Chapter 8 Movies Mass Producing Entertainment Early Movie

Chapter 8 Movies: Mass Producing Entertainment

Early Movie Technology • 1870 s and 1880 s: Marey and Muybridge View

Early Movie Technology • 1870 s and 1880 s: Marey and Muybridge zoopraxiscope View

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 1900 s: nickelodeon theaters become popular • Lumière brothers: Actualities. Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

Early Movie Technology • Birth of Cinema

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 • 1940 s: 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 • 1990 s: Home video becomes as important as theatrical release

The Blockbuster Era • Visit Box. Office. Mojo. 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 Box. Office. Mojo. 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 • 1920 s: 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 • 1960 s: 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 Film. Ratings. 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