A.

1 - The financing of Major, Mini Major and Small Scale Films

Major film - Fast and Furious 7:

The fast and the furious is a series of films that are very strongly based on cars
and the crimes that can be committed with them. There is a series of events
within each of the films, which results in the main characters of the films getting
in trouble with the police. However, in the most recently released films there has
been a large amount of the crew being involved with the police and them helping
each other as a result of this.

Storyline:
Dom and his crew begin to face the past again. Owen Shaw’s brother Deckard
Shaw comes back for revenge of the death of his brother. The team are trying to
defeat Deckard Shaw for the duration of the film and they use a computer
terrorism program called ‘God’s Eye which allows people to see anyone’s
location at anytime which is key for Dom and his crew as they are always trying
to find out the location of Deckard Shaw.

Budget:
This film was given a large estimated budget of $190,000,000, which would have
covered the costs of payments for the crew and cast, all of the equipment that
they would have needed to buy and also the vehicles that they would go through
within the making of the film. The budget also covered the cost of the crew and
cast travelling to the countries of USA, China, Japan, Canada and United Arab
Emirates. The effect of filming in different countries means that the movie will
likely gain a larger audience as it will interest more audience members as they
may live in the area that has been used to record part of the film. The first
weekend of this film being released to the public, the producers received
$147,187,040 on the 5th of April with the wide release of the film, after 2 days of
the film being release on the 3rd April 2015. This therefore showed that the film
did not make profits straight away, however after the film had been out for a
while it made $1,516,045,911 making a profit of $1,326,045,911. A large budget
was needed for this action film because the recording of the film took place in
multiple locations as it develops a narrative and engages the audience. Also
because there was lots of editing that had to be done to the film because of the
explosions that happened within the film and the damage that would’ve been
sustained to the props due to many stunts and effects used in the film. Planning
and preparing. A large crew was needed for this film because there was a very
large amount of editing that had to take place to ensure that the film was at the
best it could be. Another reason for a large crew was also to ensure that the
budget of the film was spent sensibly and allowed the business to fully complete
the filming. A large cast was needed for the film because there were many
different roles within it, meaning that they needed a large cast to be able to
record all of the different scenes within the film. The large cast has different
specialisms in the film for example, drivers or technology with this so that they
can make a team to pull off big crimes; this made the film more successful as it
was exciting for the audience.
Universal paid for the productions of the film, they would’ve financed this
because it is such a large series of films that have already had a huge amount of
success. Universal would want to finance this film because they would’ve already
known that it would be a big success because of the pre sold audience that he
films already have. This would have lead to success, as there would be a large
audience waiting for the film to be released already.

Equipment used:
The producers of this film would have spent the most amount of money on the
cars that they needed for the scenes of the film. This is possibly one of the
reasons that the budget is so large. Some of the stunts that are performed within
the film result in vehicles becoming destroyed meaning that the producers would
have to ensure that they have enough vehicles for if they get the filing wrong and
have to take the shot multiple times. One of these stunts included a car falling off
of a cliff, which would mean that a vehicle would likely be destroyed. The cars
that were used in the film are examples of the props that are used which would
affect the budget that the film has. These cars that were used within the film
were all high-end cars meaning that they were very expensive vehicles to buy
and use within the film, however the producers were able to save a huge amount
of money as they could use bodies from different cars and make them look the
same as the high-end cars that we see within the film. The stunts that were
performed within the film were assisted by the use of CGI which made the
crashes that were taking place within the film seem real, therefore interesting
the audience and making them feel more involved with the film because of the
realness of it. This led to further success of the movie because it enabled them to
gain a larger audience as the action within the film looked very realistic and
therefore interested the audience members. There were 16 special effects
companies used to make this film such as Weta Digital which have worked on
films such as Iron Man 3 and King Kong before this film. Special effects were
need for the success as it is an action film and the audience members want to see
something significant in these genres of films and it is one of the most cost
effective ways of filming a scene of destruction. A large crew was needed for this
film, as it’s the 7th film so it had to be good if not better than the other films and
to get profit and keep the audience interest. A small list of the cameras that were
used within the filming of Furious 7 includes Arri Alexa XT M ($6,450,00),
Panavision Primo ($4000 to rent per day), PCZ, Zeiss Master Prime ($20,000),
Ultra Prime ($12,000), Fujinon Alura ($20,000), Premier and Angenieux Optimo
Lenses ($12,000). These cameras helped with the success of the business, as they
were able to get the most detail of the action that takes place within the film. The
average cost of an Arri Alexa XT M camera is roughly £8000, which would’ve
affected the budget, as they would’ve likely had to buy either, more than one or
hire one for the duration of the filming. This is because the producers of the film
would ensure that they would still be able to record footage for the film even if
the camera was damaged or broken the Alexa is light weight with excellent focus
and dynamic range which would’ve been easy to film inside of cars and for the
chase scenes. This would affect the budget of the film, as the crew would want to
have more than one camera to ensure that they can continue recording for the
film in case a camera was to break. The producers of the film would also have to
pay for the transportation of the whole of the cast, who would expect top quality
accommodation and flights etc. This is because the cast have been loyal to the
films that have been made and would therefore expect to be treated well. The
main cast members that this would affect would be Paul Walker and Vin diesel.
The crew of the film would also have to be paid for when travelling as well as the
equipment that is used for the filming. This would include flights to different
countries and also road travel to and from the destinations in the countries that
they will be filming in. By filming in multiple locations, the film will gain
attention and therefore increase the amount of audience members that they have
as this would result in people being excited to see their own country or town in a
film. Each of these cameras is perfect for different reasons. For example, the Arri
Alexa XT M has a very well detailed and clear image quality, which enables the
audience members to clearly focus on important parts and details of the film.
This particular camera has a single speed meaning that memory will not be used
up too quickly on the SD card being used meaning more filming can be done on
one card. On the other hand there is the use of a Fujinon Alura which is an
essential lens for the zooming within the film as it keeps a great quality whilst
zooming into a character or object in the film. This is a particularly important
piece of equipment for this particular film due to the high amount of action that
is involved within the film. The producers of the film would also have to pay for
the transportation of the cast and crew of the film as well as the equipment that
is used for the filming. The transportations company was ‘transportations
resources’ and this would’ve had a large impact on the budget as the
crewmembers had to travel around to quite a large amount of different countries
to film. This would include flights to different countries and also road travel to
and from the destinations in the countries that they will be filming in.

Casting:
The cast member Paul Walker played a huge role in the fast and furious films but
sadly died while the new film was being made meaning that the producers had to
use a hologram mixed with Paul Walkers brother to ensure that the film could
still be completed. This therefore ended up costing more for the producers, as
they had to introduce new equipment into the filming and also complete more
editing on making it look like Paul Walker was still in the film. Within the film
there were 13 main members of the crew who had the main parts. Some of the
cast members were, Vin Diesel who played the large character of Dominic
Toretto, Paul Walker as Brian O’Connor, Michelle Rodriquez as Letty and Jordana
Brewster as Mia. These were and have been the 4 main characters throughout
the whole of the fast and furious films meaning that they have shown dedication
to the movies and that they enjoy filming them. This would therefore create a
positive relationship between the cast and the producers of the film. It is
important that we have the same actors to play the same characters because it
avoids confusing the audience and therefore means that they would continue
being interested in the film because of who the actors are and the unique
characteristics that they have when acting. Having Vin Diesel within the film
would’ve brought down the budget, as he would’ve wanted a specific payment
from the being in the film. Because he is one of the biggest main characters, he
can get away with charging large amount because they need him to be in the film
because of the role that he plays. Other films that Vin Diesel has been involved in
include, Guardians of the Galaxy, xXx, and all previous Fast and Furious films. Vin
Diesel would’ve added to the success of the film because he has a large following
and many fans meaning that they will want to watch the films that he is in,
therefore increasing the size of the audience due to the success of these films and
the fan base that Vin Diesel has which would meant he would bring a larger
audience size to the film. The casting is an essential part of this film due to the
same characters being used in the previous films which therefore begins to
develop a pre-sold audience as the audience members are familiar with the
characters and therefore understand their previous lives.

The director of Fast and Furious 7 is James Wan, a Malaysian-born Australian

film director, screenwriter and producer. He is mainly known for directing the
horror films Saw and insidious. This would’ve added to the success of the film
because there would be many fans of James Wan who would therefore want to
watch the new Fast and Furious that has been directed by him to see the
different kinds of directing and producing that he can do and the skill that he has.

Locations:
This fast and furious film was filmed in many different countries. Within each
film, the characters are seen to travel to different parts of the world and will
likely continue doing so. The main and most key location that this film was
recorded in is Abu Dhabi, which takes up the most filming time of the movie. The
main climax of the film takes place in this country and it therefore has a huge
part within it. Filming in this country would have affected the budget and taken a
large chunk of money off of it. This is because the money would have to pay for
the crew and the cast to get to and from the location of filming, as well as
covering the costs of places to stay for them. This is also the case with the other
countries of filming which include Canada, USA, Azerbaijan and Dominican
Republic. Although these countries did not have a part in the film as big as Abu
Dhabi, it would’ve still highly affected the budget that the film had because of the
flights and accommodation that would’ve been needed for the crew and the cast
of the film. By filming in different countries, the film is benefitted because it is
more relatable to the audience members as they know the areas of filming. It also
helps make the storyline because there are different cultures in different
countries which allows the producers to create a storyline based on the location
of filming, therefore increasing the overall audience size because they can relate
to it.

However it is particularly important that this part of the film is filmed in Abu
Dhabi because there is a large amount of scenes within it, which are meant to
show the location of the characters to show their wealth and success from the
other previous movies. Dubai was perfect to film here, as it is well known for
being a wealthy place and having car shows. This has therefore added to the
success of the film because has enabled the crew to use 360-degree angles that
show the audience the characters location to further explain the reasoning
behind coming to the country.

I think Fast and Furious has been a successful movie because it is different to
other conventional action films due to the main focus being on cars which
interests a large amount of individuals either because of their interest in car’s or
their curiosity of the focus being on cars more than an overall mission or aim in
the film(s). The budget of this particular Fast and Furious film is quite a lot more
than the other films produced and I believe that this is because of the success of
the previous films, which had a huge impact on the audience members by
increasing it massively. Because of the large increase in the audience I feel like
the producers have thought that they need to produce something better every
time they release a new film therefore showing the reasons for a larger budget.
By having this budget, the producers are able to spend more money on cars and
equipment therefore allowing them to make a better film overall. This is
therefore the reason that the newer films consist of high-end cars, because the
films are trying to make the audience excited from seeing the cars as a teenage
boy would in person.

Major Mini – Hot Fuzz:

Hot Fuzz is about a very experienced policeman who moves from the city of
London to a small town called Sandford. The town is seen to be ‘perfect’ with no
problems within it. This is what the audience are told at first but they then later
understand that there is a reason that the town is made to seem ‘perfect’.

Storyline:
A top London cop was moved to a small, quiet town called Sandford who gets
paired with Danny Butterman who endlessly questions him about the action
within his lifestyle. Within the film there are many murders that happen which
are known to the town as ‘accidents’ but Nicholas Angel will not except it and
works hard to find out the real cause of these ‘accidents’ that happen within the
town. The two policemen clash with everyone while trying to find out who the
killer/killers is/are.

Budget:
This mini major film was given a budget of an estimated £8,000,000, which
would’ve covered the cost of paying for the crew and the cast of the film, as well
as the props that are used within the film. These props would include the
weapons that they have in the film, as there is a scene where there are a large
number of guns in a singular room. Within the first weekend of this film being
release, they received £5,918,149 therefore not making a profit at first, but
shortly after the release the film began to make profits until eventually reaching
£80,573,774 making a huge amount of profit.

Cameras used:
Arricam LT = £1,600
Arricam ST = £5,500
These two cameras are very similar to each other however; one is used for more
high definition camera work compared to the other therefore explaining the
difference in the price between them. The Arricam ST is a full-capability camera
meaning that it has greater flexibility in terms of what it can do compared to
other cameras. The Arricam ST has two camera mounting configurations
whereas the Arricam LT is optimised due to it being used for smaller and
lightweight usage.
Arriflex 235 = £3,750
Arriflex 435 = £5,500
These two cameras again are very similar but also useful for different types of
filming. The Arriflex 235 is much smaller and lighter than the Arriflex 435; it is
also cheaper than it. However, just because this camera is cheaper, it does not
mean that it isn’t as good, in fact, by having a smaller and lighter camera, it
allows the user to work much quicker, use less rigging and also utilize any
support equipment. On the other hand, the Arriflex 435 is a heavy and more
expensive camera that was known to be the most commonly used in the film
industry for a very long time and still offers a range of camera effects compared
to other modern cameras.

Equipment:
There was a huge amount of equipment that was needed for the recording of this
film, which resulted in the entire budget being used. One of the small reasons of
this is because of the props that were needed for the film, which would’ve
involved the clothes needed for each character, the weapons that were in the
film, the vehicles that were used. The props that were used within this film were
bought, which then makes the audience understand that the producers of the
film are positive that the film is going to succeed, which will then interest the
audience members into watching the film. With all of the cameras that were used
in the making of this film added up to £60,478 spent on the equipment that was
used which is not a huge amount compared to the budget that was given to film.
However, the use of these cameras ensured that the film was at the best it could
be and therefore made the film better overall compared to using normal/average
cameras.

Casting:
Within the film, there were two main characters that had key parts of the film.
The two main characters are also very good friends in real life and have
previously been in the same films together, therefore meaning that they have
bonded a strong relationship meaning that they know each other well and
understand how they both work. These two cast members are, Simon Pegg and
Nick Frost. Simon Pegg is an English actor, writer and comedian who was born
February 14, 1970 in Brockworth and went to a comprehensive secondary
school within the town he grew up in. Nick Frost is an English actor, screenwriter
and comedian who is known for the films that he has previously been in
including, ‘The Three Flavours Cornetto’ trilogy, ‘Shaun of the Dead’, ‘Hot Fuzz’,
‘The Worlds End’ and ‘Paul’. He was born March 28th 1972 in Hornchurch. The
casting of this film guaranteed the success of it due to the pre-built audience of
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost which encouraged people to watch it because of the
previous work that the pair had done in other films.

The director of Hot Fuzz is Edgar Wright, an English filmmaker born 18 th April
1974 in Dorset. Edgar Wright has director many famous films in the past
including Shaun Of The Dead, The Worlds End, The Adventures Of Tintin, Ant-
Man and many more. This would’ve had a huge impact on the audience size
because of the large fan base he has built up from his previous films and
therefore added to the overall success of the film because of the people that
would want to see the different films that he is essentially in control of.

Locations:
The location of where the filming took place for this film was in one area called
Somerset in England, specifically Sandford, because this film was recorded in one
specific area, it did not cost much for the film makers as they did not have to
keep paying for flights to and from other countries therefore meaning that they
did not have to take much money out of their budget that they had. There was a
pub called ‘The Crown Pub’ which was included in the film quite a lot which
would’ve meant that the producers would’ve likely had to pay to rent out the pub
for the filming that took place within it. Because the location of the film is set in
England it will mean that the film is primarily targeted at people living in
England as they will likely be able to relate to the police officers and the way that
they work within the small town.

Hot Fuzz was a successful film because of the actors that played the characters
roles who have been in a huge amount of other films together making them a
great duet. In addition to this the success of the film may also be from the idea of
knowing what its like to be a policeman and the challengers that they come
across. This film is also a mixture of a comedy and an action, which is an
interesting mix of genres, which may also have an effect on the film.

Small Scale – The Inbetweeners movie

Storyline:
The Inbetweeners is a film about 4 teenage boys who have just finished school
and are going on their first ‘lads’ holiday. They get up to ‘typical boy stuff’ and
find themselves getting into trouble with a young group of ladies who have also
just finished school and are away on ‘a girl’s holiday’. The boys are not the most
popular in school and only have each other as their best friends, because they’re
not quite cool enough to hang out with the cool kids that they aspire to be, they
try finding their own way to the top of the ‘cool list’, which doesn’t go
particularly well. They decide to go to Malia on the isle of Crete, a popular
summer tourist destination for parties.

Budget:
The budget for the film was £3,500,000, which is a very small amount for the
work that had to go into the recording of this film. However, within the first
weekend of the movie being out, it had already made a profit of £9,700,000,
which is a huge profit for a small-scale film. The cumulative Worldwide Gross
profit for the Inbetweeners film was £88,025,781 meaning that the film overall
made a profit of £84,525,781. The budget for this film would’ve had to pay for all
of the camera equipment that would’ve been used and also the props that were
used within the film, one of the main props being a small sized yacht. The budget
would’ve also had to cover the cost of the cast and crewmembers travelling to
Malia in Greece and also the cost of accommodation for them. This would’ve
taken a huge amount of money from the budget but would mean that everything
that is essential would’ve been paid for.
Equipment:
The camera equipment used within the filming of this movie includes, an Arri
Alexa camera, Cooke 54 and an Angeniux optimo lenses. The total cost of using
this equipment came to £30,700 which is not a huge amount from the budget on
its own, and has the benefit of making the film an amazing quality film with great
detail and steady recoding’s. The use of this equipment also means that the
audience will be more likely to watch the film because they will be aware of the
amount that was spent on making the film, therefore meaning that the producers
would have confidence in the film and believe that it will make profits easily. The
use of the Arri Alexa LF camera is an extremely high tech piece of equipment that
exceeds the current modern 4k production requirements. The camera allows the
filmmakers to have a larger format of aesthetics while still keeping the natural
effect that audience members want to see. This particular camera is also able to
shoot 150 frames per second meaning that memory can be saved on the SD card
therefore making space for more content. This therefore means that when the
film is being recorded, the cast will have an extended amount of chances when
recording to ensure that they get it right. This has benefitted the film because the
filmmakers are able to ensure that they get the scenes perfect to be the most
entertaining and interesting throughout the duration of the film.

Casting:
There are four main characters within The Inbetweeners and they are the main
characters in all of the filming’s of the films and also the series that has
previously been recorded. The actors are Simon Bird (Will McKenzie) born on
August 19th, 1984 in Guildford, Surrey, England, James Buckley (Jay Cartwright)
born on August 14th 1987 in Croydon, England, Blake Harrison (Neil Sutherland)
born on July 22nd, 1985 in Peckham, London, England and also attended the Brit
school for 4 years, Joe Thomas (Simon Cooper) born on October 28 th, 1983 in
Chelmsford, Essex, England. All of these actors have developed a strong
friendship over the years of knowing each other through the filming of the series
of ‘The Inbetweeners’ and also the films that have been made more recently. This
massively helps when they are filming as they are able to understand each other
and it also means that they know how each other work and when they can have a
laugh etc. It also helps with the films success, as the film is relatable to the series,
which has the same characters in it, again developing a pre-sold audience and
increasing the chances of success of the film.

Location:
The main location of this film is in Greece, specifically Malia however this is not
where the film was actually recorded. The film was actually recoded in Mallorca
in Spain which therefore meant that the producers did not spend as much of the
budget that they could’ve therefore meaning that they managed to save money
by filming in a different place because it meant that they did not have to spend as
much on the flights for the crew and the cast of the film. However, by filming in
these different countries and areas, the film will have a larger fan base because
more people will be interested in watching the film if its filmed in the area that
they live in. It will also interest people who may want to go to the county so that
they can see what it is like, although in most films how we see specific countries
and cultures isn’t always accurate and is quite often dramatized for comedy. By
filming in this specific location the film benefitted as it is typically a ‘party island’
that meant that audience members could relate, understand or learn about the
area. This therefore interested the different audience members and allowed
them to understand how the characters felt about being in the country for the
first time on their own without any parents to ‘look after’ them. This specific
country has a large amount of teenagers on it during the summertime, which is
clearly shown through the film and the different scenes within it. This means that
the audience are able to see how busy the island can get.

I think that The Inbetweeners has been a very successful film because of how
many people are able to relate to the film, which interests the majority of people
especially teenage boys because the film and the characters are relatable
meaning people understand the events that happen throughout the film. People
are also interested in what teenage boys ‘typically’ get up to when their out with
their mates which adds the aspect of comedy into the film. I also think that The
Inbetweener’s film has been positively impacted from The Inbetweener’s series,
which enabled the film to develop a pre-sold audience, which automatically
added to the success of the film before it was even launched.