A little something you should know...

Valeria's Homework

To begin with even thinking of producing a film, there has to be a main idea of what the film would like, this can be taken from a book that has been released beforehand, (for example Harry potter) or following a sequence of a film that has been previously been released, for example, Taken, Taken 2 and now Taken 3. The making of a film is made up from 4 different stages.

Within the production aspect, there are 3 stages, these stages are:

PRE-PRODUCTION

Pre-production is the part where it all begins, it is the process of planning for the project, this means breaking it down in individual scenes, locations, props, cast members, everything that will make up a scene. This is also the stage at where special and visual effects are identified.

This stage will include the part of the script, if it has not been written, and then this will be the time where it will be created. The pre-production stage is the time where everything is organised, making schedules of what will be happening.

PRODUCTION

This is the main stage; this is the area where the filming will begin. Everything that was planned out in the pre-production, such as the scenes, costumes, script, is now being used to make the scenes needed for the project. When filming each scene, it will be done as many times as the director thinks is necessary to capture every moment needed. Without the pre-production, the production stage would not be able to even begin; this is where the strength of the pre-production is put to test. All the shots will be captured with great caution as it would be very hard to film everything and go back to a certain scene and re-take it, it would put the project behind schedule.

POST-PRODUCTION

This stage is specifically for the film editor. It requires the film editor to watch back the takes and build a sequence that in the end will become the film/project. This is made by picking the individual shots, making sure they have picked the best one out of the many takes they have done, and ordering them according to the script. After this, it is important to make sure that the film runs smoothly and is not jumping from scene to scene; the editor has to create a fine cut, this means cutting a few scenes short if it is needed, editing the footage, and adding music, graphic, menus and everything necessary. After the editor decided that the work is done, the director and producer of the project have to screen and approve the final project, after this, the project is ‘locked’ this means that no further changes need to be made.

America is best known for having the best, top-selling movies, along with these movies are some of the main producers of America, such as Michael Mann, Steven Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer. The big six main studios in America are: Warner Bros Pictures owned by Time Warner; Paramount Pictures, owned by Viacom; Walt Disney, owned by Robert A. Iger; Columbia Pictures, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Corporation; Universal Studios, owned by NBCUniversal and Comcast; last but not least, 20^th Century Fox, owned by News Corporation and Fox Entertainment Group. The ownership of the studios has a greater impact to the movie than we think. If the owners of the studios are rated top of all the owners, it is more likely that the movie will have a bigger budget, be more of a seller and a top choice for the audience.

An independent production is when the artist of that project is in control of all creative, artistic and editing.

DISTRIBUTION

Distribution means the delivery of a type of media (in this case a film), leaving its manufacturing source, to the eyes of its customers, meaning it is delivered to the cinemas for audience’s viewing.

To distribute a film, there will be a film distributor; this can either be an individual or a company that is in charge of setting the release day, how the film is going to reach the audience, i.e., if it’s going to the theatre first or straight to home viewing. The traditional chain for distributing a film is:

1st window	Theatrical screenings	1-2 months
2nd window	Video-On-Demand + Foreign theatrical	2-3 months
3rd window	Video cassette & DVD rentals/sales	4-9 months
4th window	Pay-Per-View	1-2 months
5th window	Premium Cable	4-6 months
6th window	Basic Cable	3-6 months
7th window	Broadcast network television	one showing
8th window	Independent TV Station Syndication	continuous

There are new ways to distribute a film; the new ways to reach to the audience is a simultaneous multiplatform release or using a VOD or social and online activity to identify actual audiences demand. These are just two of the many ways that have been presented.

Film festivals are events that occur every year, the film festivals shows films usually outside and have to have the tickets bought to attend this, they screen films that either have not yet been released or bring back movies that have been forgotten. 

A film distributor might decide to release a film a one week instead of the other because maybe there is also a high-rated movie that has been released that week, the theatre is a very competitive place, so making sure that your movie is the one that is on the audience’s top list is crucial.

It is important for the film chain for a distribution of a project to happen, this is because, having the distribution film secures the film a place on the theatre billboards, it is advertised, however, if the film does not secure a distribution deal it is more likely that the film will not be shown.

MARKETING

Media marketing is how the original project is sold to the audience, unlike distribution which shows the audience whether they would like it or not, and even so the distributor delivers the movie to the audience.

Types of marketing are adverts or posters placed on billboards; this would usually be by a movie with a big budget as billboards are bigger and tend to capture the attention more of people.

Another way that movies are advertised is through the use of social networks, it’s something we use every day and even have their own pages to provide the audience with any information they would like to find out.

When promoting the films it is crucial that the movie speaks out to the different kind of audience there is, this means that is an American blockbuster such as Avatar has to make a difference to be able to reach out to the non-English speaking audience, by having the film in different languages, or somehow related to the country of person would automatically give it the advantage of being a popular hit with all types of audience.

Exhibition

Different ways in which the audience can view recent films are: Cinemas, DVD’s, Online websites (free ones), Online websites that have a monthly pay, On demand, Sky+, TV, etc...

Box office is a term that is often used to refer to the success of a film. The box office could be an opportunity to see whether the movie has been a great success and if so, how much money the film has made. If the movie was a big success, the people whose money was invested in the film, would get money back from the audience that paid to watch it. However, the cinema that received the money would only receive a small percentage of the money. In order for cinemas to make at least more money, they have the wide range of drinks and snack that according to the National Stats, people spend at least 18 minutes deciding what to get and always get something. In order for the cinemas to encourage people to get out of their home and visit the cinemas, they give out offers that will interest the viewers, for example, 2 FOR 1 tickets, or sometimes the little things like a shirt sponsored by a film company. Ancillary markets are non-theatrical market for films, these include things like home videos, TV, Pay per View, VOD, Internet streaming and many more. The benefit of this is that people can watch films from the comfort of their own home, which people prefer rather than having the hassle of planning a day to watch a movie with other noisy people in the theatre room.

BFI

BFI stands for The British Film Industry which is – what they say “To promote greater understanding and appreciation of, and access to, film and moving image culture in the UK”. Their main aim is to produce and even distribute film that have been set in Britain or even have British actors starring in the project. This helps the British Film industry because the Hollywood Blockbusters of America are usually the ones who get the attention of the audience.