Monday 31 March 2014

Tuesday 25th March 2014 - Video Nasties

Video Nasties

-Quality on pirated films were horrible
-Tapes were being advertised for people to record
-Censorship in horror films - is it okay to show graphic images? Unregulated and uncensored
-Video nasties were available for the first time in the UK around the mid 80's

-Film censorship is motivated by fears about audiences and technologies
-Video certificated and age restrictions
-Censorship was very much honed in on and strict
-Before video nasties came about, boundaries were very rarely pushed
-When you distribute pirated films, it becomes illegal
-VHS's wear out over time
-If you copy two VHS's it becomes a criminal act

Video Nasties - Censorship
-Graphic gore and violence
-Horror films
-Explicit sex scenes
-Rape scenes
-Spectacle
-Couldn't be shown in cinemas due to censorship, they were indie films that were shown on VHS
-Video Nasties were popular because they were restricted
-Government and pressure groups deciding what audiences should see

-VHS then was equivalent to the internet nowdays
-British Board of Film Classification = BBFC
-The reason you have censorship is so it doesn't effect people; people may act upon it. An example of this is Clockwood Orange

-Video Nasties case study on the 1980's - very few people had seen the films and were calling it out as "morally wrong". Conservative pressure groups were right wing, held traditional values, were mainly upper class and claimed to be "protecting" audiences with censorship
-The Nanny State - upper class people making decisions for everyone. The government has ultimate control
-Moral Panic

Video Nasties
-Driller Killer, Cannibal Holocaust
-Gruesome, extreme - packaging was explicit
-No censorship which meant that children could be exposed to this material
-"People indulged in the thrill of the forbidden"
-BVA
-1982 - cuts were made
-Mary Whitehouse - friends with Maragret Thatcher
-The fear of something supernatural and evil
-Video nasties influenced moral decline
-Campaigns led to the Obscene Complications Act
-1982 - police took 22000 casettes to be withdrawn from distribution
-Video Nasties were an extravaganza of gory violence
-The Video Nasties List - obscene films

Technology - Home Video
Political
-Conservative government sought to protect.
-Regulated videos to have age restrictions
-Morality, video nasties, censorship
Social
-Riots, campaigns against video nasties; Mary Whitehouse, Margaret Thatcher, the media and the BBFC.
-The above mentioned scapegoated the video nasties for immoral behaviour which led to a moral panic
Economic
-Cinema attendance declined massively due to the rise of VHS
-Video Nasties like Evil Dead, I Spit On Your Grave and Driller Killer were realistic because they were low budget
-Video Nasties were niche films and really popular
-There were restrictions on re-makes
-Video Nasties were influential
-Watching video nasties helps put it in context of narrative
-Video Nasties were made for distribution only via home-video
-Censorship or individual judgement
Video Nasties created diversity of films


Class notes - Friday 21st March 2014

What factors led to the decline of town or city center cinemas in the late 1970's and early 1980's?
-In your response, include: multiplexes, Jaws, Blockbusters, Star Wars, attendance numbers, VHS, home video, ET, The Godfather, PDE

-Write one paragraph for Production, one paragraph for Distribution and one paragraph for Exhibition. Include context in each paragraph

-Introduction must include: your biggest points for each context.
-Devaluation of films-multiplexes in shopping centers-money making scheme-exhibition
-ILM- George Lucas, Stephen Spielberg

-Blockbusters were made to fill multiplexes
-Multiplexes were made to show more blockbusters

Class notes - Tuesday 18th March 2014

-Collect evidence from texts
-How did the rise of Blockbusters and Multiplexes affect PDE?

-Technology created an event movie, e.g. Star Wars
-Economic aspects; Jaws was heavily advertised
-Hollywood Film Studios invented Multiplexes
-For an A grade, talk about context and cinema attendance
-Recession in the 1970's led to the decrease of cinema attendance
-People become dependent on Multiplexes
-Multiplexes create the illusion of choice
-Do multiplexes devalue films and create a separate experience?

Political context in the 1970's
-Character restricted
-Britain was in complete chaos
-3 day week due to lack of energy

Exhibition includes VHS, Piracy, Social, Technological, Economical

Social context in the 1970's
-Because power-cuts and lack of resources were frequent, cinema attendance declined drastically
-Hype influenced cinema attendance in the late 70's and early 80's
-It was mainly children and teenagers who went to the cinema because the adults were working

Technological context in the 1970's
-Multiplex cinemas
-Growth of TV ownership and growth of VHS nearly killed cinema

Economic
-Box office
-With growth of car ownership, people had choice of less traditional entertainment
-Cinema admission


Friday 21 March 2014

Rough essay plan

What factors led to the decline of town or city centre cinemas in the late 1970s and early 1980s?

In my response I need to include: multiplex, Jaws, Blockbusters, Star Wars, attendance numbers, VHS, home video, ET, The gODFATHER, PDE

Due to the recession that was happening in throughout the 70s, cinema attendance decreased drastically because people were unable to afford cinema prices. Film industries (specifically Hollywood film makers) attempted to market and re-introduce people to cinema. Because the recession was so great in the 70s, it was mainly teenagers who could afford to go to the cinema which gave fim makers the opportunity to create the hype around films and their new releases. In 1985, Hollywood film industries created the multiplex cinemas which was a place where large-scale Blockbuster films would be showcased. Multiplexes were mainly built in places like shopping centers to attract a large audience and primarily to make a profit. This new creation and its results ended up devaluing films, but due to their increasing popularity, young audiences still continued to attend, leaving independent cinemas to become less important and noticeable. The technology involved in production and film-making in the late 70s was improving/becoming more developed in these newly-introduced Hollywood Blockbusters which attracted a large scale audience. The film that launched this craze was Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (released in 1977); the special effects created by George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg contributed largely to the film's success because these elements in a film had never been seen before. This created spectacle and further pushed audiences to desire Hollywood Blockbusters. When the recession hit, people were reluctant to go to the cinema and watched films in their own homes on televisions, causing a decline in cinema attendance. Video piracy became more common throughout the late 1970s which damaged the film industry greatly; the lack of people going to the cinema meant film-makers lost large amounts of money. In 1982, ET was the most pirated film of all time - this devalued films and the principal of going to the cinema was rarely followed/appreciated.

Tuesday 18 March 2014







PDE Qualities and values

Production
-Test screenings
-VFX Studio
-Legal
-Producer and writer
-Artists and designers


Distribution
-Marketing
-Youtube/Vimeo = advertisements
-Web distributor
-Film lab
-DVD retailer
-Merchandising
-Distributor

Exhibition
-Youtube/Vimeo = advertisements
-Web distributor
-Cable/Satellite TV
-DVD retailer
-Film subscription service
-Multiplex cinema
1) When was the first Multiplex in the UK?
2) What was cinema attendance like in this time?
3) What films were being played in the new Multiplexes (name and year?)
4) How were these Multiplexes encouraging audiences to go to the cinema?
5) Where are these Multiplexes built instead of the High Street and why?
6) What had happened to audience leisure patterns that meant 'Fleapit' cinemas lost popularity?
7) What advantages did Multiplexes offer cinema audiences and film distributors over Fleapits?
What reasons was cinema attendance low? (Technologies and Audience Leisure Patterns)

1) The first multiplex in the UK was in Milton Keynes
2) The attendance of cinema audiences at this time was on a constant decline due to the recession
3) Star Wars (1977), Jaws (1975), The Godfather (1972)
4) Because it gave a new experience and gave the illusion of more chice
5) In shopping centers to attract more audiences and potentially make more money
6) Because multiplexes gave audiences more choice and had a lot more to offer which pushed independent cinemas aside, causing the general public to become dependent on multiplex cinemas for entertainment and a new experience
7) Distrubution costs less and multiplexes had more to offer with merchandise and commercial resources (restaurants, arcades, etc)
8)

Monday 17 March 2014

Mark Kermode and the Multiplex

What are the arguments about the multiplex?
What is PDE?

-Multiplex audiences are smart; they can keep up with complex narratives and properly written stories.
-Multiplex cinemas' main goals are to make money
-Multiplex cinemas give audiences more choice but shouldn't have to put independent cinemas out of business
-People may eventually become dependent on multiplexes
-Audiences have high expectations when it comes to multiplex cinemas
-Hollywood film makers keep creating ideas for the multiplex (3D ticket prices)

PDE = Production, Distribution, Exhibition

Class notes - Tuesday 4th March 2014

-Big Dumb Movies include CGI over story-lines (style over substance)
-SPECTACLE; something you don't see everyday
-Directors need to focus on the story-line
-Big Dumb Movies encourage people to go to the cinema more
-Piracy
-Jaws was the first event movie
-Lots of money is spent on marketing - selling the audience an experience
-Make your budget newsworthy, that will make it an event movie
-Spends loads of money on a film to get more money, adds to the hype
-Audience is bought into the franchise so they keep seeing terrible films
-An actor is part of the marketing process
-Blockbusters are a Mcfilm - easily repeated process that is mass produced
-McDonald's always tastes the same, like the Hollywood Blockbusters

What is the value of the Blockbuster formula?
-People are paying to see advertisement
-Product placement
-Guaranteed return

Contexts
-Social
-Technology
-Economic

-Context means "justify" or "give reason for"
-Audience want spectacle
-Films dominated by CGI make it look like a new experience - cinemas are losing money because of piracy
-You can't pirate 3D. Different experience from what the director intended. Different atmosphere and quality
-All films are pre-sold now, definite fanbase

Class notes




Class notes - Tuesday 11th February 2014

$220 million - Avengers Assemble
$225 million - Dead Man's Chest
$225 million - Prince Caspian
$230 million - The Amazing Spiderman
$237 million - Avatar
$250 million - Half-Blood Prince
$250 million - John Carpenter
$258 million - Spider Man 3 (the most expensive Spiderman movie)
$260 million - Tangled
$300 million - At World's End

-All the films listed above are Hollywood movies, widely advertised and are either reboots, sequels, prequels
-The average cost of a Hollywood Blockbuster would be around $245.5 million
-If the film doesn't make the same amount of money or more than the budget, it may be considered as a flop
-They all have massive fan bases
-Advertising is included in the production budget


Formulaic structure to Hollywood films
Why are Hollywood films so formulaic?
-Don't know how to break away from original storyline
-Film piracy and the internet
-CGI = money. All you're left with characters and story
-The economy
-There's a difference between analysing reasons and context
-Recession
-3D
-Online reviews

The context effects the making and the experience of watching cinema

What is the "Film Flop Formula"?
-In order for a movie to make it's money back, it has to take 2 times what it costs
-The budget has to be big enough so it was newsworthy
-Special effects have to be included in the film
-The film mustn't be a comedy
-The film needs to have at least one A-list star
-DVD sales will help the movie get it's money back
-If you follow the rules you won't lose money
-Film makers should take risks using the Film Flop Formula because they know that as long as they stick to the rules they won't lose money

-The budget doesn't guarantee success, it depends on the quality of the film
-Story-line over effects - a budget can weaken a film because it could ruin audience's expectations
-The star's demanding fee could be a huge part of the production budget


Class notes - Tuesday 4th February 2014

Script Feedback
-I put INT and EXT in the correct places
-My script represented the MACRO well

Content included in the Level 4 Mark Scheme
-Use of film terminology and applying stereotypes, shows deep understanding of how scripts are created, conveying controversial ideas
-Relates to your chosen MACRO
-Showing your creativity through planning, key frames and possibly making the sequence
-Acknowledging the terms involved in film-making
-Themes and messages are clearly conveyed are clearly conveyed throughout the film
-Deadlines are met and work is complete/checked to a high quality

-Film language is a MICRO
-9 Key Frames are more important than your script
-Make an effort with location and actors

Identify requirements of MES for your sequel/re-boot
-Ladder
-Glass bottle of "drugs"
-Open space of field or greenery
-Table
-Backpack
-Dark lighting to show thee underground world
-Dark and low lighting for the scene set at night
-Girl wearing white clothes to represent/symbolise innocence and virginity

Class notes - Tuesday 28th January 2014

-Dialogue moves the story along
-Characterisation
-Classic Hollywood Narrative is built around character motivation

Django Unchained clip
-To understand what segregation was like in those days but the dialogue makes it more extreme
-"Like I said, who's this nigger up on that nag?" Demonstrating that there's hierarchy within the same race. "You two should hate each other"
-"And you- you old decrepit bastard...are gonna show them hospitality. Do you understand that?" Calvin Candie has jurisdiction over Stephen and in his dialogue he gives orders and has authority

Film dialogue is stylised and not real

Juno Sequel
-Has main characters, Juno's baby, principal, adoptive parent
-Juno's only been recently introduced into her child's life
-Juno's appearance has an effect on Britney
-Conflict between the principal and Juno
-Conflict between Juno and the adoptive mother
-The argument in the dialogue is the disruption
-Division of class with Juno and the principal


Class notes - Tuesday 21st January 2014

Script Writing Tips
-Everything said must move the story forward
-No "ums" or "errs"
-Dialogue must be short and mustn't be long-winded sentences.
-Include lots of sentence fragments
-Mimick how people really talk
-Be mysterious in your dialogue - it keeps the audience's attention

Sunday 16 March 2014

Class notes - Friday 17th January 2014

What to include in your pitch:
-What is going to happen
-Genre and location
-What MACRO are your reinforcing?

You need dialogue because
1) The story demands dialogue to move it forward
2) Characterization - psychological motivation
-To understand why the character does everything they say/do

Tuesday 11 March 2014

Blockbuster Trailers and explanation

The God-Father was classed as a Hollywood Blockbuster because it has a load of A-list stars.
It didn't have loads of special effects

Jaws didn't have special/visual effects and was the first event movie
Jaws was character driven and didn't entirely rely on style
Didn't have a simplistic story-line
Merchandise and marketing
HYPE

Star Wars (A New Hope) "defined" the Blockbuster
Beginning of the formulaic film structure

Recession was going on in the UK. People lost their job, didn't have dollar so they stayed at home and watched telly instead.
Teenagers were a profitable audience and were the ones going out to socialise
Before blockbusters came about, cinema attendance went down
Spending money on cinema goes back to the film studios
Multiplex cinemas were invented by American film studios to help lure the audiences back to the cinema. Invested in this idea.
ILM- George Lucas and Steven Spielberg

Post-it notes of Blockbuster context



Social, Technological and Economic aspects of Blockbusters




Thursday 6 March 2014

Location Report

The following images are the two locations I will be using for my dystopia reboot of Moonrise Kingdom.
The first location is a downstairs hall/basement of a church in Greenwich - this will be where the scene of underground world would be set. These photographs were taken at night which is the time that the scene will be set to fully illustrate the darkness and bleak lives the underground people are living in. These pictures were taken with most of the lights on but in the reboot sequence certain lights will be turned off to create the eerie, depressing and uncomfortable atmosphere. I think that the first part of the underground scene where Gabe is set at a table should take place on the stage which is lit by a single light, creating an intimate atmosphere. This reinforces the MACRO of my textual analysis with the representation of childhood being altered - the young children handling and exchanging drugs shows their rebellion and detour from an innocent childhood.
The health and safety aspects of this location are making sure the actors do not injure themselves when getting on and off the stage and that they are careful when going up and down the wooden steps to avoid injury.
There will be at least two people in this underground scene and a maximum of six people.









The second location I will be using for my dystopian reboot of Moonrise Kingdom is Stone Recreation Ground. This will be used to film the scene where Gabe and Andrea meet up to exchange the pharmaceuticals. Although these pictures are taken during the day, the scene will be set at night to represent the secretive acts Gabe and Andrea are committing by meeting. I also chose this location because the large amount of space would make the characters look inferior and clearly illustrate the fact that they're only children. I chose to set this scene at night to portray that they're carrying out adult tasks by performing a drug exchange when they're only thirteen. This links to my MACRO study which is how representation of childhood becomes both altered and conformed to.
There are no health and safety precautions for this location. but the weather is an aspect that needs to be considered. 
There will only be two characters in this part of my Moonrise Kingdom reboot so only two actors will be used. 










Tuesday 4 March 2014

The Walking Dead Movie


A-Lister: Andrew Lincoln


Spectacle: The society of the film is in reverse; it's the zombies who are seen as normality and the humans who are inferior. The zombies 

Set piece: The humans are the ones who are struggling for survival