Overview
The Film Business Postgraduate Programme offers theoretical and technical knowledge in marketing, distribution, exploitation and sales of film products, enabling students to fully carry out the executive production of an audiovisual product, from the identification of the initial idea to the final exploitation window.
The audiovisual industry is undergoing a complete and constant transformation, with increasingly competitive international markets. For this reason, content plays a key role in project creation, but must be conceived as a product from the very first idea. Today, it is essential to consider from the earliest development stage which communication and promotion strategies are most appropriate for each project, as well as its festival circuit. All these strategic elements must be aligned with the concept of the film: its story, cast, script development and financing.
The objective is to create a product designed as such from its very genesis through to the sales stage, with structural logic, distinctive value and a target market aligned with its expectations.
This course explores in depth the theoretical and technical aspects of film production, training students to successfully work in the executive production of a feature film or series, whether fiction or non-fiction, from script conception to the final master copy, enabling the exploitation of the product across its different distribution windows.
Leading industry professionals will teach students how to use tools and instruments for decision-making, objective setting, strategy definition, as well as planning and coordination of actions.
Students will also have the opportunity to participate in the organisation of the Jornadas Proyecta, a series of activities focused on those areas of the film and series industry that are usually invisible to the general public but are essential: distributors, exhibitors, marketing agencies, etc.
Proyecta was launched by ESCAC Film Business studies in 2013, and from its very first edition it received strong support from a large part of the Spanish industry.
Objectives and Competencies
Upon successful completion of the programme, students will be able to:
- Develop a deep and specific understanding of the fundamentals of marketing as a language and discipline applied to the production and exploitation of audiovisual content.
- Learn to use both traditional and the most contemporary and forward-looking marketing tools, and apply them throughout the production process of any type of content, always aligned with the project’s genesis, understanding how to define its scope within its target market.
- Understands the internal processes involved in the exploitation phase of the product and how these will directly affect them as future executive producers of content.
- Be able to address and understand:
- how to structure the sales of their product and with which partners to do so,
- how to carry out an environmental analysis (market research at macro and microeconomic levels),
- how to identify potential clients,
- what sales techniques exist and how to apply them to achieve predefined objectives (both quantitative and qualitative),
- what management and controlling tools exist and how to use them, as well as the advantages they bring to the process,
- what types of contracts exist and how each modality affects the producer (and other stakeholders in the chain) in economic terms and in terms of payment timing linked to the work,
- a specific and in-depth understanding of existing liquidation processes and their modalities.
- Acquire a deep understanding not only of the global foundations of negotiation processes, but also of their specific stages within each moment of production.
- Gain in-depth knowledge of exploitation window mechanisms and how licensing agreements affect the product lifecycle and, consequently, its producers.
- Understand first-hand the existing qualitative circuits (competitive festivals, specialised competitive festivals and non-competitive circuits) and to be able to develop coherent strategies aligned with the project’s genesis, as well as negotiation processes within these circuits.
- Understand, in global terms, the actors within the film industry chain and their specific role in relation to content production.
- Be able to develop a project from the very origin of an idea, through all stages that define the profile of a “development executive”, up to the exploitation phase of an audiovisual content.
- Be able to develop a commercial strategy starting from a project and design (and implement) its launch strategy from the outset.
Applicant Profile
University graduates in Business Administration and Management, Advertising and Public Relations, Law, Audiovisual Communication, or other university degrees related to the audiovisual field.
Students from film schools or artistic disciplines.
Students holding a Higher Vocational Training qualification in Audiovisual Project Production and Stagecraft or equivalent.
Professionals with proven experience in the audiovisual sector who wish to make a switch or update in their discipline.
Professionals from the film or video industry who wish to deepen their knowledge of the creation and exploitation of audiovisual products.
Admissions
To access the Postgraduate Programme, applicants must submit:
- CV
- Videopitch
In cases where it is deemed necessary to reach a final decision, the programme director will conduct an online interview with the candidate.
*If you are informed that you have been accepted into this programme and require a student visa to come to ESCAC, you are advised to book an appointment at the Spanish embassy/consulate in your country as soon as possible. Please note that this process may take between 2 and 4 months.
Academic Pathway
The Film Business Postgraduate Programme is part of the Production educational pathway. If the Postgraduate Programme in Production Direction is also completed, the Private Master’s Degree in Production is obtained, worth 60 ECTS credits.
Curriculum
Programme title: Postgraduate Diploma in Film Business
Programme duration and credits: One semester, 30 ECTS credits