Working Title Films

Working Title is a film production company which began in the 1980s, but as a TV production company. It began to merge into a Film making company later.

Film 4 was an influence on its merge. It gave Working Title funding and help in its first major success-Four Weddings and a Funeral. Film 4 then went on to be a worldwide success which helped in the establishment of Working Title. It has the potential to become an even greater success.

Richard Curtis wrote a group of popular and successful movies such as Wimbledon, Love Actually and Notting Hill. This helped in making Working Title and Film 4 larger companies internationally. Notting Hill was the first UK film to produce over $100m of revenue in the USA.

This success led to Universal Studios purchasing large amounts into Working Title and acquiring 67% of the shares of the company. They have received major benefits from this.

Working title now have access to budgets of up to $120m per film. They also can "greenlight" productions of up to $30m without discussions with Universal having to take place over the production. With the link of universal, they can have one of the top global film organisations to help them with their distribution globally. They have their own knowledge  for the distribution in the UK but also have a strong partner to help distribution over seas.

Warp Films and Warp X

 Warp Films/Warp X are based in Sheffield but have offices in London and Nottingham also. WARP records are their parent company.

They receive funding from UKFC and Film 4. Warp X produce films digitally using digital cameras as it is cheaper in this form. Warp Films use the conventional style of camera but prefer 16mm lenses compared to the usual 35mm, which although is more expensive, provides a higher quality of film. However, both sides save money as they edit using Final Cut on a mac which provides a cheaper form of film editing.

Warp X were given a specific one off payment which is distributed to the projects they select. They fund these projects to receive a return to fund onto future projects.

Warp films are given continued grants to fund specific projects. Examples of these projects are:

• Dead Man's Shoes
• This is England

Dead Man's shoes was made for £50,000 although had help from Warp X to make it a digital project.

This is England got funding from Warp a well as Film, UKFC, EM media and Screen Yorkshire. They receive a combined total of £1.5 million worth of funding.

Statistical Yearbook 2010

In 2009, 60% of the UK population said they went to the cinema at least once a year, the same percentage as 2008.

18% went to the cinema once a month or more.

The cinema audience for the top 20 films in 2009 was predominantly young, with the 7–34 age group (40% of the population) making up 64% of the audience.

Total ‘film viewing occasions’ numbered over 4.5 billion, which means an average of 81 film viewings per person in 2009.

According to statistics, the highest percentage of age groups that visited cinemas was 15-24 year olds. 40% visit the cinema atleast once a month. Also this age category was the group that downloaded films as well. The favoured genres of 15-24 were action and comedy. There favourite 5 movies in 2009 were:

1. Bruno
2. The Hangover
3. Fast & Furious
4. The Boat that Rocked
5. Lesbian Vampire Killers

The elderly enjoy slower paced movies. The four highest viewed films were:

1. The Young Victoria
2. Last Chance Harvey
3. Dorian Gray
4. Slumdog Millionaire

The films that crossed the boundaries between the 15-24 year olds and 55+ were:

1. The Boat that Rocked
2. Slumdog Millionaire

Microwave Scheme

Microwave Scheme

The Microwave Scheme invest into lowest budget films. To fit into this category, the film must cost under £100,000 to fully publish. The process goes as follows:

1. The production team submits the proposal for a film script
2. A panel judge the proposal
3. A shortlist is drawn up of all possible candidates
4. The successful bidders spend 3 days with mentors who help them expand and publish their ideas and improve there range of skills
5. A presentation is made by each shortlisted team
6. A winner is chosen

Shifty

• A successful example of the Microwave scheme is Shifty. There production team were awarded £50,000 and had to fund another £50,000 from seperate investors.
• They spent 18 days filming.
• It was released on 53 screens
• They were awarded £156,000 from UKFC distribution fund.

UKFC

UKFC

UK Film Council is in the Government backed lead agency for film in the UK ensuring that the economic , cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad.


They fund script development, film production, short films, film export and distribution, cinemas, film education, culture and archives, festivals and audience support schemes.


They support film makers. They have £15 million a year to invest. They also help and assist projects by offering advice and giving practical help. They support distribution of films and pay for 200+ screens.

They fund to help films reach other countries and take part in festivals. UKFC is funded by the national lottery and the government.

UKFC improve the access , raise awareness, and increase information to promote projects.

They invest £800,000 a year to refurbish smaller cinemas, £3.5 million towards skill development and £350,000 towards audio facilities. For every £1 they invest they recieve a £5 return. They also employ 75 people.