1. G322 Audiences and Institutions Glossary
Advance Screenings - Screenings of the film shown before the official release. In
the early stages an advance screening may be used to get audience feedback and
may lead to re-editing etc. Later on, an advance screening is used to build up some
word of mouth, anticipation etc
Arthouse- Adjective used to describe alternative, non-mainstream, „quality‟ films
(often foreign-language films). These films would often play in „arthouse‟
(independently-owned) cinemas.
The Big Six – The six companies that form the Hollywood system. These are 20th
Century Fox, Universal Studios, Disney, Columbia, Paramount and Warner Bros.
Blockbuster - A film that secures huge publicity and (more likely than not) huge box
office sales
Convergence - The „coming together‟ of previously separate technologies to form a
new combined or „hybrid‟ form (ie think of all the different technologies that have
„converged‟ on the mobile phone)
Distribution - The business of bringing a film to the attention of the audiences
(marketing & publicity) and organising the distribution of film prints to the exhibitors
Exhibition - The business of showing films in cinemas
Festivals - Opportunities for films to be shown before general release to build
anticipation and, in many cases, to secure distribution deals etc.
Green light - Giving a film the go-ahead. A project is „green-lit‟ when it has been
given the go ahead
Hollywood – A “Hollywood” film can be described as one made by any of the big six
American studios.
Horizontal Integration - Complementary businesses. In relation to film this means
one large company owning several other companies in different media (E.g. owning
a film production company and a magazine)
Independent film – A film that is made outside the Hollywood system
Market (or audience) research – used to measure audience attitudes and
responses to trailers & promotion etc.
Merchandising - Non-filmic goods which are released under the film's theme, such
as toys, T-shirts and posters
Multinational corporations or Conglomerates - As a result of mergers and
takeovers media companies are increasingly coming together in conglomerates of
media interests. A single multinational could have subsidiary companies:

2. making, financing and distributing films;
reviewing films in newspapers, or on TV/radio stations;
publishing films scripts and distributing film soundtracks
screening films via cinema chains or satellite TV
Multiplexes - Multi-screen cinemas located on the edge of large cities or
conurbations with easy road access.
Oligopoly -The control of a market for a particular product by a small group of
companies in which no one company is dominant. They may well, however, work
together in a group to keep other companies out of the market. The Hollywood Big
Six can be seen as an oligopoly.
Opening weekend-The first weekend of a film‟s release. The film‟s performance in
this first weekend will go a long way to determining whether it is a success.
Package -When producers are trying to secure investment they will present a
„package‟ which will include a script, possible stars, possible key crew (director etc).
The more detailed and developed this is, the better chance the film has of securing
investment.
Planning/development – There are significant periods of development before and
after a film has been „green-lit‟.
Post-production - The main task is editing (the selection and shaping of shots, the
arrangements of shots, scenes and sequences and special effects, the mixing of all
sound tracks and the matching of the sound track to the images. Post production
involves the hiring of editors, dubbing engineers, special effects engineers and
graphic artists (to work on the titles and credits
Pre-production - All the stages of planning, development and financial management
before filming actually starts.
Press kits – Sent to journalists all over the country to give them information about
forthcoming films.
Prints -The reels of films (Or nowadays, digital hard-drives) delivered to cinemas
that are projected on to screens
Production - The actual shooting of a film
Release patterns - films have different release patterns. A film might be given a
general release right across the country or it might have a select release to a few
cinemas in a few cities where the audience is felt to be right for this particular film. A
saturation release would indicate that the effort has been to put the film out

3. immediately to as many cinemas as possible. Another option would be an art-house
release.
Rights - a producer will buy the „rights‟ in a book which s/he intends to adapt.(see
„option‟ above). „Rights‟ also refers to the „rights‟ to broadcast the film on TV.
Schedule - Timetable for the shooting of a film
Synergy - involves „a strategy of synchronising and actively forging connections
between directly related areas of entertainment‟. To make maximum impact, a film
release can be synchronised with other media activities (releases of games,
soundtracks etc). Obviously this sort of synchronicity is easier within a large media
conglomerate which has interests in a range of different media.
Target audience - The intended audience for a film.
Teaser trailer – A shorter, sharper hint of what is to come (These play anything up
to 6 months before release)
Trailer - often play in cinemas around 6 weeks before the release of a film
Treatment - a basic outline of a film idea including information concerning storylines,
characters and locations.
TV Spots - Advertising for films on TV (in commercial breaks)
Unique selling point (USP) – The feature that will make the film standout from other
films. The USP will be emphasised in any publicity etc
Vertical integration - When a company owns all stages of the production,
distribution and sale or, in the case of cinema, exhibition of its product.
Viral marketing - Spreading the word about a film through the internet (ie by
sending links to friends, posting videos on your own page, facebooketc)
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