Media Conglomerates

Massive multinational media companies who own: Film Studios TV Stations Record Labels Magazines Newspapers Books Internet platforms Independents Some producers work outside of the major studies. Often British productions are made by smaller outfits like Warp Films, working with Film 4 or the BBC to try to secure extra funding and help with distribution. Often films made this way struggle to get more than £1 or £2 million budgets and consider a success to break even, with DVD after-sales included. US independent film maker Orin Peli made ‘Paranormal Activity’ for just $15,000. But he needed Paramount, a US major studio to distribute his film who spent a fortune on marketing and distribution. In doing so he made over $190 milllion. This shows there are exceptions to the rule that big budget films always do best... Synergy & Cross Media Convergence An example of this: Vivendi Universal make a film in Universal Studios. It releases the film’s soundtrack on Polygram, one of its record labels. The tracks can be bought online at MP3.com, one of its internet companies. The film can be downloaded on Vivendi Telecom phones. The film is then shown in its Odeon cinema chain. See the benefits for Film4 in work with them? Owning all of these assets makes it cheaper for the producer to make, distribute, market and exhibit the film, thus maximising profit, enabling the studio to keep making big budget films. A win-win scenario for Hollywood Studios... but is it always for small production companies