Nick's Film Studies Blog

Tuesday 6 May 2014

To what extent does internet piracy pose a threat to the film industry?

There are both positives and negatives to internet piracy, which effects independent film industries and Hollywood film industries differently, for example, the Hollywood film industry suffers as it looses money, however it could also be argued that independent film companies benefit from piracy as their films have more of a chance of being seen. To try and tackle internet piracy, the Hollywood film industry has brought 3D films back into fashion, which was achieved through James Cameron's film Avatar. 3D films cannot be pirated, which means that people will have to see the films in the cinema rather than on their laptops.

The internet has made the distribution of films a lot easier and cheaper, as people could upload films to websites, such as Megaupload, for free, which allows anyone in the world to see the film. This could be a short film that someone has made on their phone, to a Hollywood blockbuster. When people upload Hollywood blockbusters online for people to watch for free to sites like Megaupload, the studio behind the film looses money as people aren't paying to watch the film in the cinema or buy the film on DVD. To try and stop internet piracy, the Hollywood film industry re-introduced 3D, which is a trick that has worked before to increase ticket sales in the cinema. The resurgence of 3D started when James Cameron released Avatar in 2009, and some directors, such as James Cameron believe that 3D is good and can benefit the film, whereas other directors believe that 3D takes away from the narrative of the film as scenes need to be filmed at certain angles to fully capture the 3D. An example of this is Pacific Rim, which was directed by Guillermo del Toro. He didn't want to make the film in 3D, however the studio behind the film felt that the film would make more money if it was made in 3D.

Although internet piracy can cause Hollywood studios to loose money, it can also be argued that it makes money for independent studios. People have access to a wider range of independent films, which are, arguably, better and less formulaic than Hollywood films. This means that independent films are getting more publicity for free, which makes them money. Whereas Hollywood films have a high budget that they have to make back, independent films have a relatively smaller budget, which means that they aren't as affected by profits as Hollywood studios. Because audiences have started to watch films online, people have used that idea to make streaming sites, such as Netflix, which allows people to legally watch films, both Hollywood and independent, wherever they are, which means that independent films can now get almost as much publicity as Hollywood films.

As people are starting to watch films online for free, cinema attendance and ticket sales have decreased, which means that, in order to keep making money, the price of cinema tickets has increased. It can be argued that the increasing price of cinema tickets is also driving people to watch films online, which creates a loop. As it has worked twice before, to get people into the cinema, Hollywood film industries have re-introduced 3D films, which cost a lot of money to make, which means that the price of 3D film tickets are higher than other film tickets. As people respond well to the use of 3D in Hollywood blockbusters, the Hollywood film industry continues to make formulaic blockbusters, at it knows that they make money which means that there is less risk taking and more prequels and sequels, which can be seen in the three new Star Wars films.

Friday 25 April 2014

"Film censorship is motivated by fears about audiences and technology" discuss this statement in reference to the concerns expressed about uncensored and unregulated video content

I agree that film censorship is motivated by fears about audiences and technologies as films are now moderated to a very high standard. During the 1980s, VHS tapes were becoming fashionable, which meant that people could watch films in their own house, however, these films were not regulated, which meant that people could watch almost anything.

During the 1980s, home vide become fashionable in the form of VHS tapes. These VHS tapes were unregulated and very easy to pirate, which meant that people had a wide access to violence, gore and rape. As these tapes were not regulated, children of any age could walk into a shop and buy these films., which meant that they would get used to violence and see it as normal, de-sensitising children, however, it could also be argued that video nasties creates awareness of tabooed themes such as rape.

During this time, there was an economic depression in the UK, which was causing moral panic and riots against the government. The government blamed these riots and moral panic on video nasties, which they thought were against the conservative government's political views. During this time, Mary Whitehouse created a group called 'Media Watch', which wanted to regulate the content that people could watch.

In 1984, after it was thought that a man killed his family because video nasties have de-sensitised him to violence, the BBFC decided to censor and regulate VHS tapes as well as cinema. This meant that people under a certain age could not buy certain films, for example, children under the age of 12 could not buy films that contained mild sex references of swear words.

In conclusion, I disagree with the censorship of films as I believe that people should be able to watch what they like, however I do agree with film regulation as children shouldn't be able to watch people kill other people as it could de-sensitise them and make them think that violence is normal and acceptable.

Tuesday 22 April 2014

Quiz

1. What genre of films does 3D suit? Horror, as the 3D experience is designed to draw people into the film, which could scare people more than 2D would. Action blockbusters also draw people in as people are drawn to the specticle of explosions - Along with Action blockbusters 2. Did the UK digital cinema network succeed in exposing audiences to more varied types of films? Yes, as audiences can view films by independent producers. Since this has happened, there has been an increase in specialised film screenings of up to 70,000 people. 3. Why has the film industry lost money from cinema attendance since 2000? Broadband internet distribution enables people to download things quickly, which means that illegal piracy is easy and very common. 4. Is 3D successful in getting audiences back in the cinema? Yes, as people believe they are getting a new experience. 5. Does 3D have a negative impact on film production? Yes No 6. Which directors support 3D in their productions? James Cameron, which can be seen in Avatar. 7. What reasons were given by the FBI for shutting down Megaupload? Since the people who were uploading the films didn't have access to the copyrights, they were breaching intellectual property copyright. 8. How has film distribution online/digital cinema helped independent films get exhibited? Because films are now distributed digitally, it is cheaper to get into cinemas, which allows independent films to be shown alongside blockbusters. - Foreign as well

Video tapes and Internet - new technologies

Piracy results in blockbusters, but promotes the film and might encourage people to make their own films

Digital distribution (digital cinema network) - cheap and quick to distribute, but anyone can drag and drop

Resurgent of 3D (done before) - you can't pirate 3D films because they can't be viewed in 3D - 3D is a new experience

Group task

He started MegaUpload

Context (social, technical, economic) - what factors caused/impacted (reasons)

Social - analyse audience's behaviour and attendance

Technical - 3D, Internet (broadband) , digital film network

21st Century

•3D

•Digital film network

•Piracy

3D resurgence and film production

-Early stages, thrillers and horrors were shown

-There were loads of dynamic shots to make it look effective

-Loads of special effects and at least one Hollywood star

-Large amounts of money are made from 3D, which is why so many films are made thisway

-People sell 3D as a new experience, which is an illusion

Digital cinema network

-£12 million scheme funded by the national lottery

-Audiences can enjoy a wider range of film at their local cinema

-This means that independent film producers can get their films out in cinemas instead of just blockbusters

-More people are visiting cinemas because of the wider range

-There is an increase in specialised film screenings of up to 75,000 people

-More choice for people who have hearing or sight impediments

Saturday 19 April 2014

What factors led to the decline of town or city centre cinemas in the late 70's and early 80's?

What factors led to the decline of town or city centre cinemas in the late 70's and early 80's?

The main reason that the attendance of town or city cinemas declined in the late 70's and early 80's is because of blockbusters and multiplexes bought over by the American film industry. After the recession, the English film companies didn't have enough money to spend on renovating the fleapits, or making the films.

Production
S: Arguably the first blockbuster, The Godfather, didn't use special effects to catch people's attention, it used an amazing storyline and famous A-list actors, which drew people to see it. This shows that films were thought through to sell, instead of just using explosions and special effects.
E: Jaws was an event movie because of all the hype it received, which meant it made a lot of money and an estimated $252 million dollar profit. The American film industry saw this as a success and based future blockbusters on this as they would definitely make a lot of money.
T: People wanted to see a spectacle, so films such as Star Wars, which offered laser guns and lightsabers, were a large hit. However, the British film industry didn't have a lot of money so they couldn't afford special effects, which means that people were going to multiplexes and not fleapits, causing the fleapits to lose money.

Distribution
S: The American film industry not only made blockbusters and multiplexes, but they also made merchandise, which created hype and encouraged people to watch the films. Examples of this are Star Wars and ET, with Star Wars toys and clothes still being sold today. Also, the introduction of VHS meant that people could watch a film with their friends and family without paying as much as they would in the cinema.
E: TVs were another reason that cinema attendance fell in the late 70's and early 80's was because of television. Instead of going out to see films, people could stay indoors and watch TV shows and see the film when it was released onto TVs a few months later.
T: In the early 80's video tapes meant that people could record films when they saw the in the cinema and pirate them. This killed the film industry, with ET being the most pirated film in 1982.

Exhibition
S: It was mainly teenagers who went to the cinema in this time frame as they could afford it with their disposable income, and therefore going to the cinema was a social event. Teenagers would not go to town or city cinemas as they were rundown, therefore they would go to multiplexes, which also housed arcade games and fast food restaurants.
E: As the American film industry wanted to make money, they would not distribute their films to English cinemas as it was not cost effective, therefore the only cinemas that showed the films people wanted to see were multiplexes, which meant that English cinemas were not making money.
T: Another reason the American film industry did not distribute films to fleapits was because films were shown using expensive reels of film, rather than electronically, which meant that someone had to deliver them in a van to cinemas all over England.

Tuesday 18 March 2014

Question

People wanted to see spectacle, and so films such as Star Wars used lots of special effects to create these spectacles such as space ships, laser guns and holograms, which were all made by ILM, who then inspired future blockbusters such as ET.

The Godfather was also a blockbuster, however it was not as formulaic as Star Wars and ET, and it used A-list stars to attract and audience, rather than special effects.

Special effects in Star Wars