Download CMNS230 Tutorial Nov 27

CMNS230 Tutorial
November 29, 2006
Assignment 3
David Newman
Assignment 3 - Cultural text
• Synthesis and application of ideas you should have
learned over the semester
• Those who chose a film will probably find this easier
because more sources are available, but apply the
concepts you have learned
• Grading will take into account that there are less
sources publicly available for some cultural products
(i.e., non-film)
• Some of this will take quite a bit of detective work… it
is like putting a jigsaw together. Be prepared that it
might be time-consuming
Assignment 3 - The Pitch
• Wikipedia definition of a Pitch
“A pitch is a concise verbal (and sometimes visual) presentation of
an idea for a film, generally made by a screenwriter or director to a
producer or studio executive in the hope of attracting development
finance to pay for a screenplay to be written. Pitches are usually
made in person, although they can be made over the phone or,
occasionally, pre-recorded on audio or videotape.
• A good pitch is generally between five and ten minutes long and
lays out the premise, hook and essential beats of the story, along
with thumbnail sketches of the principal characters (often including
the names of actors who might play the roles), and a clear idea of
the genre, tone, likely audience, and budget level.
Assignment 3 - The Pitch
• Typically a pitch runs for about 10
minutes
• What we are asking for is really an
“elevator pitch”
• Maximum of 100 words
Assignment 3 - The Pitch
• Key elements in what we are looking for:
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Premise
Hook
Brief synopsis
Indication of genre
Key stars… if important
– Adapt this as appropriate for the medium you are
working in
Assignment 3 - The Pitch
• Premise
– The fundamental concept behind the text or the
plot
– Should be unique and compelling
– Short, compelling concept = ‘high-concept’
– Give the essence of the plot in one sentence
– e.g. The Full Monty (1997)
• A group of unemployed male steel workers decide to
become strippers
Based on the Wikipedia definition
Assignment 3 - The Pitch
• Hook
– Literary technique in the opening that
“hooks” the audience attention so they
want to know more
– Engages the audience
Based on the Wikipedia definition
Assignment 3 - The Pitch
• Synopsis
– Brief outline of the story
– e.g. Flower & Garnet (2002)
A portrait of love and loss, hope and heartbreak in small-town
British Columbia, Flower & Garnet is also a love poem forged
between a sister and brother, both of whom are on the verge
of life crises. Sixteen-year-old Flower is the daughter of a
broken-down man whose wife died giving birth to a son,
Garnet, nine years earlier. When Flower becomes pregnant,
her decision to have the baby threatens the family she has
worked so hard to maintain. But it is her brother Garnet who
is the catalyst: he has now reached the age at which the
questions he's asking are nowhere near as important as the
answers he's being denied.
– Do the synopsis in your own words, don’t just copy
it from another source
Assignment 3 - The Pitch
• Genre
– Organisation of cultural products by type
– Usually has a set of defined codes and
conventions
– Tend to be rather vague categories
– Jaws (1975) is a horror-thriller
Based on Hayward (2000). Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts
Assignment 3 - The Pitch
• Some additional references for you to
look at:
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http://www.scripthollywood.com/id29.html
http://breakingin.net/tswmoneypitch.htm
http://www.allfreelancework.com/articlefreelwriting4lenore.php
Take another look at Branston and Stafford, pp. 223-226
Assignment 3 - Audience
• Define the audience demographics of who is
most likely to be interested in the particular
cultural text
• Be specific
• There may be secondary audiences with
difference demographic characteristics
• Compare to similar texts if you wish
• This is often included as part of the Pitch
Assignment 3 - Finances
Funding: Identify the sources of funding for the creation of
this product and what constraints there are as a result. Try
to identify what the possible cashflow is likely to be. What
impact do the funding constraints have on the creation of
the product? (funding sources may include audiences,
government subsidies, overseas revenues, the creators
themselves)
This may be the most difficult to research and develop.
Those doing a film have the most advantage, but we will
try to adopt easier criteria for other industries where
information is more difficult to find.
Example - Flower & Garnet (2002)
QuickTime™ and a
Sorenson Video 3 decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Canadian film by SFU grad, Keith Behrman
Example - Flower & Garnet (2002)
• Starting point - Internet Movie Database
– http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0304023/
– Also useful for television
– Provides a range of information including:
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Estimated budget
Production and distribution companies
Synopsis and year of production
Release dates and box office information
Example - Flower & Garnet (2002)
• We learn there are the following investors or supporters:
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Telefilm Canada
Canada Television Fund: License fee programme
BC Film Television and Film Financing Program
BC Film Incentive BC
Movie Network
CBC
Canada Film or Video Production Tax Credit Program
Boneyard Film Company
CanWest Western Independent Producers Fund
Movie Central/Corus
Rogers Telefund
National Screen Institute of Canada NSI Features First Program
Example - Flower & Garnet (2002)
• Telefilm Canada as an investor
– Provides access to a range of information
• http://www.telefilm.gc.ca/data/production/prod_889.asp
– Production funding - $636,000
• http://www.telefilm.gc.ca/01/18.asp?period=&prog_group_code
=&compo_group_code=&off_code=&titr_dem=Flower&Search=
true&imageField.x=6&imageField.y=13&imageField=search
Example - Flower & Garnet (2002)
• Company contacts.
SCREEN SIREN PICTURES INC. - Trish Dolman
300 - 291 East 2nd Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5T 1B8, T: 604.687.7591,
F: 604.687.4937, E: [email protected], W: www.screensirenpictures.com
• You can try contacting the company, explaining you are a
student working on a project exploring the funding and
revenue flows of a Canadian cultural project, and would
they be willing to assist you with some information
• Many will say no or not respond; a few may say yes and
give you some very good information. You have nothing to
lose by asking.
Example - Flower & Garnet (2002)
• Company website provides information:
– http://www.screensirenpictures.com
– Again, we find a list of the investors
Example - Flower & Garnet (2002)
• BC Film is the Provincial investor
– http://www.bcfilm.bc.ca
– 2000-2001 - Development financing estimate
– $9,000
(638,616/71)
– 2001-2002 - Production financing estimate
– $75,280 (3,462,895/46), probably higher as feature film (cost
more than doco’s), so boost it to $125,000
– Estimated Total = $134,000
– Note, unless you get actual numbers from the
company, many of your number will have to be
reasonable estimates for this assignment.
Example - Flower & Garnet (2002)
• Total budget approximately $2,000,000:
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Telefilm Canada
$636,000
Canada Television Fund: License fee programme
BC Film Television and Film Financing Program (est.)
$134,000
BC Film Incentive BC
Movie Network
CBC
Canada Film or Video Production Tax Credit Program
Boneyard Film Company
CanWest Western Independent Producers Fund
Movie Central/Corus
Rogers Telefund
National Screen Institute of Canada NSI Features First Program
Example - Flower & Garnet (2002)
• Tax credits
– Federal and Provincial (check what was in
force at the time of production)
– Based on local labour costs. Rule of
thumb, 50% of movie budget spent on
labour. Typically higher for low-budget.
– Lets assume for this that labour costs are:
50% x 2,000,000 = 1,000,000
Example - Flower & Garnet (2002)
• Tax credits
– Labour costs = $1,000,000 (50% of production
costs; but only allowed 48% at that time)
– Federal FVPTC = 16% of $960,000
= $153,600
– BC Film Incentive = 20% of $960,000
= $192,000
– Note: there are various rules about monies to be excluded in
calculation of the credits, so the actual numbers likely to
have been somewhat lower.
– Also changes in the levels more recently.
Example - Flower & Garnet (2002)
• Total budget approximately $2,000,000:
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Telefilm Canada
$636,000
Canada Television Fund: License fee programme
BC Film Television and Film Financing Program (est.)
$134,000
BC Film Incentive BC (est.)
$192,000
Movie Network
CBC
Canada Film or Video Production Tax Credit Program (est.)
$153,600
Boneyard Film Company
CanWest Western Independent Producers Fund
Movie Central/Corus
Rogers Telefund (bridging finance against govt. subsidies/investments)
National Screen Institute of Canada NSI Features First Program
Example - Flower & Garnet (2002)
• Upto a total of $1,115,600
• Money from broadcasters would have been for future
broadcasts
• Box office revenue
– Check www.imdb.com
– www.playbackmag.ca
– In this case, pretty low figures, so low they don’t seem to
appear on any lists (it is a Canadian film afterall).
– Add video/DVD revenue
– Television broadcast fees, and so on
Other sources
• Backend Money (photocopies in the
photocopy room and the library; PDF on the
class website)
• The Movie Business Book (on Closed
Reserve in the Library)
• Blockbusters and Trade Wars (on 24 Hour
Reserve)
Other sources
• For book publishing, take a look at:
– Thring, Sarah. (1995). Publishing: a view
from the inside, book marketing & sales
in Canada. Toronto: Canadian Book
Publishers Council
– Dan Poynters Parapublishing at:
• http://www.parapublishing.com/sites/para/
(this is focused on self-publishing, but may
assist with some of the concepts of ‘how the
business end works’)
Audience reception
• What have the reviewers said?
• How has it performed in the marketplace
(size of audience… has the audience built
over time)?
• What could have been changed to make it
more successful locally and internationally?
• Think about it as a Producer… what changes
would you suggest?
Relationship to policy
• How has policy made a difference to the production
context, content or meaning of the product?
• Canadian film with Telefilm funding - has to meet certain
‘Canadianness’ criteria defined by the nationality of key
individuals
• Service production filmed in Canada - attracted here by
tax credits (reducing costs)
• Grant from Canada Council for the Arts Book Publishing
Industry Development Program enabling a book to be
published
• Censorship requirements?
• Think about the different kinds of government intervention
that may affect the production of the product
Good luck