Studying the film industry in BRICS countries Issues for consideration

Overview Stylized facts about how films are made Delimiting the scope of study in terms of the empirical phenomenon Choosing a theoretical focus point Methodological considerations

Stylized overview of how films are made Five phases Funding Preproduction Production Postproduction Distribution

Early phases Funding Sources of funding Legal structuring Initial tie-in with marketing campaign Preproduction Develop a screenplay Choose key people (director, production manager etc.) Develop shooting schedule and continuity breakdown Obtain equipment and facilities Cast characters

Creating the film Production Call sheet Camera and sound work Script changes Production report Postproduction Editing Sound Final dub (sound mixing) First print

Distribution Domestic distribution Foreign distribution Other distribution channels (DVD, cable etc) Marketing

Film versus TV The process of CREATING a film versus TV is similar Preproduction, production and postproduction for film vs. TV and even advertising are all similar Relatively easy mobility between film and TV with possible transfer of skills Two key differences: Funding – in TV the network assumes the risk Distribution – in film, finding a distributor is a key competence I.e. the first and last phases of successful movie making are different to TV

What to study? Which one or ones of the five phases should the focus be on? Funding Preproduction Production Postproduction Distribution Depending on the phase(s) chosen, which key people and institutions need to be studied? Only filmmakers or also adjacent industries, like TV production companies and advertising agencies?

Theoretical focus points Overall goal of BRICS is to study innovation and learning A narrower theoretical focus may enable a more focused and precise study Three suggestions: Linkages The processes of inclusion and exclusion The role of demand effects

Linkages Capabilities are transferred through linkages A better understanding of linkages should yield insights about capability transfer How are linkages forged? What are the prevalent types of linkages? Domestic vs. foreign Individual vs. institutional Formalized vs. informal connections What types of capabilities are developed through what types of linkages? This approach may be generic enough to also be useful for studies of other sectors

Processes of inclusion and exclusion Assumption that developing countries can join the club of developed countries by simply advancing their skills Social processes of inclusion and exclusion also matter How do films (or other industries) get access to the network of knowledge creators? How are connections forged? What are the barriers to membership of those communities? Membership imply both benefits and obligations – what are the obligations of developing countries? I.e. what are they offering in exchange for membership?

The role of demand effects The key differentiating capability of successful filmmakers is the ability to secure distribution of their films This depends crucially on the ability to analyze and respond to anticipated demand: Bollywood relies on a domestic market, with expectations in terms of plot and imagery rather than production values Where film relies on foreign distribution, expectations of production values are higher Foreign markets may have expectations about appropriate stories – e.g. Tsotsi and Yesterday vs. Purpose What are relevant the market / demand pressures? How do those pressures shape each industry?

Methodological considerations Difficulty of obtaining survey-based data on film producers Small populations Hard to obtain response rates Obtaining qualitative data also problematic Industry used to (self-)representation Possible reluctance to disclose non-successes Need for a mixed-method design Determine the intended insights to be derived from each data source Determine how to interrelate and integrate different data sources

Potential data sources Usefulness of hard data on aspects like Number of films made in each country Average cost per film Amount grossed by films (nationally and internationally) Employment in the film industry Potential use of (within-country) contrasting cases along certain dimensions, e.g. Successes and failures Domestic vs. foreign Potential gathering of data from feeder institutions E.g. actors agencies, camera people, screenwriters guilds Cases, surveys, career mapping