Independent companies and joint ventures

Independent film- a lesser company with not so much budget and exposure. Its made outside and owned outside of the 'Hollywood big six'.

The big six- Paramount, Universal, Warner bros, Walt Disney, Columbia, 20th century fox.

Independent text- BAIT. An independent UK film, released in August 2019. Described as a "no budget" film (no exact budget had been given), it was directed by Mark Jenkin and initially recorded without sound- sound was added in post-production. Jenkin also wrote and recorded the score (the music).

Total budget committed to this project from Film Hub South West = £6,000
(This includes:
Social Media Management - £1,500
South West PR - £1,500
Social Media Promotion for Venues - £1,000
Talent Tour for Q&As - £2,000)

Subsidy per head for claimed admissions = £1.19

Which distributor picked up BAIT in the UK?

The BFI distributed BAIT: Julie Pearce

Where did they see it initially?

Berlin Film Festival

What was the marketing strategy?

Launched it in the late summer before autumn release of indie films. Spread by word of mouth as well. The BFI used different forms of media to market this film such as: posters, trailers, logos, stills and the press (press kit). The main target audience was: Cornish communities, cinephiles, film festival attendees, film students and independent filmmakers.

How did Jenkin contribute to this?

Not only written and directed by Mark Jenkins, he also filmed the entirety of BAIT excluding some slow motion shots which was filmed by Peter Smithson. Jenkins also edited the entire film, adding sound post- production. He attended all the screenings, offering Q and A's to make the film more personal.

What was the film's gross at the time of publication?

first weekend got £32,200. Time of publication: £264,000

List some of its technical specifications

The second camera (which was used for the slow motion sequences running at 54fps) was given by retired DP Peter Smithson who had used it to shoot sequences for David Attenborough documentaries during the 80s and 90s. This 'B' camera dates from the 60s, whilst the 'A' camera was built in 1976, the year Mark Jenkins was born

Facts: He always had to have one hand on the shutter. This gives the play more authenticity and allows the film to take on a documentary style form.

Jenkin 'BAIT' BBC Radio 4

"He's made Experimental films for 2 decades"

"Hand developed the film"

"Premiered in front of 660 people in Berlin, taking 2 days from west Cornwall"

"single screened theatre"

"The Guardian gave good reviews"

"praise on social media"

"Offers were coming in for the film"

"He travelled all around the world to Premiere his film e.g Istanbul"

"Over 75 Q&A's"

"Various interpretations of the film: fishing/tourism/ entitlement in society"

"Soundtrack being released"- he signed a record deal with 'invader records'

Analogue synthesiser use to create sounds/ soundtrack

Another film in the making, ready-to-go: Stone Island. Negotiating a deal.

Hollywood was alerted of the film, met with producers.

DVD on Blue-ray, and BFI screening

Most successful Cornish film

Joint Ventures:

The independent company to have creative control and free, whereas by working for a conglomerate, one looses control. This is why someone might take on a Joint Venture which is when one media company works with another, not for, mutually benefiting both the parties.

'Get Out'

Director: Jordan Peele

Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams

Production companies: Blumhouse (founded in 2000, low budget horror films), QC, Monkeypaw (founded in 2012 by Jordan Peele, director and producer, had never released a film)

Distributed by Universal

Budget $4.5 million

Box Office: $255.4 million

'First-look deal'- In the film industry, it is an agreement between a writer and an independent production company or between an independent production company and a film studio in which the potential buyer (producer or studio) of a not-yet-written script or in-development film or television project is allowed to buy it outright, co-own or invest in, license, any IP that is newly coming into license. Such things could be: artwork, invention, business, idea or real estate property etc.

Blumhouse:

Advantages of working in a Joint venture: Allows partners to share the financial and creative risks that are included in the filmmaking. This can be essential on ambitious projects that are too big for one filmmaker or producer to tackle alone, which allows more support an aid, in turn, increasing the success of the film.

Disadvantages of working in a Joint Venture: They can pose significant risks relating too liabilities, and the potential for conflicts and disputes between partners. Problems are likely to arise if:

• objectives of the venture are unclear
• communication between partners is not great
• partners expect different things from the joint venture
• level of expertise and investment isn't equally matched
• work and resources aren't distributed equally since one is alot larger than its counterparts
• different cultures and management styles pose barriers to co-operation
• leadership and support is not there in the early stages
• venture's contractual limitations pose a risk to a partner's core business operations
• More people have to be paid- conflict
• Costly marketing
• Diversification, if you lack resources and personnel the film eventually becomes absolute

Blumhouses website.

joint venture: when a smaller company works with a conglomerate.

Q3 (A)

Explain why an independent company often works with other companies as part of a joint venture. Use examples to support your answer. 4/4

Independent companies such as Blumhouse and Monkey Paw find it beneficial to become part of a joint venture because it allows them to split the costs of distribution and increase their effectivity of marketing since the large conglomorate that they have joined with, benefiting one another in the process financialy. Also, Universal, uses above-the- line advertising techniques, reaching a large target audience in doing so to allow the film to get more exposure to the public. In this case, Blumhouse and Monkey Paw have joined with Universal to increase the chances of success with the film.

3 (B)

Explain two disadvantages of being an independent company. Use examples to support your answer. 6/6

1. Independent companies might find that distributing and making a film financially draining. For example they would have a smaller budget since no large conglomorates are there to help with the costs. An example of this would be the independent film 'BAIT' which didn't have a specific budget, and was filmed on one old camera that was quite a inconvenience to use since it restricted mobility.

2. Another disadvantage would be that independent companies don't have access to data from BARB to enable the creation of their films to target a large audience, therefore independent films are usually niche or 'off-beat'. 'BAIT' is a film based around Cornwall which is a very niche area not known by many people, and due to not having the finances to film elsewhere or hire famous actors that a large audience would like, it narrows the chances of success that the film would make.