Ch. 7Film

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Ch. 7--Film
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In a little more than 100 years, film has
undergone many transitions.

• From the recording of mundane events to a major
  art medium.
• From silent pictures to sound and
  computer-generated effects.
• From the only visual medium to one that competes
  with TV.

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Timeline of Film

• 1671Athanasius Kircher bases his magic lantern
  on the persistence of vision effect.
• 1877Photographer Eadweard Muybridge and engineer
  John Isaacs record a horses gallop with 24
  synchronized still cameras.

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• 1888William Dickson, an assistant to Thomas
  Edison, develops early motion picture camera.
• Flexible film is invented by George Eastman

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• 1896Edison develops kinetoscope to project
  images on screens to paying audiences.
• 1903Edwin S. Porter releases first film to tell
  a story, The Great Train Robbery.

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• 1905Film industry is blooming in Fort Lee, New
  Jersey. Films shot on rooftops to take advantage
  of outdoor light.
• 1910Filmmakers move to a small orange-growing
  community later known as Hollywood. Actors
  referred to disparagingly as movies.

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• 1915D.W. Griffith releases Birth of a Nation.
  Griffith devises modern editing techniques.
• 1919Griffiths Intolerance is most expensive
  movie ever made, exceeding 1 million. Begins
  practice of movies requiring financing.

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The Star System

• Beginning in the 1920s, many moviegoers would
  attend films for the performers rather than the
  stories.

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• 1927Sound motion pictures, talkies, are
  introduced in the The Jazz Singer.
• By 1930, 95 of Hollywood films have sound.

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• 1929On with the Show is the first all-talking
  film.
• 1930sBecause of the Great Depression, moviegoers
  crave films with antiheroese.g. gangsters and
  monsters.

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The contributions of Citizen Kane

• This 1941 breakthrough film about the life of
  William Randolph Hearst used
• Innovative sound effects
• High contrast in lighting
• Dolly shots
• Layers of sound
• Innovative narrative structure

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The War Years

• From 1941-1945, Hollywood got behind the war
  effort. Stars joined up or sold war bonds. Films
  were made with patriotic themes.

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• 1946Hollywoods biggest attendance year ever 90
  million Americans go once a week to the theater.

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• 1947Beginning of Red Scare era Congress probes
  Hollywood for Communist sympathizers. Joseph
  McCarthy heads investigation.
• Hollywood Ten found in contempt of Congress for
  refusing to cooperate with investigation

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Dalton Trumbo

• A black-listed screenwriter, Trumbo works under
  the pseudonym, Robert Rich. Under this name, he
  wins the Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

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• 1948Courts ban vertical integration (Paramount
  Decision) by which Hollywood studios owned
  theaters.
• 1950sMovie attendance declines 55 percent
  because of TV.

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Hollywood Fights Back

• Filmmakers and theater owners do the following
  to compete against the new medium of TV
• Color
• Wider screens
• Improved Sound
• Adult Content
• Air conditioning
• 3-D
• Drive-in Theaters

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• 1955 Blackboard Jungle is first movie to use
  rock music.
• 1960sReflecting desires of the Baby Boomers,
  movies become more youth-oriented. (Easy Rider,
  The Graduate.)

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• 1972-Average film costs 1.9 million to produce
  (By 1993, 44 million).
• 1975Spielberg attracts attention with Jaws.
• 1977Lucas Star Wars released, ushering in new
  era of special effects.

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• 1981Raiders of the Lost Ark begins new
  Lucas/Spielberg collaboration.
• 1982E.T. becomes top grossing movie to this
  time.
• 1985Robert Zemekis, a Spielberg protégé, has hit
  with Back to the Future.

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• 1991Soviet Union, before break-up has 58 percent
  of the worlds theaters, 154,000compared to
  17,000 in the U.S.
• 1993Jurassic Park requires that new technology
  and software be designed as movie is produced.
  (500 million gross to date)

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• 1994Forrest Gump released, winning an Academy
  Award for Best Picture and Best Director.
  (Grosses 275 million in first year)
• 1995Drive-ins, which once numbered 4,000
  screens, are down to 870 theaters.

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• 1998Titanic is costliest movie ever at 200
  million.

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Markets for Movies

• First Runsbox office releases targeted for
  seasonal audiences.
• Video Releasemovies sold to distributors for
  home market
• TV Re-issuemovies sold as packages to pay per
  view, premium cable channels and broadcast TV.

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• Merchandise Tie-insLicensed products based on
  movies make fortunes for studios (2 billion in
  seven years for Star Wars products) Examples
  T-shirts, posters, toys, coffee cups, key chains,
  CDs and books.

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• Product Placementsubtle plugging of products by
  showing them as props in the film. Simple shots
  can go for 50,000. Multiple plugs for half a
  million.

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Movie Financing

• Studios and banks
• Venture capitalists
• Corporate investors

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Distribution

• Blind bidding demands that exhibitors sign
  contracts for films before films are released.
• Selective contract adjustments gives theater
  owners who cooperate with distributors
  preferential treatment.

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• Four-walling is an arrangement by which
  distributors lease theaters and keep all
  receipts.
• Block booking is illegal in the U.S. but is
  practiced abroad. Theaters are forced to accept
  mediocre films along with big budget films.

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Who gets paid what?

• In the first week, theaters generally split box
  office with studios.
• Big name stars take a percentage of gross box
  office take.

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Some movies make itsome dont

• Easy Rider cost 370,000 but took in 40 million
  plus. Dune cost 42 million but took in only 16
  million. Blair Witch cost a little over 35,000
  but made tens of millions of dollars so far.

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Movie Censorship Ratings

• Studios in 1922 created the Motion Picture
  Producers and Distributors of America
  organization, known as the Hays Office. Codified
  Motion Picture Production Code in 1930.
• Legion of Decency formed in 1934 by Catholic
  bishops..
• Todays ratings G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17

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Who rates your movies?

• Full-time, seven-member board of the MPAA rates
  all movies.
• Board members serve two-year terms.

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Future of Film

• Hollywood embracing new technology, CD and DVD.
  (Sonys 2,700-film library can be used to enhance
  software.
• So long projectionists! Movies will likely be
  transmitted to theaters via cable or satellite.

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• Multimedia theaters may develop, perhaps with
  audiences voting for different plot twists and
  endings.
• Movies may be released on the Internet for
  consumer download.
• Internet will be ever more important in promoting
  new films.

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What wont change

• Despite our in-home comforts and technology,
  people still like to gather in the dark to have
  the collective experience of watching movies.