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PN 017
How to Succeed with Film Production in the Regions: A Resource Based Perspective on Regional Production Companies in Norway
S. Sand
1
1
Lillehammer University College, Department of Film and Television Studies, Lillehammer, Norway
This paper explores what two regional film production companies in Norway do to survive, and to succeed in their goals. The film industry in Norway is
centralized and characterized by small companies, low profitability and movies that often end up running deficits. However, little research has looked at
the actual relationships between small companies, their strategies and performance. Low production volume represents ongoing challenges for the film
industry, and particularly for regional filmmakers. The production of feature films is largely centered on Oslo, and most of the money from the Norwegian
Film Institute (NFI) goes to the capital area. Despite this economic reality, there are companies in the regions that produce feature films.This paper discusses
how two such companies survive in a difficult business.The analysis draws on semi-structured interviews with eight employees in two companies. Mer Film
has an office in Northern Norway andWestern Norway, and has in relatively short time managed to attract talented directors and establish networks with
international, critically acclaimed production companies. Filmbin is located in the eastern central part of Norway, and was one of the first film companies
in Norway, which committed itself to the production of films for children. Regional companies that choose to produce fiction films do this against all odds,
as the fiction film industry outside of Oslo is small. Many film workers move to Oslo to find work. As a result, the regions lack a complete fiction filmmilieu.
The paper discusses what strategies the regional companies have deployed to survive and succeed with their goals and what competitive advantages
the companies may or may not achieve, from a resource-based perspective. It draws on the interviews to explore which knowledge-based resources are
important for the two companies. The paper shows that branding, networking, tacit knowledge, entrepreneurship, and organizational culture and man‑
agement, are knowledge-based resources that are essential for both companies. The comparison of the companies shows that it is the most international
oriented and proactive company that has the best economic and creative results. However, it also reveals that none of the companies are economically
successful. Seen from an economic perspective, it could be argued that none of the two companies have succeeded, since they struggle with liquidity and
profitability. The paper therefore discusses the meaning of success, and argues that success is not necessarily the same as profitability.
PN 018
Building Sustainable Film and Television Business: A Cross-National Perspective
E. Bakøy
1
, R. Puijk
1
1
Lillehammer University College, Department of Film and Television Studies, Lillehammer, Norway
An independent research report ("Building sustainable businesses: the challenges for industry and government", Olsberg SPI, 2012) focusing on how
to build sustainable film businesses has identified a number of common factors, which have contributed to building successful film companies around
the world. These factors are the ability to share downstream revenues generated by successful content; achieving diversified revenue streams; on-going
relationships with successful talent; strong dynamic leadership; international business relationships; a supportive and consistent public policy environment;
and having more than a fair share of luck! Based on a cross-national study of sustainable film and television companies in Norway, Denmark, the Nether‑
lands and the UK, this paper discusses to what extent the recommendations mentioned in the report apply to the companies in the study. We argue that
the report fails to consider why people want to work within the film and television industries, what they want to achieve and what their values are. The pa‑
per gives the owners and employees in micro, small and middle-sized companies (SME) in film and television production a voice. We argue that their tales
to some extent counterbalance the concern with growth and economic success expressed in most media policy documents. Non-economic values are often
the driving force in the numerous SME companies that make up the larger part of the production sector. The paper draws on the empirical and theoretical
work of John Thornton Caldwell, centrally his concept of production culture, which he defines as how workers in the film and television industries reflect
upon their own practices. However, because Caldwell’s definition lacks an explicit link to the company level, this paper is also informed by Edgar Schein’s
theory of organization culture, defined as particular problem solving practices that can be more or less useful to the survival of the companies. Within this
theoretical framework, the employees of the companies have been interviewed about their values, their management practices and their business strate‑
gies while keeping in mind what Caldwell has called the staged‘self-performances’of the interviewees. Methodologically, the paper is based on case studies
of film and television companies in each of the countries mentioned above. Apart from interviews of leaders and employees of the businesses, the case
studies include a triangulation of resources such as the webpages of the companies, their office space, promotional material, accounts in trade press/spe‑
cialist journals, newspaper articles and publicly available interviews with company personnel including chat shows and Q&As at screenings, often available
online as well as in print.The study also includes to some extent analyses of selected films and television programmes produced by the different companies.