Skip to content
Skip to main content

About this free course

Download this course

Share this free course

The business of film
The business of film

Start this free course now. Just create an account and sign in. Enrol and complete the course for a free statement of participation or digital badge if available.

Week 6: Film: past and future

Introduction

You have almost reached the end of this exploration of the film industry. Bharat now introduces the final week of material on this course, and begins to wrap up.

Download this video clip.Video player: Video 1 Bharat sums up the course
Copy this transcript to the clipboard
Print this transcript
Show transcript|Hide transcript
Video 1 Bharat sums up the course
Interactive feature not available in single page view (see it in standard view).

This course has examined how films are developed. You have considered where film ideas come from and how to secure the necessary rights to turn an idea – whatever the source – into a screenplay.

You've learned how the development process works as the financial package is put together, and how films are exploited in the market through the system of windows that still persists today. In Week 3 you looked at marketing strategies for film and the economics of the box office. You learned about the various sources of funding for film, from commercial industry and public sector sources. Finally, you examined the process of film production itself. You familiarised yourself with the roles and responsibilities of those involved, and the basic principles of scheduling and the production budget.

Throughout the course these learning points have been supported by explanations from the case study film, Spooks: The Greater Good. Each week, the team behind its making has shared their experience of the development, production and distribution of their film.

This week, it's time take a step back. At the end of the week, there is a chance for you to consolidate your knowledge by taking a test covering material from throughout the course. But first, you’re going to examine the importance of the completion guarantee, and from there you’ll take a look back into the production archives of the very first Bond movie, Dr. No. After that, with the help of the course contributors, you’ll be asked to think about what the future holds for the independent feature film business.