The Entertainment Value Chain
Module title | The Entertainment Value Chain |
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Module code | EAFM201 |
Academic year | 2023/4 |
Credits | 30 |
Module staff | Marcellina Victoria Adeloa Thomas (Lecturer) |
Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
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Duration: Weeks | 11 |
Number students taking module (anticipated) | 30 |
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Module description
This module offers you a wide-ranging exploration of the entertainment value chain, a crucial concept for understanding the nature of the international film business. It will show you how to describe and define the value chain that flows through every film, and specifically to identify where value enters the chain, how it is locked in, to whom it belongs, and when and how that value is unlocked. Drawing on case studies that demonstrate how value is conceived in the international film business, the module enables you to consider how creative elements contribute to each stage of a film’s financing and distribution; and how content forms the basis for production and marketing decisions. The module includes talks and master-classes with established industry figures working in independent film production and a five-day trip to an International Film Market & Festival.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The module aims to:
- Guide you in understanding the entertainment value chain, and to develop an extensive knowledge of how a film has ‘value’, what that value consists of, and how best it can be maintained and developed in the independent film business.
- Guide you in understanding that value is not an absolute term, but that there are values specific in themselves, self-contained and belonging contractually to single individuals or entities (e.g. ‘territorial distribution’; ‘video windows’); and there are other values which are less distinct – not wholly financial themselves, but with implications for the financial value which accrues to all individuals and entities (e.g. ‘theatrical value’, ‘tentpole’).
- Permit you to to describe and define the value chain that flows through every film, and specifically to identify exactly where value enters the chain, how it is locked in, to whom it belongs, and when and how that value is unlocked.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of the entertainment value chain as it is conceived in relation to the operations of the independent film business
- 2. Critically analyse value in relation to case studies that exemplify particular aspects or characteristics of the entertainment value chain
- 3. Develop advanced and precise skills in how to put together a sales pack and finance plan for a feature film or feature documentary
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Employ a sophisticated knowledge of the ways in which the independent film business needs to be understood as constituting discrete but interlocking phases of development, production, and post-production, and to be able to apply this knowledge to produce advanced analyses of key case studies
- 5. Develop an enhanced understanding of the independent film business in terms of the inter-relation of various commercial, technological, artistic, and regulatory factors, and conduct research and engage in critical discussion and debate
- 6. Demonstrate advanced and precise skills in the assessment of film finance, sales, distribution and exhibition practices
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Deploy an advanced proficiency in information retrieval and analysis
- 8. Develop an advanced and intellectually mature capacity to question assumptions, to distinguish between fact and opinion, and to critically reflect on your own learning process.
- 9. Through the preparation of group pitches and pitch decks, develop soft skills and presentation skills
Syllabus plan
Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:
- Turnaround: The whole chain
- Film Development
- Production, packaging and planning
- Finance and International Sales – this week comprises a field trip to an International Film Market & Festival
- Distribution (Markets and Territories)
- Exhibition I (Theatrical)
- Exhibition II (Ancillary)
- Exhibition III (Festivals and New Forums)
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
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68 | 232 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
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Scheduled learning and teaching | 22 | Seminars led by the tutor (11 x 2 hours); you will need to prepare for each seminar |
Scheduled learning and teaching | 6 | Talks and master-classes with visiting industry professionals (6 x 1 hour) |
Scheduled learning and teaching | 40 | 5-day field trip to an International Film Market & Festival |
Guided independent study | 18 | Independent viewing screenings of six primary film texts for seminar preparation |
Guided independent study | 11 | Study group preparation for seminars |
Guided independent study | 203 | Reading and preparation for seminars and research projects |
Formative assessment
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
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Research project proposal | 500 words | 1-4, 6-8, 10-11 | Feedback in seminar by tutor and group members |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
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100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
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Group pitch | 25 | A pitch deck for a feature film or feature documentary based on an original idea or adaptation. Pitch duration 3 minutes per student, plus a 8-12 page accompanying pitch deck submitted by the group after the pitch. | 1-2, 4-6, 9 | Feedback sheet with opportunity for tutor follow up |
Research report | 25 | 1500 words | 1, 4-8 | Feedback sheet with opportunity for tutor follow up |
Pitch Deck and Finance Plan for an International Co-production | 50 | A maximum of 20 pages, slide pitch deck plus finance plan for a feature film or feature documentary, suitable for an international co-production under an official bilateral production treaty. | 1-9 | Feedback sheet with opportunity for tutor follow up |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
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Group pitch | Annotated pitch deck | 1-2, 4-6, 9 | Referral/Deferral period |
Research report | Research report | 1, 4-8 | Referral/Deferral period |
Pitch Deck and Finance Plan for an International Co-production | Pitch deck and Finance Plan | 1-9 | Referral/Deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 50%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Basic reading:
Primary texts:
- Peter Biskind, Down and Dirty Pictures, Bloomsbury, 2005.
- Peter Bloore, ‘Re-defining the Independent Film Value Chain’, BFI, 2009.
- Peter Bloore, The Screenplay Business, Routledge, 2012.
- Jake Eberts & Terry Ilott, My Indecision is Final: the Rise and Fall of Goldcrest Films, Faber 1992.
- Angus Finney, The Egos Have Landed: The Rise and Fall of Palace Pictures, Arrow, 1997.
- Jonathan A Knee, Bruce C Greenwald & Ava Seave, The Curse of the Mogul: What's Wrong with the World's Leading Media Companies, Portfolio, 2009.
- John Pierson, Spike, Mike, Slackers And Dykes: A Guided Tour Across a Decade of American Independent Cinema, Hyperion, 1998.
- UNESCO, ‘Introduction to the Value Chain’,
- Christine Vachon, Austin Bunn, John Pierson, A Killer Life – How an Independent Film Producer Survives Deals and Disasters in Hollywood and Beyond, Simon & Schuster 2006.
Selected secondary texts:
- Steven Bach, Final Cut: Dreams and Disaster in the Making of Heavens’ Gate, Cape, 1986.
- Peter Biskind, Easy Riders and Raging Bulls, Bloomsbury 1999.
- Peter Bart & Peter Guber, Shoot Out: Surviving Fame & [Mis]Fortune in Hollywood, Faber & Faber, 2002.
- Joe Johnson and Martine Orange, The Man Who Tried to Buy the World: Jean-Marie Messier and Vivendi Universal, Portfolio, 1993.
- Geoffrey Macnab, J. Arthur Rank and the British Film Industry, Routledge, 1994.
- Jonathan Rosenbaum, Movie Wars: How Hollywood and the Media Limit What Films We Can See, Wallflower Press, 2000.
- Julie Salamon, Devil’s Candy: The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood, Doubleday, 1992.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
Credit value | 30 |
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Module ECTS | 15 |
Module pre-requisites | None |
Module co-requisites | None |
NQF level (module) | 7 |
Available as distance learning? | No |
Origin date | 16/07/2012 |
Last revision date | 19/09/2023 |