Author(s): Rashmi Chaudhry,Vaibhav Chaudhary and Prakash Singh
There exists a vast amount of literature in the area of film production, but the focus is entirely on the technical, commercial, and legal aspects, with little attention to the marketing and financial aspects at the production stage, from the producer’s perspective. This paper endeavours to incorporate the use of product placement, together with the other existing instruments, for marketing and financing of film production projects. The methodology of project appraisal is applied for financial appraisal of film production, simultaneously taking into consideration the associated requirements of technology, legal aspects, and risk analysis. In terms of the theoretical framework, various available sources of marketing and financing of films, evaluation of film production projects, and means of financing, are elucidated. In order to strengthen the validity of the theoretical framework, the approach of analysing financing for a proposed film production is adopted, because the reliability of financial information available for films produced or under production, is questionable, owing to tax issues and lack of transparency regarding the sources of funds. This research culminates in Conclusions and Recommendations that would be useful for existing and prospective film producers, financial institutions, film financiers, advertisement and product placement agencies, various other stakeholders, and the regulatory authorities. The Limitations of the research and Scope for Further Research are enunciated.