Thursday, 9 May 2013
Thursday, 2 May 2013
Mock Answer
To what extent does Internet Piracy pose a threat to the Film Industry?
I feel that Internet piracy poses a great threat to the film industry, it not only limits the amount of money that can be made through films but it also limits the genre of films available for the viewer. Less genres are available due to a unwillingness to try out new things as many viewers now instead of taking a risk and paying for the film at the cinema will watch it illegally online meaning the film will make no money. This leads to many sequels of the same type of films, a recent example of this is Fast and Furious 7. There are however some positives as through piracy audiences have a much wider choice of film to download and view from home, giving them access to films that they would not have previously been able to see at the cinema. The film industry is trying to adapt to this piracy wave with methods such as 3D which makes piracy much harder so audiences have to visit the cinema to see them. Cinemas also do many offers for cheaper tickets in an attempt to bring people back to the cinemas for a reasonable price.
Through the advances of digital technology piracy has become much easier and much more common within audiences. Through new technology the audiences have the option of either downloading the films or simply streaming them online, a key site that was used commonly by a large proportion of online film viewers was MegaUpload. A sure which hosts files people upload and allow others to both view and download them meaning that audiences can easily view from home rather than going to the cinema and can also download the film and distribute them to others they know. Through the easy access of almost any brand new film through the Internet the film Industry has to combat with technological advances of it's own, or new ways to attract audiences back. The current wave is the resurgence of 3D. The usage of 3D in films not only allows the cinemas to charge more money but also makes the films much harder to pirate, meaning in some cases such as Avatar any who are interested in the film are forced Into the cinema to view the film in 3D. This surge of 3D almost forces it on any directors who want a guarantee of large numbers viewing their film, many directors are unhappy with this and 3D rarely goes down well with critics. This shows that Internet piracy does present a great threat to the film industry as it severely restricts the amount of money made.
Although Internet piracy greatly harms the profits of the film industry it has some positives in the way of it allows the audiences to view a much greater variety of films much as the video nasties did with the release of VHS. The films being viewed online however are not all of the adult or horror genre, they allow smaller indie films to be shared to a much wider audience allowing an improvement in the "film literacy" of the audience meaning that they are much well educated as to what is a good film. Through access to a wider variety of genres and movies more specialist audiences develop and give the audiences a greater relationship with directors and actors. I feel that although online piracy allows a wider variety of films to be viewed it is doing more harm than good as it takes away from the money made by the film industry limiting the technological advances they can make and improvements to future movies. It is also my opinion that I people viewed films in cinema or payed for the DVD releases rather than pirating them for free the industry would no longer have to make the same stale, bland films am they would be able to take risks again with new, edgy film ideas.
Piracy has a great economic effect on the film industry as I have already mentioned. It doesn't however just restrict the profits made, it also restricts the actors within films. Directors can no longer take risks with new actors and rely on big name, established stars as a definite selling point for their movies. An example of this is The Expendables 2. Despite being a very good action film it's only major selling point was that it used multiple famous past actors some of which were in their 60s. Without money the Industry cannot afford to discover new talent that will become the big name stars of future generations. This lack of profits also leads to films that appeal to the widest audience being created meaning 'Big Dumb Movies' are made with simple to follow storyline and no real content so they can appeal to all ages. This leads to generic films that are not memorable as many of their predecessors were. This shows that piracy poses a threat to the industry both in its future in terms of actors but also it's future in terms of films that they show, if piracy carries on taking profits as is does these dumbed down sequel movies will continue to be made allowing no originality.
In conclusion I feel that Internet piracy poses a very strong threat to the film industry. It takes away money from the industry but also limits the type of films they can making forcing new methods to attract people to the cinema such as 3D that take away from the quality of cinema.
I feel that Internet piracy poses a great threat to the film industry, it not only limits the amount of money that can be made through films but it also limits the genre of films available for the viewer. Less genres are available due to a unwillingness to try out new things as many viewers now instead of taking a risk and paying for the film at the cinema will watch it illegally online meaning the film will make no money. This leads to many sequels of the same type of films, a recent example of this is Fast and Furious 7. There are however some positives as through piracy audiences have a much wider choice of film to download and view from home, giving them access to films that they would not have previously been able to see at the cinema. The film industry is trying to adapt to this piracy wave with methods such as 3D which makes piracy much harder so audiences have to visit the cinema to see them. Cinemas also do many offers for cheaper tickets in an attempt to bring people back to the cinemas for a reasonable price.
Through the advances of digital technology piracy has become much easier and much more common within audiences. Through new technology the audiences have the option of either downloading the films or simply streaming them online, a key site that was used commonly by a large proportion of online film viewers was MegaUpload. A sure which hosts files people upload and allow others to both view and download them meaning that audiences can easily view from home rather than going to the cinema and can also download the film and distribute them to others they know. Through the easy access of almost any brand new film through the Internet the film Industry has to combat with technological advances of it's own, or new ways to attract audiences back. The current wave is the resurgence of 3D. The usage of 3D in films not only allows the cinemas to charge more money but also makes the films much harder to pirate, meaning in some cases such as Avatar any who are interested in the film are forced Into the cinema to view the film in 3D. This surge of 3D almost forces it on any directors who want a guarantee of large numbers viewing their film, many directors are unhappy with this and 3D rarely goes down well with critics. This shows that Internet piracy does present a great threat to the film industry as it severely restricts the amount of money made.
Although Internet piracy greatly harms the profits of the film industry it has some positives in the way of it allows the audiences to view a much greater variety of films much as the video nasties did with the release of VHS. The films being viewed online however are not all of the adult or horror genre, they allow smaller indie films to be shared to a much wider audience allowing an improvement in the "film literacy" of the audience meaning that they are much well educated as to what is a good film. Through access to a wider variety of genres and movies more specialist audiences develop and give the audiences a greater relationship with directors and actors. I feel that although online piracy allows a wider variety of films to be viewed it is doing more harm than good as it takes away from the money made by the film industry limiting the technological advances they can make and improvements to future movies. It is also my opinion that I people viewed films in cinema or payed for the DVD releases rather than pirating them for free the industry would no longer have to make the same stale, bland films am they would be able to take risks again with new, edgy film ideas.
Piracy has a great economic effect on the film industry as I have already mentioned. It doesn't however just restrict the profits made, it also restricts the actors within films. Directors can no longer take risks with new actors and rely on big name, established stars as a definite selling point for their movies. An example of this is The Expendables 2. Despite being a very good action film it's only major selling point was that it used multiple famous past actors some of which were in their 60s. Without money the Industry cannot afford to discover new talent that will become the big name stars of future generations. This lack of profits also leads to films that appeal to the widest audience being created meaning 'Big Dumb Movies' are made with simple to follow storyline and no real content so they can appeal to all ages. This leads to generic films that are not memorable as many of their predecessors were. This shows that piracy poses a threat to the industry both in its future in terms of actors but also it's future in terms of films that they show, if piracy carries on taking profits as is does these dumbed down sequel movies will continue to be made allowing no originality.
In conclusion I feel that Internet piracy poses a very strong threat to the film industry. It takes away money from the industry but also limits the type of films they can making forcing new methods to attract people to the cinema such as 3D that take away from the quality of cinema.
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Mock Exam Answer
“Film censorship is motivated by fears about audiences and technologies.” Discuss this statement in reference to the concerns expressed about uncensored and unregulated video content in Britain in the early 1980s. [30 marks]
I feel that film censorship is strongly motivated by fears about audiences and technologies however there are some other factors that motivate film censorship which do not fall into either of the above categories. Through improvements in technologies such as VHS players which were now present in many British homes the public could easily get easy access to unregulated and uncensored films known as video nasties, these led to fears that the quality of society in Britain could fall if they were allowed to remain being easily obtainable to the public. These video nasties were a sort of scapegoat for any troubles within the country possibly arguing that film censorship could be motivated by personal ideals but i will explore this later in the essay. These VHS tapes and video nasties also presented a great threat to the multiplexes as the viewers could now view previously unobtainable footage from the comfort of their homes, leading to fears of an even greater economic decline.
Through the technological improvements that took place throughout the 1970s the public now had the option of both Betamax and VHS on which to watch films at home. Despite its better quality betamax was soon defeated as VHS not only allowed for a longer recording but had also become a social trend throughout Britain as visiting the multiplexes had been in the past. It did however have a darker side which played a large role in its triumph over betamax which was that VHS tapes were easier to copy and therefore pirate. It was this piracy that led to unregulated tapes being produced in mass numbers and therefore widely distributed across the country. This piracy of tapes allowed prices to fall therefore making it a much more appealing option for the public than to visit their nearest multiplex creating a fall in cinema attendance.
The main fears of what audiences of watching came with the introduction of the video nasties.These tapes allowed the viewers to see content that had been deemed either to horrific or obscene for the screens of the cinemas. The films focused on the genres of horror and pornography. Through being uncensored they were able to explore much darker concepts than anything before them had been, such as the idea of rape or extremely gory deaths. Through these new themes came a certain sense of intrigue which appealed in the main to teenage audiences as it was new and captured their attention and curiosity. This led to great levels of fear in parents as they no longer had any control over what their children were watching and no guarantee that the film was appropriate as it was unregulated. This created a great sense of moral panic as many adults felt that what their children were watching was wrong and should be banned altogether.
Amidst this moral panic the government saw a window for them to take advantage and use this for their gain. This argues that film censorship was not motivated by fears about audiences and technologies but rather as a tool to defeat the scapegoat which took the blame for a broken Britain. Under Margaret Thatcher the conservative government claimed that it was the fault of these video nasties for the state of some of the problems in Britain, Her government held very traditional views and felt that these tapes were not appropriate for viewing by anybody and should be gotten rid of. Through the media the government pushed the idea and created a larger sense of fear that it was these films damaging youth and the morals of the country, therefore rallying greater support for their disposal or censorship and also taking more blame away from Margaret Thatcher for the violence and poorness of the country. This gives the idea that it was not fear of how the audiences react but rather through the use of power to create a fear that had previously not been there in force for a governments own gains.
Eventually in the year of 1985 the regulation of home video came to be through an organisation called the BBFC meaning the British Board of Film Censorship. After being given permission by the conservative government the BBFC was allowed to apply age ratings to home video allowing the videos with the worst content to be flagged warning any potential viewers of what they would be watching. This shows that film censorship was done for the benefit of the audiences as they now knew what they were viewing and the country could have proper control over what was being distributed.
In conclusion i agree with my original point that film censorship is strongly motivated by fears about audience and technologies. It is the fear of the kind of content audiences are exposed to and through improved technologies the ease they can obtain it which pushed censorship forward as a major issue and led to home video being censored so strongly. Although other factors like the governments traditional conservative views affected censorship i still feel that fears for the audience and the advancements of technologies were more significant. The same issues of piracy causing film censorship to be difficult are still around today but in the form of internet movie piracy rather than VHS piracy, the audience however are now 30 years on a lot more desensitized to what they see it is almost as if films need to be extremely horrific just to capture our attention and become popular. An example of this is the human centipede a film viewed by many teenagers despite almost all of them being disgusted and horrified. All viewing however knew what they were about to watch which leads me to the conclusion that films should have age ratings and content warnings but that films should never be censored as it is the viewers choice if they are sufficiently warned to undertake the viewing of the film.
Martin Stewart.
I feel that film censorship is strongly motivated by fears about audiences and technologies however there are some other factors that motivate film censorship which do not fall into either of the above categories. Through improvements in technologies such as VHS players which were now present in many British homes the public could easily get easy access to unregulated and uncensored films known as video nasties, these led to fears that the quality of society in Britain could fall if they were allowed to remain being easily obtainable to the public. These video nasties were a sort of scapegoat for any troubles within the country possibly arguing that film censorship could be motivated by personal ideals but i will explore this later in the essay. These VHS tapes and video nasties also presented a great threat to the multiplexes as the viewers could now view previously unobtainable footage from the comfort of their homes, leading to fears of an even greater economic decline.
Through the technological improvements that took place throughout the 1970s the public now had the option of both Betamax and VHS on which to watch films at home. Despite its better quality betamax was soon defeated as VHS not only allowed for a longer recording but had also become a social trend throughout Britain as visiting the multiplexes had been in the past. It did however have a darker side which played a large role in its triumph over betamax which was that VHS tapes were easier to copy and therefore pirate. It was this piracy that led to unregulated tapes being produced in mass numbers and therefore widely distributed across the country. This piracy of tapes allowed prices to fall therefore making it a much more appealing option for the public than to visit their nearest multiplex creating a fall in cinema attendance.
The main fears of what audiences of watching came with the introduction of the video nasties.These tapes allowed the viewers to see content that had been deemed either to horrific or obscene for the screens of the cinemas. The films focused on the genres of horror and pornography. Through being uncensored they were able to explore much darker concepts than anything before them had been, such as the idea of rape or extremely gory deaths. Through these new themes came a certain sense of intrigue which appealed in the main to teenage audiences as it was new and captured their attention and curiosity. This led to great levels of fear in parents as they no longer had any control over what their children were watching and no guarantee that the film was appropriate as it was unregulated. This created a great sense of moral panic as many adults felt that what their children were watching was wrong and should be banned altogether.
Amidst this moral panic the government saw a window for them to take advantage and use this for their gain. This argues that film censorship was not motivated by fears about audiences and technologies but rather as a tool to defeat the scapegoat which took the blame for a broken Britain. Under Margaret Thatcher the conservative government claimed that it was the fault of these video nasties for the state of some of the problems in Britain, Her government held very traditional views and felt that these tapes were not appropriate for viewing by anybody and should be gotten rid of. Through the media the government pushed the idea and created a larger sense of fear that it was these films damaging youth and the morals of the country, therefore rallying greater support for their disposal or censorship and also taking more blame away from Margaret Thatcher for the violence and poorness of the country. This gives the idea that it was not fear of how the audiences react but rather through the use of power to create a fear that had previously not been there in force for a governments own gains.
Eventually in the year of 1985 the regulation of home video came to be through an organisation called the BBFC meaning the British Board of Film Censorship. After being given permission by the conservative government the BBFC was allowed to apply age ratings to home video allowing the videos with the worst content to be flagged warning any potential viewers of what they would be watching. This shows that film censorship was done for the benefit of the audiences as they now knew what they were viewing and the country could have proper control over what was being distributed.
In conclusion i agree with my original point that film censorship is strongly motivated by fears about audience and technologies. It is the fear of the kind of content audiences are exposed to and through improved technologies the ease they can obtain it which pushed censorship forward as a major issue and led to home video being censored so strongly. Although other factors like the governments traditional conservative views affected censorship i still feel that fears for the audience and the advancements of technologies were more significant. The same issues of piracy causing film censorship to be difficult are still around today but in the form of internet movie piracy rather than VHS piracy, the audience however are now 30 years on a lot more desensitized to what they see it is almost as if films need to be extremely horrific just to capture our attention and become popular. An example of this is the human centipede a film viewed by many teenagers despite almost all of them being disgusted and horrified. All viewing however knew what they were about to watch which leads me to the conclusion that films should have age ratings and content warnings but that films should never be censored as it is the viewers choice if they are sufficiently warned to undertake the viewing of the film.
Martin Stewart.
Thursday, 14 March 2013
Economic:
- Jaws was the first film ever to gross over 100million dollars at the box office
- FIlm was released at different times in different places making it an event release allowing more money to be made
- Product tie-ins and merchandising became prominent
- People became attracted to blockbusters for these event films so that they could appreciate the big budget special effects films in a cinema with good lines of sight but also the quality of sound and projection that they had now come to expect and could no longer be achieved in small independent cinemas
Technology:
- Mechanical shark
- Star Wars kick starts go-motion animation, lead to character morphing, led to real time compositing which led to high tech camera systems and digital smoke + pyrotechnics
Social:
- Jaws appeals to peoples fear of the unknown
- Became attracted to the large blockbusters in the multiplex' as they were event films
- Event films became a social event
- Jaws was the first film ever to gross over 100million dollars at the box office
- FIlm was released at different times in different places making it an event release allowing more money to be made
- Product tie-ins and merchandising became prominent
- People became attracted to blockbusters for these event films so that they could appreciate the big budget special effects films in a cinema with good lines of sight but also the quality of sound and projection that they had now come to expect and could no longer be achieved in small independent cinemas
Technology:
- Mechanical shark
- Star Wars kick starts go-motion animation, lead to character morphing, led to real time compositing which led to high tech camera systems and digital smoke + pyrotechnics
Social:
- Jaws appeals to peoples fear of the unknown
- Became attracted to the large blockbusters in the multiplex' as they were event films
- Event films became a social event
Comprehension Homework Questions
8.) Describe the rise of Cineplex
and the resulting changes to film distribution
- The rise of the
Cineplex came when types of films such as slashers, slapticks comedies and
youth films started to take over from the past favourite films such as ‘the
disaster film,’ and ‘the vigilante film’/ The trends of films started to
closely follow the trends of shows on television making the films more heavy
action and superhero based. With this change in genre of films more effects and
‘bigger’ sounds were needed. The average independent cinema could no longer
handle this type of production which caused this raise in Cineplex’s as they
were able not only to play more films at once but they were also able to cope
with the greater needs that the type of film requires. This greater influx in
the genre of film also led to the need for multiplex’ so that they could show
multiple films at once satisfying a greater audience. This rose it over
independent theatres as they now had a too wide audience to satisfy.
9.) Discuss the phenomenon as a contributing factor in the rise of the blockbuster
- The cineplex were a major contributing factor in the rise of the blockbuster as the new multiscreen system and the new quality of these cinemas allowed people to go to the cinema and appreciate these blockbusters with all their new sound and special effects etc in the highest quality.
- This aided the blockbuster to rise because it allowed people to appreciate them in a special way that was more attractive and of better quality than any home videos or little independent cinemas
- The cineplex' allowed the more mainstream films to be shown and also allowed higher prices to be charged meaning that the blockbusters could afford to advertise more and therefor attract more people to the blockbusters
- The system of multiple screens meant that people had more opportunity to see the films and therefore the blockbusters became more popular and widely viewed
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Blockbuster Preparation
Film: Men in Black 3
Production Budget: $215,000000
Director: Barry Sonenfield
Starring:
- Will Smith (I Am Legend, iRobot, Independence Day)
Box Office: $624,026,776
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 70%
Film: Avengers Assemble
Production Budget: $220,000000
Director: Joss Whedon
Starring:
- Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes, Due Date)
- Chris Hemsworth (Thor, The Cabin in The Woods, Snow White and The Huntsman)
- Scarlet Johannson (Lost in Translation, The Prestige, Iron Man 2)
- Jeremy Renner (The Bourne Legacy, 28 Weeks Later, Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters)
- Samuel L Jackson (Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction, Snakes on a Plane)
Box Office: $1,511,757,910
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92%
Film: The Bourne Legacy
Production Budget: $125,000000
Director: Tony Gilroy
Starring:
- Jeremy Renner (Avengers Assemble, 28 Weeks Later, Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters)
Box Office: $276,144,750
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 56%
Film: The Amazing Spider-Man
Production Budget: $230,000000
Director: Marc Webb
Starring:
- Andrew Garfield (The Social Network, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Never Let Me Go)
- Emma Stone (Easy-A, Superbad, Zombieland)
Box Office: $752,216,557
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 73%
Film: The Dark Knight Rises
Production Budget: $250,000000
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring:
- Christian Bale (Public Enemies, American Psycho, The Prestige)
- Tom Hardy (Inception, Warrior, Lawless)
- Michael Caine (Thunderbirds, Children of Men, Harry Brown)
- Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables, The Devil Wears Prada, Rachel Getting Married)
- Morgan Freeman (Wanted, The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en)
Box Office: $1,081,041,287
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 87%
Film: The Expendables 2
Production Budget: $100,000000
Director: Simon West
Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone (Rocky, Bullet to The Head, Rambo)
- Jason Statham (The Mechanic, Snatch, The Bank Job)
- Chuck Norris (The Delta Force, The Way of The Dragon, Lone Wolf McQuade)
- Bruce Willis (Looper, Die Hard, Pulp Fiction)
- Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator, Predator, Total Recall)
Box Office: $312,500,000
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 65%
Film: Total Recall
Production Budget: $125,000000
Director: Len Wiseman
Starring:
- Colin Ferrell (Fright Night, Phonebooth, Seven Psychopaths)
- Kate Beckinsale (Underworld, The Aviator, Pearl Harbor)
Box Office: $198,467,168
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 31%
Film: Looper
Production Budget: $30,000000
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring:
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises, 500 Days of Summer, Mysterious Skin)
- Bruce Willis (The Expendables 2, Die Hard, Pulp Fiction)
Box Office: $166,521,588
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%
Production Budget: $215,000000
Director: Barry Sonenfield
Starring:
- Will Smith (I Am Legend, iRobot, Independence Day)
Box Office: $624,026,776
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 70%
Film: Avengers Assemble
Production Budget: $220,000000
Director: Joss Whedon
Starring:
- Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes, Due Date)
- Chris Hemsworth (Thor, The Cabin in The Woods, Snow White and The Huntsman)
- Scarlet Johannson (Lost in Translation, The Prestige, Iron Man 2)
- Jeremy Renner (The Bourne Legacy, 28 Weeks Later, Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters)
- Samuel L Jackson (Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction, Snakes on a Plane)
Box Office: $1,511,757,910
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92%
Film: The Bourne Legacy
Production Budget: $125,000000
Director: Tony Gilroy
Starring:
- Jeremy Renner (Avengers Assemble, 28 Weeks Later, Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters)
Box Office: $276,144,750
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 56%
Film: The Amazing Spider-Man
Production Budget: $230,000000
Director: Marc Webb
Starring:
- Andrew Garfield (The Social Network, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Never Let Me Go)
- Emma Stone (Easy-A, Superbad, Zombieland)
Box Office: $752,216,557
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 73%
Film: The Dark Knight Rises
Production Budget: $250,000000
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring:
- Christian Bale (Public Enemies, American Psycho, The Prestige)
- Tom Hardy (Inception, Warrior, Lawless)
- Michael Caine (Thunderbirds, Children of Men, Harry Brown)
- Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables, The Devil Wears Prada, Rachel Getting Married)
- Morgan Freeman (Wanted, The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en)
Box Office: $1,081,041,287
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 87%
Film: The Expendables 2
Production Budget: $100,000000
Director: Simon West
Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone (Rocky, Bullet to The Head, Rambo)
- Jason Statham (The Mechanic, Snatch, The Bank Job)
- Chuck Norris (The Delta Force, The Way of The Dragon, Lone Wolf McQuade)
- Bruce Willis (Looper, Die Hard, Pulp Fiction)
- Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator, Predator, Total Recall)
Box Office: $312,500,000
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 65%
Film: Total Recall
Production Budget: $125,000000
Director: Len Wiseman
Starring:
- Colin Ferrell (Fright Night, Phonebooth, Seven Psychopaths)
- Kate Beckinsale (Underworld, The Aviator, Pearl Harbor)
Box Office: $198,467,168
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 31%
Film: Looper
Production Budget: $30,000000
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring:
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises, 500 Days of Summer, Mysterious Skin)
- Bruce Willis (The Expendables 2, Die Hard, Pulp Fiction)
Box Office: $166,521,588
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%
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