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CHAPTER 6FILM

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IN-CLASS MEDIA PRESENTATION

A SHORT HISTORY OF FILM

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A SHORT HISTORY OF FILM

Describe how the art of film became an industry during the early 20th century and resembled a factory.Studios owned stables of stars, writers,

and producers to make the movies, and the theaters to show them in – they churned the movies out like a factory churns out “product”.

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A SHORT HISTORY OF FILM

Why did this “Factory” system of making movies change?Studios lost control as stars, writers, and

producers fought for the right to be independent and movie theaters became independent after antitrust suits were brought against the major studios because they held a monopoly over the entire film industry.

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A SHORT HISTORY OF FILM

These antitrust actions spelled the end of the studio system and the beginning of an era in which production companies primarily made films on a project-by-project basis.

This new breed of production company is often assembled for a particular film and then dissolved afterwards. There are no stars or directors under long-term contracts to be automatically used for ongoing productions.  Today, people are especially selected for each film.

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A SHORT HISTORY OF FILM

How did the Film Industry react to the coming of the Television Age starting in the 1950’s? Tried to make movies “special” and different

than Television Made movies that featured content and themes

you couldn’t see on Television Sold old movies to Television Realized that Home Video was an effective way

to advertise their theatrical releases

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MOVIES & CULTURE

Why do you think movies have such an important place in American culture? What makes them so special?

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MOVIES & CULTURE

Movies hold a very special place in our culture…We talk of Hollywood as the “dream

factory,” the makers of “movie magic.” We want our lives and loves to be “just like in the movies.” The movies are “larger than life,” and movie stars are much more glamorous than television stars.

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MOVIES AS A MEDIUM

MOVIES ARE ESPECIALLY COLLABORATIVE AND COMBINE MEDIA INTO ONE PACKAGE: Visuals (moving and otherwise) Print/Words (script) Music + Sound (soundtrack/score/sound design) Camera work (lighting, movement, effects) Design (production elements, color schemes,

wardrobe, etc.)All of these elements (and more) combine to make a “movie” – GOODFELLAS tracking shot

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MOVIES AND THEIR AUDIENCES

• Today’s movie audience is increasingly a young one

• The typical moviegoer in the United States is a teenager or young adult. These teens and 20-somethings, although making up less than 20% of the total population, represent more than 30% of the tickets bought.

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TOP 20 WORLDWIDE HITS

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• SEQUELS, REMAKES, AND FRANCHISES 

• TELEVISION, COMIC BOOK, & VIDEO-GAME REMAKES 

• RICH MERCHANDISE OPPORTUNITIES

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THREE COMPONENT SYSTEM

PRODUCTION• About 700 feature-length films are

produced annually in the U.S.• Most are now shot on digital (not

film) – which can make making a movie cheaper OR more expensive, depending on the type of film you’re making

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$300,000,000$15,000

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THREE COMPONENT SYSTEM

DISTRIBUTION• Ever-increasing number of

distribution points to consider• Cost of advertising and promotion

can greatly increase the total cost of a film

• Average cost of producing and marketing a Hollywood feature is over $110 million

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$200,000,000+ $300,000,000

=$500,000,000

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THREE COMPONENT SYSTEM

EXHIBITIONAbout 39,000 movie screens exhibit motion pictures in the United StatesThe five largest American movie

chains sell nearly 80% of all ticketsConcession sales account for 40% of a

theater’s profits (at an 80% profit margin)

Not just movies are being shown6-14

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TRENDS AND CONVERGENCE IN MOVIEMAKING

HOW movies are sold, watched and distributed is changing drastically due to the massive growth of digital media and new distribution models – films are no longer typically destined for the big screen and, as a result, everything from how they’re made to how they’re sold is changing. 6-15

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TRENDS AND CONVERGENCE IN MOVIEMAKING

All major film studios are a major part of a large conglomerate, and much of this takes place as foreign ownership

CONGLOMERATION + FOREIGN OWNERSHIP = Blockbuster MentalityFilmmaking characterized by reduced risk taking and more formulaic movies.

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TRENDS AND CONVERGENCE IN MOVIEMAKING

“CONCEPT” FILMSMovies that can be described in one line

Depend little on characterization, plot development, and dialogue

More easily sold overseas6-17

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TRENDS AND CONVERGENCE IN MOVIEMAKING

The importance of foreign distribution cannot be overstated; only 2 in 10 U.S. features make a profit on U.S. box office. Much of their eventual profit comes from overseas sales.

Typically, overseas box office accounts for 70% of a studio movie's total ticket sales 6-18

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TRENDS AND CONVERGENCE IN MOVIEMAKING

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Netflix operates in 45 countries, bringing its subscriber total to nearly 58 million with 39 million in the U.S. alone

Simultaneous release of movies to theaters, DVD, and cable video on demand

Film promotion via social networking sites

30% of smartphone users and 40% of tablet users stream movies

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TRENDS AND CONVERGENCE IN MOVIEMAKING

Many movies are adaptations of television shows, comic books, and video games because of the “Blockbuster Mentality” as well as…Merchandise tie-ins which accounts

for almost $200 billion in paymentsBy 2011, the HARRY POTTER franchise

had made over $7 BILLION in sales of official merchandise

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TRENDS AND CONVERGENCE IN MOVIEMAKING Brief History: Product placements in m

ovies THE SOCIAL NETWORK:

adidas, Apache, Apple, Arm & Hammer, Boston University, Brooks Brothers, Cadillac, Cambridge University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dell, Disney, Exeter Academy, Facebook, Friendster, Gap, Google, Harvard University, LiveJournal, London School of Economics, Macy's,match.com, Microsoft, Mountain Dew, MySpace, Napster, Network Solutions, New England Patriots, NFL, Nike, Oxford University, Patagonia, Philips, Polaroid, Polo Ralph Lauren, Porsche, Range Rover, Red Bull, Samsung, Sony VAIO, Stairmaster, Stanford University, The Harvard Crimson, The North Face, The Unlimited, Thirsty Scholar, Tower Records, Ty Nant, Under Armour, Victoria's Secret, Yale University 6-21

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DEVELOPING MEDIA LITERACY SKILLS

Recognizing Product Placements Product placement—a business in its own

rightIt’s a commercial that lives “forever”All but guaranteed to have worldwide distribution

Unskippable Awareness of efforts of movie industry to

maximize income from films is central to good film literacy

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DEVELOPING MEDIA LITERACY SKILLS

Recognizing Product PlacementsWhat’s so bad about product

placement?Artistic decisions are placed second to obligations to sponsors

In certain cases, the sponsor can have final approval of a scene/film

The ever-growing importance of profit in the movie industry

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$160,000,000

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MOVIES & TECHNOLOGY

Back in the day, filmmakers used matte paintings, miniature models and trick photography to achieve impossible looking cinematic effects. Today, Hollywood has nearly perfected the art and application of computer-generated imagery (CGI) in movies and TV shows.

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MOVIES & TECHNOLOGY

CGI = Computer Generated ImagesTOP 10 Visual Effects You Thought Were RealPRACTICAL EFFECTS = “In-Camera”

A practical effect is a special effect produced physically, without computer-generated imagery or other post production techniques.

TOP 10BOTTOM 10

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