What are the different stages a film goes through? Pre-production - The process at the very beginning of a film where all the key elements of making the idea of a film go into action. Production - Where the creation of film making fully begins, all the elements of post production are put together and filming begins. Post-production - This is where the final cuts of a film are put into place with editing as well as promoting to bring the film to cinema.

What are different job roles responsible for? Director - a person who directs the making of a film. They control the film's artistic and dramatic aspects, as well as visualize the script while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. Producer - a person who generally supplies financial support for the creation of a film. It may include supervising contracts for actors and directors but also as checking current budgeting and timing. Production Manager – a person who will look over the manufacturing process of films and make sure that production lines are running correctly and efficiently. Editor- a person who will take all the shots and cuts of the film then put them together so that the visuals and sounds are all coherent and suitable for viewing. Gaffer- the head of electrics who will most be used for overseeing of lighting in the production process of films.

How does a film get funding? Films can funding through several ways but without proper funding no movie can be created. This leads to different forms of funding and investment. How well planned is the film? - Without pre-production already taken most of its place, no film can get proper funding, this can also be a determining factor of how much investors or group ventures' are willing to put into the production of a film. Aspects like the director, script, casting and timeline can control this. Is the picture profitable? – If investors can be able to turn over a profit they will be more likely to invest a large amount into a film. Again when planning the movie investors will seek out what films will hit in box office and avoid the poor prequels. Are they any issues with production? – aspects like taxation, pre-sales, debt can determine how the film is funded with investors wishing to avoid massive financial barriers. There are also different ways in which funding can come into play. Equity – the simple idea that an investor or group will own a stake in a movie, around 20%, which must be repaid if the movie makes a profit. Pre-sales – while in pre-production the director and producer of a film will gain a distributor who will evaluate the script and possibility of how much it will make, these will be repaid after the film is released. Gap- after equity is sold and the film has some funding proper loans from banks can take place and the rest of the rights of the film are sold off.

How is the budget split? With different processes of the film being split, a films original budget can adapt and change throughout the production of a film. But some factors will have more funding than others. Story Rights – the legal rights to the story of a film is probably one of the bigggest areas of funding. Whether a sequel, play, video game etc comes off the rights of the film will determine how much of the budget is put into the film. For example the rights to Star Wars were sold off at approximately $4 billion dollars. Screenplay/script – the investment of the creation of a screenplay can be extremely high, this begins at the very start of pre-production and can be sold off for millions. For example Dejavu screenplay was sold at $5million. Producers/Directors/Cast – the highest paid people involved with the film with producers gaining the most money. The best films will always have the best creators so high payment is necessary. For example Tom Cruise was paid $7,800 per hour for Top Gun. Music/soundtrack – an important element to the film is the coherent sound going on at the same time as visuals, the rights to show songs from David Bowie or The Beatles costs $300,000. The same with having an independent soundtrack which can create profit for both an artist and the film. For example the soundtrack of Tarzan was all composed by Phil Collins. Visuals – again a massive selling point to a film can be the special fx or visuals used in a film, a good example of this would be the highly rated visuals of Gollum from Lord of The Rings. Which was the first use of motion capture. Production costs – this includes the overall cost of making the films bar all the other discussed topics, this can be the costs of renting filing equipment and studios, aswell as the wages of filming crew production design, live set and studio costs, costumes, catering, accommodation, transportation, travel, hotel stay etc.

What are the above the line and below the line costs? The concept is that a list of individuals like the director producer screenwriter and perhaps actors will give a creative edge to the creation and production of a film. Being the above the line gives that freedom to add to the imaginative notion of a film. Being below the line will limit the participation of being apart of the drive of a particular film, those people will be the film crew, designers, editors, sound managers etc.

How are films marketed and sold? Ultimately it is the Film Promoters job to help gain popularity of how it is sold with different distributors used to show the film across cinemas domestically or world wide depending on the size of the film. In theatres – This is the original and still the first selling point of a movie. With cinema becoming increasingly effective in terms of performance with aspects like HD. DVD/Digital play – purchasing physical or digital copies of popular movies has become just as popular as cinema with the ability of watching a film at the comfort of your home is another marketing factor which film makers must take into account. Mostly a film is marketed like most other products and through various forms of media and advertisement to make people purchase a copy or go to the cinema. Television/Radio – Being the most viewed and used forms of media an advert can make millions go to the cinema so marketing on tv and radio is massive. Internet – With online popularity of films becoming increasingly important, film fanatics can learn about a film years before it comes out making it a vital marketing aspect for films. Merchandising – with popular films being used as any form of merchandise from t-shirts to mugs, it can be a massive part of marketing and selling a film. Print – from adverts in magazines to posters on buses any visual representation of a film can be a selling point for marketers. Tours and Interviews - before a film is released actors and directors are bound to appear on a morning talk show to discuss and promote a new film, as well as appear at massive events like comic-con Trailers – either being used on other talked about forms of marketing or simply just before a film the trailers are the single most important marketing and selling point to make people view a film, this is because it is only snippet of what the film is going to be. Even in some cases a trailer can be better than a film.