Case 1

Cleopatra

Movie Industry

The movie industry is big business. In 2010, over 1.3 billion tickets were sold with box office receipts exceeding $10 billion. Not only is it big business but there is a unique fascination with movies. They involve celebrities; reflect the social, cultural and moral issues of the times; are previewed in festivals from Cannes to Telluride; are released to theaters across the globe with great fanfare; and compete for Academy Awards, an entertainment spectacle watched by over 30 million viewers. With few exceptions … such as low-budget independent films … they are expensive to make, from tens of millions to the hundreds of millions. And they are risky projects.

@2012 Barry Shore. Not to be used without written permission of the author.

Hollywood Projects

Hollywood is a project-based industry. Producers and directors are concerned with the same issues that concern those who manage more conventional projects. They are concerned with the process groups of initiation, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling. And they are concerned with knowledge areas such as budgets, time, communication, risk, procurement (PMBOK, 2008). While the general principles of project management remain the same, this

case study illustrates how context can lead to a very different emphasis on process groups and knowledge areas.

Activities in Filmmaking

Filmmaking involves the same process groups found in the traditional project life-cycle process: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling and closing ( PMBOK, 2008). Many of the activities within the filmmaking process groups can be recognized as categories for which Oscars (*) are awarded during the Academy Award ceremonies. A short list of these activities would include:

* Scripting *

* Selection of a producer and director

* Casting

* Set and Costume Design *

* Production

* Special and Visual Effects *

* Music *

* Editing *

* Marketing...