Working Title Films is a large production company owned by a major conglomerate that allows it to invest heavily in big-budget films. It funds productions through presales and benefits from its parent company's financing and distribution support. Warp Films is an independent company that must seek government grants and has had critical success with films focused on social realism. Both companies develop recognizable styles, with Working Title known for romantic comedies and Warp for Shane Meadows' gritty dramas.

1. Audiences and Institutions Key Terminology and Concepts

2. Production Production refers to the actual process of making a Film This covers everything from buying a Script to securing Funding to overseeing the Film’s ‘Shoot’ This is done by a Production Company such as Working Title Films or Warp Films

3. Distribution Distribution refers to the process of selling the film to Exhibitors (Cinemas) in different territories Distributors are often Major Hollywood Studios, who fund the Productions through Pre-Sales (see below) Distributors make money by taking a percentage of Ticket Sales, or ‘ Gross ’

4. Production Companies A Company such as Working Title Films or Warp Films which oversees the physical production of Films May be responsible for raising the funding for the film May be a small company (like Warp Films ), selling its product to a Film Studio for distribution May be the Film Studio itself Some films may be Co-productions , with more than one company being involved

5. Conglomerates Conglomerate A Combination of two or more companies engaging in different businesses. Often large and spanning many countries ( Multi-National ) Media Conglomerates use synergy and Cross-Promotion to allow different Media Companies to benefit each other E.g. Time Warner AOL owns Internet, Film, Music and Publishing Companies which provide each other with Content and Advertising. This is called Horizontal Integration .

6. CASE STUDIES VIVENDI is a French Telecommunications Conglomerate owning companies in many Countries and in several industries. Some of these are listed below. Film Universal Studios, Working Title Films, Canal+ Music Universal Music Group, Polydor TV Telemundo (world’s largest Spanish-language broadcaster) Video Games Activision

7. CASE STUDIES Working Title Films is owned by a large multi-national Conglomerate. This is likely to allow to them to invest more heavily in big-budget and Prestigious films like Atonement (2007) This will also allow to feature more prominently in the International Market, as they will have specific Institutional Funding and support in other, none-UK territories Working Title Films also operates as a Distributor, for example they were the European for many of the films of the Coen Brothers, for example Fargo (1996)

8. CASE STUDIES WT2 Films, although ‘independent’ in appearance and content, is nevertheless also a part of the Vivendi Universal Corporation and receives the financial benefits of this just as Working Title does

9. CASE STUDIES Warp Films is an independent company, and as such must approach each film’s funding from a much weaker position They have progressed as a company somewhat due to the increased prominence of Shane Meadows, the director of Warp Productions Dead Man’s Shoes and This is England .

10. Financing Pre-Sales – Selling the rights to distribute a film before it is made. Often dependent on certain key features, like a well-known Actor. Government Grants – Offering money to Independent Productions shooting in the UK: refer to the National Lottery or the UK Film Council Tax Schemes/Shelters – Tax Benefits offered to either Producers or Investors in UK Film

11. CASE STUDIES Working Title Films is likely to receive the majority of its funding through pre-sales Though initially an independent company, it now has financing and distribution deals with a major US studio ( Universal ) It will also benefit greatly through horizontal integration , as it part of the same company as it’s distributor Working Title Films are also more ‘saleable’ as they tend to feature ‘Commercial’ elements such as well-known Actors, and are primarily in Mainstream Genres such as Romantic Comedy Examples: Bridget Jones Diary

12. CASE STUDIES Warp Films would be more likely to use Government Grants, such as from the UK Film Council or National Lottery This is because they are not able to offer the ‘security’ of marquee names Their films are mostly in the Genre of ‘Social Realism’, which, though not as popular with audiences, is more critically respected

13. Revenue/Profit Gross A percentage of the ticket sales, paid to the Distributor Ancillary Sales ‘Sale’ of the film not directly tied to the Cinema release, eg. DVD or TV Sales (also sometimes pre-sold) Merchandising The sale of items related to the film. Often done through a Parent Company – this is an example of Horizontal Integration and Synergy Product Placement Selling ‘advertising’ of a product by placing it prominently in the film. Eg. Omega Watches in Casino Royale (2006)

14. CASE STUDIES Working Title Films has had several major international successes, such as Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001), which grossed $254m Worldwide, and Love Actually (2003), $239m Worldwide Working Title Films are also likely to utilise large-scale marketing campaigns, such as the blanket-like coverage given to The Boat That Rocked (2009), which was aggressively sold through comprehensive Print, TV and Internet ads Working Title would expect turn a profit upon initial release due to the prominence of their films and the reliability of their ‘brand’

15. CASE STUDIES Warp Films has had primarily Critical success, although it’s two most prominent releases, Dead Man’s Shoes and This is England both made a significant profit It should be noted that these successes are largely due to positive reviews and word of mouth rather than Direct Advertising It should also be noted that Warp benefited considerably from the News reporting on the release of This is England, which drew attention because of it’s controversial subject matter The majority of Warp Films profit would be from Ancillary Sales such as TV and DVD

16. Institutional Ideology Through the Media they produce, Film Studios and Production Companies can be said to have a specific Ideology Most obvious, Disney promotes ‘family values’ and traditional (Christian) morality through films like High School Musical (2005)

17. CASE STUDIES Working Title Films demonstrates a more liberal ideology through its portrayal of sensitive, liberal Upper-Class characters and approach to issues like homosexuality and pre-Marital sex, but largely ignores any serious Socio-Economic issues like Class or Poverty Examples – Love Actually (2003) addresses an inter-Class relationship, but in a comedic way. The film also features a comedic sub-plot about a young man’s search for sexual conquests in America.

18. CASE STUDIES Warp Films demonstrates a more Left-Wing ideology through its portrayal of Economically deprived areas and the struggles of the Working Classes. Their films have also seriously addressed issues such as Racism, in This is England (2007) Dead Man’s Shoes (2004) also addresses issues of Disability and the Morality of revenge

19. Audience Targeting The process of deliberately appealing to a specific social group, or ‘demographic’ This can be done through the inclusion of specific elements, or the utilisation of certain Genres Also, the use of specific marketing techniques and marketing in specific locations can affect the audience appeal of a film

20. CASE STUDIES Working Title Films address a large audience base; this is evident in the scale of their successes and nature of their films Eg. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), $224m worldwide Their ability to target a wide audience is also now enhanced by their being tied to a large multi-national Conglomerate Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner has specifically said that their philosophy is to produce films ‘that play in the multiplex’

21. CASE STUDIES WT2 Films has a different audience base to Working Title – without the brand identity of it’s parent company it must market films on their own merits This does, however, allow them a greater chance to reach different markets, ones that may be off-put by a film advertised as ‘from the makers of Notting Hill ’

22. CASE STUDIES Warp Films have stated that they make films for ‘a wide audience’ Nevertheless, they also specify that they make ‘challenging’ and ‘original’ films, and many of the elements within their films exclude them from mainstream audience appeal As mentioned earlier, marketing for these films will be limited due to the small scale of production; they will rely primarily on word-of-mouth and positive reviews, although low-cost methods such as the use of the Internet would be appropriate and would reach the ‘film-literate’ audience that Warp Films appeals to

23. House Style/Branding The creation of a recognisable ‘style’ that will be similar from film to film, independent of Director or Star, or even Genre Branding The transition of the company name to a recognisable ‘brand’ with specific audience expectations, whereby the target audience is appealed to because they ‘know what to expect’ from a film by the company

24. CASE STUDIES Working Title Films have now developed a recognisable house style, building on their successes in the Romantic Comedy Genre This is at least partly dependent on Richard Curtis , the writer-director behind many of their most successful films. Curtis himself is now something of a ‘brand’, with a high level of audience recognition

25. CASE STUDIES WT2 Films is an offshoot of Working Title, specifically dealing in the ‘low-budget’ productions with which the company became successful WT2 operates without the ‘brand’ identity of Working Title, allowing them to credibly explore (and find success) in different Genres Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Ali G Indahouse, Billy Elliot

26. CASE STUDIES Warp Films is not as recognisable as a name as Working Title, and as such does not ‘use’ it’s name as part of it’s marketing However, as the primary producer for an increasingly well-known director, the ‘house-style’ of Warp could be said to be analogous (the same) to Shane Meadows style of harsh Social Realism

27. Working Title Films Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (Working Title Co-Chairmen) have said for a long part of their history ‘90% of the time [was] spent trying to secure financing’ Working Title Films funds their films primarily through Pre-Sales , which is made much easier as they are part of the same Conglomerate as their distributor, Universal Pictures

28. Working Title Films Working Title Films are also able to secure Pre-Sales because their films contain many ‘Commercially Sound’ elements: Popular, Mainstream Genres (Rom-Com) Big-Name Stars (Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts) Brand-Name Recognition They are also increasingly known as ‘Prestige’ Filmmakers, with films such as Atonement (2007)

29. Warp Films An Independent Film Production Company which aims to create fresh and innovative feature length and short films to be viewed by a wide audience. Our current priorities are nurturing and developing existing talent, as well as discovering exciting new filmmakers.

30. Warp Films Major Releases: My Wrongs #8245-8249 & 117 (2003) Dead Man’s Shoes (2004) Rubber Johnny (2005) This is England (2006) Scummy Man (Music Video - 2006)