The British Film Council helps fund the British film industry through several funds that support development, prints & advertising, and new cinema. They also invested in digital cinema screens. British TV is made up primarily of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5. The BBC is publicly funded while the others rely on advertising. The American film industry is dominated by the "Big Six" major studios that are subsidiaries of larger media conglomerates. If only six companies controlled media, it could allow them to influence public opinions. However, the British film industry also includes independent companies, television companies, government bodies, and co-productions with Hollywood studios.

1. By William Sargent

2. How does the British Film Council
help fund the British Film Industry?
 The British Film Council helps the British Film
Industry by several different funds.
 These are the Premiere Fund, New Cinema
Fund, Prints & Advertising Fund and also
Development Fund.
 They also invested in 240 digital cinema screens
across the UK.

3. Who owns what in the British TV
industry?
 British Television is primarily made up of Four
Companies, BBC, ITV, Channel 4 & Five.
 BBC is the PBS-Funded Channel, owned by the
United Kingdom and run by a board of
governors.
 ITV, Channel Four & Five are all Commercial
Channels, funded on advertising.

4. Hollywood Studio System
The American Film Industry is dominated by
the Big Six film studios.
All of the Big Six studios are subsidiaries of
major media conglomerates.
Studio (Subsidiary) Conglomerate (Parent)
Warner Bros Time Warner
Paramount Viacom
20th Century Fox News Corp
Walt Disney Pictures The Walt Disney Company
Columbia Pictures Sony Corporation
Universal Pictures GE and Comcast

5. The Dangers of the Big Six
 If only six companies owned everything in media, that would mean
that there are only six choices of opinions.
 By applying the hypodermic needle theory, we could then suggest
that those six media owners automatically have the power to put
thoughts into people’s heads. One example could be the portrayal of
someone like the President of America or the PM of the UK as being
a bad leader, simply by choosing to select the information they show
to display that image, and not a well-rounded view.
 With the media, we only tend to see what they want us to see,
especially if you’re a passive consumer, not an active one, so if only
six people with similar opinions were putting out information it would
in theory be easy to change people and the world.

6. The American Film Industry and the
Britain
 The Big Six studios dominate the British box office.
 On average American films account for between 70-75%
of UK box office takings.
 Around 20% of UK box office takings go to British films
that are co=productions with major Hollywood Studios.
 Independent British films take on average 6% of takings
at the UK Box office, though that reached a high of 13%
last year.
 Of the top 20 films at the UK box office in 2011, 16 of
them were produced by on one of the major Hollywood
studios.

7. Ownership and The UK Film
Industry
What are the different types of institutions in
the British film industry?
 Independent companies
 Television Companies
 Government bodies
 Co-productions with Hollywood studios

8. DNA Films
DNA is run by Andrew Macdonald and his producing
partner Allon Reich and is one of the UK’s most successful
production companies.
Productions include Dredd 3D, Never Let Me Go, The Last
King of Scotland, Notes on a Scandal, 28 Weeks Later, 28
Days Later, Sunshine, The Beach, Trainspotting and
Shallow Grave.

9. Working Title
Working Title Films is a British film production
company, based in London owned by Universal
Studios and Magnolia Pictures (2013-present).
The company was founded by Tim Bevan and
Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. It produces feature films
and several television productions. Eric Fellner
and Bevan are now the co-chairs of the company.