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One of the last tasks for my Media Analytics Graduate Certificate program focused on film analytics. We were tasked with writing two memos, each with different situations.

The first situation placed myself as a co-owner of a brand new film studio looking to green-light scripts for the studio’s first films. While it would be nice to suggest to enter the genres that generate high box office revenues like action films, I also had to keep in mind that, as a new studio, we did not have the capital an action film commanded. I looked at data that focused on genre and box office returns to recommend the best genre I thought would help the studio succeed. One of the biggest challenges was to keep the memo in short, easy to comprehend bullet points. As an analyst, you don’t always have a lot of time or space to tell executives or other decision makers what you suggest. You need to keep your findings consist and bite-sized. For my first leap into film analytics, I’m proud of my findings and recommendations.

For the second situation, I acted as a screenwriter looking to suggest potential directors and film studios where my newest rom-com script should be pitched. I looked at data that focused on directors, the film they directed, and the genre, the film studio, and the gross box office returns of said film. This situation also required a memo format, so I knew I had to keep my recommendations short and sweet.

A point of clarification: I suggested for Garry Marshall to be a potential director, forgetting that he had passed a few years prior. He was a wonderful recommendation thanks to his success with Princess Diaries and Pretty Woman, films that I absolutely adore to this day. Rest in peace.