There are three main stages that are involved in film production:
Pre-production - This is where all of the planning and research for the film project takes place. For example: storyboards and notes taken on on each individual scene and what they include (mise en scene, etc); what props, members of the cast, costumes and settings. This may also include what shots could be used, sound effects, soundtracks, visual effects and more in relation to each scene. The script is finished and any touches are made to it here.
Production - This is when the actual filming begins... after all of the pre-production planning is finished, the filming is carried out in each of the chosen settings and so on. It remains as the most time consuming stage because everything must be filmed excessively to ensure that all of the necessary scenes and more are filmed adequately, due to the fact that it's almost impossible to repeat certain scenes exactly the same as before and would therefore lose any desired effect.
Post production - Post production is where the editing of the film occurs and creates a rough cut of the previously filmed scenes to establish which shots were the best and the order in which they'll be in the actual film. Once this is completed, the editor continues, using the rough cut to structure and create the final cut, which is obviously expected to flow seamlessly, unlike the initial rough cut. In addition to the generalised flow of the scenes in the form of a film, the special effects and such that were decided on in the pre-production stage are created and inserted into this cut - this is then viewed overall and once seemingly fit for viewing, is sent off to be approved.
After doing some research, I've discovered that the main producers of films in America are:
- Richard D. Zanuck, of production company, 20th Century Fox.
- Steven Spielberg, of production company, DreamWorks.
- Danny DeVito, co-founder of production company, Jersey Films.
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| Richard D, Zanuck |
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| Danny DeVito |
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| Steven Spielberg |
An independent film production is when a film is mostly produced outside of a major studio system, such as Hollywood. This considers aspects such as the cast, source of funds and so on. One example of this is when a film producer finances the film with almost all of their own money or with funding help from a minor, underrated film studio.
Distribution
Definition: A distributor is an individual or organisation that decides to represent a film at at film festivals and attempt to sell it to television companies and cinemas.
Process: Once the film is dealt with by the editors and accepted by the producer, the film will be sent to a studio where they proceed to create a licensing agreement with a distribution company.
It is up to them to agree on and decide how many copies of the film should be made and the following is where the actual distributing comes in.
The distribution company forms a screening of the movie to be watched by prospective buyers, representing cinema companies.
These representatives then decide if they'd like to lease and for how long - all being well, there is an agreement and the movie in question will be shown in cinemas for the amount of time agreed on. After this amount of time has ended and they stop screening the film, the copy is sent back to the distribution company along with the agreed shares regarding the lease.
Generally speaking, if you're distributing a film, it is most likely to be distributed by a major distribution company; Marvel films are usually distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Although it's likely that it's the same people who distribute these specific films, it can differ. However, if you're distributing an independent film, there are self-distribution platforms such as CreateSpace, distributing your film without the use of traditional film distributors.
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| Marvel Film examples |
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| Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (distribution company) |
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| CreateSpace - Free, independent distribution |
The traditional method of distributing a film would be creating them on film reels - not only were there only a limited number of film reels but they would also take a very long time to distribute to cinemas... this also posed the issue of some cinemas receiving them first and the possibility of them being released at different times.
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| Traditional Film Reel |
A more modern method of film distribution would be digitally. Digital distribution acts as a more cost effective, faster method of film distribution nowadays, for example it's easier to send a computer file to distributing companies and so on rather than to create a physical copy of the film and send it on; particularly worldwide. This is also a more secure option as the film file can be encrypted to avoid anybody else seeing it.
Distributors may decide to release a film on one particular weekend rather than other because a new, anticipated (tent-pole) film may be scheduled for release on the initial weekend and so the distributor chooses another to avoid competition or the possibility of overshadowing. The film in mind might also be more relevant to a particular event or day coming up, such as a romantic comedy being released on the week of Valentine's day, rather than any other. Finally, this may also be to avoid 'dump months' which is when there are lowered commercial and critical expectations for new releases; resulting in smaller audiences.
The distributor is essential to the film chain as it's the moment when films are distributed and first experienced by an audience. A film would be unlikely to progress and be screened if it was without a secure distribution deal; even with an insecure deal, they may be exploited and could be shared against initial terms that haven't been settled.
Marketing
Marketing is the process of promoting and advertising the film and ensures that it gains a significant amount of recognition and attention, this links in with distribution that provides audiences with the film.
One method in film marketing is something called a 'press junket' which is when journalists, movie critics etc are all invited to a location where a series of interviews are taking place with the cast members, directors and screenwriters.
This is an image of a press junket/conference for the film Divergent:
There is also the method of creating publicity with uploading and sharing images, promos, behind the scene clips and interesting facts about the cast to interest target audiences and broaden fanbases...
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| Promotional Competition |
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| Extended Trailer |
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| 'Interesting' facts |
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| Main actor beside billboard |
Titanic is an American blockbuster film that promotes to different audiences, such as the non-English speaking. These are several examples:
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| A French poster for Titanic |
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A Spanish poster for Titanic
Both of these posters have similar layouts apart from the fact that the two of them are obviously in different languages; those being French and Spanish - obviously targeting non-English speaking audiences.
Exhibition
Nowadays audiences are able to engage with films today in many different ways, some of which are:
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DVD
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'Box office' for a film means the amount of admissions/amount of money made from admissions to the film in each cinema, The box office is useful when identifying the success of a film because the higher the box office grosses, the more people have seen it and the more money has been made. This generally means that the film has deduced a large profit, usually in relation to the amount spent on the production, distribution and marketing of the film.
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| Grossing of Box Office films |
Grossing: the amount of money produced/earned as gross profit or income.
On average, the movie's distributor receives more than half of the revenue and the majority of the remainder goes to the cinemas. The main way in which cinemas make their money, however, is through concession stands (40%). Cinemas interest audiences through deals such as Orange Wednesdays, discount ticket prices, concession product deals and so on... all of this attracts audiences so that they watch films at the cinema rather than at home. Additionally, some cinemas have premium seating as opposed to standard, supposedly making you feel much more comfortable at an added cost, similar to the level of comfort you'd feel at home except with the bonus of the big screen.
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| Orange Wednesdays |
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| Premium Seating |
Ancillary markets are non-theatrical markets for films. This means other methods of exhibition of films aside from the cinema, similar to those stated above with the addition of:
- VCR
- Internet Streaming
BFI
The BFI is short for The British Film Institute; they are a charitable organisation that 'combine cultural, creative and industrial roles' - they bring together the BFI national archive, BFI Reuben library, film distribution, exhibition, education, publishing and festivals.
BFI is widely known to aid the British Film Industry due to its London Film Festival that screens more than 300 features, documentaries and short film from almost 50 countries. They provide funding for distributing and screening films across Britain, in order to help them become widely known and embrace film culture and diversity.
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| BFI London Film Festival |
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| BFI Southbank IMAX |
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