Thursday, April 12, 2012

Company Sponsorship and the Movie Market

By Paul Kerr


A Match Produced in Heaven or Not?

Commercialism is everywhere. We have seen it in the streets we walk on, the malls we shop in, the background music we listen to, and even the movies we watch. Companies took every opportunity and chance to stick their name everywhere for people to notice.

Sponsorship is no stranger when it comes to sticking brands and company names for the right kind of exposure. As a tool for marketing, this has been most profitable and cost-effective, leading other businesses to follow along with suit.

It's only normal for sponsorship to reach the arts industry, particularly the movie industry. With the hype of technological advancements in movie production such as CGI effects and animation, its no surprise corporations have taken a slice to reveal their name.

Over the last decade, movie patrons happen to be seeing corporate brand names within the films they watch. One good example is Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson's futuristic undertake 'The Island'. This movie, although not garnered like a box-office wonder, had numerous corporate logos in each and every scene - with Microsoft because the leading sponsor.

With all that, the question then raised is whether or not corporate sponsorship is a blessing or curse for that movie industry.

Positive and negative aspects

Corporate sponsorship helps the funding of big-budgeted movies, and the financial constraints are lessened when producing the film. This provides more time for the production team to pay attention to the quality of the movie, and in turn reduce the 'headache' of budgeting the expenses the development has.

With better concentrate on developing the movie - its narrative, scenery, and character profiles - the end result of the film has a bigger chance of getting positive critique. It'll allow movie goers to evaluate the movie as something the production team really took time to complete, and did not compromise in making.

With corporate sponsorship and also the amount of funding it gives as support, film productions have a bigger opportunity to create the exact type of 'feel' they want their movies to be without having to worry on the amount of money that needs to be considered. Sponsorship takes the mind off on 'getting money' and presents realism in the movie by allowing the production to uses brands that people have seen and also used.

More income means better funding and better choices. With sponsorship, production crews can get the best of what money are able to afford them - from equipment to actors to sets. Each one of these result into a feature that's marketable and the gains are most often profitable.

The downside of all this, however, may be the detachment a movie may present to its viewers. A movie's aim would be to present a film that can let others connect with it or understand whatever issues are presented. With corporate sponsorship, viewers may feel that they are just watching a really long commercial. The brand exposure which may be pasted in every scene can be distracting and lose whatever essence the film wants to convey.

The type of movie that uses corporate sponsorship is individuals with graphic animations. A large amount of cash is required to develop such productions. The outcome of the film may turn out to be just a display of animation and graphics, removing the real plot of the story, making the film less appealing and fake. It might then feel that instead of supporting a film, sponsorship actually demeans it.




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