Tehran Media Industries Flashcards
Production
-Alongside Donna Shula Productions, Paper Plane Productions also co-produced Tehran. Paper Plane Productions was set up by Alon Aranya in 2017 and prides itself on ‘producing and financing original international drama series around the world’
-Paper Entertainment, a London-based TV production company created by Industry executive Julien Leroux, were also involved in the co-production of Tehran. Channel
4’s Indie Growth Fund also own a minority share in London-based Paper Entertainment, making Tehran an internationally-produced and collaborative venture with involvement from multiple organisations and professionals
Distribution
Cineflix Rights were the first company to pick up Tehran for international distribution, and struck a co-production deal with Apple TV+ to launch the show on their subscription-based streaming service
Production values
-The high production values are evident throughout the show and the scale of the production is ambitious
-This positions Tehran alongside other high-budget serial dramas in the same genre
-Unconfirmed reports claim that Apple TV+ paid one million dollars per episode of Tehran – a figure described as ‘huge money in the Israeli TV world, which operates on shoestring budgets’ (The Jerusalem Post)
Casting
The careful casting process also arguably helped anchor the success of the show; Navid Negahban (who has appeared in 24 and Homeland) and Shaun Toub (who also featured in Homeland) would have helped draw in audiences and fans of the genre
Location of production
-The production of Tehran took place in Athens, Greece due to the production team being unable to film in Tehran
-Whilst film and TV production is permitted in Iran, visas and permits must be issued
-Israeli citizens are not currently allowed into Iran due to the political tensions between the two countries
-Athens was chosen as the location for production due to similarities in architecture; Athens has a similar mixture of modernist developments built into old cities, meaning they did not need to create studio sets or build facades
Development of TV streaming networks
The development of TV streaming networks appears to have had a direct link to the success of the show, making
it available to global audiences rather than just domestic audiences who have access to the Kan 11 television channel. This has therefore opened up a whole new audience for the show
Developments in digital technology
-Production companies are working together more frequently to create
new and exciting productions that are helping genres to evolve and remain dynamic
-In 2020, Paper Plane entered a first-look deal with Apple TV+ to co-produce and co-finance international dramas
Apple TV+ and Kan 11
-The show, along with the involvement of Apple TV+, has helped launch Israeli productions on a global scale. After the success of the first series, Tal Freifeld, vice president of Kan television, expressed that the company wants ‘to establish its status as the home of Israeli creation’.
Success of Israeli productions
-The show, along with the involvement of Apple TV+, has helped launch Israeli productions on a global scale. After the success of the first series, Tal Freifeld, vice president of Kan television, expressed that the company wants ‘to establish its status as the home of Israeli creation’.
Cultural Industries theory (Hesmondhalgh)
-Apple the have grown their business model to meet the growing demand for online streaming and to match competition from other subscription services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime
-Apple TV+, which launched in 2019, has started to produce original film and TV series as well as distribute existing productions such as Tehran
-Hesmondhalgh also suggests that the potential of the Internet has been contained to some extent by its partial incorporation into a large, profit- orientated set of cultural industries
