The future of the cinema is at home?!

 Just a quick post that might be useful for AS Film Students in terms of Production, Distribution and Exhibition. Below are some links that offer some ideas and possibilities for the future of cinema by watching the latest releases at home. 
Why the need for this an option is worth considering, as is the reasons why this is a good idea (or not!?) but are certainly worth reading and thinking about as case studies for your FM2 exam.  


http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/29/flix-premiere/

http://variety.com/2016/film/columns/hollywood-sean-parker-home-movie-services-screening-room-1201737625/

http://www.techinsider.io/sean-parker-streaming-rental-startup-the-screening-room-2016-3

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3464839/The-35k-Netflix-billionaires-box-shows-films-come-cinema-500-time-rumoured-Kim-Kayne-one-new-home.html 

http://www.primacinema.com/

The Business of Film Podcasts

These podcasts narrated by the brilliant Mark Kermode,  are an incredibly useful tool for AS Film Studies, as well as the Industry Analysis section of GCSE Film Studies controlled conditions work.

The link to the series is here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/businessoffilm but I've also embedded them below for you to listen to.

Each episode is only around 30 mins in total and will be a really useful insight into the film industry. Some of the language can be really specific and assume that the listener already knows a lot about film, but these are a really enjoyable and informative listen and are highly recommended.


Episode 1: https://www.dropbox.com/s/x1xc97h0bqw1uhb/businessoffilm%20ep1.mp3?dl=0
Episode 2: https://www.dropbox.com/s/f5zzx1v9j3joj0s/businessoffilm%20ep2.mp3?dl=0
Episode 3: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wnlhzagv03pp382/businessoffilm%20ep3.mp3?dl=0

Invaluable resource for AS Film Studies FM2

http://stephenfollows.com/

I was recently told about this blog and it's quite, quite brilliant. It's well worth bookmarking and worth paying regular attention to; we'll certainly be doing so in lessons and in homework over the coming months. 

The making of Batman (1989)

A really interesting video has turned up online to coincide with the 25th Anniversary of Tim Burton's Batman film from 1989.

The video is a 'behind the scenes' style video that looks at various aspects of the film before it was made, showing investors why the idea of a dark and gritty Batman would be a successful one. It seems as though the film was made to show the people whose money was needed to make the film that they should continue to give the film money even though they weren't convinced the film would make money. There is also some really nice background to Batman comic books and the evolution of the character, so could be a really useful watch for both GCSE Film paper 1 and for FM2 section of AS Film.

Well worth 20 minutes of your time:

The Art of writing a script that makes money...

An interesting little video on the BBC website about how one company in America analyses the contents of scripts, views the themes in the film and then decides if the film will make money based on past trends to help inform people who invest in films whether it's worth making the scripts that are available to buy. It's a horrible way of looking at film, given that it's an art form, but there is clearly a set of reasons why some films perform better than others and some of these are explained in this short video, linked below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25632386

BFI Statistical Yearbook for 203 & homework reminder

Homework for Friday 16th January

1. Read the Guardian Box Office report again
2. Access the BFI Statistical Yearbook for 2013 below and read chapter 2.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-statistical-yearbook-2013.pdf

3. Give a written explanation as to what the 5 most successful films of 2012 were and, in your opinon, why each one was so successful.

3D revenues continue to fall

In news which will surprise few, The Wrap recently reported on the decline in revenue for 3D films. Report below from The Dissolve, with link to original article.

3D revenues in decline: from The Dissolve.com

"A report in TheWrap delivers some discouraging news for studios, and some potentially encouraging news for moviegoers who are sick of paying extra for poorly converted 3D. The percentage of movies’ total box office revenue earned from 3D has been trending downwards in recent months, and it continued to hit new record lows in the last few weeks, with the returns for The Wolverine and Turbo the worst yet for 3D animated and 3D action movies, respectively:

“3D showings of Turbo accounted for just 25 percent of its total box office, which represents the format's worst showing yet. The Wolverine fared only slightly better, with 3D screenings contributing 30 percent of its $53.1 million opening weekend. That represents a new low point for 3D action releases. Both breakdowns were substantially worse than this summer’s previous worst showings for 3D, when only 31 percent of Monsters University’s $82 million debut came from 3D screenings, while roughly 34 percent of World War Z’s $66 million bow came from the format.”

Heralded as a new breakthrough in visual storytelling just a few years ago, new 3D is looking more and more like old 3D: a gimmick that audiences eventually rejected. Even as someone who can see the potential in 3D and has enjoyed the format on rare occasions, I don't blame them. All too often the 3D adds nothing but a surcharge and a thin layer of gunk on top of the visuals. 

The problem with 3D isn’t so much that it’s bad, but that it’s inconsistent. From movie to movie, from theater to theater, even from seat to seat, you have no idea what you’re going to get. Some movies converted to 3D during post-production actually look pretty good. (I thought Star Trek Into Darkness was a decent stereoscopic experience, for example). Others look dark and dingy. (I’m certain I would have enjoyed Pacific Rim more, and made more sense of the movie’s dark, rainy battles without having to contend with the 3D). Movies actually shot in 3D are generally pretty solid, but with fewer and fewer trained projectionists on the job at multiplexes, even those can be a crapshoot. In private conversations with colleagues, I often find people have totally different experiences of 3D movies; critics who attend one screening say something looked great; people who attend another say it looked terrible.

With that sort of track record, why pay extra? Recently, I received my first press invite for a screening that offered either 2D or 3D options. With zero hesitation, I picked 2D (the movie was not shot in 3D). After the screening, I asked a fellow critic who saw the 3D version how it looked. Their reply: “Fine. It wasn’t distracting.” When unobtrusiveness is the threshold of competence in a medium that is defined by intruding into the space between us and the screen, there’s something seriously wrong.

Maybe these numbers will encourage studios to reconsider the rampant overuse of 3D and restrict the format to movies actually shot in it. Then again, TheWrap says 3D movies are still as popular as ever overseas, where they continue to bring in “80 percent to 90 percent of a film’s box office take in places like Russia and China.” Given the primary importance of foreign revenues on all things Hollywood circa 2013, that means we can still expect the studios to keep shoving 3D in our faces, like a man hitting a paddle ball directly at a camera lens, for the foreseeable future."

The death of the film industry?

Last week Steven Spielberg and George Lucas gave an address to the University of California upon the opening of a new building for the famous USC School of Cinematic Arts. Their talk made international headlines as Spielberg in particular, suggested that he believed a massive crash was on the horizon of the film industry, with a radical change in the industry coming soon. One of the most interesting, if perhaps fanciful, suggestions from Spielberg was that Hollywood films may have to charge prices at the cinema that are reflective of the budget of the film. He cited an example whereby the audience "[are] gonna have to pay $25 for the next Iron Man, you're probably only going to have to pay $7 to see Lincoln". 

To an extent, this already happens: you pay significantly more to see a 3D IMAX presentation that you for a 2D film, but will this soon be effected by the cost of the film to make? An interesting point of discussion certainly and one that brings in a lot of ideas for FM2 of the AS Level. 


Have a read of what was said:

Hollywood Reporter article

Huffington Post report

Why a meltodown would be good, from The Guardian

GCSE Exam Practice: Questions 1 and 2

Use this clip to help you practice Questions 1 and 2 of Paper 1. There are also some good examples of editing here to revise from. 

GCSE Paper 1 Practice: Superhero films

Below you will find copies of the Practice Exam Paper that we looked at in class.

The clip you need for questions 1 and 2 can be found on the link above the exam paper.
Remember: you can only watch it 3 times when answering questions 1 and 2 and when answering, you CANNOT watch the clip. Obviously, I can't control that here, but it's excellent practice for the exam to follow these instructions.

There is also a resource for Question 3 to be used as well.

Film Extract for questions 1 and 2

Louis Leterrier interview reveals lack of control over films he directed.

The director of The Incredible Hulk and Clash of the Titans, Louis Leterrier, is currently promoting his promising looking new film Now You See Me.


            

In an interesting interview on Huffington Post, Leterrier reveals how he wanted to cast Mark Ruffalo in The Incredible Hulk, as opposed to Edward Norton who was apparently cast at the demands of the studio, Marvel.
He also explains about his lack of control over Clash of the Titans, and criticises the poor use of 3D on the film.

Have a read via the link below to get an interesting insight into the control that a Director has and the way in which large studios operate.

Leterrier interview, via the Huffington Post.