Institution Analysis

When choosing for the institute that would produce my film, I first had to choose which industry my film was going to be distributed in. It would either be the Indian film industry of Bollywood, the American film industry of Hollywood, or the British film industry.

Since my film is a chick flick, I needed to keep in mind the kind of codes and conventions needed for my chosen industry. Every industry has a very different culture, with very different demands of the target audience. The kind of chick flick I am making is centered around teenagers. A teen film holds the elements of that part of a child's life when they are realizing new ambitions and emotions, become rebellious and want to be accepted in society, creating a personality of their own. My film shows the story of a girl with a background that not many cinema-goers are familiar with. It is about someone who is different from everyone else but wants to fit in and be accepted. This very first element is relatable to any young girl who watches films, hence it has already started meeting the codes and conventions of a teen film or chick flicks. But, the way these teens are picturized can be different in every industry. Obviously, the culture of India will be differernt to America's or Britain's.

Bollywood mostly produces commercial musicals, with alot of glamour and dance numbers included. For a film to be successful at the box office in this industry, these elements are necessary. The kind of film I want to make will definitely not include any songs or dance numbers. My target audience is young teenage girls, but the teenage girls of India are not the same as teenage girls around the word. A film without that level of glamour will never be that successful in Bollywood. The kind of codes and conventions I am planning to use do not match the kind of codes and conventions used in Bollywood. In Bollywood, the audiences for films are almost the same. There is no differentiation as to whether a teenager will watch a certain kind of film in India or not. There is no real specification for 'chick flick'. A romantic film being watced by a teenager will be equally enjoyed by a person in their 40's. There are no chick flicks made in Bollywood specifically for my target audience. One example of a movie made by targeting the female audience would be the film 'Aisha', starring Sonam Kapoor and Abhey Deol. The glamour was not up to the level that is demanded by the audience. This film was a typical romantic-comedy made for girls, holding all elements of fashion, friends, fun, etc, but still it did not manage to become a success. Despite following the elements I need for my film, 'Aisha' was not a hit, because the Indian audience demands something else entirely. Which is why I will not choose Bollywood as my industry.

In the case of the British film industry, we can see that comedy films like 'Four weddings and a funeral' are more in demand by the audience instead of romantic comedies. Britain does not produce as many chick flicks. A prominant international hit would include 'Notting Hill'. By looking at the Hollywood made chick flick 'Wild Child', we can see the differentiation between girls in America and in Britain. Teenagers still in school in Britain usually are shown as more studious as compared to American teenagers. My kind of film holds the stereotype where girls are shown as very shallow, and caring about materialistic things like clothes. Such a culture is more widely seen in America than in Britain, which is why my film might not be accepted entirely in the British industry, or would not be a major success, as it would not be very relatable. Romantic Comedies distributed in Britain are not as successful as the comedy or art films distributed. Also, the culture of Britain is not as diverse. My film will show the culture of my country, showing the religous demands of a teen's parents. Such a culture might not be well received in Britain as it might be elsewhere. Majority of the target audience may find the film strange and somewhat shallow. Therefore, I will not choose the British film industry either.

Finally coming to Hollywood, I can easily say that my film will be easily accepted here. Hollywood not only has a long list of romantic comedies produced, it also has a diverse culture that easily accepts something different. It has produced worldwide international hits like 'Pretty Woman' and 'Sleepless in Seattle'. Chances of romantic comedy films becoming commercial successes are higher in Hollywood, as the demand for this genre is also higher. Hollywood has created most films of this genre as compared to the other two film industries mentioned above. American girls are usually seen as the stereotyped 'dumb blondes' who take most interest in shopping. In most Hollywood teen films, the main character is also usually shown as having a hard life in highschool, having trouble being socially accepted. Such films include 'Wild Child' and 'A Cinderella story', both commercial successes. Such films usually become successful in Hollywood because the targeted audience can relate to it. My film holds all the codes and conventions that a Hollywood film holds: girl drama, rebellion against parents, the need to fit in, girlie elements including shopping, make-overs and first crushes. I instantly decided that my chosen film industry will definitely be Hollywood.

I had come across these three main production houses: Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures.

Warner Bros.

This company was founded in 1918, by the four brothers, Jack, Harry, Albert and Sam Warner. It also has seperate divisions, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, TheWB.com, and DC Comics. Warner owns half of The CW Television Network. Even though it makes over $11.7 billion per year because of producing famous franchises like 'The lord of the rings', 'Harry Potter' and 'Batman: the dark knight', it does not cater much to the romantic comedy genre, and has produced only a few commercially successful chick flicks, including 'Monster-in-law' which is why I have not chosen Warner Bros. as my choice of institution.

Columbia Pictures

This is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded in founded in 1919 by brothers Jack and Harry Cohn and Joe Brandt. It has definitely produced commercially successful romantic comedies, including, 'The Wedding planner', '50 first dates', 'The ugly truth', and 'The bounty hunter'. However, the films of this genre that have been made for my specific target audience (teenaged girls) have not been very successful, with films like "Win a date with Tad Hamilton!" in the list. Other films that gained success were made for the slightly older audience, and hence, did not cater to the target audience for my film, which is why I have not chosen Columbia pictures as my choice of institution.

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures has been making incredible movies ever since the year 1912, when it was established. In 2012 it will have completed 100 years in the film making industry. Founded by Adolph Zukor, it has joint ventures with Dreamworks pictures, as well as some with Warner Bros. and is part of the divisons of Viacom - the world's fourth-largest media conglomerate. Paramount has also produced one of the top-grossing films of all time, including Titanic (winner of 11 Academy Awards), franchises like Mission Impossible, Indiana Jones, The GodFather and Friday the 13th. It has been very versatile with the films it has produced, as the films under it's brand name range from the genre of action, to drama to romantic-comedy.
I have chosen Paramount pictures as my  institution as it has also produced a few top-grossing romantic-comedies, as well as films which have done very well at the box-office. These are some of the romantic-comedies it has produced:

Runaway bride(1999)
What women want (2000)
How to lose a guy in ten days(2003)
The prince & me (2004)
Mean Girls(2004)
Elizabeth Town (2005)
She's out of my league (2010)
No strings attached (2011)

Paramount pictures made around $1.2 billion in 2011.

Runaway Bride is one of the highest grossing romantic comedy films of all time. 'No strings attached' was also one of the highest grossing films of the year 2011. And my personal favourite chick flick of all time is definitely 'Mean Girls'. When first starting off with making a chick flick, the very first film that I took inspiration from was Mean Girls. I would want my film to hold all the same elements as this film. It grossed over $129 million worldwide. It talks exactlly about the kind of teen drama that a teenage girl goes through, and the same kind of drama I want in my film. Being a worldwide hit, it was enjoyed and accepted by girls of the same age all across the world.

Looking at all the romantic comedies produced by Paramount, I can see that my film has the element that this institute would want to produce. The films produced are based mainly around ordinary people, instead of glamorous rich ones. This makes the film relatable to the audience. The target audience for my film will also need to relate to the characters, making the film more dynamic, and less forgetable. The reason my film will not be forgetable is the culture added to it. The kind of culture I will show in my film will reflect the somewhat religous and conservative aspect of my country, which will bring a new and unusual cultural film, which at the same time is also relatable, to the list of films produced in Paramount's history. Taking the example of the film 'Bend it like Bekham', the film received very good reception, due to its cultural aspect which the audience had not seen before but had accepted and enjoyed.

The cultural aspect of my film would be the reason that I would want Paramount pictures to produce it. Films like 'The Guru' have also included the cultural aspect but the film did not become a huge success. Paramount is notable for producing world class films, and can provide a big budget to increase the chances of turning the film into a success. Worldwide distribution is also an added factor in Paramount pictures, since their films have always been received extremely well in any part of the world, even India and Britain, and have become commercial successes globally.

For producing films like 'Titanic' and 'Mission Impossible', the reputation of the film industry is massive and is recognized by even the most common man who is unfamiliar with the world of media. Titanic, is ranked as the second highest grossing film in history. Becuase of its recognition, Paramount can choose any well-known celebrity for their films. The element of a well-known celebrity can become an added factor to a film's success, for example, a film with Tom Cruise as the protagonist may be more appealing to the target audience instead of having a small-scale actor in the lead role.

Paramount pictures can not only aid my film with its huge budget and worldwide reputation, it can also improve the film, exactly the way it has turned the ordinary story of 'Mean Girls' into a phenomenal success. For my chick flick, I could not have chosen a different institution, because with Paramount pictures, my film can an assured success.