Analyze Genre, Actors or Directors

In this video, you will count how many movies of each type are in the data set.

For example, if you're analyzing actors, you'll count how many movies each actor has been in.

If you're analyzing genres, you'll count how many movies of each genre are in the data set.

If you do not know if you are analyzing genre, actors, or directors, ask one of your group members before moving on.

Follow the same steps in this video whether you are analyzing genre, actors, or directors.

The example used here is for movie genres, but the same steps apply for actors and directors, too.

The analysis you perform in this video will give you a better idea of what elements produce a good return on investment and which have a bad return on investment.

Identifying the elements that have made other movies successful will help you decide which movies to greenlight for production in the next activity.

Your group's starter project already has a list of genres, actors, and directors.

Depending on your assignment, click on the genre, actors, or directors tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet.

To determine the success of a particular genre, actor, or director, it is important to know how many instances you have of each in your data set.

For example, there may be one genre that has a great return on investment, but there may be only one movie that falls into that category.

If there are only a few movies in that genre, the data may not be as reliable as you think.

This example counts all instances of the word "Action" that appear in the movie data spreadsheet.

Your data may look different than what is on the screen.

If you are counting movies with particular actors or directors, use the appropriate data for your assignment.

First, add your name to the tab you're completing.

In the sheet, add a new column for "Number of Movies." To count the number of movies in each category, use a Count IF formula.

In the cell under the header, type "equals," and "Count IF." Select "Count If" from the dropdown menu and notice the help text.

This formula counts all the cells within a range if they meet certain criteria.

To select the range, go back to the movie data sheet.

In this example, count all instances of the word "Action" in the "Genre" column.

Select both genre columns.

Next, go back to the genres, actors, or directors sheet, depending on which category you are responsible for.

Type a comma in the formula.

Then select your criteria by clicking the cell to add it to the formula.

Close the parentheses and press Enter.

Great! This function counts all the movies in the movie data spreadsheet categorized as "Action." There are quite a few! Drag the cell handle down to copy the formula to the rest of the spreadsheet.

The same steps apply if you are counting genres, actors, or directors.

Use the appropriate criteria for the data you are responsible for.

If you're counting actors, select the "Cast" columns as the range.

If you are counting directors, select the "Directors" column.

Keep in mind that your data will look different than what is on your screen.

If you are working with actors and directors, your data set will be larger because there are more of these than movie genres in your movie data spreadsheet.

Now, sort the sheet from low to high and examine the data.

In this example, there are lots of movies in the "Comedy" and "Drama" categories.

There are not many biographies or family movies.

You will take the count into consideration when you analyze the returns on investment in the next video.

When you have finished counting the movies with a specific genre, cast member, or director, move on to the next video where you will calculate the average return on investment for each of the items in those categories.

Now, it's your turn: Add your name to the genres, actors, or directors tab in the movie data spreadsheet.

In the sheet, add a new column for "Number of Movies." Use a Count IF formula to count the number of movies in each category Then, copy the formula to the rest of the spreadsheet.

Sort the sheet from low to high and examine the data.

After you finish counting the movies with a specific genre, cast member, or director, move on to the next video.