Business of Films: The Process

Stage #1: Identification and Locking-in of Source IP

Identification of IP

A potentially strong IP to adapt into a film:

• may either come in as a thought or an idea to the producer or the creative team at the production company/studio
• may need to be discovered from all the existing IP which exists in the world; this may be in the form of books, real people, news articles, original IP by writers/directors

If it is an original thought or an idea from the internal team(s), then it is a fairly simple process as the production company/studio by default owns that IP and they can swiftly move to the next step which is hiring the appropriate writer to develop it further. Films don't originate in this manner a lot and this should be categorized as a rare occurrence.

Mostly, the production company/studio and their respective creative teams are in a constant discovery mode. It is constant because of two reasons:

1. No production company/studio is just working on only one film at any given point of time. It would not make business sense to put all eggs in one basket – what if that one film is confronted with a crisis and needs to be shelved in the second year from when work starts?
2. The time needed on any film from idea to its release can easily be up to 4 years (probably more) but is definitely 2 years on average.

Below are a few ways in which the discovery process is conducted:

Email and Submission Portals

• Most film production companies and studios have public email addresses or submission portals on which the creative talent can submit their ideas, story, screenplay (IP in any form basically) directly to the company.
• The only requirement which the creative talent will have to meet before sending their IP to these companies is ensuring that it is registered with a recognized organization such as the Screenwriters Association in India. If the IP that is sent across is not registered, then it is automatically discarded. This is also put as a disclaimer on the submission portals. There are multiple reasons why registration of IP is important and I will address it in a short post separately.

Talent Agents

There are management agencies which represent a lot of original IP by virtue of managing writers, directors and authors – basically the creators – and their works.

There are two advantages of engaging with a talent agency:

1. They are in a constant flow of stories across a wide range of genres and as they are sourcing these stories from seasoned creators as a result of which these stories tend to follow appropriate 'film grammar'.
2. They can facilitate sit-down sessions for company executives with these creators to discuss their stories in greater detail. These sit-down sessions sometimes result in pure magic.

Personal Relationships

Any executive who has been in creative teams at production companies/studios for a couple of years has identified the creators whose work he/she admires and would like to collaborate with. These kinds of relationships often lead to a mutual discovery of a subject for a film.

• it may be an idea which the creator has had for a while but the executives' enthusiasm about it reinvigorated it, or
• it may be something that the creator and the executive jointly come up with

Locking-in of IP

When the production company/studio has identified the IP that they love creatively then some more creative decisions are needed to be made. Highlighting below the most common ones in various situations:

IP is a 5-pager story or a synopsis or a treatment note

• A writer created it and the producer is hiring the same writer to further develop the screenplay
• A writer created it and the producer wants to buy the IP and hire another writer to develop the screenplay. This would usually be because the producer doesn’t have enough trust in the original writer’s screenwriting capabilities. These choices are explicitly shared with the original writer and he/she usually has three choices: (i) Reject the producer’s proposal (ii) Let the producer acquire the IP (iii) Let the producer option the IP
• A director created the IP and the producer is hiring the director as a writer to develop the screenplay
• A director created it and the producer wants to buy the IP and hire another writer to develop the screenplay; this would usually be because the producer doesn’t have enough trust in the director’s screenplay writing capabilities. These choices are explicitly shared with the director and he/she usually has the following choices: (i) Reject the producer’s proposal (ii) Let the producer acquire or option the IP and develop it independently with no commitment to retain him/her as a director on the film (iii) Let the producer acquire or option the IP and develop it independently with a commitment to retain him/her as a director on the film (iv) Let the producer acquire or option the IP and hire him as a co-writer/supervisor with a commitment to retain him/her as a director (v) Let the producer acquire or option the IP and hire him as a co-writer/supervisor with no commitment to retain him/her as a director on the film

IP is a completed screenplay

• A writer created it to direct the film based on it; producer has the following choices: (i) hire the writer as a director (ii) reject the proposal; at this stage if the writer is fine with another person directing the film then the producer can either acquire or option the screenplay
• A director created it to direct the film based on it; producer has the following choices: (i) hire the director as a director (ii) reject the proposal; at this stage if the director is fine with another person directing the film then the producer can either acquire or option the screenplay

IP which needs a writer to be hired to develop the screenplay (such as books, life stories, podcasts, remakes, stories from third-parties)

• Producer upon identifying such IP needs to either acquire or option the IP so that the development i.e. writing work can begin on the film
• Once the producer has taken control of the IP, the absolute next step is to hire a writer or writer-director (i.e. a person who will write and direct the film).

From a practical perspective, producers mostly option such kind of IP after they have already discussed the idea with the potential talent pool for the film project. It would be very reasonable to assume that by the time the deal acquisition/option of the IP is closed the said IP has been discussed with writers, directors and actors who are in a circle of trust with the producer.

As this segment deals with decisions which a producer needs to make, it is imperative to mention that the producer would always prefer having a director onboard a film as the development of the film commences. And the reason is creative as well as administrative.

• Creatively, the screenplay would from the beginning include the ideas which the director has about the film
• Administratively, suppose that a writer has completed writing the screenplay of the film incorporating all the feedback from the producer and the director is hired after this point. Now, the director starts giving feedback on the completed screenplay. In the worst case, it could mean a total rewrite and even in the best case, it definitely means losing a few months to revisions. This lost time may have several implications that may include losing the dates of your preferred lead actor(s) and adverse financial impact. In fact, and though it happens rarely, having even the lead actor(s) onboard on the film during development can truly expedite the process and shorten the time frame of the filmmaking process.

Agreements that should have been executed by the end of Stage #1:

• IP agreement which grants control of the film adaptation rights of the particular IP to producer
• Writer(s) agreement
• Director agreement (not necessary)
• Lead actor agreement (not necessary)

Stage #2: Development of IP

IF:

• the identified base IP is not a screenplay, then it is written at this stage
• the identified base IP is a complete screenplay then it is further refined at this stage

At this stage the producer (also the studio, director and actor(s), if attached) actively participates in the writing process. He/she shares feedback with the writer(s) at each predetermined step in the process. In addition to ensuring that creatively the screenplay turns out fantastic, the producer also needs to ensure that this fantastic-ness is achieved in a timely manner.

Usually the screenplay development process is very fluid, but there is a broad sequential structure that serves as a blueprint for how it unfolds. The screenwriting process is broken down into deliverable-led milestones which are then subsequently linked to how much of the writer’s fee becomes payable. These milestones in sequence are as follows along with some additional details on each step:

Treatment Note

Even if there is an existing treatment note (or a detailed story synopsis) to begin with, still another version is worked on to improve on the earlier draft. This improvement mostly has to do with the incorporation of feedback and ideas that the producer may have. These ideas may also come from the studio, director and/or actor(s) depending on whether they are already attached to the project or not.

In terms of page-length, on average, this would be between 20 and 30 pages.

First Draft of Screenplay (with indicative dialogues)

This is the absolute first attempt of converting the detailed story created in the treatment note into a screenplay. Screenplay by definition is the breakdown of the story into scenes that when strung together deliver the story with much greater impact.

?? In my experience in Bollywood, I would estimate that 95% of the screenplays are written in English, and almost 99% of all screenplays are written in the Roman script.

?? At this point, it is also important to discuss the dialogue writer. Some key points: 

?? Very peculiar to the Indian screenwriting process. 

?? A lot of times the screenwriter ends up writing the dialogues for the film; however, a lot of times a dialogue writer is hired to embellish the screenplay with a certain flavor of dialogue. 

?? This choice of hiring a dialogue writer is one purely driven by creative needs. 

?? The dialogue writer phenomenon is purely a function of multiple languages in India and each language having multiple dialects. Depending on the geography where the film is based - the same story with the same screenplay will have different dialogues (even though they will mean the same). 

?? In the event the screenwriter is not writing dialogues, the dialogue writer’s job usually begins after the screenplay has been finalized and approved (or nearing such approval) by the producer, studio, director, actor(s) or some subset of this group.        

Coming to the main point, the screenwriter is expected to write indicative dialogues in each draft so as to provide anticipatory guidance to the dialogue writer. The final dialogues would need to capture the emotions of the character(s) during different times in the screenplay and the indicative dialogues would help with ascertaining that.

Second Draft of screenplay (with indicative dialogues)

first draft of the screenplay is submitted by the screenwriter → key stakeholders read the draft → they come together, discuss their thoughts and share consolidated written feedback with screenwriter → screenwriter starts working on the second draft of the screenplay        

The process that I described above is how it should logically unfold as this would unlock maximum time efficiencies. But in reality it is never the case. Different stakeholders share different feedback (sometimes exactly the opposite of what another may have shared), but never at the same time. Therefore, many a time, a situation arises wherein the work on the second draft commenced with the feedback received until such point and is already midway - but receipt of new feedback leads to starting the process all over.

It is hugely frustrating for the writing community. And it is hugely unproductive for the entire ecosystem.

During this stage when the screenplay has started taking a decent shape, there are a few other tasks that the producer is responsible for and needs to handle in parallel:

• Engaging a Director — if the director is already on board, then this step is not required; if the director is not on board then the screenplay is pitched to directors with the intention of locking one of them.
• Engaging Lead Actor(s) — if the lead actor(s) is already on board, then this step is not required; if the lead actor(s) is not on board then the screenplay is pitched to potential options with the intention of locking them. Usually, an actor (especially bigger actors) agreeing to do a film is a major function of who the director of the film is. Therefore, without a director the likelihood of onboarding an actor is slim.
• Engage a Dialogue Writer — a specialist dialogue writer needs to be hired, and this hiring usually happens in consultation with the director. Have shared more on the dialogue writer above.
• Engagement of a 1st AD (first assistant director) and the Executive Producer — as the screenplay is reaching its final stages it becomes imperative to understand the cost of the film as that amount of money will need to be arranged by the producer. To arrive at this budget-related clarity: (i) The 1st AD creates a production schedule which basically breaks down the screenplay down to single-shots and then compiles them on the basis of locations, personnel and equipment requirements. (ii) The Executive Producer after taking into account the entire production schedule, along with the cast, crew and equipment requirements arrives at a budget for the film.This early version of the production schedule and the budget is to estimate a total cost of the film; both these documents go through countless iterations (and per my experience, with every iteration of the budget it tends to decrease)
• Organizing Funding/Financing — at any stage prior to this stage as well, the producer could have already structured the financing of the film via an agreement with a studio in which they finance and distribute the film. If not, at this point in the project it becomes imperative that such a deal is struck on priority. This financing partner may also be an independent financier. Irrespective of the source where the financing is being arranged from, the studio/independent financier and the producer need to agree on a budget for the film.

Approved Draft of Screenplay

Beyond the second draft milestone, there is only one other draft that is qualified in most writer deals and that is the Approved Draft. This milestone can be both super-vague and super-clear depending on who is interpreting it - the writer or the producer.

Since the writing steps never qualify a “third draft”, “fourth draft” and so on, in theory the writer may possibly need to write an infinite number of drafts for the same fee that is agreed upon before commencement of work. However, on average, 10-15 drafts of screenplay are written before a film goes into production. That said, there is a major lack of clarity on what counts as a draft of a screenplay and every stakeholder chooses to define it in their own way. Entertainment Lawyers would agree on the discussions pertaining to what is a minor revision v/s what is a draft discussion.

This kind of a milestone, in my opinion, is a bit exploitative in nature. There are two reasons for it:

• writer’s fee linked to this step is a significant percentage of their entire fee and this step introduces total lack of clarity on when it would become payable
• introduces undefined quantum of work.

But the stakeholders financing this writing also have their reasons - they are just not creatively satisfied with the output. This fair/unfair line is extremely thin.

However, sometimes, the various stakeholders are able to agree on a position that mitigates the perceived unfairness - this may be limiting the number of drafts (more common) or an increase in fee beyond a certain number of drafts (very rare).The dialogue writer starts working on the dialogues around the time when the screenplay is almost near approval.

The milestones that are set for him/her are very identical to those of the screenwriter - (i) first draft, (ii) second draft, (iii) approve draft.

This approved draft of the screenplay becomes the shooting draft of the screenplay when the following two conditions are met:

• both screenplay and dialogue work on the film is complete
• all stakeholders have given their nod of approval; these stakeholders in the usual sequence of importance are studio/financier, director, lead actor(s) and producer.

?? NOTE: Often the screenplay is creatively revised so as to fit the film within a certain budget. This may mean eliminating scenes, characters or locations in a manner that doesn't compromise the story.        

Agreements that should have been executed by the end of Stage #2:

• Director Agreement
• Lead Actor(s) Agreement
• Dialogue writer Agreement
• Producer-Studio/Financier Agreement
• 1st AD Agreement
• Executive Producer Agreement (at times this role is given to an in-house employee; in that case agreement would not be needed)

Stage #3: Pre-Production?

(at this stage, the writing of the film is entirely complete or is on the cusp of completion)

Basically, the development work on the film is entirely complete and now preparations are happening to commence the principal photography of the film. This period of preparation before the principal photography starts is called pre-production.

While the following rule may not always be followed, the rule of thumb is that if the shoot has been planned for 't' number of days, the pre-production period should at least be '2t' number of days. The idea is simple - better preparation would lead to smoother execution.

The first step during the pre-production process is that the executive producer puts together a team that shall be responsible for executing different functions in the filmmaking process. 

?? Different teams and individuals that are hired at this stage may include but are not limited to - a storyboarding artist, production team, assistant direction team, casting director, director of photography (cinematographer), visual effects artist(s), lights team, hair and make-up team (HMU), prosthetic make-up team, action director(s), music director(s), dance director(s) (choreographer), costume team, grips team, editor(s), etcetera. 

?? The sequence in which hiring for different functions happens varies greatly from one project to another, and this happens because the immediate needs of every project are different. 

?? Respective teams start collaborating with each other along with the director and producer so as to arrive at a daily execution plan for when the shooting/principal photography starts.        

As specialists from different domains and in different aspects of the filmmaking processes come together, an obvious outcome is greater clarity of requirements. This clarity leads to the fine-tuning of the budget prepared in Stage #2 – it may increase and it may decrease. If the producer senses that the budget is increasing, and the increase within reason, the producer and studio shall need to arrive at a mutual understanding quickly on the final budget number. Reduction in budget is a much easier conversation.

At this stage it becomes important to appreciate the difference between the above-the-line (ATL) and below-the-line (BTL) segmentation of the cast and crew. This segmentation is primarily done for the purposes of preparation and execution of the film’s budget. So let’s understand this a bit better.

Depending on the stature of a particular crew member, the above understanding of ATL versus BTL can easily be modified. For example: a six-time national award winning prosthetics make-up artist in a zombie film would definitely be qualified as an ATL crew in the budget. Whereas, a director of photography (DOP) who is fresh out of film school would be considered a part of the BTL crew.

Therefore, it is important to understand the concept but also appreciate that nothing is written in stone.

This segregation of ATL and BTL crew members, and subsequently the segregation of their respective fees in the budget is very critical as it ends up dictating the producer's fee on the film. For illustration purposes:

• Total budget = INR 100
• ATL budget = INR 30
• BTL budget = INR 70

Colloquially, total budget is also referred to as ‘cost of project’ and BTL budget is referred to as ‘cost of production’.

Producer’s Fee on a film can be agreed upon in a lot of ways and this is purely dependent on the leverage the producer has in such discussions and negotiations with the studio:

• Way #1 = 10% of the BTL i.e. INR 7 is the most popular way.
• Way #2 = 10% of the Total Budget i.e. INR 10in this case, the producer’s fee becomes a number that is on the top of the agreed upon total budget. Very important to note, that every time the producer’s fee is linked to the ATL, the producer’s fee becomes a number that is on top of the agreed upon total budget.
• Way #3 = it is a fixed fee that is not directly linked to the BTL

Two points to note from above: 

?? In Way #1 and Way #3, the producer’s fee is mostly absorbed in the ATL budget of INR 30. 

?? In Way #2 and any other iteration in which the producer’s fee is linked to the total budget, the producer’s fee is no longer a part of the ATL budget and is over and above the total budget i.e. if the ATL budget (without producer’s fee) is INR 30, the BTL budget is INR 70 and the producer’s fee is INR 15, then the total cost of the project to the studio is INR (30+70+15) = INR 115 

The percentages mentioned in the illustration above can all vary basis the negotiations.        

Agreements that should have been executed by the end of Stage #3:

• ALL cast and crew agreements (including ATL and BTL crew)

Stage #4: Principal Photography?

(after pre-production is completed, it is time to start the principal photography)

Principal photography usually happens in chunks of time (called ‘schedules’) which is usually divided based on the availability of locations and actors.

For example: a Film A may have three schedules:

• schedule 1: Lucknow, UP
• schedule 2: New Delhi
• schedule 3: sets in Mumbai (Mehboob Studios and Film City)

Each of these schedules are usually separated by a break of a couple of days as decided by the production team.

This is an underrated, but absolutely a very important part of the filmmaking process. There are two reasons for that:

1. What is captured by the camera during this stage will inevitably form a part of the final film. If it is good, then the chances of the film turning out to be good are higher. The scope of course correction, from a creative perspective, is this stage suffers.
2. Most of the money from the budget is spent during this phase of the entire film. Keeping a track of how the cash is flowing becomes very important so that there are sufficient amounts left for the post-production and putting together of final deliverables.

Agreements that should have been executed by the end of Stage #4:

• All cast and crew agreements who were hired during production, even if they only had one-day of work on the film

Stage #5: Post-Production?

(all the shots required in the film have been shot, and now it is time to start putting the entire film in sequence as defined in the screenplay and further embellishing it)

• Post-production is the final stage in the process of taking a film from idea to screen, and the stage when the film comes to life.
• Post-production is a very technical and collaborative process that can take a couple of months to a couple of years depending on the nature and the budget of the film.
• Different processes that happen in the post-production of the film are: (i) Editing: the editor pieces together the different shots of the film utilizing the screenplay, but even more so utilizing the vision of the director (ii) Sound: film is referred to as an audio-visual medium, and that makes sound of a film equally important to the visuals of a film. The removal of noise from the sound that has been recorded on set, dubbing the voice of actors and the creation of sound effects, and also the enhancement/creation of the sounds related to on-screen movements of characters and/or objects such as rustling of leaves or sipping of water. (iii) Music: every film has a background music score which at different moments in the film elevates the drama or emotion in the scene. (iv) Songs: In Indian films, there are also songs which are sometimes lip-synced by actors in the film and the work on these songs is usually completed during stage 3 and stage 4 of this process. (v) Colour Correction: When the picture is locked (meaning, no further edits or changes), a colourist goes through every shot to digitally adjust and refine the hues and light to create continuity and strike a mood. (vi) Sound Mix: in this step, after all the sound and music elements have been incorporated in the edited film, sound mix is done to adjust the audio levels. This adjustment is important as the strength of sound can easily overwhelm a scene if the music is too loud while characters are speaking, or distract from the narrative if the sound is too low and the audience can’t hear what is happening. (vii) Graphics: Title, credits, and graphics (such as a date stamp) are created and added. (viii) Subtitling: this is very important for the international distribution of the film and needs to be done in all languages that are prominent in the territories in which the film is being distributed. (ix) Trailer: A new editing team takes over to cut the trailer, which is a two-and-a-half-minute preview meant to entice audiences to watch the movie when it hits the big, or small, screen.
• During this stage, the business discussions regarding the release of the film across all media, in addition to all the technical post-production processes, keeps the producer engaged. Some of the discussions that happen at this stage are as following: (i) Finalization of the theatrical release date of the film with the studio who financed the film or with an independent distributor, if the film was funded by non-studio finance (ii) Finalization of music publishing and distribution deal with a music label (iii) Finalization of the licensing deals with an OTT platform and broadcaster; if the film has been studio-financed then there is a possibility that the OTT streaming and broadcasting rights of the film have already been granted to the aforementioned studio and no such additional deals are required

Importance of Subtitling and Dubbing Rights in the Film and Television Business

Subtitling and dubbing rights are integral to the global distribution and localization of content, particularly in the context of OTT platforms. These rights enable the adaptation of audiovisual content for different languages, ensuring wider accessibility and enhancing the viewing experience for diverse audiences.

Here are key points to understand about subtitling and dubbing rights in the film and television business, especially in relation to OTT platforms:

• Subtitling enables the translation of dialogue and on-screen text into written text displayed at the bottom of the screen, allowing viewers to follow the content while preserving the original audio. Dubbing involves replacing the original language with a translated version recorded by voice actors, providing a seamless viewing experience in the viewer's native language.
• OTT platforms typically acquire subtitling and dubbing rights as part of their licensing agreements, separate from the main content rights, to adapt the content for their target markets.
• Subtitling and dubbing rights may involve additional fees or royalties negotiated separately from the main licensing agreement.
• The selection of languages for subtitling and dubbing depends on the target audience of the OTT platform and the market it operates in.
• OTT platforms may have specific guidelines and technical requirements for subtitling and dubbing formats to maintain consistency and compatibility.
• Subtitling and dubbing contribute to the global expansion of OTT platforms, making content accessible to a broader audience and providing a localized viewing experience.
• Subtitling and dubbing rights play a vital role in enhancing the accessibility and user experience of OTT content, promoting inclusivity and appealing to diverse audiences worldwide.

Agreements that should have been executed by the end of Stage #5:

• All crew agreements (including ATL and BTL crew)

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