This document discusses different sources of finance for media production. It provides examples and explanations for corporate finance, public funding, independent funding, crowdfunding, sponsorship/product placement, and franchising/merchandising. For corporate finance, it describes the Hollywood studio model and uses Marvel films and 28 Days Later as examples. For public funding, it outlines sources in the UK like the BBC, BFI, and National Lottery. For independent funding, it highlights Kevin Smith's Clerks and Monty Python's Life of Brian. For crowdfunding, it notes the Veronica Mars film project on Kickstarter. For sponsorship/product placement, it analyzes TV shows and films that feature branded products. And

1. UNIT 4 – PRE PRODUCTION Sources of Finance

2. SOURCES OF FINANCE FOR MEDIA
PRODUCTION
You need to be able to identify and explain the different funding
sources available for media production. In particular you need to
explain, and find an example to illustrate, each of…
Corporate finance
Public funding
Independent funding
Crowdfunding
Sponsorship and product placement
Franchising

3. CORPORATE FINANCE
•This is the ‘standard’ Hollywood model of film production – a big
company with a strong financial base uses its financial capital to
make films
•Any mainstream Hollywood movie is a good example of this – but
there will be crossovers with other sources of finance too
(merchandise and product placement, for example), so something
like a ‘Marvel’ movie would be a good example to use.
•Big companies have a huge financial base behind them – Disney could
afford to have big financial flops, like John Carter, and carry on with
barely any effect. UK film companies – and some Hollywood studios -
have been sunk completely by just one significant flop in the past.
•Hollywood Studios reinvest their profits from films. They attract other
investors who see their films make money and want to make money
too. When they need to they can also (like all businesses often do)
borrow money on good terms to reinvest.

4. CORPORATE FINANCE
(CONTINUED)
•You could add to that the 28 Days Later example of a film funding its
production by selling its distribution rights to a big ‘corporate’
company (like 20th Century Fox, in the case of 28 Days Later)
What do you need to produce?
oAn explanation of what corporate finance of film production means
oAn example of a film made primarily with corporate finance (any big budget
Hollywood movie – like a ‘Marvel’ film).
oAn example of films from smaller companies receiving money from bigger
companies (like DNA Films’ 28 Days Later and 20th Century Fox)

5. PUBLIC FUNDING
•In the UK one of the significant sources of funding for film production comes
from public finance
•This might mean the funding comes through a body which is wholly or partly
publicly funding (like the BBC or Channel 4 - through BBC Films and Film4)
•It might mean it comes from a part-autonomous agency (like the British Film
Institute or Film Birmingham)
•It might mean that it comes from a body that ‘collects’ public money and
uses it for film production (like The National Lottery – who also channel their
money into people like the BFI and Film Birmingham)
•It might come from the government giving tax breaks to film production
(allowing them to pay less tax than a ‘normal’ business would, and therefore
effectively ‘giving’ them some public funding by not collecting tax from
them.)

6. PUBLIC FUNDING (CONTINUED)
What do you need to produce?
oAn explanation of the different possible sources of public funding
oAn example of films made from these different sources
oLook for ‘BBC Films Catalogue’ - ‘Film 4 Productions’ – ‘top films funded by the
national lottery’

7. INDEPENDENT FUNDING
•Sometimes films are funded by private sources of finance
•That might mean very small scale film production being funded by
the film makers themselves
• Search for ‘Kevin Smith’s Clerks
•That might mean finding a private investor
• Search for Monty Python’s Life of Brian
What do you need to produce?
oAn explanation of what ‘independent funding’ means’
oExamples of independently funded films

8. CROWDFUNDING
•A modern online approach to raising finance is asking a lot of people
to each give you a small amount of money
•This is not investment – because when you invest you receive a stake
in the project
•This is crowdfunding – through websites like ‘Kickstarter’ – you give
money and the producers take it and use it. You don’t get anything
back (although you might be given some kind of ‘thank you’
depending on how much you give)
•Example – Veronica Mars, a tv series that was cancelled. Fans wanted
it to continue, and the director and star ran a KickStarter campaign
that raised over $5million and used the funding to make a film that
continued the story from the TV series.

9. CROWDFUNDING (CONTINUED)
What do you need to produce?
oAn explanation of what crowdfunding means
oAn example of a crowdfunded film or tv project

10. SPONSORSHIP AND PRODUCT
PLACEMENT
Two similar things – both securing funding by linking with commercial
brands
•Headline sponsorship is very common in commercial television (everything
but the BBC, basically). A company will pay money and in return will have a
screen, caption or short video shown before, after and during advert breaks
of the show. For example – Cadbury and Coronation Street – Superdrug and
Love Island.
•Product placement also happens in television – good example is 15 (or 30)
Minute Meals – Jamie Oliver’s recipes use Yeo Valley Low Fat Natural Yoghurt
and Uncle Ben’s Pre-Cooked Rice with surprising regularity – because they
are product placements – the brands pay to be included.
•Product placement in films is also very common. A film will do deals with all
sorts of companies so that the clothes / cars / food and drinks / technology
/ accessories it needs to have on screen will be provided to iit free of charge
(and possibly even with the provider paying them a fee). There are hundreds
of examples to find.

11. SPONSORSHIP AND PRODUCT
PLACEMENT (CONT)
•The best (sadly not true) story about product placement was the
horror film where the killer murdered everybody with a broken Pepsi
bottle whilst all of the good guys drank Coke.
What do you need to produce?
oExplanations of what sponsorship and product placement mean
oExamples of tv shows or films that raise money through these things

12. FRANCHISING AND MERCHANDISE
•This does NOT mean ‘a film franchise’ (Transformers, Star Wars,
Fast/Furious and so on)
•It means raising funding through deals to produce merchandise or
through deals with, for example, fast food restaurants for give-aways
linked to your film
•It’s only relevant to a particular kind of film – usually fantasy/sci-fi or
aimed at children
•There are, again, hundreds of examples to choose from
What do you need to produce?
oAn explanation of what franchising and merchandising mean
oExamples of films that have used this to raise funding