Production company

A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.

Tasks and functions

The production company may be directly responsible for fundraising for the production or may accomplish this through a parent company, partner, or private investor. It handles budgeting, scheduling, scripting, the supply with talent and resources, the organization of staff, the production itself, post-production, distribution, and marketing. Production companies are often either owned or under contract with a media conglomerate, film studio or entertainment company, who act as the production companies parent company (see Time Warner, Viacom), together, this has become known as the "studio system". They can also be mainstream independent (see Lucasfilms) or completely independent (see Lionsgate). Production companies can also work together in co-productions.

Operation and profit

A production company is usually run by a producer or director, but can also be run by a production executive, or studio executive if the production company is a film studio. In entertainment, a production company relies highly on talent or a well known entertainment franchise to raise the value of a entertainment project and draw out larger audiences. This gives the entertainment industry a democratized power structure to ensure that both the companies and talent receive their fair share of pay and recognition for work done on a production. The entertainment industry is centered around funding (studio investments, private investments, or self investments either from earnings from previous productions or personal wealth), projects (scripts and entertainment franchises), and talent (actors, directors, screenwriters, and crew). Production companies are judged and ranked based on the amount of funding it has, as well the productions it has completed or been involved with in the past. If a production company has major funding either through earnings, studio investors, or private investors, and has done or been involved with big budget productions in the past, it is considered to be a major production company. These companies often work with well known and expensive talent. If a production company does not have much funding and has not done or been involved with any big budget productions, it is considered to be a small production company. These companies often work with up and coming talent. Small production companies will either grow to become a major production company, a subsidary completely owned by another company, or remain small. The success of an entertainment production company is centered around the projects it produces, the talent it can acquire, and the performance of the talent. Marketing is also a major factor. All films are marketed around the image and the performance of the actors, one of the most powerful professions in hollywood, with an option of marketing the behind the scenes crew such as the directors and screenwriters, if they have a public image. Unlike many other businesses, a production company does not rely on an ongoing revenue stream, they operate on ongoing investments; this often requires a parent company or a private corperate investment entity (see Legendary Pictures). Their only source of profit come from the productions they produce. Because entertainment and media are currently in "high demand", a production company can profit if its management is capable of using its resources to supply good quality products and services to the public. Many entertainment production companies brand their entertainment projects. An entertainment project can either become a "one time hit" or a ongoing "entertainment franchise" that can be continued, remade, rebooted, or expanded into other sister industries; such as the video game industry (see Star Wars, Star Trek). Entertainment projects can be either an original or an adaptation from another industry.

Staffing, Funds, and Equipment

Being that, a production company is only operational when a production is being produced and most of the talent and crew are freelancers, many production companies are only required to hire management staff that helps to oversee the companies daily activities. In some cases, a production company can be run by only a handful of people. The company's funds are mainly committed towards employing talent, crew, and acquiring new updated production equipment on a regular basis. Many productions often require at least one to two cameras and lighting equipment for on location shooting. Production equipment is either leased or purchased from another production company or directly from the manufactuer. In entertainment, in order to secure experienced professional talent and crew, production companies often become a signatory company to that talent or crew members "guild". These signatory companies are required to sign an agreement with that guild agreeing to follow the guild regulations. All big budget guild productions are exclusive to guild members and non guild members are not allowed to participate in these productions unless authorized by the guild. Productions with smaller budgets are allowed to use both guild talent and talent from the public. The majority of the talent and crew working in the entertainment industry are members of their professions guild. Most productions in the entertainment industry are guild productions.

Other Details

In entertainment, for legal reasons it is common for production companies to not accept unsolicited materials from any other company, talent, or person from the general public. It is also common for filmmakers or producers to become entrepreneurs and open their own production companies so that they can have more control over their careers and pay, while also acting as a "in house" creative and business driving force for the company.

See also

• Film distributor; Broadcast syndication
• Movie studio; Television studio
• Filmmaking; Video production
• Film crew; Production team; Television crew
• Stagecraft; Theatrical producer; Television producer; Producer
• Directors Guild
• Screen Actors Guild
• Writers Guild
• International Cinematographers Guild
• List of film production companies

External links

• Film Production Companies
• Television Production Companies