29th April

Digital Network- National lottery, arts council
Piracy/ internet - MegaUpload, pirate bay
the resurgence of 3D- Guillerimo del Toro director of Pacific Rim

Thesis- goes through all details then come to the conclusion 

Piracy- no risks- formula

Audience grown up with blockbusters 

Avatar- highest grossing film 2billion

Transformers- franchise 

"Audiences have a larger variety of films to choose film since the introduction of digital technology" Do you agree with this statement?"




How much does internet piracy negatively effect the film industry?

25th April

Christopher Nolan- Had the opportunity to shoot inception and Batman into 3D and he turned it down.

Michael Bay- Transformers although using a lot of FX and not having much of a story he still turned down using 3D. 


Many non 3D films with more narrative have often beaten films with 3D in the box office.

From 2011 the box office numbers for 3D films have decreased.


3D included in films unnecessarily. 

Oblivion and Gravity- Case Studies 

Gravity- could be seen as a blockbuster but it isnt because they have strong narratives so therefore it isnt a "big dumb movie"

Mock Exam 2- Video Nasties

In the early 1980s' moral panic was spread through the public by the conservative party as they feared that the progression of technology would allow inappropriate film content to be seen.  When cinemas were the only way of people watching films the government were able to regulate and censor things containing violence, sexual content or what they believed to be damaging to people and therefore caused a concern. Mary Whitehouse was the person put in charge to regulate films as part of the conservative party which at this time Margaret Thatcher was in power.

As videos became for fashionable and people did not want to pay for the cinema because of the recession, piracy became more apparent. Video recorders meant that people were able to pirate films and sell them on illegally. The result of this meant that people of any age could buy films containing damaging content as the criminals selling them do not care about regulating the films as the government did. The most often censored films were "video nasties", these included things which the government at the time saw as obscene and therefore made it their aim to remove them from the viewing public. The argument of this is whether the people should decide what they watch themselves, but the people in power believed it could spark ideas for people.  

The Video Nasties were scapegoated by Margaret Thatcher as during the time Britain was corrupt and in poverty as it had hit a recession, this was arguably her fault. By blaming the state of Britain on the video nasties, it took the attention off of her and also was removing the idea of rebellion as this is what they believed was included in them. The BBFC, was put in place by the government to regulate films and categorise into what ages they should be shown, they are still in place today. However in the 80's they were set up by people apart of the government meaning that their views were very biased on what was shown. 

Quiz

What genres Films does 3D suit?
	Action Blockbusters

Did the UK digital cinema network succeed in exposing audiences to more varied types of films?
	Yes By making it cheaper for people to distribute films and also cheaper to exhibit dilms in cinemas, independent studios were able to afford putting their films in cinemas.

Is 3D successful in getting audiences back in the cinema?
	Yes As 3D can only be seen from the cinema it has brought in more people to the cinema, however once the experience is over it is likely that people will soon become bored of it and of the formulaic plots. Does 3D have a negative impact on film production?  Yes  As well as making film production more expensive, it also means that the films become very formulaic as they cost a lot of money and the studios will want to make a surplus so they wont take risks. 6. Which directors support 3D in their productions?  James Cameron James Cameron is the director of Avatar, which was one of the biggest 3D event movies because of the effects and 3D used. What reasons were given by the FBI shutting down Megaupload?  Breaching intellectual property copyright They were sharing files which they did not own. How has film distribution online/digital cinema helped Indie films get exhibited?  Cheaper to get into cinemas Independent directors can now afford to distribute their films through cinemas and websites meaning that they are more likely to be recognised.

Action blockbusters use a lot of effects which is what 3D films often have as the fights or effects look good with it.

Why has the film industry lost money from cinema attendance from 2000?

 illegal piracy

Piracy has allowed people to watch films online for free, which means they are very unlikely to pay for a film when they have to also go out of the comfort of their own home.

22nd April

Homework- revise v for vendetta and children of men 

21st century film- 

Piracy- criminals make money, inspires people to have new ideas as they see more films 

Digital distribution- alternative films 

Resurgence of 3D- cannot be pirated, new experience, money for film studios 

Context- what factors caused/impacts

Social- audience attendance

Technology- 3d, digital distribution, Internet 

Group task- megaupload, pirate 

 "Megaupload" acts as a digital locker, allows file sharing 

Megaupload resulted in rubbish blockbuster films and allows spoilers 

  

3d resurgence & film production-

Loads of money spent, grossing budget 

3d remakes if preexisting movies

Adverts- quick don't see anything because the films are rubbish 

3d made in late 1930s

Illusion of a good new experience 

Digital distribution-

New scheme takes over big film reels 12 million pounds put into it, cinemas wouldn't pay themselves 

Digital screening- cuts costs of film release, a tenth of what it would cost on a reel 

Beneficial for film studios 

More open to piracy

Uk film council and arts council created the digital screen network 

Cinemas began screening independent films- greater risk eg. Casablanca 

Films that are in now eg. Captain America, Tarzan (only in 3d) Khumba 

Independent films- the quiet ones, gods not dead

"3d is a gimmick it lends itself to certain tacky genres & forces the director to make cinematography decisions to make it work rather than to create meaning"

3d was bought back everytime cinema attendance decreased, suggesting it is not for the experience but to get more people in the cinema.

More profit for film studios so they re released films in 3d. 

 

Digital distribution has led to people losing jobs as people don't go to the cinema. Which is why they introduced 3D again to increase cinema attendance and profit.

Action and horror genres dominate 3D, devaluing these genres.

Mock Exam 1- The Rise Of The Blockbusters

What factors led to the decline in cinemas in towns and city centres in the late 70's and early 80's?

 During this time there were social, economic and technological factors which resulted in the decline of cinemas. In Britain there was a large recession, causing people to stop going to the cinema as much as the price was increasing because of new technologies. As people began to purchase their own VHS recorders and televisions, they didn't need cinemas for the news. The more people that didn't need cinemas meant that the studios weren't making as much money which is why they created multiplexes to offer more activities and things to do to encourage people to visit cinemas.

To also encourage audiences they began creating ideas which would appeal to a variety of people, mainly teenagers. Teenagers became the main target audience because the recession had left adults with debt and therefore their priorities were the essentials. The teenage generation resulted in having more excess money, so more to spend on the cinema. To encourage them into the cinema they created films which would appeal to them. During the summer the blockbuster jaws was released, the trailer showed included violence and showed the film was wet on the beach allowing the teenagers to relate.  The effects of the violence from the shark appealed to teenagers as they had not seen anything like this before, as it was said to be very realistic. 

 As Technology was progressing, the production of films were becoming more expensive to compete with the film studios which were using special effects. The large production budgets caused publicity, making films into spectacles which in turn made the films events. Event movies make people come together to have the experience of a new technology, increasing cinema attendance, however to put the suitable technology in cinemas to play blockbuster movies made from Hollywood film studios costs a lot for small independent cinemas. The film studios in Hollywood, created multiplexes to play their own blockbusters with the suited technology this meant that people were more likely to visit a multiplex than an independent cinema as it gave them more choice of film. The first multiplex built in England was in 1985 in Milton Keynes.

 When multiplexes arrived they took the audience which would have previously attended independent cinemas which decreased cinema attendance but increased in multiplexes. Star Wars is the main example for an event movie, because the majority of their production budget was spent on technology for FX. These FX would only be plausible in multiplexes, as they provided bigger screens and better sound systems.