Ottawa, November 11 - With glitz, controversy, and glamour, the film industry is essential to the modern person�s artistic development. We use films to form opinions, drive change, evoke emotions and gain perspective. They can be used as a tool for propaganda, resistance, and creative revolutions, extend beyond the screen and persistently divulge narratives as daring as the sentiments of their producers. Yet, the allure of films goes beyond artistic expression, it includes the intricate makeup of business activities necessary to realize them. Each feature film is more than a means of communication. It is also a data-driven, financially intensive enterprise for large companies. Indeed, the financial, strategic and logistical planning and execution for filmmaking manifests into diverse business models worth exploring. 

As an ever-evolving and competitive industry, large entertainment companies seek top talent to boost their competitive edge and revitalize their business models. Studios such as Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount Studios, Warner Bros. and the National Film Board of Canada uniquely offer art-inclined commerce students the opportunity to apply their skills to filmmaking, storytelling and visual artistry. As such, students can look to sustain art projects and rekindle their love for movies and fictional universes. Concurrently, they�ll be challenged by these studios to revitalize an industry that greatly suffered during COVID and whose general business model abruptly changed with the rise of streaming services and social media. 

Different Names, Similar Business Needs and Familiar Roles

Many movie industry roles reflect the core business components taught in business schools. Accounting, project management, financial planning and analysis, administration and marketing are as essential to filmmaking as to consulting or auditing firms. Like most large companies, movie giants follow business trends familiar to those in the case studies assigned to business classes. Recently, in tandem with most companies across industries, they increasingly rely on patterns in big data to inform their strategies, evoking an industry-wide need for talent in information and data management. Studios also require impeccable human resource practices to source creative and administrative talent to make competitive media. Below are typical management roles used at the production level of filmmaking which Human Resources will staff. 

Image: A breakdown of roles available in a traditional film company.

While roles like production accountant or digital marketer sound business-related, titles such as line producer may sound foreign. Still, production roles are often managerial positions. For example, a line producer hires the crew, allocates money, supervises the budget and keeps the production`s activities on track for timely completion, all of which aggregate into a type of managerial practice. Likewise, a first assistant director hires a crew and works with various heads of departments, such as lighting, accounting, and wardrobe, to align schedules and communicate filming expectations. These jobs, which may bear unfamiliar names to business students, still require transferable managerial skills that are familiar to them, thus making them reasonable career options. Industry-specific jobs are only the tip of the iceberg of managerial employment offerings, such as virtually all business entities, and film companies require account managers, marketing strategists, information managers, travel analysts, research and development, and sales and administration associates on the corporate level. 

A Complex, Everchanging and Challenging Sector 

The movie industry is continuously revolutionizing space. A couple of decades ago, film executives were scrambling to protect profit margins with the advent of movie rental companies. Fast forward to now, gone are the days when people rented movies rather than streaming them from the comfort of their homes. In an interview with First We Feast, renowned actor Matt Damon stated, �The DVD was a huge part of our business, of our revenue stream, and technology has just made that obsolete.� He went on to express how the loss of the subsequent income stream from DVD sales significantly increased the risk in moviemaking, therefore changing the types of movies studios are willing to invest in. Author Dina Zipin, creative strategist, reinforces this by saying "there's no sure path for a film to turn a profit since factors like brand awareness, P&A budgets, and the desires of a fickle public come into play."

What�s more, the industry has yet to attain the level of success it possessed before the COVID-19 pandemic. While box office revenue in Canada rose from $235 million in 2020 to $599.9 million in 2023, it is still almost half of 1.02 billion it was in 2019. These complicating factors demonstrate the complexity of the filmmaking business and its unpredictability, as well as its deep value in our society. However complicated, there remains a desire throughout the corporate ladder to regain the previous success in the industry. Therefore, the industry in its current state provides an opportunity to tackle incredible challenges with promising rewards, making it an avenue worth exploring for commerce students.

the film industry represents a unique intersection of artistic expression and complex business operations, offering a dynamic career path for commerce students with a passion for storytelling. As major studios adapt to changing consumer behaviours and technologies, there is a continuous stream of talent that is required to navigate these changes.

Works Cited:
Cineplex. "Box Office Revenue in Canada from 2010 to 2023 (in Million Canadian Dollars)." Statista, Statista Inc., 7 Feb 2024, https://www-statista-com.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/statistics/501797/canada-box-office-revenue/�DVD Collapse: How Is It Transforming the Movie Business?� Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2009, www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/the-big-picture/story/2009-05-18/dvd-collapse-how-is-it-transforming-the-movie-business.

Evans, Sean. �Matt Damon Sweats From His Scalp While Eating Spicy Wings | Hot Ones.� Youtube.Com, First We Feast, 2021, Accessed Nov. 2024.

�Film Careers: The Complete List.� Careers In Film, 23 Aug. 2022, www.careersinfilm.com /film-careers-list/.

"Motion Picture (Movie, Film), Music Production, Distribution, Exhibition (Theaters) & Publishing Industry (U.S.) Financial Analysis, Market Size & Benchmarks, Revenue Forecasts to 2031. P&L, KPIs, EBITDA, NAIC 512000 Published September 30, 2024." Plunkett Analytics Reports.Motion Picture (Movie and Film) and Music (Sound) Production, Distribution, Exhibition (Theaters) & Publishing Industry (US)Plunkett Research, Ltd, 2024. ProQuest, https://login.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/reports/motion-picture-movie-film-music-production/docview/3117116466/se-2.

ScreenSkills. �Assistant Director in the Film and TV Drama Industries.� ScreenSkills, www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/film-and-tv-drama/production-management/assistant-director/. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.

ScreenSkills. �Line Producer in the Film and TV Drama Industries.� ScreenSkills, www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/film-and-tv-drama/production-management/line-producer-film-and-tv-drama/#:~:text=What%20does%20a%20line%20producer,second%20only%20to%20the%20producers. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.

Zipin, Dina. �How Exactly Do Movies Make Money?� Investopedia, Investopedia, www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/093015/how-exactly-do-movies-make-money.asp#:~:text=The%20film%20industry%20is%20in,and%20studios%20turn%20a%20profit. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.