Movies are some
of the riskiest projects in business. India is the world’s largest producer of
movies. In 2015, India produced over 2000 movies in over 20 languages. Of
these, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Kannada and Bengali language
films accounted for lion’s share (over 1600 movies), with Telugu leading at
over 350 films. While production costs have gone up exponentially, and markets
have expanded dramatically, the number of real blockbusters as a proportion of
the total number of films has shrunk dramatically. Despite the star power that bestows
movies with some magic, there has never been a consistent formula for success.
That a film should shine in all departments (story, screen play, direction,
star cast, music, cinematography, choreography, visuals, dialogues, etc.,) is
easier said than achieved.
The author has discussed in an earlier blog how certain sequels
and franchises act as a sort of winning formula in Hollywood, and could
actually point to dramatic lessons for firms. Reference may be made to “Hollywood’s Sequel Saga: Ten Dramatic
Lessons for Firms”, Strategy Musings, May 31, 2015 (http://cbrao2008.blogspot.in/2015/05/hollywoods-sequel-saga-ten-dramatic.html).
India is not very much used to sequels although the 2015 national award winner and
Telugu blockbuster Baahubali as well as Tamil blockbuster Robo promise to have
worthy sequels. It is unclear whether a sequel by itself assures success or the
basic elements as listed above need to be top notch for a film to be successful.
Two Telugu movies, with high star power and costly budgets, that released
recently, one a sequel to the highly successful film of the same name and
another a mass masala formula flick, teach us that high budget Telugu movies
could start taking a leaf or two from firms.
Success trap
Wise corporate leaders believe that past successes are no
assurance of future successes. In fact, some believe that if the same people
perform in the same manner all the time, results would be the same as the ones achieved
previously, and work to improve the people and the processes continuously.
However, some successful industrialists keep doing the same things trapped in
the intoxication of previous successes, only to see competitors moving past
them with newer success formulae. A movie may not have the same competitive
pressures as a product because of non-applicability of substitutability risk;
each movie is a distinctive product that has to meet certain benchmarks of
audience satisfaction; one movie is not substitutable by others.
Repetition of success formulae, therefore, does not provide any
freshness to a new movie. Repetition curbs creativity, making the films
routine. Belief in the past successes make the film makers believe that if they
throw in successful actors, music directors etc., a new film would also be
successful. Wise film makers aver, much like wise industrialists, that each
movie should be treated as the first project ever and, therefore, shaped with
utmost creativity, freshness, commitment and diligence. Not falling a prey to
success trap is a lesson filmmakers could learn from the class of
industrialists who lead to sustainable success.
Emotional plan
Businesses need a business plan. Movie projects are no exception. Business
plans are built on product plans. Products appeal to customers not merely
because of their functionality but also because of their emotional appeal. It
could be the premium feel as in the case of Mercedes Benz cars, racy power as
in the case of a Ferrari, drive quality as in the case of Toyota, sound
richness as in the case of Bose speakers, elegance as in the case of iPhone,
and so on. Advertisements for products seek to further enhance the emotional
appeal. Wise businesses develop products not only with product functionality
but also emotional appeal in mind. Emotional planning for movies is a natural
possibility but complex accomplishment.
Movies, more than products, must have clear emotional theme. Many
movies just carry out the process of generating emotions, not really
concentrating on the emotional appeal. Moreover, Indian movie makers tend to
throw in all the emotional triggers as multiple ‘tracks’ in movies. Just as in
the case of a firm, both specialization and diversification need depth and
relevance for the firm succeed, individual tracks of a movie must have both the
depth and context. Whereas in the case of a firm, specialization and
diversification do not normally coexist, except as a conglomerate operation, in
movies multiple tracks can not only coexist but also be synergistic. This
unique feature of Indian movies require careful conceptualization and
deployment rather than a “throw it in” approach.
Performance appraisal
Successful firms are performance oriented. While firms do pay
attention to team building as well as career development, firms utilize the
process of performance appraisal to monitor the realization of goals. Unlike
films which rely on public applause (or rejection) to rate the leaders, firms
have clear internal benchmarks to assess performance. This “performance
culture” is feasible in industry due the possibility to move employees in and
out of organizations. Likewise, managements are obligated to ensure an
acceptable ecosystem, failing which the employees themselves may leave.
Therefore, there tends to be a mutual accountability.
Movie teams differ from company teams in one important respect.
Teams stay together until a movie is completed; not only that technicians tend
to be “house technicians”, working on a series of movies from the same
production house. While this certainly has great merits, it also imposes
certain constraints. Music, for example, is one domain where pre-commitment
works to disadvantage. Movies which are otherwise good fail to make the grade
due to failure of music track. If only movie making system allows engagement of
new music directors when the canned songs are not up to the mark, there would
be great opportunity to strengthen the most important facet of Indian films. The
same need for performance appraisal would be relevant to other departments.
Board governance
Firms benefit from the mechanisms of corporate governance that are
available. Each firm is expected to have
a board of directors comprising industry experts who could act as independent
directors and ensure that the firm’s affairs are run as per an agreed business
plan and the mandated value system. While all is still not perfect with the
board system, boards which are manned by experts have served to mentor the
fulltime leaders and ensure that firms follow generally accepted principles and
codes.
Movie makers can benefit immensely by keeping in place boards
comprising eminent film makers to periodically review the production of the
movie as per intended specifications and aspirations, and advise the working
team. The boards could also bring in an objectivity and independence that could
help the filmmakers refocus. The boards could also perform alpha testing of
movies (concluding internally that the film is made as planned). While there
could be a concern of information leakage, as the board practice takes root
there would be a cadre of seasoned and responsible “retired” filmmakers who
could add immense value to filmmaking, and reduce the vast financial risk that
most filmmakers face.
Beta testing
Beta testing is an extremely important concept in product
development and commercialization in firms. Beta testing is extensively used in
software development where after internal testing (alpha testing) the software
is released for developers and select customers to understand the performance
of the software and receive feedback for corrections and improvements. It has
recently been extended to telecom services too by Reliance Jio with a limited
rollout of its 4G services to employees and select associates. Even those
industries which do not have the practice of beta testing (for example, aero
and auto) conduct extensive testing of their products in simulators and field
tracks to evaluate the quality of the product, and to identify further
improvement needs.
One has to only watch failed movies to wonder why the weaknesses
of the movie that are so obvious to the audience were not obvious to the
makers. One reason could be that the makers are so involved with the making
that they are unable to be discriminating and objective. Also, movie makers
tend to be surrounded by fan clubs and self-serving well-wishers who revel in
heaping praise than provide objective feedback. If only there were to be a
system of beta testing of a film, prior to its censoring and release, by a
large enough panel of select independent critics and general viewers, many of
the weaknesses and loopholes can be discovered in advance and remediated. The
risk of failure of movies and the enormous losses that producers may sustain
would be obviated with ‘beta viewing’ of movies.
Masala art
Masala is a typically Indian word, signifying a mix of several
delectable and healthy spices. Indian cooking has become world famous because
of the masala characteristic. The world is, in fact, now reverentially
discovering the health benefits of the Indian spices as well as the balanced Indian
food. Indian movies are also referred to as masala movies, signifying that they
tend to cater to all kinds of viewers (so called, mass and class in Indian
cinema lexicon) and incorporate all ingredients (nine emotions, as per Indian
literature). Indian cooking becomes tasty not merely because of the ingredients
but because of the recipe involving the right ingredients and proportions. The
same applies to Indian movies; the recipe is as important as the ingredients.
Indian movies are a very important part of the economy. They also
are a vital facet of Indian social tapestry. Indian movies cannot afford to
have the kind of financial losses that the great majority suffers. While a few
blockbusters are helpful, Indian movie making can scale greater heights with
more films becoming financially successful. Indian movie critics believe that
masala films and art films are mutually exclusive. However, art films also have
their own ingredients and they require their own recipes. The five points of guidance,
adapted from firm level corporate practices, would be valuable for Indian movie
makers in making films that satisfy the highly heterogeneous nature of the
Indian movie audience. Masala art, delivered corporate style, could be the next
game changer for Indian cinema.
Posted by Dr CB Rao on May 01, 2016
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