RTV 322 Movie Biz Overview: Starting a Movie Project Film versus video Stages of Moviemaking Movie Studios Above the line positions Below the line positions 5/17/2018

Film vs.Video Film stock is the imaging device for motion picture film CCD or CMOS is the imaging device for video ‘Video’ on web sites -- electronic information Why have we been able to move to video? Picture quality matched and exceeded that of film… 5/17/2018

Picture resolution 5/17/2018

Major Movie Studios Paramount One of the oldest, largest and most well known movie production and distribution companies. Only studio IN Hollywood. Founded in 1912 by Hungarian-born Adolph Zukor. Currently owned by Viacom Inc. Paramount held the record for highest grossing film at the box office (unadjusted)--Titanic 1997 grossed $1,842,879,955 at the world wide box office, with a domestic total gross of $600,788,188. 5/17/2018

Avatar (Fox) now #1 Worldwide: $2,783,918,982 As of Jan 20, 2010: Estimated budget: $200 - $500 million Domestic box office gross: $760,507,625 Foreign box office gross: $2,023,411,357 Worldwide: $2,783,918,982 http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=avatar.htm that’s a lot of money for movies; 1:1 ratio

Paramount Behind the Scenes... 5/17/2018

Paramount Behind the Scenes... 5/17/2018

Paramount Behind the Scenes... 5/17/2018

Paramount Behind the Scenes... 5/17/2018

Paramount Behind the Scenes... 5/17/2018

Major Movie Studios Warner Bros. -- Burbank, CA One of world's largest and most successful film producing and distributing companies. Originally founded in 1918 by four brothers, who were immigrants from Poland. The third oldest of Hollywood studios, and is one of the original pioneers in the film industry. A Time Warner company – AT&T attempting to acquire Time Warner 5/17/2018

Major Movie Studios Sony Pictures Walt Disney (Buena Vista) 1987, Columbia Pictures Entertainment (Columbia and Tri-Star Studios) Walt Disney (Buena Vista) Founded in 1923 by Roy & Walt Disney 20th Century Fox Owned by News Corporation (Fox) Universal Owned by NBC Universal Founded in Los Angeles in June, 1912 by a German Jewish immigrant: Carl Laemmle 5/17/2018

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So overall today… Revisiting some of the early reading Thinking about the business of entertainment video and film production The Hollywood system of today vs. ‘making good movies’ Visual storytelling 5/17/2018

What is a studio? Production facilities, but… Funding agency for making movies Why are majors significant vs. independents? Distribution credibility How often does a film make money? 5/17/2018

5 stages of moviemaking Development Pre-production Production Filmmaking vs. moviemaking Development Pre-production Production Post-Production Distribution and exhibition 5/17/2018

Development Who can pitch, to whom do you pitch, optioning a script / step deal The script is written and drafted into a workable blueprint for a film Decisions made about stars (‘packaging’) and initial casting, location, budgets Who is calling the shots? 5/17/2018

Development steps... Producer finds a story (from...) After identifying a theme or underlying message, the producer works with writers to prepare a synopsis They produce a step outline, (or scene outline) breaking the story down into one-paragraph scenes that concentrate on dramatic structure Then, they prepare a treatment, a 25 to 30 page description of the story, its mood, and characters ‘Notes’ along the way 5/17/2018

Development Next, a screenwriter writes a screenplay over a period of several months. The screenwriter may rewrite it several times to improve dramatization, clarity, structure, characters, dialogue, and overall style. Other writers may be brought in. BUT, Producers often skip the previous steps and develop submitted screenplays -- which investors, studios, and other interested parties assess through a process called script coverage. 5/17/2018

Development... A film distributor may be contacted -- assess the likely market and potential financial success of the film. Hollywood distributors consider: the film genre, the target audience, the historical success of similar films actors who might appear, potential directors. All these factors imply a certain appeal of the film to a possible audience and hence the number of "A.I.S." during the theatrical release. 5/17/2018

Development... Not all films make a profit from theatrical release -- DVD sales and worldwide... Producer & screenwriter prepare a pitch and present it to potential financiers. If the pitch is successful, the film (or TV show) receives a "green light” The parties negotiate a deal and sign contracts. Once the deal is set, the film may proceed into the pre-production period. By this stage, the film should have a clearly defined marketing strategy and target audience. 5/17/2018

Pre-production Preparations are made for the shoot Cast and crew are hired UPM -- script breakdown Locations are selected Sets are built Equipment secured / leased Script re-writes and staff 5/17/2018

Pre-production The production company is created and a production office established. The production is storyboarded and visualized with the help of illustrators and concept artists. A production budget is drawn up to plan expenditures for the film. 5/17/2018

Production Actual shooting of the raw elements Crew members sharing the ‘Director’s Vision’ Call sheets etc Studio stages, Locations, department heads, 2nd units 5/17/2018

Post-Production Transfer to digital, then editing Dialogue editing / including ADR Music tracks (and songs) composed, performed, recorded Scenes are scored Sound effects are designed and recorded Computer-graphic 'visual' effects are digitally added, (CGI) All sound elements are mixed into "stems," then the stems are mixed, then married to picture The film is fully completed ("locked") 5/17/2018

Once Locked... The film is passed into the hands of the postproduction supervising sound editor to layer the sound track. Voice recordings are synchronized The final sound mix is created by the re-recording mixer. The sound mix combines dialogue, sound effects, ADR, walla, Foleys and music. 5/17/2018

Sales and distribution The film is screened for potential buyers (distributors) It is picked up by a distributor and reaches its cinema and/or home media audience. Promotion and marketing -- advertising, actor appearances, etc. $$$ ‘Straight to DVD’ ? 5/17/2018

Major Positions Above the line -- $$ Residuals / owners Producer, Director, Writer, Actors Producer Hires a crew The nature of the film and the budget, determine the size and type of crew used during filmmaking Many Hollywood blockbusters employ a cast and crew of hundreds A low-budget, independent film may be made by a skeleton crew of eight or nine (or fewer). 5/17/2018

Director Primarily responsible for the storytelling, creative decisions and acting of the film. Established versus emerging directors Film school graduates ‘Author’ of a movie, while the Producer is ‘author’ of a TV show ‘Director’s cuts’ of movies 5/17/2018

Famous TV Producers / Movie Directors Dick Clark, Gene Roddenberry, Norman Lear, Aaron Spelling, Dick Wolf, Jerry Bruckheimer, Chuck Lorre... Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, James Cameron, George Lucas, Ron Howard, Tim Burton, JJ Abrams... 5/17/2018

Below the Line Director of Photography (DP) The cinematographer who supervises the photography of the entire film A chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film Responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image Some professionals insist that the term cinematographer only applies when the director of photography and camera operator are the same person 5/17/2018

Unit Production Manager (UPM) Responsible for watching all the costs--to deliver the project on budget at the end of principal photography. Lead dept. managers, script breakdown. Producers responsible for cost-related decisions on above-the-line (primarily, casting) issues; UPM responsible for below-the-line (primarily, production period) costs. The film’s director has the final say on the cinematographer, costume designer, production designer, and film editor; UPM makes the deals and hires the remaining crew. 5/17/2018

Production Coordinator Serves under the UPM to coordinate the various groups and personnel that come together to make a movie or TV show. Requires organizational skills and the ability to handle a multitude of tasks simultaneously under often high-pressure situations. Duties are often undefined and extremely varied ranging from office manager, to human resources, to controller, to accountant. 5/17/2018

Other major positions Casting Director Location Manager Line Producer Production Designer * Sound Designer Visual Effects Wardrobe Editor * 5/17/2018

Discussion How much control does a Producer have on a project? How much control does a writer have on the actual implementation and production of a script (s)he has sold to a Producer? How involved is the Director typically in casting a film? (more) 5/17/2018

Discussion What is involved in Production Design? What is involved in Sound Design? What is and how important is product placement? How important is casting? Does the director direct talent or crew? What are some issues about location shooting? (Texas Film Commission) 5/17/2018