Production Comapny
A production company provides the physical basis for works
in the departments of the performing arts, new media art, film, television,
radio, and video. The production company is responsible for fundraising for the
production or may be accomplish this through a parent company, partner, or
private investor. It handles budgeting, scheduling, scripting, the supply with
talent and resources, the organization of staff, the production itself,
post-production, distribution, and marketing. Production companies are often
either owned or under contract with a media conglomerate, film studio,
entertainment company, or Motion Picture Company, who act as the production
company's partner or parent company. This has become known as the "studio
system". They can also be mainstream independent or completely independent

Entertainment companies operate as mini conglomerates,
operating many divisions or subsidiaries in many different industries. Warner
Brothers Entertainment and Lionsgate Entertainment are two companies with this
corporate structure. It allows for a single company to maintain control over
seemingly unrelated companies that fall within the ranges of entertainment,
which increases and centralises the revenue into one company for example a film
production company. A motion picture
company, such as Paramount Pictures, specializing only in motion pictures is
only connected with its other counterpart industries through its parent
company. Instead of performing a corporate reorganization, many motion picture
companies often have sister companies they collaborate with in other industries
that are subsidiaries owned by their parent company and is often not involved
in the making of products that are not motion picture related. A production
company can either operate under a contract or as a subsidiary for an
entertainment company, motion picture Company, television network, or all, and
are generally smaller than the company they are partnered with.
Paramount Pictures Corporation is a film and television
production/distribution studio, consistently ranked as one of the largest
top-grossing movie studios. It is a unit of American media conglomerate Viacom. Paramount
is the fifth oldest existing film studio in the world behind and is still
headquartered in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. this componay is a global conglomerate this means that it is a large company that consists of diverse
divisions that produce and sell unrelated goods and services. Conglomerate companies tend to be large
multinational corporations with operations in multiple regions of the world.
The Role of the Distributor
Lord Puttnam CBE, President of the Film Distributors'
Association, tells us it is 'the task of the distributors to identify and
deliver the largest possible audience for every film.' He follows this up by
saying 'This is no small task, particularly when so many other entertainment
options are available both inside and outside the home; and that's in addition
to the 500 or more titles released in UK cinemas every year'. From this we are
able to grasp why there has to be a distribution and marketing plan, films can
clearly not just be left to sell themselves.
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Distribution is launching and sustaining films
in the market place. The steps a distributor goes through are these:
·
After principal photography begins on a film the
distributor develops a release strategy, considers the release date and takes
delivery of a master print of the finished film.
·
The Distributor will then present the film to
exhibitors and negotiates bilateral agreement to have it shown in cinemas.
·
They will ensure their marketing campaign will
create a 'want to see' buzz among target audiences and will launch the film.
The film will then be delivered to cinemas.
UK distributors obtain the films they release in several
ways:
·
A third-party sales agent, acting on behalf of a
producer.
·
A continuous flow of new content from a parent
studio.
·
A studio or production company with whom the
distributor has negotiated an output deal covering a slate of titles.
The UK has half a dozen major distributors and many
independent distributors. Individual distributors may release any number of
films, sometimes just one or two or in some cases as many as 25 - 30 a year. Every
film has its own distribution plan, which the distributor develops in
consultation with the producers and studio. The most important strategic
decisions a distributor makes are when and how to release a film in order to
optimise its chances. As with every business plan, the goal is to recoup all
the costs and turn a profit. Because of this each release is individually
planned, taking into account current circumstances, and plans are often only
confirmed when the finished product is available to view.
A detailed understanding of the target audience: age group,
gender, lifestyles, social networks, media consumption patterns, always informs
the subsequent decisions on how and where a particular film is promoted in
order to reach them. It's important never to lose sight of a film's core target
audience but the distributors challenge is always to attract as wide a spread
as possible.
Distributors have to take into account several facts when developing
their release plans:
·
Competition - what other films are being
released around the same time?
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Is it an event film, a mass market blockbuster
or a specialised film?
·
Is there any star power in the cast of the film?
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Will any of the cast members do UK/international
publicity or attend the premiere?
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Is the film for a holiday period?
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Is it likely to be nominated for any awards?
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Will the film lead the media reviews of that
week's new releases?
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Is there already any buzz about the film?
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Is it a sequel or franchise entry?
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Has the film already opened anywhere else?
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What certificate will the film have?
Complementing the distribution plan, every film has a
detailed marketing plan. The marketing plans job is to create visibility, raise
awareness and engage interest. This is done in several ways, one of which is a
poster telling the audience a bit about the film: its stars, genre etc. Another
way is with a trailer, which is probably the most cost-effective marketing
technique. A third way is by using the Internet and mobile phones to entice
audiences using things like blog posts and video diaries. A fourth way is media
advertising which includes things like billboards and advertising in the press.
Another way is with publicity such as independently-written news stories, which
are more readily believed than advertising because they're not paid for by the
film. Publicity also includes things like screenings for national critics, set
visits and awards buzz. A further way to generate awareness is promotional
partnerships because they promote the films in ways advertising can't such as
in shops and restaurants. Two final ways are preview screenings and festivals.