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62-524: Virgin Films was a film production company of the early 1980s best known for making Nineteen Eighty Four (1984). It was part of the Virgin Group and was headed by Al Clark. Nik Powell worked for the company before going over to Palace Pictures . Virgin Films first came to attention distributing The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle (1980), in which they invested £150,000. They expanded into film production in

124-473: A film school to get a bachelor's degree studying film or cinema. Film students generally study the basic skills used in making a film. This includes, for example, preparation, shot lists and storyboards, blocking, communicating with professional actors, communicating with the crew, and reading scripts. Some film schools are equipped with sound stages and post-production facilities. Besides basic technical and logistical skills, students also receive education on

186-420: A cast and crew of hundreds, while a low-budget, independent film may be made by a "skeleton crew" of eight or nine (or fewer). These are typical crew positions: In production, the film is created and shot. In this phase, it is key to keep planning ahead of the daily shoot. The primary aim is to stick to the budget and schedule, which requires constant vigilance. More crew will be recruited at this stage, such as

248-464: A certain appeal of the film to a possible audience. Not all films make a profit from the theatrical release alone, however, the studio mainly targets the opening weekend and the second weekend to make most domestic profits. Occasionally, a film called a "word of mouth film" does not market strongly but its success spreads by word of mouth. It slowly gains its audience. These are special circumstances and these films may remain in theaters for 5 months while

310-538: A film, create and edit the sound and music, and mix the final cut on a home computer. However, while the means of production may be democratized, financing, traditional distribution, and marketing remain difficult to accomplish outside the traditional system. In the past, most independent filmmakers have relied on film festivals (such as Sundance Film Festival , Venice Film Festival , Cannes Film Festival , and Toronto International Film Festivals ) to get their films noticed and sold for distribution and production. However,

372-480: A flat fee for the project, as a weekly salary, or as a daily rate. A handful of top Hollywood directors made from $ 133.3 million to $ 257.95 million in 2011, such as James Cameron and Steven Spielberg , but the average United States film directors and producers made $ 89,840 in 2018. A new Hollywood director typically gets paid around $ 400,000 for directing their first studio film. The average annual salary in England

434-441: A freelance job held by recent university graduates, does not feed scripts into the system that are ready for production nor already produced. "Coverage" is a way for young screenwriters to be read and their ideas might make their way up to an executive or famous producer and result in "meet and greets" where relations with up-and-comers can be formed. But it has not historically yielded ideas studios pursue into production. The studio

496-400: A general plotline and let the actors improvise dialogue, while others control every aspect and demand that the actors and crew follow instructions precisely. Some directors also write their own screenplays or collaborate on screenplays with long-standing writing partners. Other directors edit or appear in their films or compose music score for their films. A film director's task is to envisage

558-430: A green light may have protracted difficulties in making the transition to pre-production and enter a phase referred to as developmental hell for extended period of time or until developmental turnaround . Analogous to almost any business venture, financing of a film project deals with the study of filmmaking as the management and procurement of investments . It includes the dynamics of assets that are required to fund

620-415: A pairing of producers with writers , where they develop a "take", a basic story idea that utilizes the concept given by studio executives. Often it is a competition with several pairings meeting with studio executives and "pitching" their "take". Very few writing jobs are from original ideas brought to studios by producers or writers. Perhaps one movie a year will be a "spec" script that was purchased. Once

682-542: A recent trend of more attention to women directors in India, brought on partly by Amazon and Netflix moving into the industry. Of the movies produced in Nollywood , women direct only 2%. There are many different awards for film directing, run by various academies , critics associations , film festivals , and guilds . The Academy Award for Best Director and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director are considered among

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744-601: A sequel. They will additionally acquire a completed and independently financed and produced film. Such notable examples are Little Miss Sunshine , The English Patient , and Roma . Studios hold general meetings with producers and screenwriters about original story ideas. "In my decade working as a writer, I knew of only a few that were sold and fewer that made it to the screen," relays writer Wayne Powers. Alan Watt, writer-director and Founder of The LA Writer's Lab confirmed that completed original screenplays, referred to as "specs", make big news when they sell, but these make up

806-418: A typical film run is closer to 5 weekends. Further earnings result from pay television purchases, foreign market purchases and DVD sales to establish worldwide distribution gross of a film. Once a screenplay is "green-lit", directors and actors are attached and the film proceeds into the pre-production stage, although sometimes development and pre-production stages will overlap. Projects which fail to obtain

868-445: A very small portion of movies that are ultimately given the green light to be produced by the president of a studio. The executives return from the retreat with fairly well-established instructions. They spread these concepts through the industry community, especially to producers they have deals with (traditional studios will have those producers in offices on their lots). Also, agents for screenwriters are made aware. This results in

930-403: A way to translate a screenplay into a fully formed film, and then to realize this vision. To do this, they oversee the artistic and technical elements of film production. This entails organizing the film crew in such a way to achieve their vision of the film and communicating with the actors. This requires skills of group leadership, as well as the ability to maintain a singular focus even in

992-508: A yearly salary from ¥4 million to ¥10 million, and the Directors Guild of Japan requires a minimum payment of ¥3.5 million. Korean directors make 300 million to 500 million won for a film, and beginning directors start out making around 50 million won. A Korean director who breaks into the Chinese market might make 1 billion won for a single film. According to a 2018 report from UNESCO ,

1054-736: Is a film criticism concept that holds that a film director's film reflects the director's personal creative vision, as if they were the primary "auteur" (the French word for "author"). In spite of—and sometimes even because of—the production of the film as part of an industrial process, the auteur's creative voice is distinct enough to shine through studio interference and the collective process. Some film directors started as screenwriters , film editors , producers , actors , or film critics , as well as directing for similar media like television and commercials. Several American cinematographers have become directors, including Barry Sonnenfeld , originally

1116-479: Is customary for the production office to arrange a wrap party , to thank all the cast and crew for their efforts. For the production phase on live-action films , synchronizing work schedules of key cast and crew members is very important. For many scenes, several cast members and many crew members must be physically present at the same place at the same time (and bankable stars may need to rush from one project to another). Animated films have different workflow at

1178-454: Is drawn up to plan expenditures for the film. For major productions, insurance is procured to protect against accidents. Pre-production also includes working out the shoot location and casting process. The Producer hires a Line Manager or a Production Manager to create the schedule and budget for the film. The nature of the film, and the budget, determine the size and type of crew used during filmmaking. Many Hollywood blockbusters employ

1240-404: Is the film distributor who at an early stage attempts to choose a slate of concepts that are likely to have market appeal and find potential financial success. Hollywood distributors consider factors such as the film genre , the target audience and assumed audience, the historical success of similar films, the actors who might appear in the film, and potential directors. All these factors imply

1302-460: Is up!" to inform everyone that a take is about to be recorded, and then "quiet, everyone!" Once everyone is ready to shoot, the AD calls "roll sound" (if the take involves sound), and the production sound mixer will start their equipment, record a verbal slate of the take's information, and announce "sound speed", or just "speed", when they are ready. The AD follows with "roll camera", answered by "speed!" by

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1364-714: Is £50,440, in Canada is $ 62,408, and in Western Australia it can range from $ 75,230 to $ 97,119. In France, the average salary is €4000 per month, paid per project. Luc Besson was the highest paid French director in 2017, making €4.44 million for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets . That same year, the top ten French directors' salaries in total represented 42% of the total directors' salaries in France. Film directors in Japan average

1426-438: The film editor reviewing the footage with the director and assembling the film out of selected takes. The production sound (dialogue) is also edited; music tracks and songs are composed and recorded if a film is intended to have a score; sound effects are designed and recorded. Any computer-generated visual effects are digitally added by an artist . Finally, all sound elements are mixed down into "stems", which are synchronized to

1488-432: The internet has allowed for the relatively inexpensive distribution of independent films on websites such as YouTube . As a result, several companies have emerged to assist filmmakers in getting independent movies seen and sold via mainstream internet marketplaces, often adjacent to popular Hollywood titles. With internet movie distribution, independent filmmakers who choose to forego a traditional distribution deal now have

1550-523: The producer . The film director gives direction to the cast and crew and creates an overall vision through which a film eventually becomes realized or noticed. Directors need to be able to mediate differences in creative visions and stay within the budget . There are many pathways to becoming a film director. Some film directors started as screenwriters , cinematographers , producers , film editors or actors. Other film directors have attended film school. Directors use different approaches. Some outline

1612-481: The property master , script supervisor , assistant directors, stills photographer , picture editor , and sound editors . These are the most common roles in filmmaking; the production office will be free to create any unique blend of roles to suit the various responsibilities needed during the production of a film. Communication is key between the location, set, office, production company, distributors and all other parties involved. A typical day shooting begins with

1674-1087: The Berlin/Brandenburg TV station RBB (Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting) and ARTE . In recent decades American directors have primarily been coming out of USC , UCLA , AFI , Columbia University , and NYU , each of which is known for cultivating a certain style of filmmaking. Notable film schools outside of the United States include Beijing Film Academy , Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica in Mexico City, Dongseo University in South Korea, FAMU in Prague, Film and Television Institute of India , HFF Munich , La Fémis in Paris, Tel Aviv University , and Vancouver Film School . Film directors usually are self-employed and hired per project based on recommendations and industry reputation. Compensation might be arranged as

1736-524: The Coen brothers' Director of Photography; Wally Pfister , cinematographer on Christopher Nolan 's three Batman films made his directorial debut with Transcendence (2014). Despite the misnomer, assistant director has become a completely separate career path and is not typically a position for aspiring directors, but there are exceptions in some countries such as India where assistant directors are indeed directors-in-training. Many film directors have attended

1798-567: The First Draft. Preliminary discussions are minimal with studio executives but might be quite detailed with the producer. Next, a screenwriter writes a screenplay over a period of several months, or however long it takes. Deadlines are in their contracts but there is no pressure to adhere to them. Again, every writer's process and speed vary. The screenwriter may rewrite the script several times to improve dramatization, clarity, structure, characters, dialogue, and overall style. Script Coverage,

1860-746: The Virgin Films catalogue, to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for $ 235–250 million. Around this time, the Vision Video Ltd. label continued to be used by the now-rebranded Universal Pictures Video until being retired as a whole in the Mid-2000's. In 2010 Virgin expanded into film making again with Virgin Produced . Walker, Alexander, National Heroes: British Cinema in the Seventies and Eighties , Harrap 1986 Film production Although filmmaking originally involved

1922-416: The ability to reach global audiences. Film director A film director is a person who controls a film 's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision . The director has a key role in choosing the cast members , production design and all the creative aspects of filmmaking in cooperation with

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1984-548: The advent of home video in the late 1970s, most major films have followed a pattern of having several distinct release windows. A film may first be released to a few select cinemas , or if it tests well enough , may go directly into wide release . Next, it is released, normally at different times several weeks (or months) apart, into different market segments like rental , retail , pay-per-view , in-flight entertainment , cable television , satellite television , or free-to-air broadcast television. The distribution rights for

2046-409: The camera and sound stop recording. The script supervisor will note any continuity issues, and the sound and camera teams log technical notes for the take on their respective report sheets. If the director decides additional takes are required, the whole process repeats. Once satisfied, the crew moves on to the next camera angle or "setup", until the whole scene is "covered." When shooting is finished for

2108-419: The camera operator once the camera is recording. The clapper loader , who is already in front of the camera with the clapperboard , calls "marker!" and slaps it shut. If the take involves extras or background action, the AD will cue them ("action background!"), and last is the director, telling the actors "action!". The AD may echo "action" louder on large sets. A take is over when the director calls "Cut!" and

2170-468: The company's operations being merged into those of PolyGram Video . PolyGram began using the Vision Video Ltd. banner for their budget VHS releases, alongside their already existing 4 Front Video label. In May 1998, Seagram, the owners of Universal Pictures, purchased PolyGram for $ 10.6 billion, and in November 1998, they had agreed to sell PolyGram Filmed Entertainment's pre-31 March 1996 library, including

2232-424: The crew arriving on the set/location by their call time. Actors usually have their own separate call times. Since set construction, dressing and lighting can take many hours or even days, they are often set up in advance. The grip , electric and production design crews are typically a step ahead of the camera and sound departments: for efficiency's sake, while a scene is being filmed, they are already preparing

2294-615: The development process proceeds from there and how much detail a writer returns to the studio to divulge before beginning writing can vary greatly. Screenwriters are often protected by the union, the Writers Guild of America , or WGA. The WGA allows a screenwriter to contract for One Draft, One Revision, and One Polish. Bob Eisle, Writer and Member of the Guild Board, states, "Additional writing requires an extension of contracts and payment for additional work". They are paid 80% of their fee after

2356-422: The director ensures that all individuals involved in the film production are working towards an identical vision for the completed film. The set of varying challenges they have to tackle has been described as "a multi-dimensional jigsaw puzzle with egos and weather thrown in for good measure". It adds to the pressure that the success of a film can influence when and how they will work again, if at all. Generally,

2418-435: The director works with the editor to edit the material into the director's cut . Well-established directors have the " final cut privilege ", meaning that they have the final say on which edit of the film is released. For other directors, the studio can order further edits without the director's permission. The director is one of the few positions that requires intimate involvement during every stage of film production . Thus,

2480-700: The division, which in the meantime had been renamed Virgin Vision, for $ 83 million, using loans from General Electric Capital Corporation , Standard Chartered and the Virgin Group itself. Virgin Vision was at the time a full-fledged theatrical and video distributor, with operations in the United Kingdom and some other European territories, the Middle East and Australia. However, MCEG fell into debt worth $ 125 million and eventually filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, after which 85% of Virgin Vision went to GE Capital in 1990, with

2542-424: The early 1980s, investing in the short, A Shocking Accident (1982) with Jenny Seagrove and Rupert Everett . This film wound up winning an Oscar and encouraged Richard Branson to expand into filmmaking, appointing Al Clark head of production. In 1983 Virgin announced they would invest £14 million in a series of movies. Among their productions were Electric Dreams and Secret Places . Their best known movie

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2604-403: The film are also usually sold for worldwide distribution. The distributor and the production company share profits and manage losses. Filmmaking also takes place outside of the mainstream and is commonly called independent filmmaking . Since the introduction of DV technology, the means of production have become more democratized and economically viable. Filmmakers can conceivably shoot and edit

2666-474: The film industry throughout the world has a disproportionately higher number of male directors compared to female directors, and they provide as an example the fact that only 20% of films in Europe are directed by women. 44% of graduates from a sample of European films schools are women, and yet women are only 24% of working film directors in Europe. However only a fraction of film school graduates aspire to direct with

2728-622: The film is advertised and promoted . A B-roll clip may be released to the press based on raw footage shot for a "making of" documentary, which may include making-of clips as well as on-set interviews separate from those of the production company or distributor. For major films, key personnel are often contractually required to participate in promotional tours in which they appear at premieres and festivals and sit for interviews with many TV, print, and online journalists. The largest productions may require more than one promotional tour, in order to rejuvenate audience demand at each release window. Since

2790-455: The film is carefully designed and planned. This is the phase where one would narrow down all the options of the production. It is where all the planning takes place before the camera rolls and sets the overall vision of the project. The production company is created and a production office established. The film is pre-visualized by the director and may be storyboarded with the help of illustrators and concept artists . A production budget

2852-586: The filmmaking and liabilities incurred during the filmmaking over the time period from early development through the management of profits and losses after distribution under conditions of different degrees of uncertainty and risk. The practical aspects of filmmaking finance can also be defined as the science of the money management of all phases involved in filmmaking. Film finance aims to price assets based on their risk level and their expected rate of return based upon anticipated profits and protection against losses. In pre-production, every step of actually creating

2914-486: The images on the screen, and the film is fully completed ("locked"). Distribution is the last stage, where the film is released in movie theaters or, occasionally, directly to consumer media ( VHS , VCD , DVD , Blu-ray ) or direct download from a digital media provider. The film is duplicated as required (either onto film or hard disk drives ) and distributed in cinemas for exhibition (screening). Press kits, posters, and other advertising materials are published, and

2976-472: The majority entering the industry in other roles. In Hollywood, women make up only 12.6 percent of film directors, as reported by a UCLA study of the 200 top theatrical films of 2017, but that number is a significant increase from 6.9% in 2016. As of 2014, there were only 20 women in the Directors Guild of Japan out of the 550 total members. Indian film directors are also greatly underrepresented by women, even compared to other countries, but there has been

3038-572: The media and real life, as well as many other sources, to determine their yearly agenda. For example, in a year when action is popular, they may wish to explore that topic in one or more movies. Sometimes, they purchase the rights to articles, bestselling novels, plays , the remaking of older films , stories with some basis in real life through a person or event, a video game , fairy tale , comic book , graphic novel . Likewise, research through surveys may inform their decisions. They may have had blockbusters from their previous year and wish to explore

3100-548: The nature of professional relationships that occur during film production. A full degree course can be designed for up to five years of studying. Future directors usually complete short films during their enrollment. The National Film School of Denmark has the student's final projects presented on national TV. Some film schools retain the rights for their students' works. Many directors successfully prepared for making feature films by working in television. The German Film and Television Academy Berlin consequently cooperates with

3162-441: The next one. While the crew prepares their equipment, the actors do their costumes and attend the hair and make-up departments. The actors rehearse the script and blocking with the director, and the camera and sound crews rehearse with them and make final tweaks. Finally, the action is shot in as many takes as the director wishes. Most American productions follow a specific procedure: The assistant director (AD) calls "picture

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3224-416: The next shooting day. Later on, the director, producer, other department heads, and, sometimes, the cast, may gather to watch that day or yesterday's footage, called dailies , and review their work. With workdays often lasting fourteen or eighteen hours in remote locations, film production tends to create a team spirit . When the entire film is "in the can", or in the completion of the production phase, it

3286-415: The position of film director is widely considered to be a highly stressful and demanding one. It has been said that "20-hour days are not unusual". Some directors also take on additional roles, such as producing, writing or editing. Under European Union law, the film director is considered the "author" or one of the authors of a film, largely as a result of the influence of auteur theory . Auteur theory

3348-784: The producer and writer have sold their approach to the desired subject matter, they begin to work. However, many writers and producers usually pass before a particular concept is realized in a way that is awarded a green light to production. Production of Unforgiven , which earned Oscars for its Director/Star Clint Eastwood , as well as its screenwriter, David Webb Peoples, required fifteen years. Powers related that The Italian Job took approximately eight years from concept to screen, which, as Powers added, "is average." And most concepts turned into paid screenplays wind up gathering dust on some executive's shelf, never to see production. Writers have different styles and creative processes; some have stronger track records than others. Because of this, how

3410-461: The production phase, in that voice actors can record their takes in the recording studio at different times and may not see one another until the film's premiere. Animated films also have different crew, since most physical live-action tasks are either unnecessary or are simulated by various types of animators . This stage is usually thought of as starting when principal photography ends, but they may overlap. The bulk of post-production consists of

3472-578: The remaining 15% owned by the Virgin Group. By this point, the company scaled down its operations to the UK video market only and sold off their international operations. In March 1991, GE Capital announced that they had placed Virgin Vision up for sale. In July, Virgin sold its stake in the company over to GE Capital and renamed the subsidiary as Vision Video Ltd. In January 1993, it was announced Vision Video had been sold to PolyGram for less than $ 5.6 million, with

3534-407: The restrictions of the film's budget and the demands of the producer and studio (such as the need to get a particular age rating ). Directors also play an important role in post-production . While the film is still in production, the director sends " dailies " to the film editor and explains their overall vision for the film, allowing the editor to assemble an editor's cut . In post-production,

3596-439: The scene, the assistant director declares a "wrap" or "moving on", and the crew will "strike", or dismantle, the set for that scene. At the end of the day, the director approves the next day's shooting schedule and a daily progress report is sent to the production office. This includes the report sheets from continuity, sound, and camera teams. Call sheets are distributed to the cast and crew to tell them when and where to turn up

3658-403: The sole superiors of the director are the producers and the studio that is financing the film, although sometimes the director can also be a producer of the same film. The role of a director differs from producers in that producers typically manage the logistics and business operations of the production, whereas the director is tasked with making creative decisions. The director must work within

3720-477: The stressful, fast-paced environment of a film set. Moreover, it is necessary to have an artistic eye to frame shots and to give precise feedback to cast and crew, thus, excellent communication skills are a must. Because the film director depends on the successful cooperation of many different creative individuals with possibly strongly contradicting artistic ideals and visions, they also need to possess conflict-resolution skills to mediate whenever necessary. Thus

3782-596: The use of film , most film productions are now digital . Today, filmmaking refers to the process of crafting an audio-visual story commercially for distribution or broadcast. Film production consists of five major stages: The development stage contains both general and specific components. Each film studio has a yearly retreat where their top creative executives meet and interact on a variety of areas and topics they wish to explore through collaborations with producers and screenwriters, and then ultimately, directors , actors, and actresses. They choose trending topics from

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3844-474: Was an adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984). There was controversy between Virgin and the makers of that film over Virgin's request to introduce a music score by Eurythmics . An investment in the notorious flop Absolute Beginners (1986) discouraged them from further involvement in the film world at the time. At one stage they were connected with Hellraiser (1987). In July 1989, Jonathan D. Krane 's Management Company Entertainment Group bought

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