Putting the ‘business’ in show business
Efosa Osaghae explores the corporate reality of the film industry
On the surface, the worlds of films and corporations are as far removed as one could imagine. On a film, you supposedly have artiste types that abhor the 9–5 structure. In the corporate world, you supposedly have conservative types with disdain for the uncertain freelance world film operates in.
However, that is only the surface impression. Upon further inspection, the similarities between the two industries are so clear, it makes you wonder why it’s not spoken about more often.
Firstly, the film industry, or show business (aptly named), is predicated upon commerce. As much as creatives will emphasise the art, the industry lives and dies on the dollar.
Structure-wise, a film can run from anywhere from 10 days to up to a year, not often less than 10 hours long — usually 12 and often 16 and up. The number of hours rarely change and, for the duration of a film’s schedule, you’re pretty much confined to this structure;
- 5 am: wake up
- 7 am: call time
- 7pm: work day ‘ends’
- 8 pm: actual finish time
- 9pm: get home
- 9.30pm: inundated with WhatsApp messages and emails
- 10pm: finally sleep
- Repeat
There is a consistency here that betrays the freedom most young film enthusiasts think film can offer. The fact is, when you’re on, you’re really on and you must put your life on hold for the duration of the filming. Have a significant other? They’re on hold until wrap. House needs maintenance doing? That’s on hold. Want to commit to a healthy eating, exercise, and sleep routine? That’s definitely on hold until wrap!
In the corporate world, we’re consistently warned about the mundane structure. We’re told about workers working near slave hours for little extra wages and consistent undue stress. However, these structures also exist in the film world — often magnified tenfold, yet rarely associated with film careers. Your mum might warn you that its hard to get into the industry, but she’s unlikely to check that you’ll be happy with VERY long work days.
This is especially the case for the vast majority of crew members, that additionally have no creative influence on the film’s end product. You could probably overlook working 18 hour days with no overtime or bonus if you’re in a major creative role — the director, or producer. At the end of the day, it’s your film and you get the plaudits. But what about the PA, or gaffer, or grip?
This brings us to the similarities of crew members and corporate players. The film world is a superficially creative industry. Meaning, there is a misconception that everyone who works in the industry is inherently creative or holds a creative position. This is clearly not true.
In a corporation, as with a film production, top-end roles require bundles of creativity. The founder, CEO, and even the COO are the true ‘creatives’, as their divergent thinking is what sets their companies apart and justifies their salaries.
On the next rung, you have the content managers — Social Media or Content managers, UX designers, etc. These figures deal with new stimuli daily. They also focus on creative solutions to problems that the company face, of which there are many.
In much the same way, on a film production the director, producer, writer, and lead actors are the creative heads. Below, the cinematographer, production designer, etc are the creative roles that afford each member with a certain level of autonomy. However, for the vast majority of other roles, you’re more of a cog in a system.
If you’re a runner or in any of the secondary/tertiary roles (which are numerous on a large set) creativity is not necessarily required. If anything, it can be a hindrance. There can be a lot of complex power dynamics and crew politics involved on a set, which means if you’re in a lower position within the hierarchy, straying away from the established structure to flex your creative muscles may be well above your grade.
A film production, therefore, is somewhere between a start-up and a corporation. Independent productions lean towards the former, and major studio pictures towards the latter.
They are businesses that are full of workers that don’t know each other, working extremely long hours in physically demanding positions, must be set up and dissolved in a matter of months, and produce a product that must not only do well critically but also pay back investors.
It’s a miracle that any film gets made at all.
