The state of the British film industry in 2007

"Boomtime for the British film industry thanks to Austen, Mr Bean - and Gordon Brown."

This is an article from last year but its information including facts and figures are useful for assessing the recent state of the British film industry .

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jan/15/film.politics

But . . . here is a different take on the same topic:

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article2689591.ece

The British Film Industry (FS2)

Two great links for reading about and researching the British Film Industry. The Parliamentry Report is thorough and the BBC's British Film Industry pages are wide-ranging.

http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.com/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmcumeds/667/667.pdf

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/entertainment/2003/british_film_industry/default.stm

Topics to cover for the FS2 exam

FS2 Producers and Audiences: Hollywood and British Cinema
Main study areas and topic within each area to study for the exam. You may not be able to cover them all – but we can cover a range of topics within each area. Add examples where possible to your case study.

Films as products
The global and local dimensions of film
Hollywood
Film Studios
Films as commercial products
Adaptability of the film industry
Filmmaking: the process
Film production, distribution and exhibition
You will need an overview and examples exam questions
Useful websites:
www.hollywoodreporter.com
www.filmfestivals.com
www.variety.com

Audiences as fans and consumers
The early cinema experience ( nice to know but unlikely to come up)
Changing patterns of consumption including multi-screen cinemas and home cinema ( a favourite topic in the exam)
the role of the audience in the filmmaking process
Censorship and classification
Fan power
Industry power
Globalization
Examine a range of example exam questions (see a previous post for examples of these)
Useful websites for further research:
www.bbfc.co.uk (The British Board of Film Classification)
www.bfi.org.uk
www.disney.co.uk or disney.go.com
www.newscorp.com
www.sony.net
www.timewarner.com
(Websites such as the last four above give a powerful sense of the global reach of such corporations and the immediate visual impression of the range of interlocking media owned by each of them.)
www.cjr.org (up-to-date information on who own what in the media entertainments industry.)

Stars – what are they and why do we have them?
Your experience of stars
Stars – the concept of being "a star" and whether stars have international stardom or localised stardom within Britain. (Does it matter for the British film industry whether a British star is also an international star and a bigt name in the US?)
How do stars' private lives tie-in with their screen personas (how their publicity agents project them and how their roles are influenced by their lives offscreen.

Examine a range of example exam questions
Useful websites:
www.entertainment.co.uk
www.film.guardian.co.uk
www.imdb.com

Hollywood back in the day and Hollywood today – Old Hollywood and New Hollywood
Old Hollywood and New Hollywood. How does Hollywood today compare with the Hollywood of the 1940s-50s?
Actors, directors and agents
Producers
Production: an overview
Distribution in Old Hollywood and New Hollywood

Examine a range of example exam questions
Useful website:
www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk

Is the British film industry in any way distinctive and different?
How does it cope with having to survive in the shadow of Hollywood?
A distinctive and different cinema
Surviving in the shadows
Useful websites:
www.filmcouncil.org
www.skillset.org/film

New technologies in the film industry
Film and technology
Film and changes in technology (think about the representation of reality (see a previous video) and changes in how films are distributed today and will be in future.)

Analysing Film Posters - repost (film marketing)

Click on this film poster to enlarge
One of the things you NEED to do for your FS2 case studies is analsye various types of trailers and film posters. Here's some advice and a checklist for analysing your film posters. Remember that representation in posters can vary in different countries as the audiences and cultural preferences are taken into account.

Analysing Movie Posters

Posters occupy a space between art and advertising. They have a clear commercial purpose - to promote an event or product - but they also have artistic value. People buy them and hang them on their walls. Museums have whole galleries devoted to poster art. When analysing a poster it is important that you evaluate both how well it fulfils its purpose (ie promotion) as well as its aesthetic value. ("aesthetic value" means their value as artistic creations.)

First Steps when analysing a poster

you should consider the following broad questions before you start to focus on the details:

• What are the main colours used in the poster and what do they connote?
• What symbols are used in the poster?
• Do you need audience foreknowledge to decode the symbols?
• What are the main figures/objects/background of the poster? Are they represented photographically, graphically, or illustratively?
• Are the messages in the poster primarily visual, verbal, or both?
• Who do you think is the intended audience for the poster?
• Given that all movie posters have the same purpose - to get audiences to go see a movie - what persuasive techniques are used by the poster?
• Which genre conventions are referred to?
• Is a star used as a USP (unique selling point)? Where is the star in its mise-en-scene? Why?
• Are "expert witnesses" (ie critics) quoted?
• What pleasures (gratifications) are promised by the poster?
• How is attention gained (humour, shock, surprise)?
• How does the tagline work? (humour, pun, alliteration etc?)

Production Constraints

The poster can also give you important information about the production context of the movie:

1. how much does the poster tell you about the institutional context of the movie's production?


2. how important is this information on the poster (think about information hierarchies)?


3. how important a part of the whole marketing campaign is the poster?


4. Where is the poster placed?


5. How expensive was this poster to produce?

Critical Evaluation
Finally, you have to pass judgement on the poster.

• Is it an effective poster? Why?


• Does it communicate effectively with the audience?


• Are there any alternative readings which might harm the message of the marketing campaign?


• Is the poster offensive in any way?
  
  Some of the information here was taken in part from the Mediaknowall website and other web sources to form this post.
  

Stars - research task for next week

Research task for discussion next week.

Stars to produce a case study on how a star is presented in different ways in the media. Make these studies valuable.

Performance – what kinds of films are they associated with and what types of roles do they fill? What is their relationship with Hollywood or the British film industry?

Who are the key stars in contemporary Hollywood? Why?

(Include a range of promotional/press pictures and film posters to aid your discussion.)

Cinematical - an important website for researching films

The articles, categories and links associated with this site make it indispensible for FS2 case studies, etc. See the permanent linke in the FS2 links on the right, too.

http://www.cinematical.com/category/distribution/

Audiences as Fans and Consumers -FS2 - Task 3

Audiences as Fans and Consumers

Task 3

The nature of the cinema experience – is it high or low brow?

Write notes on a single side of A-4 or keep typed notes so you can discuss your points and ideas in class. These notes will also help you to write timed essays at the end of each month.

What do the terms “high brow” and “low brow” mean?

Would you say that in your experience going to the cinema is a “high brow” or “low brow” pastime?

What type or class of people do you believe go to the cinema? Does this vary according to the film, and/or depending on the particular cinema in question?

(This task has been adapted from "AS Film Studies: The Essential Introduction")

Audiences as Fans and Consumers - FS2 - Task 2

Audiences as Fans and Consumers

Task 2

The nature of the cinema experience – your own cinema-going patterns

Write brief notes so you can refer to them in a class discussion and for 600 word essays later on.

Think about your own cinema-going patterns.

Do you ever go on your own?

Do you tend to go with the same people to the same sorts of films?

How does the experience differ depending on whether you are on our own or with particular friends?

How do you decide what you are going to see and who you are going to go with?

Do you simply go to watch the film at a set time or do combine this with some other activity (or activities) such as shopping or eating out?

When did you first go to the cinema? What did you go to see? Who took you? What do you remember about the experience (not just the film but the event of going to the cinema as a whole)?

(This task was adapted from "AS Film Studies: The Essential Introduction".)

Audiences as Fans and Consumers - FS2 - Task 1

Audiences as Fans and Consumers

The nature of the cinema experience – the kinds of entertainment people gathered to experience in the past and how cinema is similar and different from earlier forms of entertainment.

Task 1

Questions for research and personal experience (Use the internet by typing key words and phrases in GOOGLE) Write your notes on a single-sided sheet for discussion and for writing timed pieces later on.

What kinds of entertainment did audiences gather to see in the past? What was the nature of the audiences’ experiences from other types of entertainment? (Who, what, why, when and how?) (Who, what, why, when and how?) Find out about a how crowds experienced narratives and stories in magic lantern shows, early theatre, ampitheatres, early music hall, etc.

Why have storytelling and performance always seemed to be important during such gatherings?

What doe audiences gain from listening to stories and watching performance?

How did society or the community benefit from allowing the activities to take place?

Why should communities gather to see films and how are their experiences different from the experiences of audiences from previous forms of entertainment?

(This task was adapted from "AS Film Studies: The Essential Introduction".)

Click on the poster to enlarge.

A link to an analysis of the film poster for "Sweeney Todd"

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1357349

Film Trailers FS2

A good site for film trailers

http://www.apple.com/trailers/

FS2 - Film Production, Distribution and Exhibition Case Study Prompts

Film Production, Distribution and Exhibition

Take any two films of your choice and try to trace their development through from their initial inception as embryonic ideas to their box-office success (or failure). Use the internet to help you with your research. But be pragmatic about your choice of films; look to see how much information seems to be available before you make your final choice. The one limitation on your choice is that one film must be from Hollywood and the other must be British. For each film you might try to answer the following questions but do not treat these as anything more than guidelines. You will not be able to find the answer to each of these questions and you might have ideas of your own for additional relevant information to include under each phase of the industrial/commercial process.

1. What happened during pre-production?

• Whose idea was the film? Did the idea start with the writer, or were writers brought in to develop a preconceived idea?


• Where did the idea come from? Was it an original idea, or perhaps a book first, or TV series, or comic strip, or from some other source?


• Who wrote the original script? Did other people become involved in the writing as the project progressed?


• How easy was it to arrange the financial backing to make the film? Who were the financial backers?


• How well known was the production company? What was its track record?


• Who was the producer? How did he or she become involved?


• Who was the director? How did he or she become involved

2. What happened during the production phase?

• Was it an easy ‘shoot’? If there were difficulties what were they? Were there tensions between any of the creative personnel, often known as ‘the talent?
• Was any part of the film shot on location? If so, where?
• Where there any difficulties with casting, or with acquiring the stars/actors the producer wanted?
• Was the film shot within budget? Was it ever in any danger of going over budget? What was the budget? Can you find a breakdown for the budget?
• Were there any changes to the script during production? How many changes or re-writes? Did the same scriptwriter(s) stay ‘on board’ all the time, or were some replaced?
• List as many people as possible making contributions to the production
  If possible highlight some of their individual contributions?
  

3. What happened during the distribution phase?

• Who were the distributors? How well known was the company? What is their track record as distributors?


• How did the film-makers decide where to release the film and when? What was the eventual release pattern?


• What deals were made for distribution abroad? How easily were these deals secured?


• Why did they at any stage change their plans for the release pattern, and if so, why?


• What was the marketing and advertising strategy for the film? Was there a premiere, and if so, where?


• What outlets were used for advertising? Was TV used, for example?


• Were there any merchandising tie-ins?


• Was any additional publicity gained, and if so, how?

4. What happened during the exhibition phase?

• When was the film released; also where and on how many screens?
  Was there a particular strategy attached to increasing the number of prints available?


• Were there any difficulties with the censors? How did the censors classify the film?


• Were there any other special restrictions placed on the exhibition of the film?


• What were the reactions of the critics to the film? Was it considered a critical success? Has it been re-assessed since then?


• Did the film create a particular media debate, or create news headlines?


• How much money did the film take in its first year? Was it considered a commercial/financial success?


• Did it have ‘legs’, that is did it continue to run in the cinema for some time?
  

Remember there are questions here that you will not be able to answer; however there may be topics that you would like to include that are not covered in the questions set out. All the questions are only offered as guidelines; it is for you to work on the development of your own chosen product from concept to screen.

Adapted from "AS Film Studies: The Essential Introduction", pages 137-139, by Sarah Casey, Benyahia, Freddie Gaffeny and John White, Routledge, 2006.

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/indaud.html

Industry and Audience - excellent links for information for your case studies from Screenonline.

Film distribution from Screenonline

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/distribution/distribution1.html
This is a good link to understand film distribution in the UK.

Top Earning Hollywood Stars over 35

http://www.forbes.com/media/2007/11/14/hollywood-movies-celebrity-cx_lh_1114celebactors_slide.html?boxes=relstories

Analysing Film Posters

One of the things you NEED to do in your film case studies is analsye various types of trailers and film posters. Here's some advice and a checklist for analysing your film posters. Remember that representation in posters can vary in different countries as the audiences and cultural preferences are taken into account.

Analysing Movie Posters

Posters occupy a space between art and advertising. They have a clear commercial purpose - to promote an event or product - but they also have artistic value. People buy them and hang them on their walls. Museums have whole galleries devoted to poster art. When analysing a poster it is important that you evaluate both how well it fulfils its purpose (ie promotion) as well as its aesthetic value. ("aesthetic value" means their value as artistic creations.)

First Steps
When analysing a poster, you should consider the following broad questions before you start to focus on the details:

• What are the main colours used in the poster and what do they connote?
• What symbols are used in the poster? Do you need audience foreknowledge to decode the symbols?
• What are the main figures/objects/background of the poster? Are they represented photographically, graphically, or illustratively?
• Are the messages in the poster primarily visual, verbal, or both?
• Who do you think is the intended audience for the poster?
• Given that all movie posters have the same purpose - to get audiences to go see a movie - what persuasive techniques are used by the poster?
• Which genre conventions are referred to?
• Is a star used as a USP (unique selling point)?
• Are "expert witnesses" (ie critics) quoted?
• What pleasures (gratifications) are promised by the poster?
• How is attention gained (humour, shock, surprise)?
• How does the tagline work? (humour, pun, alliteration etc?)
  

Production Constraints
The poster can also give you important information about the production context of the movie:

1. How much does the poster tell you about the institutional context of the movie's production?
2. How important is this information on the poster (think about information hierarchies)?
3. How important a part of the whole marketing campaign is the poster? Where is the poster placed?
4. How expensive was this poster to produce?

Critical Evaluation

Finally, you have to pass judgement on the poster.

• Is it an effective poster? Why?
• Does it communicate effectively with the audience?
• Are there any alternative readings which might harm the message of the marketing campaign?
• Is the poster offensive in any way?

The information here was taken in part from the Mediaknowall website and other web sources.