8 Movies MassProducing Entertainment The Development of Movies

8 Movies Mass-Producing Entertainment

The Development of Movies • The First Movie Makers § Etienne-Jules Marey: • trained in medicine • wanted to capture movement of blood and heart, and animal movement • developed system for taking repeated photos of people and animals in motion

§ Eadweard Muybridge: • wanted to capture the motion of animals on film • hired to settle a the bet on whether a galloping horse ever had all four hooves off the ground • published Animal Locomotion § Thomas Edison: • kinetoscope—peepshow-like device that played movies • May 9, 1893—made a thirty-second film called “Blacksmith Scene” § Nickelodeons—early screen projection theaters that replaced the kinetoscopes

First Movies • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Yib 9 Jhs. NIQQ&fe ature=player_embedded • http: //memory. loc. gov/cgibin/query/r? ammem/papr: @filreq(@field(NUMBER+ @band(edmp+4030))+@field(COLLID+edison))

§ Auguste-Marie and Louis-Jean Lumiere: • French filmmakers who were brothers • Cinematographe - a portable movie camera that could also be used as a projector • set standards for speed and format of film § http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=4 nj 0 v. EO 4 Q 6 s § Georges Melies: • A Trip to the Moon • utilized special effects http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=ZI 9 Oa. ZHxk 64&feature=related

§ Edwin S. Porter: • worked for Edison • The Great Train Robbery (1903) qincorporated twelve separate scenes shot in various locations • began the idea of movie effects § http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Bc 7 w. WOm. EGGY

§ D. W. Griffith: • The Birth of a Nation (1915) qran for over three hours, cost more than $110, 000 qcontroversial film about the birth of the Ku Klux Klan o Intolerance qcost nearly $500, 000 qfinancial failure qoutside financial backing became necessary qhttp: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=zkg. SId. OU_cc

• The Studio System § Industry moved from New York and New Jersey to Southern California to take advantage of: • cheap real estate • good weather, diverse shooting locations (ocean, mountains, desert) § Studio System—factory-like way of producing movies, all talent worked directly for the studios § Movie distribution schemes • block booking—bundles of movies that theater owners were forced to purchase, without preview • studios purchased theaters (vertical integration)

• United Artists: § rebellion of popular performers and directors § acquired and distributed independent movies § model for the modern movie studio: • not a maker, but a financer and distributor of films

• Talking Pictures § The Jazz Singer (1927): o silent film with two talking segments o talkie—movie with synchronized sound § Don Juan (1926): o synchronized soundtrack—movie sound that synchronized voices with the pictures § http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Xwwuy 2 rsg. Fc

§ Problems with early sound films: • stars had to be able to speak and act at same time • theaters had to upgrade equipment • camera equipment was noisy • picked up set noise

• The End of the Studio System § 1938—U. S. Department of Justice looking into the studios’ monopoly § investigated Paramount Pictures first: • results of investigation: q. Theater owners allowed to preview movies q. Block booking limited to 5 movies § breakup complete in 1948: • Supreme Court forced studios to sell theaters

• The Blacklist § House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) (1947) • Investigated communism in Hollywood • Hollywood Ten: qrefused to testify qfound in contempt, jailed, blacklisted • 1953—blacklist contained 324 names

• Television and the Movies § 1946 movie audiences peaked; sales of 80 million tickets per week: • by 1953, 46 million per week § Larger-Than-Life Movies to compete: • bigger and better theaters • 3 -D movies • epics like The Ten Commandments and Spartacus § Television forced movies to convert to color § Growth of multiplexes

The Movie Business • The Blockbuster Era § Jaws (1975): • • • first movie to gross more than $200 million good direction and music score based on a popular novel giant television advertising campaign summer release—coincided with beach and swimming season • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=uc. MLFO 6 Ts. FM

• Home Video § 1994—over 85 percent of all U. S. homes had a VCR § 2006— 81 percent had a DVD player, 79 percent had VCRs § The Incredibles —$261 million in theater, $368 million in DVD sales § opened up a world of older movies to today’s audiences

• Going Digital § Star Wars: • George Lucas used a computer-controlled camera to shoot the space battle scenes • Star Wars Episode II—first big-budget feature to be shot entirely using high definition video • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=jtnu 4 kc. Kbik&feature =related § technology allows for cheaper production • What Makes a Movie Profitable? § profits based on costs of production and promotion

Movies and Society How Much Influence Do Movies Have? § It Happened One Night: • Sale of undershirts plummet because of Clark Gable scene • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=g_Cs. WOx 9 QJs § The Payne Fund: • • series of thirteen studies found repeating themes three-fourths of all movies dealt with crime, sex, or love high level of recall qnovelty and discussion that stimulated recall

• Herbert Blumer § examined how young people thought they had been affected by movies • imitating the behaviors • copying the actions in their games and play • saw movies as a source of ideas about action, romance, and standards of beauty • in essence, learning how to behave as an adult

• The Program: § main character performed extreme stunts § eighteen-year-old boy killed in Pennsylvania, supposedly recreating a dangerous stunt § Touchstone Pictures reacted, as did Janet Reno, then attorney general § investigation determined that young people were doing the stunt years before the release of the movie

• Hurray for Bollywood: India’s Movie Industry § Mumbai, India—produces more than 1, 000 films/year § Masala, or “spice, ” movies • feature several musical numbers, a strong male hero, a coy heroine, and an obvious villain • can have up to ten storylines • have not reached U. S. audiences

• The Production Code: Protecting the Movies from Censorship § Theater owners formed the National Board of Censorship (1909): • establish a national standard for movies • prostitution, childbirth, drug use all on banned list § stars’ off-screen behavior seen as equally offensive • Hollywood viewed as a mass of “wild orgies, ” “dope parties, “kept men, ” and “kept women. ”

• The Birth of the Production Code § set of morality guidelines passed in 1927 § Will H. Hays: • named president of the MPPDA § The Code controlled movie content from the 1930 s until 1968: • • evil not be made to look alluring villains and law breakers not go unpunished no profanity or blasphemy passion needed to be handled carefully

• The Ratings System § Jack Valenti, MPAA President: • scrapped Production Code in 1968 § Ratings assigned by a panel of twelve parents • Screen and discuss three movies a day q. G: General audiences. All ages admitted q. PG: Parental guidance suggested q. PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned q. R: Restricted. Under 17 must be accompanied by adult q. NC-17: No one under age 17 will be admitted

§ Certain content prompts particular ratings: • • drug use requires at least a PG-13 sexually oriented nudity results in an R rough and persistent violence requires an R one use of the “F-word” requires a PG-13 q. If used more than once or in a sexual sense, movies is rated R qhttp: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=KBIdc. Uxdgo 0&NR =1 q. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

• The X Problem: § MPAA did not trademark the X rating. § Porn industry began labeling its unrated films XXX: • if X was adult, XXX would be really adult § Midnight Cowboy: • first and only X-rated movie to win an Oscar for Best Picture • rating eventually changed to R, after award § Saving Private Ryan rating debate • graphic depiction of Normandy landing troublesome to some

The Future of Movies • 2005—U. S. box office down by 6 percent from 2004 § first decline since 1991 § too many sequels and remakes • 1980 s— 50 percent of revenue came from ticket sales § by 1995 fallen below 15 percent • ancillary or secondary markets—movie revenue sources other than the domestic box office § home video, toys, clothes, television rights, product placement, etc.

• Movie Promotion on the Internet § The Blair Witch Project: § sold to Artisan Entertainment for $1. 1 million § low-cost promotion mirrored production style: • mock documentary on cable television • “creepy” website • handlettered posters looked like “missing” posters § garnered $50 million in first week of national release

• Movies and the Long Tail § increased exposure for lesser-known films § digital downloads § ability to get information on non-blockbuster films