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From Production to Projection

Ever wondered how the film you watch actually gets to the cinema? All we ever see is the film projected onto the big screen in front of us without a thought about the logistic effort behind getting a film printed, put in boxes and sent to the cinema. Hopefully this should answer some of those questions. As we all know, a film starts with a script that is then filmed using actors, and special effects are added. The film is then edited into a form that the director is happy with. Then we see it at the cinemas.

Making the film that you see at the cinema.

After the film has been edited and sound inserted the film goes away to the laboratory for printing. This first copy of the film is called the answer print as it "answers" the negative. This print is then sent to the filmmaker for approval before anything else happens. Some small changes are normally made on this print before it is sent to become a duping, duplication, copy. Normally this involves small technical changes rather than re-editing the film. When this is finished a preservation copy is sometimes made to be stored in the archives.

The next stage is where the prints are made for the cinema. The duping print is, as we have found out above, the film in its final form. This includes all the different soundtrack and picture information. This is then used to make the release print. As its name suggests this is the version of the film that is then sent to the cinema for projection. Each copy of the film made costs the distributor approximately Ł1000. Now look at a film like Star Wars Episode 3 that had about 800 prints in the UK alone to see how expensive this process can be.

So now we have our finished film. What's the next step I hear you cry?

When the distributor gets the master duping print they then decide when the film is going to be released and how they are going to publicise the film. When the distributor gets involved with the film is entirely up to them. Major distributors sometimes get involved when the film is still being written. The smaller distributors normally get involved with the film when it is finished and is starting to be offered around for a distribution deal.

The distributor determines release strategy and release date.

This is the most important stage, especially for the distributor, to get the correct date in the year to get their film seen by the largest number of people. A film is normally up against 7 or 8 other films released on the same Friday so careful planning is required to maximise the impact of your film on the viewing public.

Could a children's film do better if it's released at a time when schools are on holiday? If held back for a few weeks after a rival distributor has released their summer blockbuster could this be better for the film?

The distributor holds screening of films to cinema owners/bookers and negotiates to have the film shown.

Or to put it another way, "Please show our film" :) Most of the time this is quite easy to do for the major distributors but some of the smaller, "art-house", distributors need to show how good their film is and make the cinema want to show the film.

The film's marketing campaign creates a 'want to see' buzz among the target audience.

Why do you want to see a film? Is it because you have seen a poster for the film on every bus stop you walk past? Or you have seen the trailer on the TV and thought "That looks good"? Or have you read a good, or bad, review of the film in a magazine or in the newspaper?

This, for the distributor is another very important part of the process. Making the film-going audience aware that the film is coming out at the cinema and you have to go and see it! This could cost between a few thousand to a few million pounds. If you get this wrong the distributor could go out of business.

The film is delivered to cinema.

This usually happens a couple of days before the film is released so to give the cinema enough time to prepare the film for showing on the day of release.

The distributor has copies of the film produced and these are then stored at a holding site, called a hub, waiting for distribution to the cinemas that have booked the film. This is then sent via a courier, such as DHL or Northern Film Transport, to the cinema a couple of days before the film is released. The film is sent in "cans" that hold about 20 minutes of film each and are the size of a small suitcase. These are then signed for and the next stage begins.

This is, from the viewing public's point of view, an incredibly important stage to get correct and, as such, it can be the most prone to errors. This can be down to the projectionist who is making up the film or the last cinema that had the film. If you have watched films that start to run upside down part of the way through, then you will realise how important this part of the whole process is. The film reels are essentially glued together in the correct order with reel 1 followed by reel 2 etc. This is also fraught with dangers as the projectionist who is making up the film is relying on the last cinema's projectionist to have broken up the film and correctly labelled the reels. Trailers and adverts are also inserted at the stage before the main feature as well as any special, cinema specific, film. At this stage the projectionist checks the film for any damage and repairs the film if required.

Now the film is ready to be put onto what is called a platter (sometimes a cake platter), this is a large flat disk that can hold up to about 4 miles of film, so even some of the longest films, such as Titanic, can be shown as one continuous piece of film without the need for a break in the middle.

The film's run extends any number of weeks subject to demand.

Each film is normally only booked for a week. If the film is making enough money to keep the film for another week then the cinema can request to keep the film for a longer period of time.

Article by: Colin Bell

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