Please have a look at the Box Office figures – what do you notice? Review any films you have seen this week

Classical Hollywood Cinema & Production, Distribution & Exhibition

On the white boards write down three things you remember about Classical Hollywood Cinema and the history of film.

Aims To explore the idea of Classical Hollywood Cinema and the studio System To understand the differences and links between CHC and contemporary US cinema To introduce the 3 main aspects of the film industry and their functions. To help you develop note taking skills – what is the key information

Classical Hollywood Cinema is a term used to describe American film production at a certain point in its history – mainly the 1930s and 1940s. It also describes a certain mode of production – a way of making films.

As early as 1910 the US film industry was moving from the East coast to California – specifically a small, undeveloped rural area on the outskirts of Los Angeles called……

Why do you think this happened? In pairs think of three reasons why the film industry moved from East to West?

By the 1930s film had both sound “talkies” and, sometimes, colour. The Jazz Singer Gone With the World

Studios By the 1930s most films were produced by a small number of studios Most of their names are familiar – who do you think they are?

MGM Warner Bros Paramount 20 th Century Fox RKO These were known as the BIG FIVE!

Columbia United Artists Universal These were known as the LITTLE THREE

The BIG FIVE were Vertically Integrated The LITTLE THREE were not

What was the difference?

There are 3 aspects to any industry: Production Distribution Exhibition

There are 3 aspects to any industry: Production Distribution Exhibition

Production Developing an idea Writing a script Employing actors Shooting Post-producing

Distribution Acquires the rights to the film Decides/negotiates a release date Delivers prints to the cinema Provides trailers and publicity material Negotiates promotional and merchandising deals

Exhibition Screens the films

Any company which owns all three aspects of this process is known as Vertically Integrated

The BIG FIVE Production – made the films Distribution – & publicised the films and put them into cinemas because Exhibition – they owned the cinemas

The LITTLE THREE Production – made the films Distribution – & publicised the films and put them into cinemas because Exhibition – they had deals with the cinema companies

Independent Cinema There were some smaller, independent producers but they usually made B movies

The Studios Worked in a very industrial way. Films were made on a “Production Line” with everyone having a specific role and responsibility. Stars were full time employees and had little control over their roles. A director would have little choice about the films he worked on.

Some studios specialised in particular genres…….

Genre Universal made lots of classic horror films like Frankenstein

Warner Bros produces lots of melodramas such as Mildred Pierce

MGM made lots of costume dramas and musicals – their films were often in colour and had high production values

This was clearly an economically sound way of working since everybody in the team would become a specialist on a particular type of film and therefore able to set up equipment efficiently and effectively.

Those setting up lighting could become melodrama, horror or musical specialists and be able to create the desired genre lighting effects with the minimum of direction, thereby saving time and money. The Bride of Frankenstein

This studio system broke down in the 1950s and 1960s when the US government became concerned about the monopoly that the film companies had. The studios were also struggling to survive against a new, exciting form of entertainment

Television!

Today there are still 3 aspects to the film industry: Production Distribution Exhibition

3 Aspects Production – there are still “big name” studios who produce many of the films we watch. Most of the big production companies are still American. Some films are “independent” and are produced outside the studios; they tend to be lower budget, are less star driven & are usually less successful at the box office. UK films are usually made by smaller companies, often set up to just make a single film.

3 Aspects Distribution – some big production companies distribute their own films. They have departments specifically to organise the marketing and promoting, to make trailers & posters and to ensure that their films reach as many cinemas as possible. Some production companies films, generally those making smaller, lower budget films, have to make deals with distribution companies to promote their films and make sure they are available to audiences. Most UK films are distributed in this way.

Distribution Did you see Jurassic World in the summer? It took over £60m in the UK Current global box office is $1,662,897,056

Distribution How did you find out about the film? Can you remember how it was marketed?

Distribution How were other, similar, films released this summer marketed. In groups find examples of the strategies used by distributors to sell their films.

3 Aspects Exhibition – most films are still made for cinema release but other forms of exhibition are increasingly important. These figures are quite old because it has become impossible to track domestic consumption.

Homework Listen to The Business of Showing from Mark Kermode’s The Business of Film. The final Radio 4 programme which covers exhibition. Make notes on page 12 of your booklet