2. Rights Acquired
• A company or producer has to acquire the rights to film a story or treatment
• First it is to be found out who controls the film rights
• If the material is not available, then it is not attempted to be worked with
• If the material is available however, rights are acquired and the film to be can
continue on to the next step
3. Screenplay
Developed
• Screen play is essentially the script of a film made by one or more writers
• The script doesn’t just contain lines, it contains actions and expressions
• In them is also movements, as well as dialogues of characters
• Screen play may be adapted from an original novel, play or short story
4. Production finance,
Cast & Crew
• The potential value of the proposed film is taken into
consideration here
• Values are based on forecasts and revenues
• The film cast are the group of actors that play the
significant characters in the film
• The crew are the people behind the camera and other
equipment
• The crew are separate from the producers
• The crew is divided into specialised sections such as
camera, sound and editing
5. Principal Photography
• This is the phase of film production in which the film is shot, with actors on set
and cameras rolling.
• This is the most expensive part of film distribution due to actor, director, and set
crew salaries.
• Props and special effects are also used here, rendering a point of no return for
financers
• When concluded, principal photography is known as a ‘wrap’ or to be ‘wrapped
up’
6. Release Strategy
Developed
• A distributor has to decide on a release strategy, in other words how
he/she/they’ll advertise the film
• A release date is considered
• A master print of the finished film is delivered
• Plans for advertising on television, billboards, previews, public transport and
newspapers go underway.
7. Film Presented
• The film is presented to Exhibitors
• Agreement to have the film shown in cinemas is negotiated
• Presentations are made to the cinema manager
• Exhibitors are the people that persuade to stock a product, just like in any
business. In this case the product is a film.
8. Marketing Campaign
• Marketing campaigns contribute toward the films promotion
• It is an important part of distribution because of the high financial risks
• A lot of money is spent on marketing campaigns, to maximise revenue as early as
possible in the release cycle.
• Marketing budgets tend to equal anywhere between half and three times the
production budget
9. Film Prints/Disks
• Release prints are copies of the finished film that is provided to a theatre
• A British board of film classification certificate is also delivered with each copy
• These are carefully looked after, if they land in the wrong hands, illegal copies
can be made before the film is due for DVD release, ruining profits.
10. Run Extended
• The film’s run can extend by any number of weeks to demand
• This is sometimes augmented by additional marketing
• A film will extend depending on how popular it is, if It’s successful then cinemas
will keep it in for maybe a month, however if it isn’t they may take it down after
a week or so
• This also helps toward final release, distributors can tell how popular the film is
from public reaction and can get an idea of the scale of which they need to
produce the film as home entertainment
11. Film Released
• The film is released as home entertainment, such as DVD, Blu-ray, television and
other viewing methods.
• Films also go straight onto iTunes, on which users are able to pre order films and
get them on demand as an electronic version
• Sights such as Love Film and Netflix can benefit from this, as can their customers
