Movies Flashcards
Movies as Modern Mythmakers
Tell communal stories
Evoke and symbolize our most enduring values and secret desires
Make the world seem clearer, more manageable, and more understandable
Industry reacts quickly to social events and cultural shifts.
Movies distract us from our daily struggles.
Encourage us to rethink contemporary ideas
Movies
Overlapped and Subsumed both Radio and TV
Continues to be a more intense experience than other media.
Individual experience
Darkened room,
As opposed to a social during the event
Nothing to interrupt concentration
A special power to shape cultural values.
Movies Work because of the phenomena “Persistence of vision”…
The human eye retains an image for a fraction of an instant… if a series of photographs capture, serially something in motion and if those images are flipped quickly the eye and the consciousness perceive continuous motion.
Early Development of the Technology
1888 William Dickson of Edison’s lab made the 1st motion picture camera.
It used Celluloid film of George Eastman… Eastman/Kodak
1891 Edison was producing movies for his kinotoscope (peepshow)… movement single angle wide frame of continuous action…boxing match waves hitting a beach… eventually a large screen picture called a
vitascope.
Lumiere Brothers
in France invented projection of motion pictures and in 1895 open the first motion picture exhibit hall in Paris.
Initially a curiosity but became a mass media when…
Narrative films appeared (Movies that tell stories)
George Melies
opened the first public movie theater in Paris1896.
He understood that a movie could be planned and controlled like a stage play.
Produced fairy tales and science fiction stories like “Trip to the Moon”.
He was a magician first and introduced special effects, slow motion, animation.
Edwin Porter
Pioneered technique of editing diverse shots together to tell a coherent story.
The Life of an American Firefighter… 10 minutes long. 1902 First American narrative movie.
He moving the camera varied distance from subjects and objects… first close-up
The great Train Robbery. Here he Demonstrated art of film suspense through alternating shots of robbers with scenes of the posse pursuit.
Arrival of Nickelodeons…
Arrival of film as mass media
At first spaces converted from other uses.
Typical showings one hour. News, documentaries, comedy fantasy, and dramatic shorts.
The Nickelodeons:
Usually able to transcend language barriers so it flourished during the great European immigration at turn of the century…
Inexpensive escape as well as a way to learn English.
Minimal investment Business: projector and a large white sheet.
By 1908 displaced vaudeville theaters as primary venue for movies.
By 1910
the industry had established its 3 major divisions:
Production make
Distribution deliver Exhibition show Much of Film business history involves the studios vying to dominate the other two industry divisions.
Technology Cartel
Edison formed Motion Picture Patent Company.
Cartel of US and French film producers to control technology patents.
Acquired most major film distributors
Exclusive right to Eastman’s movie film.
Sell only to Trust Approved companies.
Adolph Zukor & William Fox
They ignored the trust
In Hollywood California… far from NY and Paris
Near Mexico
Cheap labor, mild weather for year round shooting
Breaking one Trust to control Another
Suit by Fox distributor and a nickelodeon operator broke up the Trust for restraint of trade violations in 1917.
Zukor went on to try to monopolize the industry himself
Another Vertical integration of industry production, distribution and exhibition.
Fan Mail
1910 first fan mail to find out who actors were… originally no credits for actors… fear that with popularity they could ask for more $$$.
Start of the Studio System
Zukor organized Famous Players company… of popular actors.
He exerted control by exclusive contracts with most popular performers that attracted the largest audiences.
He understood difference between screen acting and stage acting.
“America’s Sweetheart”
First Super Star Mary Pickford
Key figure in elevating financial status and professional role of actors.
1910 $100 a week, 1914 $1,000 per week,
Appeared in 200 films
Mary Pickford
Broke with Zukor 1919 to form United Artists.
Joined by Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin.
Triumphed for a time but then fell prey to the…
Studio System
Assembly line movie making
Not only actors on exclusive contract but also directors, editors, writers, and all other movie trades.
So efficient each studio produced about 1 film per week.
Choke Point: Controlling Distribution
The Trust used block booking technique
To get access to popular movies with stars, exhibitors had to also take new or marginal films with no stars.
Many possible clunkers to get a few Pickfords.
Test market a new star at little risk.
Success of Early Distribution System
Eventually outlawed as monopolistic but was effective while it lasted as a guarantee to financial success in a competitive market.
Marketed American films in Europe. Their industry disrupted by WWI and therefore allowed US to dominate from the start. By mid 20’s $100 million in foreign revenue.
Controlling Exhibition
Theater owners tried to form cooperatives to break block-book practice.
Zukor himself owned 300 theaters. Then merged with largest theater owner Publix for combined total of 800 theaters.
Zukor & the 5 Majors Realized
Needed to control only first run theaters
15% of 20,000 at the time, to control the industry.
Through the 1940’s these venues accounted for 85 to 95% of film revenue.
Movie attendance peaked in 1946 at 90 million tickets per week.
Genres:
Westerns Gangsters Horror Fantasy/Science Fiction Musicals Film Noir
Comedy Drama Romance Action/Adventure Mystery/suspense
The Hollywood 10
1947 House Un-American Activities Cmte. summons 47 writers, directors and actors testify about communist activity in Hollywood
10 refused to testify
only 2 recovered after many years
Dalton Trumbo
Ring Lardner Jr.
Hollywood became politically correct and shied away from controversial content
1938 Justice Dept. Litigates Vertical Integration Suit
Paramount as test case
1948 Supreme Court requires Paramount and all 5 majors to divest sell production or distribution or theaters
shook economic foundation of industry… began the death of studio system.
Assault from Television
1946 90 million attendees per week
1950 60 m
1955 46 m
Hollywood responds to Television
Death of Hollywood predicted Scramble for Technical innovation Special effects Hit: Change of screen format to wide screen Cinemascope Miss: 3D… in the 1950’s
Hollywood responds to Television cont.
Content Innovation
Spectaculars
Move to more controversial content (serious and
disturbing issues) social issues, violence, sex
Began to target market for audience segments
Particularly younger audiences
By 1985 59% of tickets sold to 12 – 24 demographic
Melding Movies and Television
Hollywood is now the major producer of both Movies and Television… Competing industries reconcile
Hollywood Diversifies
4 $billion a year ¾ of production is for TV Revenues more than box office receipts Pay TV 17% Video purchase 8% Overseas Co-marketing & merchandise
Exhibition business today
Multi-screen theaters Copied from Europe Rooms smaller Lower overhead More Screens today than 1970 23,000
Financing Movie Production
Expensive high risk business Financiers won’t fund projects unless quite sure of success Finance sources Majors Past profits New corporate partners and owners Secured loans from banks
Financing Movie Production cont.
Expensive high risk business Financiers won’t fund projects unless quite sure of success Finance sources Majors Past profits New corporate partners and owners Secured loans from banks
Content Innovation in this Environment?
Not directly by the majors… Rather by indies and the most successful get bought up by the majors Indies finance: From studios with strings attached Investor groups From secured loans from Banks Max’d out credit cards
Since 2006
More than 50% of domestic revenue for Hollywood studios came from video/DVD rentals.90% of homes had VCRs.More than 85% have DVD players.DVD introduced 1997Sales began to outpace rentals.Viacom-owned Blockbuster … going going gone!5,900+ stores in U.S.2,600+ outside U.S.DVDs replaced videocassettes. Blue Ray to be the next big format?
Movies and the Net
Problem/Opportunity for the industry New distribution…NetFlix, on demand Promotional opportunities of the Web Piracy Finding new talent & new properties Youtube
Potential
Expanded opportunity for Artistic Expression
Cost of quality production technology now within reach of more and more people…
More changes in the movie production and distribution system.
Move from film to Electronic How fast? Problem who pays?
Winners and losers… Production companies Kodak and Exhibitors
In 2005, 1.4 billion movie tickets were sold.2006 gross revenues = $8.99 billion
Still…more people watch movies at home each month than visit theaters all year
