Introduction to Film

1.     The increase in the number of screen available has not led to an increase in the number of films being shown because of long ‘holdovers’ of popular films and most films are played at different times throughout the day repeatedly. Though multiplexes were thought to lead to a greater variety of films being shown, they create this effect on the industry instead.

2.     Cinema attendance rose in 2002 because of the release of sequels such as Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. These would have increased attendance as they followed already popular films, so it’s logical that after the distribution of the first. A rise in popularity and notoriety would increase the attendance for the second instalments.
       However, from the 2004 onwards, cinema attendance may have decreased due to the increase in film piracy and therefore the availability of films on the Internet for free. This could have affected a portion of the audience to instead view the films on the Internet instead of going to a cinema, causing an overall attendance to decrease.

3.     £733,333.34

4.     The downside of consumer demand for producers in the UK is that many cannot afford to satisfy the demand for more prints by audiences, as they are too expensive. For example if a film were to open in 204 cinemas across the country, the total of each print needed would tally to £204,000. This incorporated within other costs means that small, independent production companies cannot afford to widely distribute their films, therefore a large sector of a possible audience will not be able to view the film.

5.     If the increases in the cost for film production continue, it is likely that studios will have to rethink their techniques of releasing a film. This is because with the rising costs of releasing a film, there likely to be a decline of audiences spending money to go to the cinema and buy DVDs of the film due to internet piracy. Because films must make two and a half times its production cost to make a profit, studios must find a way to encourage audiences to return to the cinema to view films.

6.     More middle-aged people went to the cinema in 2011 most likely to the prominent release of films directly marketed and created for that age group i.e. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. This encouraged middle-aged people to see the film as it mainly featured older actors such as Maggie Smith and Bill Nighy, and had a plot that older people could relate to more easily that younger audiences.

       On one hand the most ‘bankable’ actors for the youth market could be stars such as Robert Pattinson and Jennifer Lawrence. They are bankable because teenage audiences are used to seeing them in films directed at their market, and because of this and the phenomenon of obsession with these actors due to their prominent films (Twilight, Hunger Games), the audience is more likely to watch a film that features them. However, stars like Brad Pitt and Cameron Diaz are still very popular in the youth market due to their continuing success and variety of films aimed at different audiences, including the youth market.

7.     Of the top ten films last year, only the recent instalment of the Twilight series and the hangover II made ay profit.

8.     Recently, Bruckheimer has produced are consistently high concept such as the 3^rd Pirates of the Caribbean instalment. This film is high concept as it has the ‘look, the hook and the book’ aspects such as big budget action sequences and an uncomplicated plot narrative featuring famous actors and a good vs. evil concept.

       Michael Bay does deserve the reputation for making films that are high on effects and low on narrative. For example, he began shooting the film Transformers before a script was even finalised; the following films in the franchise were equally poor on an effective plot and a separate film, I am Number 4 seemed equally weak in narrative and relied on expensive action sequences to draw in an audience.

9.     A) Fox Searchlight: ‘Martha Marcy Mae Marlene’ is an indiewood type thriller with Elizabeth Olsen, who is generally attached to indie films. The audience is most likely people over 15 as it has a certification of 15 and the plot has mature elements to it that would be unsuitable for a younger audience to relate to.

B) Sony Pictures Classics: ‘A Separation’ and ‘Amour’ are two indie films associated with this studio. Their audience would mostly be international as they are both foreign language films, and probably and older audience as they would most likely to pay to see a foreign films, unlike most youth audiences which seem to prefer English-language films i.e. Twilight

C) Focus Features: ‘Hanna’ and ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ are both indie films connected to this indiewood studio. Their audience would mostly be younger people under 25 because both films feature young teen or pre-teen protagonists that would be easy for a youth audience to relate to, and possible inaccessible for an older audience above 50

10.            Hollywood does generally dominate the UK film landscape due to the priority for wide distribution instead of an increase in UK based, independent films. This is because it is generally more profitable for Hollywood and UK companies to distribute large Hollywood Blockbusters such as the ‘Twilight’ franchise, which are guaranteed to make more money than a UK independent film such as ‘Shifty’. Therefore the independent UK films receive less distribution and promotion, causing Hollywood to dominate the UK film landscape.

       A way Hollywood retains a stranglehold on UK cinema is through releasing High Concept films. These films rely on big-budget action sequences and the ‘look, the hook and the book’ features to draw in large audiences. They do not need to have an intricate or involved plot as long as they can back up these features with well-known actors who will also bring their own fan base into the audience. These films dominate UK cinema, as they are usually the tops grossing films of the year both domestically and in international markets, seen, as 9/10 of the top grossing films of all time are predominantly American productions. This shows how Hollywood still retains control over the UK cinema as they rely on these blockbuster films to bring an audience to the cinema.