Constraints & Revenue

• Constraints

  
  

  Constraint - Something you CAN’T do like a limitation: Rule/Regulation/Code of practice

  Constraints also indicate what we CAN do

  
  

  Legal, ethical and financial constraints

  
  

  Were not above the aw so we can get around legal constraints - fixed constraints

  
  

  Ethical constraint

  
  

  Factors to consider when setting up a film production company

  • Personnel 
  • A work place - studio/office
  • Equipment eg: Filming, Sound, Lighting
  • Budget for a specific film production

  
  

  Further Factors

  • Financial constraints
  • Revenue Streams
  • Time constraints - Milestones and deadlines
  • Example - Difference
  • Personnel
  • Legal and ethical issues
  • Regulation - SECTOR SPECIFIC

  
  

  Regulation - Sector Specific

  
  

  Each media sector has a regulatory body which offers a framework of ‘Do’s’ and ‘Dont’s’

  
  

  • Ofcom / The watershed -
  • Radio content - racist/Homophobic comments 
  • Office of communication - 
  • Radio and TV

  
  

  In broadcasting, the watershed is the time of day after which programming aimed towards mature or adult audiences is permitted.

  
  

  Watershed begins at 9 o’clock - More mature content starts getting put on TV as most children have gone to bed by that time

  
  

  How is regulation a constraint?'

  
  

  Areas that contribute to financial constraints of a project

  • Staffing - the people who help make the movie (actors, crew members, post production)
  • Premises - where your post production is (offices)
  • Location - where the filming/shooting takes place
  • Legal Costs - getting the permission to film in specific areas for example
  • Transport - getting the staff to the location and premises required
  • Resources - things like equipment

  
  

  Financial constraint in a media production company is the limitation of how much you can afford certain elements such as personnel, equipment, legal costs ect.

  
  

  Time constraints

  • Final deadlines
  • Interim deadlines (projects often build backwards from this)
  • Availability of people
  • Availability of equipment
  • Days/hours people can work
  • Relying on volunteers
  • Holiday/seasonal issues

  
  

  Time constraints are limitations to how long you can work and what times you can work due to constraints of things such as deadlines and availability.

  
  

  Personnel constraints

  • Skills
  • Number of people
  • Experience of personnel
  • Audit of knowledge 
  • Some training may need to be provided

  
  

  Financial Constraints

  • Cost of staff (daily rate)
  • Equipment
  • Renting office/Studio space
  • Resources
  • Contingency plan/Budget

  
  

  Personnel constraints are limitations to what you can do with the staff members you have at hand.

  
  

  Historically, small budget films have managed to break into mainstream

  
  

  Finance is your budget almost. You get your finances and that’s it

  Your stream revenue is the money that you continue to make even after the film is finished

  
  

  Franchising - Selling you ideas/products to other companies for them to use

  Example: The lego movie: Warner bros owns the lego movie, but the movie is based around lego which Warner Bros had to buy the usage of lego.

  
  

  Holiday Homework

  
  

  Financial Constraints

  • UK is a case study for the mid to low-budget film industry
  • The hollywood system obsession with blockbuster puts a squeeze on smaller films
  • Domestic UK films cost from £500,000 to £30 million to make
  • Some Hollywood blockbusters are made in the UK such as star wars - costing £1.6 billion
  • Films from major studios take more than 90% of the mechanics of the £8.5 billion US Box Office
  • ^ This leaves about 650 films in the US chasing 9% of the Box Office
  • Pressure is being ramped up by the boom in big budget drama flooding TV
  • Netflix - £100 million co-production of the crown
  • In the US, the number of scripted TV shows being made annually has more than doubled since 2010 to more than 500 this year
  • Netflix has 90 original productions underway in Europe alone, Sky has 80, and ITV and BBC have upped their game too
  • Most dramas are now minimum of £1 million an episode with heightened experience and quality
  • Inward production investment in TV from mostly US companies nearly doubled from £252 million in 2013 to a record of almost £500 million
  • The spend on UK domestic films dropped to £198 million in 2015, the lowest since 2007
  • Pressure on smaller films
  • BFI insists that the small to mid-budget films appear to be in decent health
  • Initial reporting shows that the number of domestic UK features being made in the first quarter of 2017 is the same as 2016 - with a 30% jump in spend to nearly £32 million
  • Canadian media group - focus on producing less premium films 

  
  

  Abbreviated notes

  • Hollywood system being ‘risk averse’ - big hollywood studios won’t feel that this is a risk
  • Explosion in mega budget TV drama
  • Lowest number of films made in UK since 2006
  • Money runs out; US studios pull planned productions
  • Tax break is an incentive for production companies; popularity of TV shows on platforms
  • High production values/mega budget
  • Telling a story over more episodes - A better experience for viewers 

  
  

  Revenue Streams

  
  

  What are revenue streams?

  How to generate them?

  
  

  Revenue Streams

  • What is crowdfunding?

  Raising money for a project from other people who each contribute typically a small amount

  For example kick starter - people have an idea and release it to the public in hopes of getting funds and donations from individuals

  • What are the benefits to a company?

  Free money from other people/companies

  Their project gets funded and they can continue on with the process of creating whatever it is they want to create

  • What are the benefits for people who contribute

  They can get benefits and something that want in return

  People can get rewards and important parts of the movie making process, the more they contribute, the bigger and better the rewards are

  Example: £1 can get you a signed thank you post card from the cast and then £600 can get you concept art signed by the artist which can then go on to be worth tons of money

  
  

  Building on types of revenue

  • Sponsorship: payment for a brand association with the final product. This could include big companies or smaller, local companies
  • Crowdfunding: Funding from a wide variety of public sources using social media promotion
  • Corporate finance: Money injected by business convinced that project is a good investment and will provide a good return over a lengthy period of time
  • Advertising (which can include pup up ads): Payment for brand placement within a media product
  • Franchising: The intellectual property of the original product is licensed to other partners for commercial use like merchandising in return for a fee or share of resulting revenue

  
  

  Sponsored Content vs Advert

  • An advert is something that is clearly promoting a product or service, usually through an attention grabbing piece of media which is clearly different from its surroundings.

  Think about Youtube Adverts - they clearly aren’t a part of the video we’ve clicked to watch.

  • Sponsored content is a type of native advertising that is consistent with the surrounding content on the webpage, it looks like its supposed to be there and it intertwined with the actual content of the page.

  When YouTubers are sponsored they talk about the product as part of the video

  
  

  My find:  

  
  

  
  
  

  
  

  The Advertisement is at the top, it is advertising an android TV. It clearly doesn’t fit in with the other surroundings of  website.

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  

   

  This is a sponsorship, there’s no flashy advertisements, and the person talks about it as if it was part of her vlog. At the bottom she tells us that she may earn  commission which makes it a sponsorship.

  
  

  1 Advantage and 1 Disadvantage 

  Sponsorship:

  Advantage: You can get lots of money from big (or small) companies, this could also make people more interested in your project if they like the companies sponsoring you.

  Disadvantage: If your sponsor companies get into controversy it can also be linked with you as you are getting money from them. Also producer control, they can get a say in your final product

  Crowdfunding:

  Advantage: You get free money from other individuals and companies which allows you to continue with your project.

  Disadvantage: If your project fails, you risk your reputation as companies and even individuals have pledged money to you. You also can get time constraints if you don't hit your money goal in a specific time.

  Corporate Finance:

  Advantage: Businesses give you mass sums of money which also provides a good return of a long period of time.

  Disadvantage: You have to listen to the people who funded you. You get put in debt of you’re in a contract and loose part of your income.

  Advertising:

  Advantage: It promotes your sales and also expands you production to a bigger scale.

  Disadvantage: It adds costs to your production without a guaranteed result.

  Franchising:

  Advantage: Franchises might be better at growing your project and getting more profit than employees are

  Disadvantage: Franchises earn royals from sales so it decreases your profit and income which may cause conflict.

  
  

  Crowdfunding video notes

  • Donation - gofundme (no momentary return - kindness based)
  • Equity - get money back/get a share/ get an equal amount
  • Reward - you get something back from the company
  • Pre-order