Saturday 26 April 2014

Film Censorship is Motivated by Fears About Audiences and Technology


Discuss this statement in reference to the concerns expressed about uncensored and unregulated video content.

Introduction: 
This essay will discuss about film censorship in the 1980s. It was motivated by fears about audiences and technologies to a certain extent. One of the main fears was of people being able to view graphic and unsuitable content from video nasties; which were both unregulated and uncensored. This was accessible through the use of technological advancements such as the video cassette recorder (VCR).  Another fear being the impact these films would have on society, acting as a threat and compromising the governments “nanny state” which is sought after for a perfect society. The construction of this fear was being fuelled by the conservative government and the media. Concerns were also raised in relation to the economy of the multiplexes, whether there would be a substantial impact on the film industry due to factors such as the recession.        

Point: fears fuelled by the technological aspect/ advancement.

Example:  This is on the basis that at the time, technology such as the VCR was developed in the late 1970s, which remained in use throughout the 1980s. It became a very popular method of watching films, as home videos were seen as quite fashionable, as well as being easier than traveling to the nearest multiplex. With this came the format wars, between VHS and Betamax. It later surfaced that VHS was successful, leaving Betamax obsolete. Despite the fact Betamax offered a better quality, VHS was more popular and also allowed for a longer recording. Technology was then used for criminal activity, resulting in pirated home videos. Due to piracy, people could watch home videos that included banned titles and various video nasties.

Analysis: Having access to video nasties, meant that people were able to view contents that were considered to be gory, violent and inappropriate for the screens of Britain. At the same time, these films were unregulated and uncensored, therefore not available to the public through the multiplexes. The main audience for these films were teenagers (young audiences), on the basis the horror genre of video nasties inspired curiosity and a fun alternative means of entertainment. The films became a success, as the controversy they caused generated publicity and made them intriguing; part of this being a result of the extreme concepts which were explored such as rape, murder and torture. In addition to this, parents grew concerned that it was easier for their children to access such content.

Point: Moral panic arose over whether this would have an impact on society as a whole. This fear was pushed forward by the conservative government and the media.

Example: A possibility is that the government used this to their advantage, by promoting this as reason for why Britain was broken; acting as a temporary scapegoat for some of the nation’s problems at the time. Under Margaret Thatchers rule, the right-wing conservatives also held up many traditional and Christian (religious) beliefs. This meant that the criminal activity of piracy, and access to graphic content, was greatly looked down upon. An organisation that went hand in hand with the governments views was the National Viewers and Listeners Association, which was established by Mary Whitehouse.

Analysis: The British Board of Film Censorship (BBFC) was used in response to counter some of the fears that went with video nasties. Only in 1985 did the government designate authority to the BBFC to apply age ratings to home videos. This was in an attempt to flag the severity of the content in films like Evil Dead and Driller Killer.

Conclusion:
Film censorship is motivated by fears towards audiences and technologies, although there are other contributing factors. These include things like influence from the government. When we relate this to todays society, it can be seen as a repeat of some of the same issues. Through technological advancements and worldwide implementation of the internet, people can access a much wider and more graphic range of films. At the same time it can be argued that we have become desensitised over time and no longer see the video nasties from the 1980s as unsuitable for us. Whether it is seen as morally right for these films to be viewed, it is apparent that they have helped Hollywood in shaping the horror genre. It has been only beneficial to the directors who have moved on to created films with a much larger budget. Such as:  Wes Craven director of the Scream series and The Hills Have Eyes, and Sam Raimi - director of Spiderman.

Saturday 5 April 2014

Tuesday 4 March 2014

Movie Pitch





Film: A -Team 
Cast: Leonardo Di Caprio, Sylvester Stalone, Jason Statham 


Soliders vs a Terrorist.
 This is second part to A-Team (2010), however it's not a sequel. Terrorist attacks on USA, they've (The A-team) returned back from Iraq and have only 10 days to solve the mission (Find out what the terrorist is up to) and catch the terrorist. They don't know who the terrorist is, they have a list of names but they're all turned down. Finally,  the terrorist is apart  of them. 

Technology reasons:
  • Cut costs by generating effects on computer, style over substance.
  • Better quality, better viewing experience.
  • Special effects attract audience, spectacle.
  • Audience goes to cinema to see big screen, 3D, event etc.
  • 3D gets people back in the cinema.
Economic reasons: 
  • Easier for people to download films therefore they don't go to the cinema, therefore it's harder to gain  a profit.
  • More money put in creates an event, you get money back.
  • More money means it difficult to be creative.
  • Pre-sold films sell for more because they stick to an idea that sells.
Social reasons:
  • A-Team has a recognisable fan-base, come back to see what's changed, reboot? Have to be pre-sold in order to gain money back, fans buy into franchises.
  • Losing interest in cinema, less people go, watch it online.
  • Pre-sold films get interest back.
  • The audience doesn't just watch films, into interacting (gaming etc)
  • Blockbuster's rely on marketing not just word-of-mouth.
  • Producers don't want to make a original film incase they lose money so they follow what they know has sold well.

Monday 3 March 2014

Planning - Coursework







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Friday 21 February 2014

Half Term Study


Rules For a Blockbuster
  • Newsworthy Budget
  • Spectacular Visuals (Spectacles) 
  • Avoid being it a comedy
  • A list Stars (big names)
  • High Concept
High Concept Movie = Blockbuster

High Concept: (Of a film or television plot) having a striking and easily communicable idea. 

High Concept Movies Of All Time 
  • Planet of the Apes (1968; often remade or re-versioned)
  • Jaws (1975)
  • Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
  • Freaky Friday (1976; remade 1995, 2003)
  • A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984; remade 2010)
  • Groundhog Day (1993)
  • Jurassic Park (1993)
  • Strange Days (1995)
  • Toy Story (1995)
  • Liar, Liar (1997)
  • The Matrix (1999)
  • The Sixth Sense (1999)
  • Shallow Hal (2001)
  • Phone Booth (2002)
  • Cellular (2004)
  • Snakes on a Plane (2006)
  • 30 Days of Night (2007)
  • The Invention of Lying (2009)
  • TiMER (2009)
  • Buried (2010)
  • Grabbers (2012)
  • Two Night Stand (2013)
Blockbusters

Similarities? and Characteristics?
  • Post genre
  • Widest possible audience appeal
  • Previous audience
  • Spectacles - focus on CGI, VFX and animation
  • Event movie
  • Star driven - Big names (stars)
  • Big budget
  • Product -Heavily marketed and hyped/tie-ins
  • Not character driven/motivation(Not CHN)
  • Franchises and sequels/prequels 
  • Pre -sold: The audience are already aware of (novel, comic or game) 
  • Video game like experience - blurs the line between film and game
  • Homogenous and cross-cultural - universal locale or identity
Main Points
  • Piracy
  • Hype of movies
  • Marketing - Global appeal to make more money
Significance Of "Jaws" (1975)
  • Trailer - Unidentified Threat
  • No Shark - Shark not shown in the trailer, therefore that engages the audience and makes them eager to go and see the shark in the theatres. 
  • Hype - Best Selling Novel
  • Focuses on the theme
  • Has a high concept
Recent Releases

‎1hr 40min‎
‎U‎
‎Animation‎
‎English‎
‎1hr 50min‎
‎12A‎
‎Action‎
‎English‎
‎1hr 40min‎
‎U‎
‎Animation‎
‎English‎
‎1hr 30min‎
‎U‎
‎Animation‎
‎English‎
‎1hr 48min‎
‎12A‎
‎Scifi‎
‎English‎
‎1hr 58min‎
‎12A‎
‎Drama‎
‎English‎
‎1hr 38min‎
‎15‎
‎Comedy‎
‎English‎
‎1hr 18min‎
‎U‎
‎Animation‎
‎English‎
‎2hr 59min‎
‎18‎
‎Drama‎
‎English‎
‎2hr 13min‎
‎15‎
‎Drama‎
‎English‎
‎1hr 43min‎
‎12A‎
‎Drama‎
‎English‎
‎1hr 57min‎
‎15‎
‎Drama‎
‎English‎
‎1hr 30min‎
‎U‎
‎Animation‎
‎English‎
‎1hr 51min‎
‎12A‎
‎Drama‎
‎English‎

  • The Lego Movie
  • The Monuments Men
  • Mr. Peabody & Sherman
  • ‎RoboCop
  • ‎A New York Winter's Tale
  • ‎Cuban Fury
  • Tinkerbell and the Pirate Fairy
  • ‎The Wolf of Wall Street
  • 12 Years A Slave (Independent Film)
  • ‎Endless Love
  • ‎Dallas Buyers Club 
  • ‎The Invisible Woman 
  • Frozen
  • The Book Thief


















These are all the recent releases. They're produced and distributed by big companies, such as: DreamWorks, Warner Bros, Universal, Paramount, Walt Disney, Universal, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox and more. In the list of new releases there's only one independent movie, which is 12 Years A Slave. The movie is distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures, in United States. They are part of the Fox Entertainment Group, but they're specialised in US distribution of independent and British films. The movie was made on a budget of $20 million. However Robocop is the recent "blockbuster" movie released. The reason for it's success is because: It has previous audience, high budget, pre-sold.

Mr Peabody and Sherman 

Mr Peabody and Sherman is a American 3D computer animated adventure comedy film based on the characters from the Peabody's Improbable History segments of the 1960's animated television series, The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. The movie is distributed by 20th Century Fox and produced by DreamWorks Animation alongside Pacific Data Images and Bullwinkle Studios.
The film features Mr Peabody, a talking dog who is the smartest being in the world, and his adopted boy Sherman and how they travel back to the past with the time traveling WABAC machine (which Mr Peabody refers as the "Way back"), in order to save Penny Peterson who is Sherman's classmate.
The film premiered on February 7, 2014 in UK and will be released March 7, 2014 in the US. The film has been getting a very great response by the audience as well as the critics. It has received 6.8/10 by IMDb (921 votes), 91% by critics and 80% by audience is Rotten Tomatoes review. As it hasn't yet released in the US, the film can't be classed as a blockbuster, because it hasn't released in one of the most populated states, therefore it hasn't yet got different view from a huge mass of people. It can be reviewed properly, once it releases in the USA. Box office (so far): $22,481,000. There haven't been many promotions of Mr Peabody and Sherman, they also haven't sold any merchandises. However there they have advertised it on buses, cinemas, and on the TV (through the trailers and the posters).
Personally I would give it 7/10, therefore I agree with the review it has been receiving, as it's a different concept with a dog adopting a boy. The film also teaches History and English, as they use the time machine to go back in time where it travels to Egypt,  Italy, France and other places. It also shows people like: Mozart, William Shakespeare, Da Vinci, Mona Lisa and many other legends from the past, who are now remembered through history. It teaches new words like "Appography", through the little boy Sherman. Therefore the film doesn't just entertain the kids but it also teaches them new and old things that are relevant to studies as well as normal life.

Trailer