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THE BUSINESS OF FILM THE OPEN UNIVERSITY AG

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1.2 YOU’VE COMPLETED 1 STEP IN WEEK 1

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How commercial are creative activities? © The Open University (2015)

Cultural and economic value

of film
The film sector is part of the very broad, often loosely defined,
creative sector. Whilst the creative sector represents a relatively fast
growth sector of the economy (certainly in the UK), film, along with
other creative art forms, also occupies an important place in cultural
life.

To begin our course let’s think about film’s importance as both a cultural
and a commercial activity, and how it compares in this respect with other
activities in the creative or cultural sector.

In the diagram above the examples of different types of creative

activities are listed to the right of the ‘target’. The centre of the target
represents the least commercial activity. As you move outwards the
concentric circles represent increasingly commercial activities. Your task
in this step is to decide where on the target to locate the industries
listed on the right hand side. Note down your thoughts and then share
them with other learners in the discussion below.

Here are some questions you might reflect on during this exercise:

● Do you think film is primarily a cultural artefact?

● Do you think film is primarily a commercial proposition?

● Do you think film should be both?

● How does film compare to other creative activities in this regard?

Why don’t you also use this task as an opportunity to introduce yourself
and share your opinions?

Post your comment below. Click ‘like’ on any comments that you enjoyed
and follow any like-minded learners you spot.

© The Open University (2015)

 264 comments

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FILM-MAKING AS A BUSINESS WHAT IS THE CULTURAL VALUE OF FILM?

VIDEO ARTICLE

DISCUSSION

AG Andrea Gilly

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PK Paul Kearon Follow 03 AUG

Hello. I'm Paul. I'm from Russia. I try to improve english with this course. My answers: "CORE
CREATIVE ARTS": performance arts, visual arts
"CORE CREATIVE INDUSTRY": film, fashion, design
"WIDER CULTURAL INDUSTRY":
museums, galleries, libraries
"RELATED INDUSTRY: TV and radio, publishing and print, advertising

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DD David Dunn Follow 02 AUG

Hi everyone. I am David. I reside in Cape Town, South Africa. I took this course to increase my
understanding and knowledge of film making. The business of film needs to be an
artistic/creative enterprise with a view to been a commercial undertaking. This medium of
storytelling is an expensive one and the capital outlay needs to be recouped, especially if
investors have helped fund the project.

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MJ Majambere Jean Baptiste Follow 01 AUG

How can I get the sponsor in my Film project

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HT Hương Trần Follow 01 AUG

Hi everyone, I'm Huong and I'm from Vietnam. I join this course as a step to gain some basic
knowledge about film which I'm interested in and also a chance for me to know whether I'm
suitable or not.
This is my choice to pin the industries to the circle:
- " Core creative art " section: museums, galleries and libraries. Reason for this choice is
although these are places where we truly learn about art and help us develop our knowledge,
they do not really attract and we cannot make money by displaying artistic works.
- " Core creative industry" section: visual arts, design, performance arts. Without these, there's
no way to develop creative industry.
- " Wider cultural industry" section: film, fashion. These two are popular, easy to reach to every
social statue and are likely easy to make money.
- " Related industry" section: TV and radio, publishing and print, advertising. This section and
the other three work together, to help them come closer to the audiences.
And one more thing, I think film should be both cultural artefact and comercial proposition.
Film shouldn't be only commerce because it kills creativity. And art is also a subject and it
needs development and conservation.

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ML m Lui Follow 01 AUG

I group film under wider cultural activities. Different from all other art forms -- music, dance,
theatre, musical, opera, etc., where all performances are individually staged, film has an
enormous replication and distribution capacity. Once it is done, it can be shown to an
enormous audience, audiences from different parts of the world, with comparative ease and
low cost. Since it is primarily targeted at a sizable audience and the cost of production is
enormous, film production must and should entail commercial considerations.

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Alexandra Kandycheva Follow 29 JUL

for me, everything that is created with no need to satisfy practical need is the art. Art creation
is a point that differenciate human beings from other animals. Music, visual arts, any kind of
performance, etc is the art. Yes, you can get money for it, but primarily it was not created to
satisfy a practical need. It was created for fun, to enjoy life experiencing something more than
practical needs satisfaction. That's art regardless whether you have an idea to get some money
for it or not ( usually everyone has)

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Thabile Tricia Hlongwa Follow 25 JUL

for me Core Creative Arts - Performance Arts, Visual Arts, Museums and such. Film falls under
the Core Creative Industry although it needs ti perform in the commercial sector to sustain
itself and the rest are Related Industry. Film needs to fulfill the Core creative industry role in
order to be relevant in the community and this is what will evolve a film into a commercial
success, at least as filmmakers we wish so.

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Mohamed Abdi Yussuf Follow 24 JUL

My name is Mohamed Abdi Yussuf from Kenya. I believe film as both a primarily artefact and
commercial proposition

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AP Anuli Patel Follow 24 JUL

I have placed film predominantly under the category of wider cultural industries. In my opinion
the beauty of film is it's ability to relate to people on some sort of level and how it creates an
allegory reflecting and challenging society in a way that causes us to consider the values of
our culture and other cultures. In addition to this, film is a huge part of our economy, the
different components of the industry including the additional advertising, merchandise and
commerce that occurs with a new film release benefits multiple businesses and even other
industries- such as fashion and music. Although from a different perspective it can be argued
that film should belong in the category of core creative arts as it is primarily an art form which
is somewhat underappreciated due to this 'hype' surrounding the industry which seems to
portray it as a [money-making] business, rather than an expressive medium which explores
cultures and portrays them in both realistic and abstract ways.

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Miroslava Kadlecik Follow 24 JUL

Film is both a cultural or an artistic artefact and has also a commercial proposition. I think that
both these things should be balanced and commercial propositions should not disrupt artistic
values of film.

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ZA Zain Ayub Follow 23 JUL

Hi, my name is Zayn and I believe that film is both a cultural and commercial artistic medium. In
a way, all art is and has to be due to the appreciative relationship that the subject matter has
with the consumer/ observer. I think a simple look back in history will show that when the
kinetoscope was first invented, Edison discarded it as an insignificant toy, when on release it
became an immediate success and he decided to patent the device and make further
improvements etc. While it's harder to appreciate film today because of how expansive and
diverse the industry has become/ is becoming, I think smaller films still are able to find
commercial success later on in their life by becoming cult hits or being regarded as classics by
a different audience. I suppose it also depends on the social climate and the audience itself,
but I hope I've been able to communicate what I think and why. Thanks! :)
(edited)

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Uroš Zavodnik Follow 23 JUL

Film is both... & it is most powerful media.

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Amanda Pang Follow 23 JUL

Hi I'm a salon owner entering the film industry. I want to gain much learning for my current film
projects. If I need to locate how the situation is currently my guess is as follows: Related
Industries have Fashion, Film and Advertising. Wider Cultural Industries have TV& Radio,
Design, Publishing & Print. Core Creative Industries have Performance Arts and Visual Arts and
the Core Creative Arts have the Museums, Galleries & Libraries.
A cultural artifact, is a term used in the social sciences, particularly anthropology, ethnology
and sociology for anything created by humans which gives info about the culture of its creator
and users. So in my opinion it is not a primarily cultural artefact but mostly commercial related
because it can only expose cultural artefacts, but not be a cultural artefact.
When someone makes a film, maybe it wasn’t primarily aimed as a commercial proposition in
the beginning, but at the end it will always become one. A film is made to be exposed
whatever the reason is. Where there is exposure, there's commercial either to gain customers
for the film or products exposed in the film itself. Think about cars used in films and how it
gains popularity & Sales...

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ST Shigeo Tachibana Follow 18 JUL

I think Film should idealistically be in the core Creative arts, but they actually enforced to sit
somewhere around Wider cultural to most Commercial area. Because making film costs certain
amount of money, they thus has to correct some money back from themselves being shown in
wider public. overall I just want to keep my thoughts for film to stay at inner circle of the
target-chart, so I would be able to concentrate on making them at high level. Well it's my
opinion.
BTW, I have been working in Japanese Anime Pre-production as a line-producer for a couple of
years.
Cheers,

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John Martin Follow 17 JUL

I think probably it was not intended to be a cultural artifact from the beginning but as every
human activity related to art it communicates and shares people thoughts and beliefs so the
public get enriched by this films in some way, I think even if a film is not aimed to be artistic it
will always communicate something so it only depends on how popular it is to become relevant
in society, that's why the term "cult film" exists, but since we are here to learn about this topic
from the industrial point of view I guess we will mainly focus on the economic part, well, I think
movies don't need to be both, aimed to be a rentable product and a cultural artefact, but they
could be both, also I think they really cannot be compared to the other activities, but films
need them to exist, specially the old art of acting.

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Kristopher Jack Follow 15 JUL

I personally feel that Film is both a cultural and commercial property. Most films are made for
purely financial reasons but can have such a cultural impact that years later, they've passed
into a kind of lore. One of my favourite directors is Christopher Nolan who worked on a script
for Inception for over 8 years and was only given financial backing to make it after The Dark
Knight took over $1 Billion. What started as a passion project then became one of the biggest
money making films of 2010. Inception is a film about ideas and has echoes of independent
cinema which are normally associated with culture but these were contained within a
blockbuster spectacle which has a financial goal or making money but also went on to inspire
in a similar way to that of creative arts.
I'm also a huge Star Wars fan and can't imagine what cinema and indeed popular culture would
have been without it's presence.

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BA Bucchetti Anna Follow 14 JUL

Hi! In my opinion is film both. I think everything that comes from a creative process is a primary
cultural artefact but the commercial proposition is a natural ingredient of every kind of art.
Because art is made to be shared. Films, as the final purpose is also to be shared, need to be
produced, brought to an audience so that a filmmaker also has the possibility to go on making
movies, to improve and grow. And growing is vital for a filmmaker or anyone involved in a
creative activity. And to (artistically) grow you need an audience. To love or even hate your
films, but you need it. This question (is film a cultural or commercial artefact?) has sometimes
been a topic of discussion with colleagues of mine who work a lot with experimental films
(which I love!) and think that somehow the commercial aspect is a limit to your creative
freedom. I am convinced that it's never necessarily to give up your artistic integrity making
compromises to have your film or documentary produced when an idea is really powerful. It’s
rather the other way round: a good original idea, has already in itself the elements that make it
something with a strong 'commercial' value.

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PC Phil Chapman Follow 13 JUL

The consensus is that it should be both. However for people starting out it can be more about
creative self expression then coin. I guess you have to have the love and a story to tell. The
problem is that the big players have a monopoly on the multiplexes which limits what most
people get to see. So people experience vanilla not realising there is a whole world of flavours
to experience.

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VM Vusi Magubane Follow 13 JUL

Hi I am filmmaker based in South Africa, I believe that films should me made for both
commercial and cultural purposes. Sometime there is lack of balance between the two ideals
as some films ambrace more of the other or less. In my region most people still make films for
artistic and cultural expression lacking knowledge of business side of things. Film does not
compare because it is a combination of all these artistic forms. Film is tool used to shape or
form our collective self image and to grow our GDP of our country.

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FH Frank Hull Follow 12 JUL

Hi everyone, I'm an aspiring screenwriter. I reckon film sits somewhere around the wider
cultural industries ring of the target. At it's core it has been designed to be available to as
many people as possible. therefore it doesn't carry with it the exclusivity of other forms of
creative work like opera, art installations and high fashion, all of which trade at least partly on
their exclusivity. As much as I'd like to believe that film is a solely artistic endeavour (and it
certainly can be) the mainstream tent-pole movies are designed to make as much money as
possible and appeal to as wide an audience as they can, so it can't be considered an entirely
artistic medium.

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CN Cyrus Navvabi Follow 10 JUL

Hi all, I'm a Project Manager in the Pharmaceutical industry, but have a thirst to learn more
about films.
It wholly depends on the film. Some films are solely a commercial proposition, with little to no
regard for the cultural impact. However, sometimes if a film is extremely commercially
successful, then it can have a huge cultural impact, reaching out to all ages, backgrounds and
nationalities.
Some films are made simply for cultural appreciation, with the main focus being on the art and
the beauty of the film, but can be popular enough to become a commercial success.
They can be mutually exclusive though in the sense that for "culturally significant" films to be
made, they need to be commercially attractive to a degree or have a degree of commercial
success so that similar films can be made. Additionally for a film that is intended to be a
commercial success, the makers should consider how they want to impact audiences culturally.

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Linn Saw Follow 10 JUL

Hi everyone.I'm new filmmaker and from Myanmar.I totally agree that film should be both of
these things. Film can change and develop for culture of all societies into different window of
around worldwide.Commercial film making can give people to know the living standard of
message and very powerful attract for people .Actually both need to be more creative and
more development to more effective to people and it can change the culture of worldwide.

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JS James Shaw Follow 09 JUL

Hi everyone. I'm a camera assistant in the UK. Like most of you I agree that film can and should
be both of these things. Culturally I believe films are an essential part of the fabric of all
societies giving people a window into different worlds and perspectives whether fact or fiction,
they are visual representations of the world we live in and the imaginations of the people that
live in it. Commercially sometimes film can lose its true value in the message it sends and can
maybe not be as powerful as projects that are done more out of passion, however it is a
fantastic industry which provides for many people so who would begrudge people making their
money however they can. We need commercial value in film to allow the entire industry to
continue to thrive.

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Ezra Tambayong Follow 09 JUL

Hi Everyone, I'm a new filmmaker and aspire to be a producer, director, and writer. In my opinion
and according to what I've learned, Films should be both cultural artefact and commercial
proposition. Films are a way of communication designed with audio visual. It is a product of
expression and art. Thus it has to be enjoyed. The process of film making needs a lot of work,
efforts, ideas, and energy. Commercial doesn't mean it is necessarily profitable, but how people
understand the meaning of the film easily. But Nowadays, film is one of the creative sectors
that generates profit.

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Sid Fish Follow 07 JUL

Film transcends the diagram. Some films are made for strictly an artistic purpose, others are
make for educational goals and not for monetary gain. However, most independent films that I
have been involved with in Hollywood, are made for both the artistic endeavor as well as for
commercial gain. If the end result is not a commercial success, then the investors will not get
repaid - which is something that no investor wants to experience.

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