Production, Distribution, Marketing and Exhibition.

Production

Production is the action of making or manufacturing. In terms of film, Production consist of four key stages: Development, pre-production, production and post-production.

Development is the first stage in production and in this stage the producer has to get a story, whether from a book, film or themselves, and then when the producers have decided what theme to chose, they go to the writers to come up with a synopsis. They then produce a step outline, which briefly details every scene of the screenplay's story. A screenwriter then writes a screenplay, which is like a script. After this, the producer and screenwriter come together to form a film pitch and they present it to financiers who, if they give it the green light, will financially support the film.

The next stage is Pre-production. In this stage a production budget may be drawn up but most importantly every step of making the film has to be analysed and perfect. With the aid of artists and illustrators, the film may get storyboarded. The producer may then higher a crew and each individual crew member is needed for a specific job.

Once pre-production is complete the film can now be created and shot. This is like the main part of producing a film. Before this though, the scene has to be set, meaning that the mise en scene is ready.  After this the director can now start setting up the film to their satisfaction.

Post production is the final stage when everything gets edited and key elements such as sound and special effects can be added.

Distribution 

This is when the films are released to the public, in places such as cinemas, the internet and even on DVD's. Film distributors may decide to release on a specific day. There is a release system called the release windows system. This ensures that movies aren't competing with each other so that everyone can  take advantage of the market.

Marketing

High financed films are marketed very carefully in order to increase the box office success.

This would consist of posters on the street, trailers as advertisements,  internet advertisements and radio advertisements. Another key way of marketing a film is by targeting a specific audience. For example PG animation films tend to have toys of their characters in happy films which attracts more people from that specific audience.

Exhibition

There are two types of cinemas where films are shown. National chains and independent exhibitions. National chains are mainly based in city centres and will target a large number of people so this is why mainly blockbuster films are shown here. Independent exhibitions tend to be shown in the country side,  in art houses. This is aimed at a specific market as it is considered serious artistic work and often experimental. Not designed for mass audience.