tickets are bought or reserved. Box office can be used to refer commercial success of a film, play, or actor in terms of the audience size or takings that they command.  The producer gets the money when a film turns successful as they are the ones who come up with the idea and the idea cost millions. Cinemas make 40% of their money from refreshments and the rest from selling their tickets. The cinema made 3D films to encourage and engage the audience to visit the cinema more often. Ancillary markets are non-theatrical market for feature films like home video, television, Pay per view, VOD, Internet streaming, airlines and others. This gets people to watch it at home after it is released at the cinemas.

BFI

BFI - British Film Institute is a charitable  encourages a range of education initiatives to support the teaching of film and media studies in schools BFI - British Film Institute is a charitable organised by Royal Charter which encourages the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the UK. By doing this can help create more films for the audience to watch and enjoy.