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COMMISSIONING DESTINATION FILMS
Buying an off the shelf large format fi lm is the easiest and cheapest option, but what if you want to give your visitors something extra and offer a real insight into your attraction? Kathleen Whyman asks the experts how to get a destination fi lm made
MIKE LUTZ
senior vice president of business development MacGillivray Freeman Films
hen done right, a destination fi lm truly resonates with the host attraction. Operators can license
a pre-existing fi lm for a fraction of the amount it costs to make their own fi lm, but a destination fi lm will sell considerably more tickets than a generic fi lm on a completely different subject. It becomes a reliable box offi ce draw over many years without chang- ing up the programming very much, if at all. The better an operator can identify and
research their visions for the theatre and the fi lm, the more likely they are to suc- ceed. The best producers are talented at taking good direction and then coming up with the ways to implement that vision. As well as vision, destination fi lms
require research, fi nances, and top notch production. This is not a forgiving medium – you need to do everything in a top class fashion. Costs can vary widely depend- ing on the level of sophistication required. Working in the giant screen format is certainly more expensive than normal fi lm- making, so be prepared for some pretty high production and post-production
depend partly on the tone and subject of the fi lm and partly on the cost. Some sub- jects may actually be cheaper to visualise via animation or CGI than by going out and trying to fi lm footage, particularly if it’s
M
Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital
fi gures. It helps to fi nd a sponsor to help offset the costs. And of course there’s marketing – don’t forget to budget for these costs. The most successful fi lms work
very well at the attraction but also have appeal to outside theatres, perhaps with a different version
produced for that purpose. My advice is to really focus on the vision and conduct thorough research on the most accomplished producers in the giant screen world: call lots of theatres, go to the Giant Screen Cinema Association confer- ences and see their handiwork fi rst hand. The next conference is in September at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga.
BEN SMITH
creative director Red Star
needed in stereoscopic 3D. Either way, the development and production process is similar in that you’ll need to develop a treatment into a script and then commit to that before engaging in the photography/ animation process. Your fi lm will benefi t from a good dia- logue with producers about the goals you’re hoping to achieve – whether it’s pure entertainment, brand-led or has a fac- tual basis. You may already have a strong idea of what you want in the fi lm, but producers have more experience of the medium and will be able to help you work out how best to realise your goals and then take that concept from script to screen. It’s also important to fi ll producers in on the broader context of your venue so they can see how it’ll be themed with everything else. A bespoke fi lm can also create
a powerful marketing draw as it’s a unique experience that you can’t have anywhere else in the world. Off-the-shelf fi lms are better for general entertainment, as well as
ost bespoke fi lms fall into two categories – live action or ani- mation. The one you opt for will
seasonal fi lms, and clearly, they’re cheaper to license than to produce. However, the choice of off-the-shelf
fi lms is limited, and venues with a strong theme, brand or specialist subject mat- ter would do well to look at the bespoke option as it’s always going to be a better fi t for their location.
AM 2 2010 ©cybertrek 2010
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