The Big Six, comprising of Sony, Time Warner, The Walt Disney Company, Comcast, General Electric, News Corporation and Viacom control 84% of the domestic film market. Some big Hollywood names like Bill Johnson, Charlie Kaufman and David Fincher have used crowd funding to raise money for their films, recognising that it's not only about gaining financially, it's about the small-time investors being people who are going to watch the films. Crowd funding may affect the big six by opening up new opportunities for smaller institutions. This will allow collaborations with larger studios and production companies meaning that these new improved collaborated companies may establish success in the consumer market, reducing the percentage of control within the market of the Big Six.
Film financing creates low budgets for films along with the affordability of technology. Although, low budget costs mean that the saturation of quality of the film is saturated and therefore reduces the overall quality of the film as an art form. Though, film financing may allow creativity to flourish due to smaller independent companies having the opportunity to release their films to a wider audience, allowing them to be dominant and recognisable in the film industry.
For example, the Bond franchise is notable for its lucrative product placements
deals (a form of audiovisual commercial communication including a reference to
a certain product), bringing in millions of dollars. Lexus, Bulgari and American Express reportedly
paid a combined $20 million for product placement.
How can a crowd funded film appeal to global and local audiences?
A crowd funded film can appeal to global and local audiences by making the opening credits the crowd. This involves the audience, by funding, allowing your face to be pictured upon a square to the opening credits of a film. This does not limit any person, appearing within any country and any nation. In addition, anyone around the world can feel free to join in. It also provides a blog of the production process in a journal form so that the audience can track how their donation is being spent and how the filming is going.
An example of a crowd funded film:
From the Indiegogo website, an example of a crowd funded film is 'Joan'. This film had a donation target of $500 although, this film has exceeded this target by 201% hitting a donation sum of $1,005.
A break down of the budget is as followed:
- Props and decorations
- Rented gallery space
- Food/transportation for the cast
- Equipment rental
The audience is kept encouraged to donate by offering gifts to contributors. The more you donate, the better the gift, inspiring the audience to contribute a larger sum.
Perks include:
- $25 - DVD package (a DVD with a signed letter from the director)
- $50 - Poster/DVD (a DVD with a signed letter from the director, as well as a small poster for the film, signed)
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