Movies: Magic From The Dream Factory

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Chapter OutlineHistoryIndustry TodayControversies

Early Movie Technology By the early 1860s there were peep shows, ▪ Boxes containing rolls of still pictures hooked up to a crank,

Thomas Edison Kinetograph - a camera to take motion pictures, Kinetoscope - The device to show them

Vitascope - His first theater projector▪ Soon small theaters/nickelodeons were showing up everywhere.

The Move West Aspiring filmmakers moved west ▪ To escape Edison’s New York lawyers ▪ Take advantage of great weather and varied

scenery. In 1915, in Hollywood, D. W. Griffith made

The Birth of a Nation (huge success)▪ In which he perfected the close up, flashback, fade-

out, and montage. ▪ Racist depiction and glorification of Ku Klux Klan, ▪ An omen of the kind of power films would have to promote

antisocial messages.

The Star System 1920s theater owners began demanding popular actors, ▪ Studios started placing them under contract and promoting them

heavily.

▪ What star actors would you go to see just because it’s them

▪ Why?

Studios developed ▪ Block booking Forced theaters to show movies with unknown actors

in order to get movies with established stars.

▪ Blind booking required theaters to take movies without previewing them. ▪ Enabled studios to make money from low cost films known as B-movies.

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The Golden Age In 1930s the efficient studio system, global

influence of film art, sound and color ▪ Mark beginning of Golden Age of motion pictures.

First full-length sound feature was The Jazz Singer featuring Al Jolson. ▪ It established both technology and popularity of

sound.▪ Some audiences stood and applauded when they heard the

dialogue.

▪ What are some movies that stood out to you based on creative elements▪ Cinematography, soundtrack, setting , storyline, etc

What are some movies you are planning to see What factors motivate you to see a movie

1930s & 1940s movie going became part of American culture. Films such as Little Caesar (1930) reflected the influence of

organized crime during prohibition. Horror films like Dracula (1931) with Bela Lugosi, Screwball comedies like the Marx brothers’ Duck Soup (1933)

became popular diversions from hard times.

Color was perfected in films such as Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz, both produced in 1939.

Special effects came into their own in movies such as King Kong (1933) and The Invisible Man (1933).

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African-American Films An African-American movie industry emerged to serve blacks

who were not allowed in “white” theaters. ▪ Centered in Harlem, these films featured all-black casts and were shown

in theaters in black neighborhoods throughout the country.

Reacting To TV By the early 1960s more than 90 percent of American homes had

television sets. What technologies if any have reduced your moviegoing? Industry redefined itself ▪ Created drive-ins for car obsessed suburbanites, improving sound systems▪ Introducing wide screens with futuristic names such as Cinemascope.

Reacting To TV Studios began producing spectaculars, which were high budget

films with lavish sets and costumes. Other movies were produced with gimmicks, ▪ 3-D effects that required special glasses ▪ Smell-o-Vision - used fans and scent liquids to waft odors into the theater.

▪ What recent 3-D movies can you think of▪ What experiences do theaters offer that makes you want to go

Adapting To New Media By the early 80s the movie industry was convinced

Home videotaping with (VCRs), would ruin them. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)▪ Fought legal battles to stop the sale of home VCRs.

In 1983 Supreme court ruled in Sony Betamax case ▪ Video recording for private use not an infringement of copyright.

Adapting To New Media VCRs were used by most families to record programs, ▪ Also to play rented or purchased tapes▪ Created huge profits for movie studios.

By the time (DVDs) were introduced in 1996, ▪ Industry saw replacement for tapes and didn’t resist as much.

When DVDs became recordable and people started downloading movies, ▪ The industry realized it had a problem.

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Adapting To New Media Internet downloading made it easy to pirate

films & to distribute them illegally via file-sharing programs.

In 2003 the movie industry declared war against file sharers.

To prevent widespread copying, the movie companies devised methods for encrypting DVDs

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Adapting To New Media In the early 1990s, studios began to use computers for

digital editing and special effects. Disney’s Toy Story (1995) was the first movie to be

produced entirely on computers. Today, digital editing is used in all Hollywood movies, ▪ Many would be impossible to make without this technology e.g.

The X-Men and Superman Returns.

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Adapting To New Media Digital distribution of movies has been tested.▪ Digital projection ▪ Makes movies are easy to use & advantageous for theatre owners in

other ways.

▪ Will enable theatres to regularly show live events, ▪ Concerts or sporting events, ▪ Making them “entertainment complexes” rather than just movie

houses.

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Adapting To New Media Industry feels digital projection would help theatre

business remain viable.▪ Cheaper Distribution, Increasing Profits, Keeping Cost Down▪ Would go to the movies more if they were cheaper

Industry has been able to transmit and project movies digitally for over a decade.

Payment for equipment is holding back conversion.▪ Theaters want studios to pay and vice versa

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Global Dimensions Today, the American film industry collects more than 80

percent of the world’s film revenues▪ Produces only around 15 percent of the world’s films.

Brazil, China, Japan and India have thriving film industries. ▪ At 800 films a year, India produces more movies than any other

country, including the U.S.

Production Preproduction is the planning phase, ▪ includes script development, casting, budgeting, scheduling, set and costume

design, location scouting, set construction, and special effects design.

Production is the actual shooting phase, ▪ Which the activity becomes very hectic and expensive, as cast and crew swell

into the hundreds.

Postproduction ▪ Film and sound editing, soundtrack scoring, special effects integration, and

technical improvements such as color correction.

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The Independents: Creative Freedom Independent films ▪ Films not made by one of the major studios,

▪ Usually made with lower budgets, rely less on stars & special effects

▪ Have more creative freedom than studio films.

The People In The Credits Executive producer ▪ Financing & putting the package together - story, script, stars, and director.

Line producers ▪ Day-to-day workers -successful if films completed on time & in budget.

Directors provide creative vision. ▪ Usually involved in preproduction, production and postproduction phases

The writer turns an idea into a script. ▪ Scripts today are often written by a committee. ▪ One writer spices up the humor, another polishes the romance, and another

creates strong female characters.

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The editor ▪ Creates the rhythm and pace of a film by choosing the shots and placing

them in sequence. The cinematographer ▪ Is the director of photography, and is in charge of the cameras and works

with the director to set up shots.

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Home Media DVD versions of movies have become extremely popular.▪ Easy to use and contain a lot of additional material.

One of the most successful DVD rental companies▪ NetFlix, Blockbuster online

▪ Mail-order service allows selection of movie titles online▪ Then delivered by regular mail.

▪ Does anyone have a netflix account in here?

▪ Who uses video on demand function

Exhibition Art theaters show experimental, avant garde and

foreign films. The vast majority of movies are shown in multiplexes

which are theaters with multiple screening rooms. Megatheaters - Multiplexes with 16 or more screens ▪ Accommodations such as high-fidelity sound systems,

stadium-style seats, and cup holders.

What is the Largest Movie Theater in Northern, CA

The Audience In 1930s and 1940s entire families went to the same movie. Now there are multiple audiences ▪ young, old, male, and female.

Studios target young white males with action-adventure and female nudity ▪ Research shows young men usually select the film for a date

Summer provides the largest audience for theaters. ▪ The holiday season between Thanksgiving and January provides the

next largest audience.

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Effects Of Movie Viewing Many critics worry that docudramas, ▪ Fictional movies that dramatize real-life events, distort reality and

mislead audiences about historic facts.

Also concern that movies can influence violence Can you think of films blamed for influencing crimes

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