The British Film Industry
G322: Institutions and audiences
Lesson objectives
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Describe the different categories of
British films
Consider the costs of production and
how this is funded
Note the changes in funding of the
industry over time
Then and Now
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Hollywood has always been ruthlessly
efficient at producing, distributing and
exhibiting films. In 2003, cinemas in
Britain recorded their biggest January
audiences for 32 years, with a total of
16.3 million movie visits – 8% more
than January 2002.
What do you think created this result?
$313,364,114
$116,750,901
British Film
Institution (BFI)
The BFI (British Film Institute) promotes understanding and
appreciation of film and television heritage and culture.
Established in 1933, the BFI runs a range of activities and
services such as the IMAX in London, tours and festivals.
According to the BFI what constitutes a British Film?
The classifications take into account the cultural dimension of
the film (how it represents British Life and Society) as well as
how the film was financed.
There are 5 categories (all feature films are longer than 72
mins)
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Category A
The cultural and financial input has been generated from the UK and the
majority of the cast and crew are British.
Category B
Co-productions where the majority of the finance and personnel are British
and there is a strong British cultural content.
Category C
Co-productions where the majority of financial input and cultural content is
non-UK, but not from the USA.
Category D
American financed (or partly financed) films mainly shot in the UK. Titles
mainly have UK cultural content.
Category E
Mainly American Films with some UK financial involvement and, in some cases
a small number of British Cast or crew but may have little or no UK cultural
content in terms of setting or story.
Task
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Which category do you think the following
films fit into. Use the internet and your
research to help you:
‘Dirty Pretty Things’
‘The World is Not Enough’
‘Billy Elliot’
‘The Full Monty’
‘Cold Mountain’
‘Sense and Sensibility’
UK Film Council
The UK Film Council
has built on the work
of the BFI in
categorising UK film
production. It
suggests the following
three categories for
‘British films’ in 2003:
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Domestic: film shot in the UK with a majority financial stake and mainly
British Cultural content
Inward: film shot in UK but financed from outside UK – usually America
What does this tell us?
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It is evident from the figures above that ‘domestic features’
and ‘UK co-productions’ have average budgets far lower than
the Hollywood films that shoot in the UK. (44 films for a total
of £270 million gives an average of around £6 million – in
practice, a small number of bigger budget films means that
the majority of domestic features have budgets of £3 million
or less). In itself, a low budget is not necessarily a ‘bad thing’.
Some of the films made with budgets around £2-5 million
have been highly praised and have had successful
international distribution. E.g ‘The Full Monty’ But this is most
likely to happen only if they are picked up by a Hollywood
distributor.
How much does a film
cost?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_mRqoleUVA
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Watch the above clip and estimate how much it cost to produce.
• Stars – a major Hollywood star adds several million pounds to the budget, but
also attracts the audience. Angelina Jolie, Brendan Fraser, Nicolas Cage and
Gwyneth Paltrow all worked on Hollywood films in the UK in 2000.
• Script development funding. Hollywood spends as much on getting the
script right as British films spend on the whole production.
• Shooting time and the possibility for reshoots.
• Elaborate camera work (cranes, helicopter shots etc.) stunt work.
• Digital effects
• Music rights to popular songs
So, the choices for British
producers are:
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Hollywood gloss shows on screen, Britain can’t compete with the budgets.
Any UK producer aiming for a large budget from UK sources alone is unlikely
to be able to raise much more than £5 million. To compete with Hollywood
probably means gaining access to American money and partnership with a
Hollywood studio.
Make low budget films targeted at mainstream British audiences, hoping that
it will attract overseas audiences. A low budget film could cover costs by
careful sale of rights in the UK and Europe. Anything earned in the US is then
a bonus. Shallow Grave for example
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Make low budget films for a niche ‘arthouse audience’ in the UK and abroad.
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Look for partners in Europe and/or America and aim more clearly for an
‘international audience’. ‘Notting Hill’ for example.