Developing Technologies in the TV and Film Industries

Introduction

Since the start of Television there has been a lot of progress and from the black and white TV's to todays LCD HD Flatscreen TV's.

TV's History

 



Through time outstanding things have happened in TV from 1928-2011.  From Baird Model C to days Parasonic, Sony , LG there has been a tremendous amount of change in the TV history. As TV started in black and white then developed into colour and now there is a variety of different Screen effects such as HD, LCD,LED,Active Shutter,Passive, Active,Smart, AV, 2D, 3D, 4D and a lot more. These TV effects resemble how much TV has change and the images above also elaborate TV effects.

3D Television

3D TV happens when...
We see depth when images from our left and right eyes merge into one; to re-create that in high-def, TVs must refresh the picture at least 120 times a second with alternating frames for the left and right eye, which tricks your brain into seeing only one image. Most new TVs are fast enough to do this, but to be 3-D-capable, TVs must include a converter chip and software to break down the signal and separate the left and right images. An infrared or radio beam syncs shutter glasses [below] with the screen to produce the final 3-D effect. In my opinion I would'nt buy 3D tv because I'm happy with HD and from my seeings the prices of 3D TV's is not satisfactory. Alongside this there isnt many 3D channels or channels where you can use 3D.

Anaglyph images

Are used to provide a stereoscopic 3D effect, when viewed with glasses where the two lenses are different (usually chromatically opposite) colors, such as red and cyan. Images are made up of two color layers, superimposed, but offset with respect to each other to produce a depth effect. Usually the main subject is in the center, while the foreground and background are shifted laterally in opposite directions. The picture contains two differently filtered colored images, one for each eye. When viewed through the "color coded" "anaglyph glasses", they reveal an integrated stereoscopic image. The visual cortex of the brain fuses this into perception of a three dimensional scene or composition.

Polarized 3D glasses

Create the illusion of three-dimensional images by restricting the light that reaches each eye, an example of stereoscopy which exploits the polarization of light.
To present a stereoscopic motion picture, two images are projected superimposed onto the same screen through different polarizing filters. The viewer wears low-cost eyeglasses which contain a pair of different polarizing filters. As each filter passes only that light which is similarly polarized and blocks the light polarized in the opposite direction, each eye sees a different image. This is used to produce a three-dimensional effect by projecting the same scene into both eyes, but depicted from slightly different perspectives. Several people can view the stereoscopic images at the same time.

Alternate Framing Sequencing

The movie is filmed with two cameras like most other 3-D films. Then the images are placed into a single strip of film in alternating order. In other words, there is the first left-eye image, then the corresponding right-eye image, then the next left-eye image, followed by the corresponding right-eye image and so on.The film is then run at 48 frames-per-second instead of the traditional 24 frames-per-second. The audience wears very specialized LCD shutter glasses that have lenses that can open and close in rapid succession. The glasses also contain special radio receivers. The projection system has a transmitter that tells the glasses which eye to have open. The glasses switch eyes as the different frames come on the screen.

A head-mounted display or helmet mounted display, both abbreviated HMD, is a display device, worn on the head or as part of a helmet, that has a small display optic in front of one (monocular HMD) or each eye (binocular HMD).


Satellite television

Satellite is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an external set-top box or a satellite tuner module built into a TV set. Satellite TV tuners are also available as a card or a USB stick to be attached to a personal computer. In many areas of the world satellite television provides a wide range of channels and services, often to areas that are not serviced by terrestrial or cable providers. In my opinion Satellite Television is something spectacular. Satellite TV is controlled mainly by Sky and is the leadering TV conglomeraete.

Cable TV

Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional broadcast television (via radio waves) in which a television antenna is required. FM radio programming, high-speed Internet, telephony, and similar non-television services may also be provided. The major difference is the change of radio frequency signals used and optical connections to the subscriber property. In my opinion a clearer screen is better and the way cable TV works is something of my interest as it does get any signal interferences.

Analog TV

Analog (or analogue) television is the analog transmission that involves the broadcasting of encoded analog audio and analog video signal: one in which the message conveyed by the broadcast signal is a function of deliberate variations in the amplitude and/or frequency of the signal. All broadcast television systems preceding digital transmission of digital television (DTV) were systems utilizing analog signals. Analog television may be wireless or can require copper wire used by cable converters.


Digital TV

Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV. Many countries are replacing broadcast analog television with digital television to allow other uses of the television radio spectrum.

Interactive television

Interactive television represents a continuum from low interactivity (TV on/off, volume, changing channels) to moderate interactivity (simple movies on demand without player controls) and high interactivity in which, for example, an audience member affects the program being watched. The most obvious example of this would be any kind of real-time voting on the screen, in which audience votes create decisions that are reflected in how the show continues. A return path to the program provider is not necessary to have an interactive program experience. Once a movie is downloaded for example, controls may all be local. The link was needed to download the program, but texts and software which can be executed locally at the set-top box or IRD (Integrated Receiver Decoder) may occur automatically, once the viewer enters the channel.

High Definition TV


Most simply, a high-definition television system is able to offer a clearer and more detailed picture than any existing broadcast system, because it contains more picture information. All television signals, whether analogue or digital, are made up of many dots or picture elements (pixels) that form the image you see, so by using more of these pixels in a high-definition (HD) transmission a better image can be produced.

Streaming Media

Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather than to the medium itself. The distinction is usually applied to media that are distributed over telecommunications networks, as most other delivery systems are either inherently streaming (e.g., radio, television) or inherently non-streaming (e.g., books, video cassettes, audio CDs). The verb 'to stream' is also derived from this term, meaning to deliver media in this manner. Internet television is a commonly streamed medium.



Internet TV


Internet television (otherwise known as Internet TV, or Online TV) is the digital distribution of television content via the Internet. It should not be confused with Web television - short programs or videos created by a wide variety of companies and individuals, or Internet protocol television (IPTV) - an emerging internet technology standard for use by television broadcasters. Some Internet television is known as catch-up TV. Internet Television is a general term that covers the delivery of television shows and other video content over the internet, typically by major traditional television broadcasters. It does not describe a technology used to deliver content.

Pay-per-view


Pay-per-view (PPV) provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it (as opposed to video-on-demand systems, which allow viewers to see recorded broadcasts at any time). Events can be purchased using an on-screen guide, an automated telephone system, or through a live customer service representative. Events often include feature films, sporting events and entertainment. In my opinion Pay-per-view is a really good idea but on the cost side of things I dont think pay-per-view depicts as much reputation as it should and how many people use the product.


Computer-generated imagery


Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media. The visual scenes may be either dynamic or static.The term computer animation refers to dynamic CGI rendered as a movie. The term virtual world refers to agent-based, interactive environments.

3D computer graphics software is used to make computer-generated imagery for movies, etc. Recent availability of CGI software and increased computer speeds have allowed individual artists and small companies to produce professional-grade films, games, and fine art from their home computers. This has brought about an Internet subculture with its own set of global celebrities, clichés, and technical vocabulary. My view on CGI is that it has had a lot of progress in the TV industry and in my opinion its success in still exceeding. In my opinion I think that CGI  adds supreem quality to some films but detracts to some of them. For example good storylines with good CGI get great success but films with not as much CGI in the storyline makes the film  not get as much popularity in this bussiness.  

Regulatory and Professional Bodies

British Video Association
Video entertainment is the single most valuable part of the UK's audiovisual sector, providing content to suit every taste, age and lifestyle. Video entertainment is distributed on physical and digital formats, from DVD, Blu-ray Discs and 3D Blu-ray Discs through to digital TV-based and web-based internet services, available to rent or to own portable devices and for home consumption.

Film Distributors Association
We represent a distribution stance in regular representations to and consultations with the UK Film Council, the government and other trade organisations in the film industry. We are also a passionate advocate of distributors' pivotal role in the well-being of the whole film economy.

Video Standards Council (VSC)
The Video Standards Council was established in 1989 has an non-profit making body which is set up to  develop and oversee a code of practice designed to promote high standards within the video industries.

Trading Standards Press
The Trading Standards Institute is the professional association which represents trading standards professionals in the UK and overseas.TSI performs an important and influencing role in engaging with, and making representations to, Government, UK and EU Parliamentary institutions, and key stakeholders in the local government, community, business and consumer sectors, and other regulatory agencies. TSI aims to sustain and improve consumer protection, health and wellbeing, together with the reinforcement of fair markets, facilitating business competitiveness and success.

Complaints Commission (PCC)

The PCC is an independent body which administers the system of self-regulation for the press. It does so primarily by dealing with complaints, framed within the terms of the Editors' Code of Practice, about the editorial content of newspapers and magazines (and their websites, including editorial audio-visual material) and the conduct of journalists.

Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)

The Advertising Standards Authority plays an essential role in today’s world. It informs, entertains and promotes healthy competition. Our aim at the ASA is to ensure that consumers do not just enjoy the ads they see, but they can trust them too.

The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF)

Mobile entertainment is created as the convergence of both industries. Each of these worlds speaks a different language, and holds different assumptions about the nature of its work.

The Independent Games Developers Association (IGDA)

is the national trade association representing the business and commercial interests of video and computer game developers in the UK and Europe. Its counterpart representing software publishers in the UK is ELSPA.

British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.

Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA)

The Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) is the trade body

for UK commercial radio. It represents commercial radio to Government,

the Radio Authority, copyright societies and other organisations

concerned with radio.

The International Visual Communication Association (IVCA)

The International Visual Communications Association exists to represent its members to Government and other stakeholding bodies and to promote effective business and public service communications of the highest ethical and professional standards. 

Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C)

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards

British Interactive Multimedia Association (BIMA)

BIMA is dedicated to serving our membership in the UK and abroad. Locally, we are active in discussions with Government, leading industry players and other partner associations. Globally, we represent and champion the UK multimedia industry.

Regulatory Issues

Ownership -  is where people decide whether or not to let certain people own a certain amount of media conglomerates. In my opinion I think people can own what they want through how successful they are or let the public of the area decide who will be incharge. Only someone with a certain reputation is able to own media conglomerates.

Monopoly - A monopoly describes a situation where all (or most) sales in a market are undertaken by a single firm. A natural monopoly by contrast is a condition on the cost-technology of an industry whereby it is most efficient (involving the lowest long-run average cost) for production to be concentrated in a single form. In some cases, this gives the largest supplier in an industry, often the first supplier in a market, an overwhelming cost advantage over other actual and potential competitors. In my opinion monopoly is a good idea and I think they should only change the price if the item goes out of bussiness.

Access -The MAC sub-layer acts as an interface between the logical link control (LLC) sublayer and the network's physical layer. The MAC layer emulates a full-duplex logical communication channel in a multi-point network. This channel may provide unicast, multicast or broadcast communication service.

Consumers Choice - is a theory of microeconomics that relates preferences for consumption goods and services to consumption expenditures and ultimately to consumer demand curves. The link between personal preferences, consumption, and the demand curve is one of the most closely studied relations in economics. Consumer choice theory is a way of analyzing how consumers may achieve equilibrium between preferences and expenditures by maximizing utility as subject to consumer budget constraints.

Freedom of Information -  comprises laws that guarantee access to data held by the state. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions. Also variously referred to as open records or (especially in the United States) sunshine laws, governments are also typically bound by a duty to publish and promote openness. In many countries there are constitutional guarantees for the right of access to information, but usually these are unused if specific support legislation does not exist. Other peoples views on freedom really do matter.

Censorship -  is the suppression of speech or other public communication which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the general body of people as determined by a government, media outlet, or other controlling body. For example V for Vendatta insinuates a variety of censorships. Firstly, when using certain things that are historical and not letting other people see.

Taste and Decency -

Transmissions should not include anything which offends against good taste or decency or is likely to encourage or incite to crime or to lead to disorder or to be offensive to public feeling.

Licensees should take note of the guidance contained in Section 1 of the ITC Programme Code, in particular that relating to the use of bad language and bad taste in humour.

In accordance with the ITC’s Family Viewing Policy, normally no editorial material which is unsuitable for children should be transmitted before 9.00 pm. Separate rules apply to advertising - see rule 22 of Part C.

Ethical and legal constraints with the media sector

People in the creative and media industries follow certain rules and regulations here is a list below.

Broadcasting act 1990

The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament, often regarded by both its supporters and its critics as a quintessential example of Thatcherism. The aim of the Act was to reform the entire structure of British broadcasting; British television, in particular, had earlier been described by Margaret Thatcher as "the last bastion of restrictive practices". Is a series of laws that relate to of what is legal and illegal to broadcast on television and radio in the uk.


Official Secrets act


The Official Secrets Act is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India and Malaysia and formerly in New Zealand for legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security.


Obscene publications act 1959


The Obscene Publications Act 1959 (c. 66) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament that significantly reformed the law related to obscenity. Prior to the passage of the Act, the law on publishing obscene materials was governed by the common law case of R v Hicklin, which had no exceptions for artistic merit or the public good.


Films Act 1985

The Films Act 1985 dissolved the British Film Fund Agency, ending the Eady levy system established in 1951. The Act also abolished the Cinematograph Film Council and dissolved the National Film Finance Corporation, transferring its assets to British Screen Finance Limited. The Act repealed the Films Acts 1960-1980 and also repealed certain provisions of the Finance Acts 1982 and 1984 and substituted new provisions for determining whether or not a film was 'British' film eligible for capital allowances.

Video recordings act 1984

The Video Recordings Act 1984 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was passed in 1984. It states that commercial video recordings offered for sale or for hire within the UK must carry a classification that has been agreed upon by an authority designated by the Home Office.

Race relations act 1976

The Race Relations Act 1976 was established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race.Items that are covered include discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic and national origin in the fields of employment, the provision of goods and services, education and public functions.

Human Rights act 1998

The Human Rights Act 1998 gives further legal effect in the UK to the fundamental rights and freedoms contained in the European Convention on Human Rights. These rights not only impact matters of life and death, they also affect the rights you have in your everyday life: what you can say and do your beliefs, your right to a fair trial and other similar basic entitlements.

Licensing act 2003

The Licensing Act of 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that applies only to England and Wales. The Act establishes a single integrated scheme for licensing premises which are used for the sale or supply of alcohol, to provide regulated entertainment, or to provide late night refreshment. Permission to carry on some or all of these licensable activities will now be contained in a single license, the premises license, replacing several different and complex schemes.

Privacy Laws

Privacy law refers to the laws which deal with the regulation of personal information about individuals which can be collected by governments and other public as well as private organizations and its storage and use. Privacy laws can be broadly classified into: General privacy laws have an overall bearing on the personal information of individuals and affect the policies that govern many different areas of information. Privacy in English law is a rapidly developing area of English law that considers in what situations an individual has a legal right to informational privacy, that is to say the protection of personal (or private) information from misuse or unauthorised disclosur^. Privacy law is distinct from those laws such as trespass or assault that are designed to protect physical privacy. Such laws are generally considered as part of criminal law or the law of tort. Historically, English common law has recognised no general right or tort of privacy, and was offered only limited protection through the doctrine of breach of confidence and a "piecemeal" collection of related legislation on topics like harassment and data protection.            


Copyright


Copyright can protect:

• literary works, including novels, instruction manuals, computer programs, song lyrics, newspaper articles and some types of database
• dramatic works, including dance or mime
• musical works
• artistic works, including paintings, engravings, photographs, sculptures, collages, architecture, technical drawings, diagrams, maps and logos
• layouts or typographical arrangements used to publish a work, for a book for instance
• recordings of a work, including sound and film
• broadcasts of a work

You should only copy or use a work protected by copyright with the copyright owner's permission.
Copyright applies to any medium. This means that you must not reproduce copyright protected work in another medium without permission. This includes, publishing photographs on the internet, making a sound recording of a book, a painting of a photograph and so on.
Copyright does not protect ideas for a work.  It is only when the work itself is fixed, for example in writing, that copyright automatically protects it. This means that you do not have to apply for copyright.
A copyright protected work can have more than one copyright, or another intellectual property (IP) right, connected to it.  For example, an album of music can have separate copyrights for individual songs, sound recordings, artwork, and so on.  Whilst copyright can protect the artwork of your logo, you could also register the logo as a trade mark.
For TV productions and films, copyright may exist on a number of its components, for example, the original screenplay, the music score and so on. If you produced the TV show or film then you would normally obtain the rights to, or gain permission to use, the works required to make the production.
Copyright applies to a musical composition when it is set down in permanent form, either by writing it down or in any other manner. With a song there will usually be more than one copyright associated with it. If you are the composer of the music you will be the author of the musical work and will have copyright in that music. The lyrics of a song are protected separately by copyright as a literary work. The person who writes the lyrics will own the copyright in the words.
Copyright applies to the internet in the same way as material in other media. For example, any photographs you place on the internet will be protected in the same way as other artistic works; any original written work will be protected as a literary work, and so on.


BBFC


The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify videos, DVDs and some video games under the Video Recordings Act 2010
The BBFC rates theatrically released films, and rated videos and video games that forfeited exemption from the Video Recordings Act 1984, which was discovered in August 2009 to be unenforceable until the act was re-enacted by the Video Recordings Act 2010. Legally, local authorities have the power to decide under what circumstances films are shown in cinemas, but they nearly always choose to follow the advice of the BBFC.
The Video Recordings Act requires that video releases not exempt (music, documentary, non-fiction, video games, etc.) under the Act had to be classified, making it illegal to supply any recording that had not been certified. Certificates could restrict release to any age of 18 or under, or to only licensed sex-shops. The government currently designate the BBFC as the authority for certifying video releases. As the law requires the certificate to be displayed on the packaging and media labels of the video recording, in practice only UK releases can be legally sold or hired in the UK, even if a foreign release had identical content.

Ofcom

Ofcom (officially the Office of Communications;  is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003. Ofcom's focus no longer includes some of the technical standards issues overseen by the previous regulatory agencies.
Ofcom's responsibilities are wide-ranging, covering all types of industries and processes. It has a statutory duty to the interests of citizens and consumers by promoting competition, and protecting consumers from what might be considered harmful or offensive material. Some of the main areas Ofcom presides over are licensing, research, codes and policies, complaints, competition and protect the radio spectrum from abuse. Ofcom has a policy to undertake many consultation processes.




                    









LONDON: A British politician defied a court order on Monday by identifying Manchester United’s Ryan Gigg’s as the soccer star fighting a legal battle to prevent newspapers from publishing allegations of an affair.




The release of Giggs’ name will be seen as a victory for the media over celebrities and their lawyers after an increasingly farcical game of cat-and-mouse that prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to promise a review of the country’s privacy laws. Giggs, a Welsh international, has played for English champions Manchester United for two decades and is one of the best known soccer players in the country. Aged 37, he is married with two children, and has an image as one of the sport’s gentlemen. Lawyers representing the player had asked US-based Twitter via a London court for information about the users of the messaging website who published details of his private life. English newspapers have responded to bans taken out by a number of celebrities, including other sports stars and actors, by making references to them in gossip columns in the knowledge that readers, having read up on the Internet, will spot the intention behind the apparently innocent stories. Politicians have also used parliamentary privilege to disclose that former Royal Bank of Scotland head Fred Goodwin had won a gagging order. Goodwin came under fire for taking a generous pension after his bank had to be rescued by the state. A newspaper in Scotland, which has its own legal system, ran a thinly disguised photograph of Giggs on Sunday over an article calling it “unsustainable” to bar reporters from naming the man identified in hundreds of Twitter postings as one of the celebrities using court orders to stifle sex scandals. For weeks, British media have been fighting the growing use by the rich and famous of “super injunctions” — English court orders which prevent publication of unwelcome stories and prohibit journalists from even reporting that a ban is in place.

Code of Practice

A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the responsibilities of or proper practices for an individual, party or organization. Related concepts include ethical codes and honor codes.
The codes of practice provide guidance and lay down expected standards for each of the sectors we regulate. The revised codes are designed to support professionals by giving advice and guidance based on real-life experience. Which basically means the professional will be given a set of rules and regulations to follow in his/her job.

This is the newspaper and periodical industry’s Code of Practice. It is framed and revised by the Editors’ Code Committee made up of independent editors of national,

regional and local newspapers and magazines. The Press Complaints Commission, which has a majority of lay members, is charged with enforcing the Code, using it to

adjudicate complaints. It was ratified by the PCC in September 2009. Clauses marked* are covered by exceptions relating to the public interest.

Media Representation

Representation refers to the construction in any medium (especially the mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures.
The term refers to the processes involved as well as to its products. For instance, in relation to the key markers of identity - Class, Age, Gender and Ethnicity (the 'cage' of identity) - representation involves not only how identities are represented (or rather constructed) within the text but also how they are constructed in the processes of production and reception by people whose identities are also differentially marked in relation to such demographic factors. Consider, for instance, the issue of 'the gaze'. How do men look at images of women, women at men, men at men and women at  women?

Representation of African-Americans in media

The representation of African-Americans in media has been a major concern in mainstream American culture. Representation, in itself, refers to the construction in any medium of aspects of "reality" such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures. For example a programme based in london named Made in Chelsea has a lot of racial relations act as in the show as there is no black persons. 

Tv Funding

BBC License Fee

The annual cost of a colour TV licence is £145.50 (as from 1 April 2010). A black and white TV licence is £49.
How the license fee was spent in 2010/11

Between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011 the cost was £145.50 – the equivalent of £12.13 per month or just under 40p per day.
The BBC used its income from the licence fee to pay for its TV, radio and online services, plus other costs, as shown below.
Everyone in the UK who watches or records TV as it is broadcast needs to be covered by a TV licence. This includes TV on computers, mobile phones, DVD/video recorders and other devices.
The Government sets the level of the licence fee. In January 2007 the licence fee was agreed for a six-year period with the amount being approved each year by Parliament. More recently the Government decided to freeze the licence fee at its 2010 level of £145.50 until the end of the current BBC Charter period in 2016.

Syndication

 The BBC tries to make its content available as widely as possible. This means that we make some of our content available on demand through other parties. This is referred to as syndication.
The BBC On-demand Syndication Guidelines: this document sets out guidelines and requirements that will ensure that BBC content is syndicated in a way which protects the BBC brand, ensures technical integrity and provides the best experience for the user.

Commercial Broadcasting

Commercial broadcasting is primarily based on the practice of airing radio advertisements and television advertisements for profit. This is in contrast to public broadcasting, which receives government subsidies and eschews most (or all) paid advertising.
In the United States, non-commercial educational(NCE) television and radio exists in the form of community radio; however, premium cable services such as HBO and Showtime generally operate solely on subscriber fees and do not sell advertising. This is also the case for the portions of the two major satellite radio systems that are produced in-house (mainly music programming).
Radio broadcasting originally began without paid commercials. As time went on, however, advertisements seemed less objectionable to both the public and government regulators and became more common. While commercial broadcasting was unexpected in radio, in television it was planned due to commercial radio's success. Television began with commercial sponsorship and later transformed to paid commercial time. When problems arose over patents and corporate marketing strategies, regulatory decisions were made by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to control commercial broadcasting.

Film Fianancing

Film Fiance

Film Fiance is an aspect of film production that occurs during the development stage prior to pre-production, and is concerned with determining the potential value of a proposed film. In the United States, the value is typically based on a forecast of revenues over a ten- to 15-year period, beginning with theatrical release, and including DVD sales, and release to cable broadcast television networks both domestic and international and inflight airline licensing.

4 Main methods

Government Grants

A number of governments run programs to subsidise the cost of producing films. For instance, in the United Kingdom the UK Film Council provides funding to producers provided certain conditions are met. States such as Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New Mexico, will provide a subsidy or tax credit provided all or part of a film is filmed in that state.Governments are willing to provide these subsidies as they hope it will attract creative individuals to their territory and stimulate employment. Also, a film shot in a particular location can have the benefit of advertising that location to an international audience.
Government subsidies are often pure grants, where the government expects no financial return.

Tax Schemes

A number of countries have introduced legislation that has the effect of generating enhanced tax deductions for producers or owners of films. Schemes are created which effectively sell the enhanced tax deductions to wealthy individuals with large tax liabilities. The individuals pay the producer a fee in order to obtain the tax deductions. The individual will often become the legal owner of the film or certain rights relating to the film, but the producer will in substance continue as the real owner of the economic rights to exploit the film.Governments are beginning to recognise that enhanced tax deductions are an inefficient way of supporting the film industry. Too much of the tax benefit is siphoned off by promoters of the tax scheme. Also, films with little commercial or artistic merit are produced simply to generate tax deductions. In 2007 the United Kingdom government introduced the Producer's Tax Credit which results in a direct cash subsidy from the treasury to the film producer.

German Tax Shelters

A relatively new tactic for raising finance is through German tax shelters. The tax law of Germany allows investors to take an instant tax deduction even on non-German productions and even if the film has not yet gone into production. The film producers can sell the copyright to one of these tax shelters for the cost of the film's budget, then have them lease it back for a price around 90% of the original cost.On a $100 million film, a producer could make $10 million, minus fees to lawyers and middlemen.
This tactic favors big-budget films as the profit on more modestly budgeted films would be consumed by the legal and administrative costs.
That being said, the above schemes are all but gone and are being replaced by more traditional production incentives
The main production incentive is the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF). The DFFF is a grant given by the German Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media. To receive the grant a producer has to fulfill different requirements including a cultural eligibility test. The film finance calculator on NRW.GermanFilmFinance.com checks online if the project passes the test as well as it shows the individually calculated estimated grant.

British Tax Shelters


Now, the same copyright can be sold again to a British company and a further $10 million could be raised, but UK law insists that part of the film is shot in Britain and that the production employs a fair proportion of British actors and crew. This explains why many American films like to shoot at Britain's major film studios like Pinewood and Shepperton and why a film such as Basic Instinct 2 relocated its action from New York to London. These are commonly referred to Sale & Leaseback deals; they were discontinued in March 2007, though those initiated prior to Dec. 31, 2006 were grandfathered in.

Private equity Fianancing


Generally tax-advantaged theatrical film and television investment for affluent individuals comes with little risk. Most often, the cost of production is recouped by a combination of federal and state tax incentives, thereby eliminating most of the risk. Capital is still required as a direct investment (partnerships can be used), but must also be "at risk", which allows § 181 IRC write-offs. For example, if a private equity source is found (individuals with capital or a private wealth management firm representing individuals personal funds), the investor pays for the film or TV production, and receives back an equal amount of capital in tax-incentives, pre-sales and state tax credits, thereby making the investment and recoup a wash. This is a highly specialized tax play, and is often looked upon as risky by those who do not understand the risk mitigation offered through state tax and federal tax incentives like § 181 IRC.

Private investors

One of the hardest types of film financing pieces to obtain is private investor funds. These are funds invested by an individual who is looking to possibly add more risk to his investment portfolio, or a high net-worth individual with a keen interest in films. Boston Financial Trust, Corp. has become a catalyst for many of those types of investors and has access to some of the strongest film financiers in the Northeast.

Debt Fianance

Pre-sales is, based on the script and cast, selling the right to distribute a film in different territories before the film is completed. Once the deal is made, the distributor will insist the producers deliver on certain elements of content and cast; if a material alteration is made, financing may collapse. In order to gain the “marquee names” essential for drawing in an international audience, distributors and sale agents will often make casting suggestions. Pre-sales contracts with big name actors or directors will often (at the insistence of the buyer) have an "essential element" clause that (as per the example above) allows the buyer to get out of the contract if the star or director falls out of the picture and a marquee equivalent cannot be procured.
The reliance on pre-sales explains the film industry's dependence on movie stars, directors and/or certain film genres (such as Horror).
Typically, upon signing a pre-sale contract, the buyer will pay a 20% deposit to the film's collection account (or bank), with the balance (80%) due upon the film's delivery to the foreign sales agent (along with all the necessary deliverable requirements.)
Usually a producer pre-sells foreign territories (in whole or part) and/or North American windows/rights (i.e. theatrical, home video/DVD, pay TV, free TV, etc.) so that the producer can use the value of those contracts as collateral for the production loan that a bank (senior lender) is providing to finance the production.

Television re-sales

Although it is more usual for a producer to sell the TV rights of this film after it has been made, it is sometimes possible to sell the rights in advance and use the money to pay for the production.In some cases the television station will be a subsidiary of the movie studio's parent company.

Negative Pickup Deal

A negative pickup deal is a contract entered into by an independent producer and a movie studio wherein the studio agrees to purchase the movie from the producer at a given date and for a fixed sum. Until then, the financing is up to the producer, who must pay any additional costs if the film goes over-budget. Superman and Never Say Never Again are examples of negative pickups.
Generally, a producer will have a bank/lender lend against the value of the negative pickup contract as a way to shore-up their financing package of the film. This is commonly referred to as "factoring paper". Most major North American studio and network contracts (incl. basic cable) are collateralized/factored by the bank at 100% of the contract value and the lender just takes a basic origination/setup fee. This is not the case with foreign contracts^, which the bank will usually only lend 80%, 50%, or 0% of the value of the contract, depending on the bank's history with the buyer, country/territory, and/or seller.
Splitting the roles of studios and networks necessitated a means for financing television series appropriate to the varied risks and rewards inherent in the separation. A practice known as "deficit financing" consequently developed - an arrangement in which the network pays the studio that make a show a license fee in exchange for the right to air the show, but the studio retains ownership. The license fee does not fully cover the costs of production - hence the "deficit" of deficit financing.
Deficit Financing developed after the varied risks and rewards were determined and carried out through film financing. Deficit financing occurs when the license fee for a show doesn’t fully cover production fees. A studio has ownership of the production, but as license fees are handed out in exchange to air a show, the phrase deficit financing comes into play as costs were not being met and paid.
From the late 1960s through the mid-1990s special regulations from financial regulation's and syndication's rules created relations between television networks and independent production companies. These rules stated that ownership of the rights to the programs reverted to the producer/production company after a specified number of network runs (syndication). Profits from any other sales, including syndication, generally benefited the production community. Because of this, production companies produced original shows at a loss, hoping that they would eventually be run by syndication and make their money back.

Gap/Supergap fiancing

In motion pictures, Gap/Supergap financing is a form of mezzanine debt financing where the producer wishes to complete their film finance package by procuring a loan that is secured against the film's unsold territories and rights. Most gap financiers will only lend against the value of unsold foreign (non-North American) rights, as domestic (North American: USA & Canadian) rights are seen as a "performance" risk, as opposed to more quantifiable risk that is the foreign market.In short, this means that the foreign value of a film can be ascertained by a Foreign Sales Company/Agent by evaluating the blended value of the quality of the script, its genre, cast, director, producer, as well as whether it has theatrical distribution in the US from a major film studio all of this is taken into consideration and applied against the historical and current market tastes, trends, and needs of each foreign territory of country. Surprisingly, this is fairly predictable to a certain degree of certainty. Domestic distribution, on the other hand, is very unpredictable and far from ever a sure thing (e.g. just because a film has a big budget and a commercial genre and cast, it could still be unwatchable and thus never receive a theatrical or television release in the US, thus being relegated to being a big budget, direct-to-video film.) So, in as much as there can ever be any certainty in the entertainment business, lending against foreign value estimates is almost always going to be a much better bet than banking on domestic success (comedies and urban films being two notable exceptions: they are referred to as "domestic pieces" or "domestic plays".)
True to its mezzanine nature, in the pecking order of recoupment of investment, generally, gap (or supergap) loans are subordinate to (recoup after) the senior/bank production loan, but in turn, the gap/supergap loan will be senior to (recoup before) equity financiers.
A gap loan becomes a supergap loan when it extends beyond 10-15% of the production loan required to shoot the film (or in other words, when the percentage of the gap required to complete the film's financing package becomes greater than a bank is willing to bear, which is traditionally 10-15%, but can sometime be a flat dollar threshold like US$1,000,000.)Gap/Supergap lending is a very risky form of capital investment and accordingly the fees and interest charged reflect that level of risk. But at the same time it's not unlike buying a house: nobody pays 100% of the purchase price with cash; they pay about 20% in cash and borrow the rest. Supergap financing works by the same principle: put down 20-30% cash/equity and borrow the rest.
Over the years, because of the high risk nature, many supergap companies have come and gone, but a few established players have survived the ups and downs of the markets with Relativity Media, Screen Capital International, Grosvenor Park, Helios Productions, Endgame Entertainment, Blue Rider, Newmarket Capital, Aramid Entertainment, MDG Entertainment Holdings, Limelight and 120dB all active in the current debt financing space.
The internet portal www.NRW.GermanFilmFinance.com aims to support national and international film makers in the acquisition of production financing. By combining national and regional financing components including a Superap loan, it is possible to finance up to 50% - 65% of the entire film project budget.

Product Placement Advertising

Income from product placement can be used to supplement the budget of a film.
The Bond franchise is notable for it's lucrative product placements deals, bringing in millions of dollars. In the film Minority Report, Lexus, Bulgari and American Express reportedly paid a combined $20 million for product placement, a record-high amount. Product placement may also take the form of in-kind contributions to the film, such as free cars or computers (as props or for the production's use). While no money changes hands, the films budget will be lowered by the amount that would have otherwise been spent on such items.

20th Century Fox

20th Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, with hyphen, from 1935 to 1985) — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios as of 2011^. Located in the Century City area of Los Angeles, just west of Beverly Hills, the studio is a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
The company was founded on May 31, 1935, as the result of the merger of Fox Film Corporation, founded by William Fox in 1915, and Twentieth Century Pictures, founded in 1933 by Darryl F. Zanuck, Joseph Schenck, Raymond Griffith and William Goetz.
The Fox Film Corporation was formed in 1915 by the theater chain pioneer William Fox, who formed Fox Film Corporation by merging two companies he had established in 1913: Greater New York Film Rental, a distribution firm, which was part of the Independents; and Fox (or Box, depending on the source) Office Attractions Company, a production company. This merging of a distribution company and a production company was an early example of vertical integration. Only a year before, the latter company had distributed Winsor McCay's groundbreaking cartoon Gertie the Dinosaur.
Always more of an entrepreneur than a showman, Fox concentrated on acquiring and building theaters; pictures were secondary. The company's first film studios were set up in Fort Lee, New Jersey where it and many other early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1917, William Fox sent Sol M. Wurtzel to Hollywood to oversee the studio's West Coast production facilities where a more hospitable and cost-effective climate existed for filmmaking. Fox had purchased the Edendale studio of the failing Selig Polyscope Company, which had been making films in Los Angeles since 1909 and was the first motion picture studio in Los Angeles.

Joe Schenck and Fox management agreed to a merger; Spyros Skouras, then manager of the Fox-West Coast theaters, helped in the merger (and later became president of the new company). Although it was still much smaller than Fox, Twentieth Century was the senior partner in the merger. At first, it was expected that the new company would be called "Fox-Twentieth Century." However, 20th Century brought more to bargaining table besides Schenck and Zanuck. It was profitable and had more talent than Fox, the new company was called The Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, and began trading on May 31, 1935; the hyphen was dropped in 1985. Schenck became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, while Kent remained as President. Zanuck became Vice President in Charge of Production, replacing Fox's longtime production chief Winfield Sheehan.
For many years, 20th Century-Fox claimed to have been founded in 1915, the year Fox Film Corporation was founded. However, in recent years it has claimed the 1935 merger as its founding date, even though most film historians agree it was founded in 1915.

Rupert Murdoch

With financial stability came new owners, and in 1978 control passed to the investors Marc Rich and Marvin Davis. By 1985, Rich had fled the U.S. after evading $100 million in U.S. income taxes, and Davis sold Rich's half of Fox to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Six months later Davis sold his half of Fox, giving News Corp complete control. To run the studio, Murdoch hired Barry Diller from Paramount. Diller brought with him a plan which Paramount's board had refused: a studio-backed, fourth television network that was financed by advertising.
To gain FCC approval of Fox's purchase of Metromedia's television holdings, once the stations of the old DuMont network, Murdoch had to become a US citizen. He did so in 1985 (the same year 20th Century-Fox dropped the hyphen from its name), and in 1986 the new Fox Broadcasting Company took to the air. Over the next 20-odd years the network and owned-stations group expanded to become extremely profitable for News Corp.

In my opinion 20th Century Fox is a really powerful media company and is known around the globe as one of the best film companies in the world. In my eyes 20th Century Fox has had its fare share of amazing films and is exceeding in its success in the media industry.