25th march

"Film censorship is motivated by fears about audiences and technologies" Discuss this statement in reference to the concerns expressed about uncensored and unregulated video content in Britain in the early 1980s.

Piracy - no check on certificate

Devalues technology and film 

Developing technology allows people to pirate them and steal 

Longer lasting videos- lower cinema attendance

Illegal but video certificates can not be checked when at home 

Censorship- graphic violence, rape, pornographic sex scenes 

Censored movies- can't see at the movies, made the popular to see what the fuss was about 

Being told it's bad by Margaret thatcher, Conservative party 

The human centipede 2- censored 

People might act upon it

Clockwork orange- rape as violence, teenage character 

Morally wrong 

Government- censored films but they hadn't watched them 

Upper class protecting working class

Nanny state- treated like children 

Moral panic

Scape goat

Low budget- more realistic 

Remove phalic images 

Nudity 

"Lesbians and homos"

Teddy boys 

Years later the wild one was allowed to be shown 

1971- scandal movies

The director had death threats to his family so he withdrew clockwork orange from being shown in England 

Video nasties horrific enough to seized by  the police 

Moral panic- introduce classification 

News- links disasters to films 

Technology; home video 

Political; conservative government sought to protect by putting age regulations and restrictions 

Mortality, video nasties- censorships

Social; riots against Margaret thatcher, so they waited for campaigns against video nasties to step in, Mary whitehouse 

Media, scape goat, moral panic 

Economic;cinema attendance declined, low budget made for a niche audience 

Modern day, horror films which were censored have now been remade as society has been exposed and therefore are more lenient- Texas chainsaw 

Influential to the film industry 

Case studies;

Texas chainsaw 

I spit on your grave 

Evil dead 

Driller killed 

Dawning of the home video age

Format Wars:

• Beta- best picture 
• VHS-plays longer 

Cinema attendance decreased after VHS was introduced, as people could keep the film and watch multiple times.
Attendance dropped in the 1960s due to television.
Censorship became more liberal at the time the conservative party were in power.

Advantages to censorship;
Protection of minors
Protection of information/ national security
Promotes good morals
Suitable age limits.

PDE Plan.

21st of March

READ THE QUESTION

Homework- 
3. The dawning of the home video age - format wars (VHS and Betamax) and the moral panic about the uncensored Video Nasties and unregulated video content and move to regulation of film in the home.

70s

Political-

Chancellor cuts on spending

Ugandan dictator-tribute money to Britain 

Africa master of Britain 

Miners demand more money 

Overtime ban 

Priminister- cut down on electricity 

Recession 

Electricity ban means cinemas would've had to shut early.

3 day working week.

Exhibition - Which films are shown, where and the experience (Box Office numbers/cinema attendance of the early Blockbusters & emergence of Multiplexes).

Hype influenced cinema attendance, during this time. As it gave people a new experience and something to do, this applies to teenagers especially as their parents were sorting debt from the recession and using their money to provide for the children. Apart of the hype is the merchandise, which would be unlikely to have large sales as people did not have as much excess expenditure. This means that there would be less hype and therefore a lower cinema attendance.

PDE categories

Production:

• Test screenings
• FX Studio
• Legal
• Producer/Writer
• Artists and designers

Distribution:

• Marketing
• Youtube/imeo
• Web distributor
• Film lab
• DD
• Merchandising
• Distributor

Exhibition:

• Youtube/imeo
• Web distributor
• Cable/Satellite T
• DD
• Film subscription service 
• Multiplex Cinemas

18th March

1. When was the first Multiplex in the UK? The first multiplex in the UK was built in Milton Keynes in 1985.
2. What was cinema attendance like in this time? The attendance during this time was continuing to decline due to the recession.
3. What films were being played in the new Multiplexes (name and year?) Star Wars 1977, Jaws 1975 Godfather 1972
4. How were these Multiplexes encouraging audiences to go to the cinema? They provided a new experience in the cinema for example technology. They also included bigger seats and food.
5. Where are these Multiplexes built instead of the High Street and why? In shopping centres to attract bigger audiences, and potentially make more money.
6. What had happened to audience leisure patterns that meant 'Fleapit' cinemas lost popularity? Parents were using their money for important priorities so the teen generation had more excess expenditure.They used this money to get a new experience, and to follow social trends.
7. What advantages did Multiplexes offer cinema audiences and film distributors over Fleapits? The film studios owned the multiplexes so they didn't have to transport the film reels. They also offer audiences more things like food.
8. What reasons was cinema attendance low? (Technologies and Audience Leisure Patterns)Because of recession.

Mark Kemode on Multiplexes

No one trusts film critics.
People don't like to hear they are wrong, but miss the good films when they're gone.
Just because people pay to see a film, doesn't mean they enjoyed it. "Make them pay on the way out" Multiplexes don't care about their audience, they think of them like cattle.
Making films 3D is unfair for people who don't want to pay the extra charges for the effect. The distributors, cinemas and studios want 3D to make money, but the audience don't.
People have become dependent on multiplexes, because blockbusters put independent cinemas out of business.

Exhibition considers the films being shown in cinemas.
The main cinemas in the UK are multiplexes and independent cinemas.
There were no multiplexes until 1980.
Multiplexes presented as competition to independent cinemas.
Multiplexes had to exhibit other studios films as well as theirs.
Multiplexes were made to exhibit movies to places who they feared would not see them.
Exhibitors rent films from distributors to show. They decide on what will suit the audience.

Blockbuster comparison

What makes it a blockbuster?
Special effects
Action





What makes it a blockbuster?
Stars
Action




What makes it a blockbuster?
Shark- effects
Soundtrack
One liner
Franchise- novel
Director
Summer blockbuster- Event movie


Although these are all classed as blockbusters they are not the same. Star wars has a lot of effects in it making it expensive and therefore an event movie however The Godfather and Jaws do not include these. The Godfather is classed as a blockbuster because of the stars involved it. Jaws was released in the Summer and also set during the Summer meaning that it was hyped up and turned into an event movie which is why it is a blockbuster. Jaws is also the only film out of the three which has been adapted from a novel.

The merchandising and hype of Jaws resulted in it becoming one of the most grossing film during this time. Jaws also challenged the multiplex as people would not be bothered to pay more money to see it in there as it didn't not include effects, the story is character driven. Where as Star Wars, was made to be a spectacle meaning it gave more of an experience in multiplexes.

The recession left teenagers with disposable income, and therefore increasingly young audiences. This is because parents were using their money to look after their children and pay for essentials.

The American studios who owned the multiplexes only distributed the film reels to their multiplexes, so that people would only go to their cinemas. As if they loaned them to independent cinemas (flea pit) they would lose money.
The directors George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, created their own special effects company so that once their films had been a large success and people began making films like theirs new directors would then come to their company making more profit for them.

Essay plan

Blockbuster Pitch.

The budget to have the amount of stars in this film would be a large sum of the whole budget as they are all well known from friends and also from recent movies. Out of the original friends cast Jennifer Aniston would be seen as the biggest A-Lister, however Paul Rudd has recently been in many films like "This is 40" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". The film would be following a comedy genre, as the programme followed.

 However this would include children targeting the younger audience as well as adults who would've watched friends when it was on air.

The typical villain and hero would not be present in it, challenging the summer blockbuster. But there would still be a conflict between David Schwimmer and Colin Firth.

Although the film does not have a global appeal, the franchise itself is very well known worldwide meaning that it will have a fan base spread across different countries. 

Being a film set in modern day the film would be relatable to todays audience.