Management of The Silver Screen: Film Production

We all love to watch movies as they provide entertainment and joy. But have you ever wondered what goes on behind that silver screen that makes it possible for the audience to experience such a plethora of emotions? Let us explore the interface of film production and management with Saurav Garg.

Let’s watch a film today

The rush of happiness that comes with this single phrase, “Let’s go and watch a film today” should be enough to prove how much films have become a part of our life. It can turn any gloomy, unpleasant day into a joyful one. Be it a child or a working professional, films are a universal source of entertainment, be it of any language or genre.

But, what is that element present within this media that makes people so ecstatic? Let’s dig deeper into the world of movie management and find out!

Let’s first fathom Management

We all know that cells are the building blocks of any organism be it a human or animal or any other creature. Similarly, management is the basis of any process, be it something as trivial as sleeping to something as magnanimous as running a billion-dollar company. God may or may not be omnipresent, but management is for sure — from household to college to a multinational corporation to a government department, as it is the foundation which supports any process.

Management is the process of dealing with or controlling things or people and escalating it to a higher level. It is planning and organizing resources and activities to achieve specified goals in the most effective and efficient manner. And simply put, ‘film-making’ refers to the process of crafting an audio-visual story commercially for distribution or broadcast.

Now it’s time to comprehend how management is of paramount importance in film production.

Into the world of Film Production

If it’s a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a pretty clear idea of what was going on.

Alfred Hitchcock

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What are the stages of Film Production?

We will now understand the stages involved in film production and the way each stage exhibits the essence of management.

Planning

In this stage, creative briefing of a film is done and the script is written. This involves planning of plot, climax and genre of the film which forms the basis of any play or movie. It is nothing but management of ideas and arrangement of thoughts in a synchronized manner so as to prevent any confusion and to facilitate co-ordination at a later stage.

Pre- Production                                                                                 

In this stage of film production, arrangement of funds is done along with hiring cast and crew, deciding the budget and payroll of all the members working in a film, constructing sets and deciding different locations on which shooting of film will take place. This stage mainly includes the management of various necessary resources such as humans, finance and such others. They are arranged in a way to make sure there isn’t any over-utilization or under-utilization of any resources.

Production

It is the most crucial stage in film production. At this stage the entire film is shot or made and it is made sure that proper timeline and protocols are followed to minimize the wastage of resources. Film production stage also involves management of resources and people, and these need to be really organized well.

Post- Production

The images, sound, and visual effects of the recorded films are edited and combined into a finished product. Any graphics required or visual effects (VFX) are taken care of at this stage. Finishing touches are given to the film to make it ready-to-watch by the audience. The post-production stage of making movies also requires management of ideas, resources and people.

And lastly, Distribution

This stage is similar to promotion or marketing of product in which the completed product is marketed and distributed onto various platforms. The budget of marketing is set and is strictly adhered to, to make sure that the film reaches the target masses. This stage involves management of funds and other resources to evoke the emotions of the audience and urge people to watch the film.

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Management in Film Production

So, we analysed all the stages of film production in detail and found that each stage requires management of ideas, people, resources: be it tangible or intangible resources. Without management it won’t be possible to carry out even a single task thus making management an indispensable part of not only film making but any process carried out in day-to-day lives.

Film-making is a business and at the bottom line people who don’t make fiscally responsible decisions end up going into another line of work.

Gale Anne Hurd

Let us now analyse the key characteristics of film production and how these are closely intertwined with the field of management.

Continuous Process

According to philosophers, management is a continuous process and this is irrefutable. The film-making process itself proves it, as management starts right from the first stage of planning (deciding upon idea, concept, genre, climax, etc.) to pre-production to production to post-production and then distribution (management of funds, resources and people to distribute and promote film).

It involves Decision making

The world is brimming with new ideas and creativity. But it is also very easy for a topic to get repetitive. This is where the decision making comes into place. There can be thousands of alternatives to a single idea, so to decide upon the best possible alternative, decision has to be taken. It might be regarding the cinematography, choosing the genre or tags, castings, crew, shooting locations, distribution platform, target audience, and so many other factors that help set the silver screen on fire.

Goal- oriented

Setting a goal is important from the get-go. Similarly, in film making goals are set in mind before diving into the actual making of the film. In this way it is easier to keep certain aspects consistent and in control, such as the overall budget. The mode of distribution and estimated profit is also kept in mind. Things like, whether to release the film world-wide or domestically or regionally is also a key point of discussion. And of course, they have to see that the film isn’t only commercially successful but is also eligible for nominations for awards and accolades.

It requires coordination

Management requires coordination, not only between different departments but between human assets working in that department. On a similar note, film making also requires coordination at each and every stage. Coordination ensures that no resource is wasted and the production of the film goes as per plan.

It involves people

Management is required at all places where there is dealing with human resources. Each individual has their own thinking, intellect and has a tendency to act as per his/her discretion. However, if they do not act as a team it would be an impossible task to achieve good results. So management is an indispensable part of dealing with people.

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Making it to the finish line of the Silver Screen

Proceeding towards the finishing line, we are able to fathom properly how movies – a plethora of emotions made to entertain people – are made and management plays role like no other, making it of paramount importance.

Film-making is not an easy job but definitely one that involves a lot of fun and creative energy. A lot of popular film-makers of today started their career a lot later in life. Some of us might be wondering and yearning to get into this field, it is never too late to start. I hope this article provides a little insight into the world of films and how ideas are converted to a final product that hits the silver screen.

Film-making, whatever the window dressing or the scale of a film may be, is eventually about telling a story.

Farhan Akhtar

About The Author

Saurav Garg is a sophomore student of Bcom Hons. from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi. He possesses great academic acuity and leadership skills, and has won various case study and B-Plan competitions.

The one thing that keeps him motivated is nothing but self motivation. 

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