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-   -   How and where are commercial DVDs made? (https://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/media/5811-how-commercial-dvds.html)

student1111 03-24-2014 07:39 PM

How and where are commercial DVDs made?
 
Hello! I am a student working on a research project. Sorry if this is a little off topic. I was reading the article on blank DVDs and was wondering if anyone knew where companies like Fox and CBS get their discs for TV shows and things like that. Do they write them themselves? Do they make the actual discs? If not, where do they buy them? What companies do they hire to make their discs?

If anyone has any info or sources they could lead me to I would be very grateful. Thanks!!

lordsmurf 03-24-2014 08:35 PM

Understand that companies like Fox and CBS don't actually produce the DVDs. In fact, CBS doesn't really own anything, and is just the broadcaster -- although it may have to sign off on certain rights. Fox has an entertainment wing, and owns shows, but isn't really in the DVD business. It's in the content broadcast and ownership business.

Note: I use "DVD" here, but it refers to anything physical -- tapes, Blu-ray, Laserdisc, etc.

Another company is contracted (or as in the case of companies like Mill Creek, they approach the content owner) to acquire and distribute the content. That company may or may not do it's own work either, outsourcing each piece to others -- capturing, editing, authoring, creating artwork, pressing (like burning). It's not any different from home workflow that avoid all-in-one software.

The recessions of 2003 and 2008-2009 really hurt the world of DVD media -- everything from manufacturers to suppliers to replication companies (pressers). A lot of companies are gone now. And like other aspects of DVD media, it's almost a shadow industry that can be hard to track.

The authoring aspect isn't too hard to trace, as the authoring houses (which can be full dub houses that handle their own DVD replication) almost always leave their mark on discs. After a feature or full TV show has played, one of the on-screen logos will be for the company that produced the disc. Sometimes its even on the DVD box/case art itself. From there, you can contact those companies and find out where their DVDs are pressed, then the presser can give more details on the disc supplier (or manufacturer if the presser doesn't use a middleman supplier).

Somebody like Fox or CBS is probably entirely removed from the equation, and the specs for blank media is no more than a line entry on a contract (of at all). Some DVD releases use obviously good quality blanks materials, while others have subpar materials (for example, Mill Creek and other budget shops). You'd have to talk to the company contracting with Fox/CBS/etc to find out what a typical contract includes here.

For example, on my desk right now, is a Critereon release. In the case of Critereon, the studio owns the work, Critereon contracts to release it, and they may (or may not) outsource part of that process. I think Critereon primarily focuses on the encoding and possibly the authoring -- not the pressing. They likely outsource that. So see who does that, and with what materials.

It's completely different from the world of DVD burning! Pressing in not buring! The same is/was true of VHS, Laserdisc, Blu-ray disc, etc.

When the discs are sold, the studio gets a residuals cut, and the releaser may get a cut. The outsources work on a project fee basis, either hourly or flat rate.

Realize I was an outsourcer for a studio for about 5 years there, before I was forced to leave the business (health reasons). In fact, that studio was interesting, as it would both release its own content, and release the content of others. There were lots and lots of middlemen. Securing rights would sometimes take 2-3 years, and producing the discs may take another 6-12 months -- especially when the content was rougher and in need of restoring (which is where I came in).

Is that enough info? :)

What level of study is this for? Junior high, high school, college undergrad, college grad?

Trivia: I know a DVD/Blu-ray artist in UK -- a friend of a friend that I follow on social media. All he does is artwork for commercial interests, mostly cartoon disc releases, and his Facebook feed is often a showcase of his newest work. His art is then used by somebody else (releaser? authoring house?) for the final layout and logo adds.

student1111 03-24-2014 08:46 PM

Thank you, that's great! I'm an undergrad. :)

lordsmurf 03-24-2014 08:56 PM

I may have edited the last post to add more, since you first saw it, so look it over one more time.

If you have any more questions on this, just let me know. I work with students all the time, online and offline, and never mind helping them out. I remember how snotty, distant and unavailable some pros were when I was in college -- let's just say the year started with a "19" -- and I vow years ago to never be that way.

** Although I will knock a student on his/her ass if he/she tries to jump the gun on starting their career haphazardly, offering work to others while still learning about it. Learn first, do later. It's NOT the other way around! I do NOT tolerate sloppy amateurish work from companies!

student1111 03-24-2014 09:00 PM

Thanks so much, thats really helpful.


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