Post on 24-Dec-2015
Chapter 8Movies:
Mass Producing Entertainment
Early Movie Technology
• 1870s and 1880s: Marey and MuybridgeView
Early Movie Technology
• 1870s and 1880s: Marey and Muybridge zoopraxiscopeView
Early Movie Technology
• 1894: Thomas Edison: opens first kinetoscope parlor – manner to watch “moving pictures”, commercial possibilities are opened
Early Movie Technology
• Kinetograph: Leonard Cushing Kinetograph 1894
Early Movie Technology
• The first U.S. copyright for an identifiable motion picture was given to Edison for Fred Ott's Sneeze.
• Edison opens his own film studio called Black Maria
Early Movie Technology
• Lumière brothers invent portable movie camera and projector: cinematograph
Early Movie Technology
• Early 1900s: nickelodeon theaters become popular
• Lumière brothers: ActualitiesArrival of a Train at La Ciotat
Telling a Story With Film
• 1903: Edwin S. Porter directs The Great Train Robbery
• Contains 12 separate scenes• Is shot in a variety of locations• Tells a realistic story• Established basic film storytelling conventions• View
D.W. Griffith
• 1915: Birth of a Nation• Created the first feature-length film• Griffith’s Intolerance required outside funding• Era of movie stars started under Griffith
The Studio System
• Stars worked directly for studios• Block bookings• Vertical integration• Development of talking pictures• View
Response to the Studio System
• 1919: United Artists created by directors and actors. Aimed to create at least 5 films a year
• 1940s: United States vs. Paramount: Studios owned theatres that only played films they created. Supreme Court ruled this was a violation of antitrust laws
The Blacklist
• 1947: HUAC holds hearing on communist influences in Hollywood.
• Hollywood Ten resisted testifying, were jailed and blacklisted.
• By 1953, as many as 324 were blacklisted, including many prominent screenwriters.
• Blacklist continued until 1960 when Hollywood Ten member Dalton Trumbo hired to write Spartacus, Exodus.
Movies React To Television
• Movie audiences peak in 1946—80 million tickets sold per week
• By 1953, ticket sales drop to 46 million per week
• First round of 3-D movies, larger format theaters
• Growing popularity of color• Growth of multiplex theaters
The Blockbuster Era• 1975: Jaws creates the summer blockbuster• Succession of big-budget films with very wide
release• 2009–2010: Avatar had biggest box office to
date• 1939: Gone With The Wind sold the most tickets• 1990s: Home video becomes as important as
theatrical release
The Blockbuster Era• Visit
BoxOfficeMojo.com• Take a look at the Yearly Box Office what films
have you seen off this list• Next, look at All Time. Are you surprised by
some of the records. Choose a couple and explain.
Digital Production & Projection
• 1977: Star Wars brings computer-controlled cameras to movie making.
Digital Production & Projection
• 2004: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow becomes first major film to have all-digital sets.
Digital Production & Projection
• 2007: 300 shows that a movie with digital sets can be successful.
Digital Production & Projection
• Industrial Light & Magic ILM• Late 2009–2010: Digital and 3-D digital
projection grow in popularity.
What Makes a Movie Profitable?
Make a big budget film with marketing tie-ins that sells lots of tickets
Or…
The Blockbuster Era• Visit
BoxOfficeMojo.com• Look at the Daily Gross – Research
Paranormal Activity 4. What can you tell about the production of this movie that is largely different from say Skyfall
What Makes a Movie Profitable?
Make a movie with• A small budget• A clear target audience• Have a modest box office• Make a great return on investment• Think High School Musical 3, Little Miss
Sunshine, Paranormal Activity
Movies & Censorship
• 1920s: Birth of the Production Code (Hays Code) Named after Will H. Hays
• Attempting to avoid local censorship rules• Strict rules on sex, profanity, violence
Failure of Code
• 1960s: movies released without code approval• 1968: MPAA launches movie rating system
Ratings
• Original Ratings• G – General audiences • M – Mature audiences• R - Restricted• X – No one under age
17 admitted
• Today• G – General audiences• PG – Parental guidance
suggested• PG-13 – Parents
strongly cautioned• R – Restricted• NC-17: No one under
age 17 admitted
Ratings
• Visit FilmRatings.com • Find a film that you may have seen in the database –
do you agree with the rating it received?• Do films have to be rated?• Who rates the films?• If a filmmaker does not like the rating what can they
do?
Ratings
• Are movies hurt by directors cutting scenes in order to get an “R” rating? Should there be an “A” rating that indicates that a movie is for adults only but is milder than a NC-17?
Movie Revenue Sources
• Domestic box office• International
distribution rights• Pay-per-view rights• Premium cable channel
rights
• Network television• Home video• Book rights• Toys and clothes• Product placement
Movies and the Long Tail
• Online promotion• Netflix and other online-based distribution
systems• Availability of small, obscure films in every
market, not just cities
Popularity of Bollywood Films
• World’s biggest source of movies based in Mumbai, India
• Big musical numbers cross language barriers• Having influence on western films• Slumdog Millionaire