The American Film Industry

Lesson Objectives: To be aware of the historical development of the American film industry, and the contemporary structure of the industry.

General Introduction

1. For the exam you should be prepared to understand and write about the processes of film production, distribution, marketing and exhibition.

2. The nature of audience consumption and the relationships between audiences and the film industry.

General Introduction• In addition, you need to know about:• the issues raised by ownership in the contemporary film industry;• the importance of convergence and synergy in production,

distribution and marketing of films;• the new technologies that have been introduced in recent years at

the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange;• the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for film

institutions & audiences;• the importance of technological convergence for film institutions

and audiences;• the issues raised in the targeting of national and British audiences

by international or global film institutions;• the ways in which your own experiences of media consumption

illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour.

• How do different films get produced and what is the ‘production process’?

• How do films get distributed and what does film distribution involve?

• What does the exhibition of films involve?• How do audiences ‘consume’ films and how has this

changed? • How does the film industry, and particular film

production companies more specifically, attempt to develop the relationship between institutions and audiences?

General Questions

How to approach this exam - Case Studies

• These will involve the study of a specific studio or production company within the contemporary film industry that targets a British audience.

• These might be based in the US (Hollywood), in Britain (Film4, BBC Films, Working Title), or part of World Cinema (Bollywood).

• They will include the study of a studios patterns of production, distribution, exhibition and consumption by audiences.

• They will also be accompanied by study of how contemporary films are distributed (digital cinemas, DVD, Blu-Ray, downloads, etc) and how this has changed the production, marketing and consumption of films.

Hollywood Studios

• How many logos for Hollywood studios can you recognise?

The Origins of the American Film Industry

• The origins and development of the American film industry are the period from 1895 to 1930.

• During this time the emerging industry developed into an important popular medium, organised into clearly defined exhibition, production, and distribution elements.

The Studio Era

• The period from 1930 to 1949 in American film is known as the Studio Era.

• By 1930 the American film industry was dominated by five companies known as the ‘Majors’ or the ‘Big Five.

The Big Five

Vertical Integration

• All of the Big Five studios were vertically integrated.

• Vertical integration – where a company is organised so that it oversees a product from the planning/development stage, through production, to marketing, and distribution, through to the consumer.

Vertical Integration

• During the studio era the Big Five owned the production studios, the distribution companies, and most of the cinemas in the US. Production Studio

Distribution

Cinemas

The End of the Studio Era

• In 1949 the major studios were forced to sell off the cinema chains that they owned by the US government, after a court ruling that their practices were monopolistic.

• The American film industry declined further in the 1950s due to the rise of television.

• It wasn’t until the late 1980s that Hollywood studios fully recovered.

The Contemporary American Film Industry

• The American film industry is now dominated by six major film companies.

• The contemporary Big Six account for nearly 90% of the North American film market.

• All of these companies are subsidiaries of major media conglomerates.

The Big Six

• Who do you think are the Big Six film studios in the contemporary American film industry?

Major Studio Subsidiaries

Warner Bros Pictures20th Century FoxParamount PicturesColumbia Pictures/SonyWalt Disney/Touchstone PicturesUniversal Studios

Ownership

Do you know which conglomerate owns which film studio?

Conglomerate Parent Division Major Studio Subsidiary

Time Warner Warner Bros. Entertainment Warner Bros. Pictures

News Corporation Fox Filmed Entertainment 20th Century Fox

Viacom Paramount Motion Pictures Group

Paramount Picture

Sony Corporation of America Sony Pictures Entertainment Columbia Pictures

The Walt Disney Company Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group

Walt Disney Pictures/Touchstone Pictures

General Electric/ Vivendi NBC Universal Universal Studios

Related Division and Brands

• Match the following subsidiary companies to their parent company.

Universal Animation Studios New Line Cinema, HBO, Castle Rock Entertainment, Turner Entertainment, Warner Bros. Entertainment

20th Century Fox Animation

Nickelodeon Movies, MTV Films

Pixar Animation Studios, Hollywood Pictures. Marvel Studios

TriStar Pictures, Destination Films

Market

• Which of the Majors do you think is the most successful.

• Rank the studio’s market share:– 20%– 16%– 14%– 14%– 12%– 10%

1950s-1970s1950s-1970s

• Declining audiences – 4,000m (1946) - 800m (1973)

Film IndustryFilm Industry

• Reduced output

• Expensive overheads sold off

• Stars released from contracts

Technological ResponsesTechnological Responses• Widescreen: Cinerama, VistaVisionWidescreen: Cinerama, VistaVision

• ColourColour

• Stereo soundStereo sound

• Epic genres and style: historical, biblical, Epic genres and style: historical, biblical, Westerns - landscapesWesterns - landscapes

• SpectacleSpectacle

• 3D3D

• Gimmicks: Smell-o-Vision, Aroma RamaGimmicks: Smell-o-Vision, Aroma Rama

Cinerama

Conglomerates 1960s-??Conglomerates 1960s-??• Horizontal integration Horizontal integration

This is whereby films can be made by a number of different sources/investors so that it is a team effort and not just one “vertical” company doing all the work.

1)These two companies fund the movies

2)This one pays to distribute it in AMERICA

3)This company is responsible for putting it in the cinema/On DVD

2)This one in EUROPE

JawsJaws 19751975Director: Steven Spielberg,Director: Steven Spielberg,Distributor: Universal PicturesDistributor: Universal PicturesBudget: $12m, gross profit $889mBudget: $12m, gross profit $889m67m Americans, first summer blockbuster67m Americans, first summer blockbuster

Key ImageKey ImagePre-release promotion: book tour (Peter Benchley), sneak previewsPre-release promotion: book tour (Peter Benchley), sneak previewsNationwide promotion: 25 30-second adverts nightly on prime time Nationwide promotion: 25 30-second adverts nightly on prime time

network TV for 3 nights before premierenetwork TV for 3 nights before premiereFree news junkets – 200 interviews during location filmingFree news junkets – 200 interviews during location filmingBlanket releaseBlanket releaseLarge marketing budget: $1.8Large marketing budget: $1.8Tie-ins: merchandising: 500,000 T-shirts, 2m plastic tumblers sold in Tie-ins: merchandising: 500,000 T-shirts, 2m plastic tumblers sold in

first 8 weeks.first 8 weeks.

Viral marketingViral marketing

Timeline

• Create a timeline identifying key stages in the American film industry.