What I have learnt about the film industry in 2014

What I have learnt about the film industry in 2014:

I have learnt a lot about the film industry whilst preparing for our mock exams in January. For our mock exams we used two case studies. Thor 2 was the first case study which was from a Hollywood based production and the other was an independent film which was called In Fear. We gained knowledge of what happens at the start of a movie which includes planning and organising to the end of a movie which is distributing the film and receiving feedback. The first stage of film industry is the production stage. We start off with pre-production which is the planning of the movie, you look at the different types of locations where the film could be filmed, you set a budget so that you know how much you can spend when it comes to props and actors etc. You plan storyboards so that you gain an understanding of what your film is going to include and lastly look at casting, you have to approach the actors that you want to play a part in the movie, the more famous the actor is the more people you will get who come to watch your movie. After pre-production you move onto production, this stage is where all the filming is done; which I know is the most important part! The stage after production is post production; this is where the movie is edited so that it runs smoothly and makes sense. I’ve learnt that editing involves adding in sound effects and adding in lighting so that scenes look more of a higher quality and more realistic. The next stage is Marketing, I have learnt that the marketing of the film is one of the most important parts; the way you market a film can depend on the amount of viewers you attract and can affect your overall profit margin. The marketing stage involves viral campaigns, sponsorships and endorsements, you want this stage to attract as many viewers as you can, in a way you are advertising your film; institutions make the main actors go on well-known shows like the Graham Norton show and Alan Carr show, this is done to try and raise the profile of the film, this is a superb way of reaching out to a broader audience. Whilst studying in greater depth about Thor 2 I read a number of interviews online that the Film reviews and interviewers did, I read one interview where a reviewer said that the way in which Thor 2 have marketed there film is brilliantly, they have not only appealed the film to the natural fan bas but they have broadened their horizon and made many other viewers out there intrigued. I have learnt about the distribution of films now a days and how much new media technology has helped. The release of new media technology has benefited the film industry massively; it has made the filming and distributing of the movie 100 times easier.

  I have learnt a lot about cinema goers and what they are interested in whether they buy food at cinemas or not. 29% of cinema audiences are aged 15-24 which tells us that it is usually the younger generation who go to the cinemas. 646 films were released in the UK in 2012. Saturday is the most popular day for the box office, because you’ll find that most people are off work and are looking for something to do so they go to the cinema. Saturdays get 24% of the box office views. Sunday gets 17.6%, Friday gets 16.4%, Wednesday gets 13.5% and Monday, Tuesday and Thursday gets about 9.4%. Therefore, I learnt that Saturday is the most popular for the box office.


I have now become far more aware about the money that goes into these high budgeting films. The big Hollywood films now a days have millions put into them so that they can attract as many viewers as possible in a hope that the profit margin will be far more significant. The distribution of films within the last 50 years has become cheaper because of the modern technology. Usually all film production companies would use 35mm reel which would cost thousands to use and send off, films in this modern day are recorded by HD and sent off easily by email etc, this is one way how modern technologies have helped the film industry.


Large film production companies are now making sequels out of the better known films, this is a way of keeping your previous fan base in tact and so that they constantly support you. Sequels can make more and more money as they are made, for example The iron man sequels have made tremendous amounts of money, because each time they have released another movie they have attracted more and more viewers who are interested to see what all this commotion is about. Making sequels out of films now a days have become a real popular thing to do, it is an easy way of keeping your audiences interested. At the end of the movie a cliff-hanger is used so that the viewers are intrigued by what's going to happen next, this makes them want to watch the next movie, as you can see this process is relentless and is an easy way of keeping the profit margins high.

I have learnt about the differences between Hollywood and independent productions. Hollywood movies are always the more well-known movies as there are billions of pounds in these institutions  therefore they can afford to advertise I worldwide whereas independent productions have very low budgets in comparison to Hollywood. Therefore they spend less on actors and props and advertising which makes them less known.