This is the third of ten articles revealing the results of my survey of 1,235 film industry professionals. More details of the survey and my methodology can be found here and for any questions or clarification please contact me.
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Key Findings – Film business investment
- Over half of the industry feel that investing in film is a “sensible business investment”
- There is more confidence in the soundness of film business investment on lower budgets than on higher budgets.
- The two sectors which had the least confidence in film business investment were Development and Sales & Distribution.
- The sector with the highest confidence in film business investment is Marketing.
Do film professionals think film is a sensible investment?
I figured that asking outright “Is film a good investment?” would create a skewed result so I used a sneaky method to get closer to the truth. I presented one group three general statements and then a similar group were show the same three statements but mixed with a fourth statement relating to film as a business investment. Both groups were asked how many of the statements they agreed with in total (0, 1, 2, 3 or 4). By comparing the two sets of results we can deduce the average effect of the additional film business investment statement. Just over half of film professionals think that investing in film is a sensible business investment. 46% do not. 
Breakdown by sector
The two sectors which had the least confidence in film as a business investment were Development and Sales & Distribution. In a pattern that is mirrored across many questions in my survey, those who work in Marketing seem to be the most optimistic. 
Breakdown by budget level
There is much stronger confidence in film investment by those who work on the lowest budgets. Film is a risky investment at the best of times so I ascribe this result down to a mix of naivety and youthful optimism, rather than cheaper films making for better investments. 
About the survey
The survey involved 1,235 film industry professionals, all of whom have attended at least one of the three major film markets (Cannes, Berlin or AFM) within the past five years. I asked questions on a variety of hot topics including piracy, the appeal of 3D, gender, and how optimistic industry professionals are for 2014. More details of the survey and my methodology can be found here and for any questions or clarification please contact me.
