Production Contexts

Hollywood

Hollywood is an area in California, Los Angeles that is famous for film production. The ‘Motion Pictures Patent Company had control over the films process by making sure film makers only used ‘Edison's’ equipment or stock from people that were part of his trust. Eastman Kodak was part of this trust but in 1911 Eastman Kodak modified his contract so he could sell raw film stock. From the late 1920’s to early 1940’s America’s cinema was produced by the Hollywood Studio system, by a number of entrepreneurs including Warner Brothers, Louis B. Mayer, William Fox, Carl Laemmle and Adolph Zukor began building the Hollywood system in the 1920’s. These Hollywood studios began owning their own cinemas towards the end of the 1920’s. This meant studios could produce and distribute their own films. They would also use a term called ‘Block Bookings’ to distribute their films to other cinemas.

This period of film making between 1920’s to late 1940’s was know as Classic Hollywood. With the ‘Golden’ age being between 1930 and 1948. There were eight major studio’s five of them who were fully integrated conglomerates- Fox Film Corporation, Loew’s Incorporated, Paramount Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures and Warner Brothers. This meant they had ownership of a production studio, distribution division, theater chain and contracts with actors and filmmaking personnel. Classic Hollywood introduced the star system. Big names meant more money from viewers. Actors and Actresses including Ava Gardner and Rita Hayworth brought the viewers to the theatres. This meant stars were signed to a contract to one particular studio, some contracts running for seven years. The studio had the rights to the stars. This meant they could loan them out to other studios if they desired.

In 1948 the Hollywood Studio system was brought to an end. A court ruling meant studios could no longer produce, exhibit and distribute their own films. After the 1960’s came ‘New’ Hollywood, filmmakers were more adventurous with their story telling. This was because the studios were losing money and audiences were becoming interested in the growing film industries in Europe and Japan. Films like Easy Rider and Bonnie and Clyde helped to bring money back into Hollywood studios.

Hollywood today has more than a dozen studios in Los Angeles, but these studios no longer make films they make film deals. The introduction of TV also meant Hollywood moved into creating TV studios. This loosened the grip of the major film studios on the production of films; meaning independent producers had the opportunity to grow. They would work on a film at a time basis and would look to the major studios for finance and distribution; this then gives the rights to the major studios.

Hollywood studios are still able to distribute their films so well because their:

•      Using well known stars
•      Using well known directors
•      Choosing storylines they know are going to sell

Bollywood

Bollywood is the Mumbai-Based- Hindi- Language film Industry in India

It is the largest film producer in India, but is also considered to be the largest film production centers in the world. Bollywood aims to release around a 1000 movies a year, which is twice the amount of Hollywood. The golden age for Bollywood movies was from the late 1940’s to the 1960’s. They produced films that the working class could relate too.

In the 1970’s commercial cinema grew, as the film finance corporation were not seen as doing enough. This then led to Bollywood overtaking America as the world’s largest film producer. The 2000s have seen Bollywood’s worldwide popularity continue to grow which has improved the quality; cinematography and technical advances in post e.g. special effects and animation. They began influencing musicals in the western world and brought back an interest into the musical film genre. Moulin Rouge is said to have been inspired by Bollywood musicals.

Bollywood studios are funded by:

• Private Distributors
• Large Studios
• Indian banks and Financial Institutions
• Illegitimate sources

Studios are mainly just shooting spaces but some are beginning to fund movies like Hollywood studios. Bollywood films are often funded on the basis of star cast, story and the director’s reputation. Anyone in India with a large sum of money and the right contacts can fund a film. Most banks stay away from the risk factor of making films, which is why there are so many illegitimate sources or they use, other finance/capital markets i.e. real estate, jewelry making, construction. Distributors help with funding Bollywood movies. They tend to pay 30-40 percent of a contracted amount during production and the remainder on delivery of prints. When distributing Bollywood films they tend to be released in major Indian cities and highly populated south Asian communities like North America, UK and East Africa first. This means for the smaller parts of India and less populated Asian countries it takes longer for the films to reach their cinemas.

An issue that can cause this is piracy, piracy is a huge issue within Bollywood, as films can take so long to get to certain areas viewers are resulting in watching pirate copies. This means Bollywood are losing out on money. Piracy has also become a big issue in all areas of film but it affects Bollywood the most. Bollywood also has a Star system like Hollywood. Famous names help sell the movie. The idea of the Bollywood style of film is slowly moving into British mainstream cinema with films like Slumdog Millionaire and Bride and Prejudice. The only problem with Bollywood films is that they are massively influenced by Hollywood and over do it with the visual effects.

British

The first moving pictures to be developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park in 1889 by William Freise Greene. In the 1920’s British films were losing out to upcoming Hollywood, dropping the amount of British films viewed in Britain dramatically.  The problem with British cinema was that it could not stay up to date and would get behind on technology. This made British people want to see American films. In 1927 Parliament brought in the Cinematographers Trade Bill, designed to ensure there was a guaranteed home market for British made films. This meant that a minimum of 5% of the total number of movies shown had to be home produced, rising to 20% by 1936. The result was more movies, but the majority being of very poor quality.

This did lead to lots of young directors having the chance to make films, and helped Alfred Hitchcock become one of Britain's influential young directors.

In 1940’s the Second World War helped with movie making in the UK. Even though many of the employees were being engaged in war work, available manpower was reduced to one third and half of the studio space was available. Only sixty films were produced annually.

New realism in wartime pictures and a demand for documentaries gave a whole new look to British films. Initially, many cinemas closed down for fear of air raids, but the public needed a way of escaping the reality of war, and turned to the more gentle versions available in the cinema. what makes a British film is that:

•      A company that is registered, centrally managed and  controlled in the UK must produce it.
•      It is produced and directed by someone from the UK.
•      It has a UK cast.

What makes it different to an independent film is how it is funded. A variety of factors can affect a movie and production context is one of these. Whether a film is from Hollywood, Bollywood or Britain there is certain aspects and qualities a film has that the audience can link to the production context.

For example:

•       Technologies of Production
•       Distribution and Exhibition
•       Trends
•       Genres and Cycles
•       Stars

The Relationship Between Audiences and Films

Active Spectatorship

Active spectatorship is when the audiences actively gets involved with determining the meaning of something they are being shown. Meaning the film spectator is an active participant in the reconstruction of meaning, for example when having seen of similar genres to next time knowing what to expect from that genre. Other areas within the relationship can help influence the meaning that is created. For example if you have an experience such as if you have been paintballing, and you watch a film about paintballing, your then getting actively involved due to knowing how you feeling and emotions of doing so, such as being shot you know it hurts, then they get shot in the film, you know how it feels. Ultimately we look for familiar patterns to make sense of a new situation.

Pleasure

Pleasure is simply the audience delights in what the film offers and they get pleasure from it. For example when you watch dog soldiers which is a horror film you get the feeling of empathy towards the characters, knowing thank god its not you being hunted and eaten by giant werewolves, also the pleasure at the end of the film for example when the house explodes and knowing the werewolves are all dead.

Frameworks of Interpretation

Framework of interpretation means the logical, social, or cultural frames of reference that a critic applies to a film in order to create there own meaning.

For examples if there is a social situation you can relate to, you can create an interpretation from that relating it to your own experiences.

Media Literacy

Media literacy is when you use your media knowledge and ability to access, enjoy, interpret, analyse, produce and evaluate messages in all varieties and combinations of print, visual, and digital formats. For example a media student is going to get more out of a film and understand the how and why better than someone who doesn’t have any media knowledge.

Intersexuality

Intersexuality is the process by which one film refers either explicitly or implicitly to another, it doesn’t matter if it is on purpose or not. For example marvels the avengers; throughout the film the avengers are trying to retrieve a cube, which originally came from the film captain America.

Preferred Readings

Preferred readings are what the filmmaker intends the audience to derive from a film. However sometimes this is not always possible because the meanings are not always clear.

Effects

Visual effects are now expected by the audience to be seen in a blockbuster. This relationship has developed and changed over the years and has now become very important because audiences want to see the biggest explosions, the best CGI and now they want it all in 3D.

Fandom

This is the term for fans and what they can do to express and share their appreciation for their favourite, comic books, TV, films, etc. For example the new film ‘man of steel’ has an official fan websites, an events fan made Websites, and fan comic websites.

Social Networking

Social networking is a big way to promote a new film. It’s a place dedicated people-communicating, critiquing and recommending with other members, by posting messages, photos, etc. for example les miserable, had their own fan page on Facebook and many of the actors/actresses during the production tweeted to their thousands of followers.

Interactivity

Interactivity is when the audience gets actively involved with the stories content. On a DVD menu sometimes you can choose between different endings. For examples ‘paranormal activity’ DVD menu lets you choose different ways for the person to be killed at the end of the film.

Pre-Post Viewing Experiences

Pre-post viewing experiences are the most important things to consider when making a film, TV program, etc. its the experience an audience has before for example the trailers have to be eye catching and make the audience want to go watch it, if their were any previous films or if you are a fan of a particular actor etc. and also it is the after of the film, so the all in all experience and opinion on the film you have just watched.

Conditions of Reception

How and where the film is being viewed is very important because it can have a different affect on you in different circumstances, for example if you watch a film at the cinema with a giant screen, sweets, the smell of popcorn, surround sound, the whole atmosphere is completely different to if you just watch at home on a 30 inch TV. 

Hush

What is the genre of Hush?

I think that the film hush is a horror due to the style and conventions that used that would usually be shown in a horror. The lighting throughout the film is dark the film was set at nighttime however it thought the film had a s slight blue tint to it, this blue tint is often used in horror films due to it back the film seem deep and cold. In the film hush the narrative is not like resident evil or dog soldiers, it has a realistic narrative and what happens in the film about the girl being taken by a man who traffics women actually happens in real life, so I think that the fact that this narrative is made from events that really happens makes it that much more scary and it effects people on a different level. The difference in setting between Hush and Resident Evil means that the films have to use different styles to scare people, in Resident Evil they can use gore and violence to scare people. on the other hand Hush used relatable  emotions such as loss and never seeing someone again and the fear of never seeing the face of your horrors. 

What production context does Hush fit into?

Hush is an Independent film. All the actors/actresses in the film are British with British accents. Hush is an independent film, to be considered independent less then half the films finances can come from a major studio. Hush was funded by film 4, UK film council, EM media, etc. Independent/Indie films are feature films that are produced mostly outside of a major studio. Independent films can be funded anyway, you can fund your own independent film it is the distribution part which is key to getting your film out there.

Were there any stars involved in Hush?

There was one star in the film hush; his name is William Ash who played the main character Zakes. Independent films are advised to get at least one star to be casted into the movie, most well-known independant films do have a star in the cast. It’s to help with securing distribution. If there is somebody in the film that audiences can identify there is more chance of making money off the movie because people would want to watch the film due to that person being in it, however William Ash would only be recognised in england. William has been in many films and TV shows such as: Waterloo Road, Mad about Mambo and Until Death, where he played along side Jean Claude Van Damme. another person in hush is Christine Bottemley who plays Beth, Christine has been in mostly TV series, for examp: Silent Witness, Night Out etc.

How did the narrative, dialogue, characters and location relate to the production context?

Like I said before the narrative is something that is realistic and does happen in Britain. The language and slang used in this film such as ‘piss off’ is a very British swears word that Americans wouldn’t normally say. The policeman in the film was a typical English policeman whom was referred to as a “copper” which is another British slang.  I noticed that the policeman in the film wasn’t armed, whereas in a Hollywood film all the policemen would be armed. In one of the scenes in hush the set was a little cottage which Britain is notorious for, the scene was when Zakes needed a phone and ended up on a little farm at a cottage where an old farmer couple was found with there sheep dog, all theses facts leading to a representative British location.

Resident Evil

What is the genre of Resident Evil?

I think that the genre for resident evil is both si-fi and horror. The reason is that it could be a horror is because of the dark lighting, tension building music, camera angles and especially the zombies. There is a point in the film where an axe is being dragged along the floor and the sound effect is a loud screechy sound that makes you feel uneasy and uncomfortable. The reason why I think this film is a si-fi is because of the science labs, scientists conducting experiments and the whole imaginary world and characters that aren’t real.

What production context does Resident Evil fit into?

The production context that the resident evil fits into is Hollywood. This is because of the big budget for the film which a total of $33,000,000. Also another fact to show that resident evil is from a Hollywood production context is that the film originally originated from a series of American games. The recourses that were provided and effects used were of a very high standard, especially compared to a Bollywood film. Another reason is that all the actors/actresses in this film were all American.

Were there any stars involved in Resident Evil?

There were well-known actors/actresses in resident evil, for example: the main actresses Milla Jovovich who plays alice has been in many other films such as, Faces in the Croud, Bringing up Bobby etc. Also another well-known actress is Michelle Rodriguez who was in Fast & Furious and Avatar; Colin Salmon who was is James Bond and now currently starring in Arrow; and Eric Mabius who played a role in Ugly Betty. Resident evil has purposely used well-known Hollywood actors/actresses because they are recognized, which means it gives the film more of a promotion and more people will want t see the film because the film has the stars in it.

How did the narrative, dialogue, characters and location relate to the production context?

I think that the fact that all the actors/actresses being American and having American accents, obviously shows that this film is a Hollywood film. I think that the American soldiers and the weapons also show that resident evil fits into the Hollywood production context.  The location looked very detailed and high tech this also reflects the high budget the film had. I think that the narrative of the film, which is about a deadly virus making everyone a zombie, is a typical over the top American si-fi horror production.

How did the technology used relate to the production context?

I think that resident evil is the best looking and most impressive film compared to dog soldiers which was released at the same time and 1920: evil returns which was released in 2012. Hollywood’s CGI and special effects looks more real; however in dog soldiers the warewolves which were men dressed in costumes rather than visual effects, due to the movement and acting i think it made it seem more believable. Nevertheless the dogs in resident evil which were created by CGI were much more realistic than “Dog Soldiers” – which was also released at the same time as resident evil.  It shows that Hollywood had better, more up to date technology. Also I think that compared to 1920 Hollywood knew when an affect should be used and when it is over used.

1920: Evil Returns

What is the genre of 1920: Evil Returns?

I think that the genre for 1920: evil returns was more of a horror than anything else however there was a bit of romance within the film. The reason I believe the film is a horror is because of the sharp tension building music and loud sound effects making the film eerie and jumpy to the audience and also and the film in general had a dark feel to it due to the camera shots being used. Also any film that has people being possessed just shouts horror straight away. The reason I believe the film could also be a romance is because of the main characters falling in love and typically the damsel in distress. Not many horror films also have a romantic narrative; this is why Bollywood can be compared to either British or Hollywood horror films because of how different there conventions are.

What production context does 1920 fit into?

The production context that 1920: evil returns fits into is Bollywood, the reason for this is first because of the low budget they spent on the film which in US dollars was $166,284. I thought that even though the special effects looked decent they were used at an inappropriate time therefore making it look over the top and tacky. Also I thought the acting was terrible and over the top cheesy especially compared to Hollywood and British films. Another reason I believe that this film fits into the Bollywood production context is because of the religious views such as when the male and female actors/actresses were together in a hotel room the male walked out instead of any romantic action that would usually be expected in a Hollywood and British film, this is probably due to there strict religion.

Were there any stars involved in 1920?

1920: evil returns did attract some well-known Bollywood actors/actresses such as Aftab Shivdasani who has been and stared in more than 40 well-known Bollywood films, for example: Daddy cool, Join the fun, Aloo chat etc. The fact that this film uses recognizable Bollywood actors/actresses shows that this would be a top Bollywood film and due to the well-know actors/actresses they would get more publicity and more people wanting to see the film due to these celebrities being in it.

How did the narrative, dialogue, characters and location relate to the production context?

Like I said before you don’t really get a romantic horror film in Hollywood or a British film, which shows how unique a Bollywood film is. I think that very slowly British culture is being pushed and used in Bollywood film, for example in 1920: evil returns the location was set in a big stately home, similar to downtown abbey which is very British with a forest nearby. Also in a typical Bollywood film no matter what situation the characters were in they would always burst into song.

How did the technology used relate to the production context?

I thought that 1920 had fairly good special effects however they were never used appropriately and always seemed to be over the top. I think they could have been a lot more resistant, and also I think that Bollywood seem to think that the more effects the better the film will be which isn’t correct.

Relationships between Producers and Audiences

Les Misérables

Advertising:

There were many different sources of advertising that Les Misérables used to promote their new film. Advertising such as trailer on all certain TV channels that would be relatable to their target audience, large posters of main characters; many of these posters would be on billboards or bus stops, some of the actors/actresses of directors would go on popular talk shows; such as the Graham Norton Show and the Jonathon Ross Show. Also Les Misérables advertised at the Queens Theatre in London where Les Misérables is shown and you can see on IMDB that is you look at a particular film you enjoy for example; Dream Girls, it suggests other films that you make also like, Les Misérables is one of those options. Social networking is a very good way of advertising mainly because it’s free but also because it advertises through the word of mouth, others recommendation is usually the best way to get your film seen. Some of the Actors were tweeting during the production to keep fans up to date to get them excited; Russell Crowe confirmed on Twitter that he had finishing filming and furthermore on Facebook, the first look at the trailer was released on their official Facebook page.

Cast:

Due to Les Misérables having an A-list cast made people want to go and watch the film. The cast included Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Helena Bonham Carter, Amender Seyfried, Sacha Baren Cohen and many more. Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway sang a teaser at the academy awards, and as soon as people saw that, they wanted to hear them and see them sing more.

Reviews:

Mostly out of all of the reviews that Les Misérables had gotten were positive for example:

•  It was amazing. If I could I would watch it every day forever all day. Anne Hathaway deserves a medal or two. – aaaa

•  Hugh Jackman is the best thing in this movie. All I kept thinking is he deserves an Oscar. When the movie started, I found it weird at first, but I don't know when the transition happened. This movie takes you from your seat into an emotional journey, well produced and acted. Everyone sing with me: do you hear the people sing, Lost in the valley of the night? It is the music of a people, who are climbing to the light. - Laura Bsm

•  Seen this film this afternoon it was brilliant and Hugh Jackman really should get an Oscar, Russell Crowe was very good too, as was the rest of the supporting cast. I particularly liked Samantha Barks as Eponine. If you like a good cry go see it! - Kommon Sense

Source (The Daily Mail)

Getting positive reviews ensures Les Misérables getting more people coming to watch the film. More than anything, professional opinion and recommendation plays a very big part went trying to promote a film and with having 99% of those reviews being good reviews then people will believe them and want to see for themselves.

Awards:

	Award	For	Who/what
Won	AFI Award	Movie of the Year	Les Misérables
Won	Oscar	Best Achievement	Hair and make-up
Won	Oscar	Best Achievement	Sound Mixing
Won	Oscar	Best Performance supporting actress	Anne Hathaway
Won	AFCA	Best Supporting Actress	Anne Hathaway
Won	BAFTA	Best Achievement	Make-Up/Hair
Won	BAFTA	Best Achievement	Production Design
Won	BAFTA	Best Achievement	Sound
Won	BAFTA	Best Supporting Actress	Anne Hathaway
Won	Critic’s Choice Award	Best Supporting Actress	Anne Hathaway
Won	COFCA Award	Best Supporting Actress	Anne Hathaway
Won	C.A.S. Awards	Outstanding Achievement in	Sound Mixing
Won	Empire Award	Best Female Newcomer	Samantha Barks
Won	FFCC Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Anne Hathaway
Won	Golden Globe	Best Motion Picture	Musical
Won	Golden Globe	Best Performance by an Actor	Hugh Jackmam
Won	Golden Globe	Best Performance by an Actress	Anne Hathaway
Won	Golden Trailer	Best Music	I Dreamed A Dream

They won many more than that, awards are also a brilliant way of advertising for example if two film came out at the same time, both in which has been nominated an Oscar for best film, and only one won it then you’re going to choose the film that won the Oscar.

Premier

Premiers are a great way to promote the film and for fans to get picture and autographs. Premiers are a way of the

countries having a big event; some premiers go over the top to promote such as for the premier shark tale, the cast turned up on giant blown up sharks that were being pulled by a boat onto the beach were the event was taken place. For Les Misérables, they had two premiers, one in London and one in New York. Anne Hathaway told everyone at the London premier that she would sing a song, however she didn’t but even doing something like that could advertise the film for example someone could be angry that she didn’t sing, tweet saying Anne Hathaway at Les Misérables premier said she would sing, what a lying bitch! But this would be seen but loads of people, a way of advertising through social networking.

Target audience

I think that the target audience for Les Misérables could possibly be couples due to the romance, certainly fans of the musical will want to see the film or even just fans of musicals will want to see the film, maybe they targeted woman over Men because of the music and the romance. Also i think that families could be target but I think that there is advantage and disadvantages because firstly the front cover is of a child, there are children in the film and the music will attract children because they will want to sing and dance along however the narrative isn’t a happy narrative until the end, the child on the front cover doesn’t look happy and within the film there are certain things a child should see such as prostitution and war.