Institution Research

The big six production companies

The obvious advantage of any of the big six production companies is that they can finance the production of any film you could want to make and also have plenty of experience within the industry. This would mean that, provided the idea for the film is good, the end product is generally something that is successful and good to watch. 

20th Century Fox

Notable films: Star Wars, Avatar, Home Alone, The Simpsons Movie and X-Men

Whilst 20th Century Fox's films don't necessarily have a common genre, they do have the financial power to support a film. They are well established within the industry - founded in 1935 - and certainly are a respectable name. They also have a deal with Netflix to their back-catalog, so whilst it won't be added instantly, it will extend the life of our film because people will discover it later. 

Screenshot from the Fox website

Paramount

Notable films: The Godfather, Forrest Gump, Transformers and Indiana Jones

Something that is particularly attractive about Paramount is that they have previously produced The Godfather. Being such a famous film in the crime genre, it would suggest that they would be able to help us create a great film. Whilst The Godfather isn't exactly the same style of crime film, the broader similarities within the genre would mean that this production company would be a good choice due to their past success. 

Warner Bros

Notable films: Goodfellas, Batman, Harry Potter and The Shining

Similarly to the way that Paramount stood out with The Godfather, Warner Bros stand out due to the production of Goodfellas. This shows their previous success in the genre which is encouraging. Additionally, with 19.7% of the USA/Canada market share (in 2007) they are the biggest name in the industry which means their financial support would be second to none. They also have a deal with Netflix for their back-catalog

Universal

Notable films: Jaws, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future and E.T.

Many of Universal Studios' films are iconic within British culture. This shows that they are capable of creating films that leave an imprint on an audience. Also, as an American company they would be very capable of capturing that element of their society which is more central to our clip. Universal Studios also has a Netflix deal.

Columbia

Notable films: Spiderman, Men in Black, The Karate Kid and Ghostbusters

One possible advantage of going with Columbia as a production company is that, under the conglomerate of Sony, they would be able to access rights to things such as music easier than other production companies may have done. Sony Pictures, to which Columbia is a subsidiary company, also have a deal with Netflix. 

Walt Disney Pictures

Notable films: Pirates of The Caribbean, The Muppets, Mary Poppins

In it's own right, Walt Disney pictures is a successful production company, however I don't feel it would be the best choice for a crime film. More than any other of the Big 6, the films produced by them are generally geared towards a younger audience and this would probably mean there are better choices to produce a crime film.

Despite the financial support that the big six would offer, I feel that a smaller production company that is more specialized to a genre would make for a better choice. The fact that they specialize more would mean that they would have a better understanding of what we are trying to create and therefore mean we would be able to represent our idea better. 

Others

The production company that I feel would be the best choice for our film is miramax because they have produced many films in the past that are similar to the one we are producing. Examples of the films they have produced in the past are Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, as well as co-producing Reservoir Dogs. These films have themes within them that we would like to emulate. For example, the idea of crime for money is something that we think makes an interesting film and therefore we can take inspiration from this production company and also be sure that they are suited to produce a film molded to the image we have. Finally, having played a role in the production of films such as Pulp Fiction, which has played a part in influencing our film, we would hope that people would see that Miramax has produced it and associate the two, almost creating an unofficial synergy between the two products.

Another production company that I considered was Quentin Tarantino's A Band Apart. They played a role in the production of all of his movies and this makes them quite a big name in the crime genre. Similarly to Miramax they produce the kinds of films that we are aspiring to create. However Miramax would have more financial power and have produced Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown (alongside A Band Apart) which shows they have experience in the genre and we don't want to just be completely copying Quentin Tarantino. Also, the company closed in 2006.