Q1. In the UK film market, an increase in the number of screens available to show films has not led to an increase in the number of films being shown. Why?

Because they show the same films on multiple screens, and there are 'holdovers' of films, films continue to be shown long after release

Q2. In your opinion what might account for the fact that cinema attendances are down over 7 million in between 2004 compared to 2008? Think about the ‘blockbuster’ films that have been released over the last few years. Could it be that the multiplexes have reached ‘blockbuster saturation’?

The price of cinema, the easy access to piracy and the recession are all parts of the . the budgets and takings of the blockbusters are just so much higher than those of other minor movies that the market has become over-populated with massive films coming out every summer and Christmas.

Q3. In 2004, UK film distributors invested £158.5 million in advertising their new releases and £124m was spent on 35mm film prints and trailers (In future years, digital distribution will reduce this cost significantly) If around 450 new films receive a theatrical release in the UK every year. How much, on average, do distributors spend distributing a film in the UK?

£627,777

Q4. This spending stirred up enormous demand - 167.3 million cinema tickets were bought UK in 2004, an average of 14 million per month. This is great news for cinemas – what’s the downside of all this excitement generated and consumer demand for film releases in the UK?

The more successful movies become, the more piracy they encourage. The maths also does not add up, if the public are buying 14 million tickets, that does not cover the cost, so essentially the companies do not always make money

Q5. In the US, the MPAA reported in 2004 that the average cost of releasing a US film domestically had risen to $39m, in addition to the average production cost of $63.8m, making an overall average production/distribution cost per film of $102.8m. What effect might this have on Hollywood production and distribution if these increases continue?

It will be harder for amateurs to enter the business and the money will stay in one place, in the pockets of the same individuals, it will potentially also increase the price of DVDs and cinema tickets.

Q6. Who, in your opinion, are the current most bankable leading actors for the ‘youth’ market in the UK?

Male Actors: Johnny Depp, Will Smith, Denzel Washington and upcoming actors like Daniel Radcliffe and Robert Pattinson
Female Actors: Pretty much all younger actresses in 20s like Keira Knightley, Megan Fox etc

Q7. Go to the site: and find out the top 10 films in the US last year. Then click on each film to find out the total budget. How many made two-and-a-half times their budget? They’re the only ones who made the studios a profit…

Avatar, Transformers 2, Harry Potter, New Moon, Up!, The Hangover, Star Trek, Blind Side, Alvin + Chipmunks 2 and Sherlock Holmes, the Entire top 10 of 2009 made over 2.5 times their budget

Q8. Find some more recent ‘Indiewood’ type films - ones associated with a certain ‘Art house’ feel yet connected to a big Hollywood studio – look up the companies Fox Searchlight, Paramount Vantage, Sony Pictures Classics, and Focus Features. What connects the output of these specialised companies?

They are involved in discovering new talent and with a low budget making a film that will make the company a massive profit. They are trying to discover a new star that their company will be able to sign

Evaluation - of Preliminary Task

What I learnt in my preliminary task:

It can take a long time to film only 48 seconds.

I became more used to using the camera to do what I wanted it to do.

I learnt to understand the Final Cut Express Software

I learnt (the hard way) that I should always check whether the equipment is on...

Things that I like about my preliminary task.

I like the pacing of it, it is quick from shot to shot

I like the acting, it is delivered well

I like the fact that my camera movement is not shaky.

I don't like:

The Background Noise. There is a loud background noise and it elevates between the last two shots.

Some of the shots feel too static, there is not enough movement of camera.

I think that there weren't enough lines for Livie's character, and thus the scene only depended on Jordan's acting.

Perhaps a bit too fast

The titles are unsuited to the movie, but are good.

Films I watched and why I thought they were thrilling

Films. I watched these during the holiday and wrote down some stuff but had no access to internet until now...

Casablanca

Casablanca was released during the Second World War, but still never fails to captivate people of all ages. I believe that Casablanca is as successful as it is for several reasons. The first is the setting both historically and geographically, the themes as well as Romance, Comedy and War, is protest and potentially patriotism. One of the most thrilling aspects is the believable characters like Rick Blaine (played by Humphrey Bogart) and the way they react to the events and surroundings. I believe that the opening scene creates an image of Casablanca, as a rough city. One of my favourite early scenes is one where Rick and Ugarte (played by Peter Lorre) have a long dialogue filled with Ugarte's long-winded efforts to persuade Rick to look after documents that will get him out of Casablanca, whilst Rick provides witty insults and put-downs. Rick's dynamic character is very funny and rarely serious about the quite dangerous situation he is in (only minutes later, Ugarte is chased by the guards and Rick does nothing to save him) his dark humour and questionable sense of morality, make us unsure both at the very opening and the end as to what his actions are going to be, the fact that we cannot predict where the story is going, but we have a set-piece in the plot, these papers. One of the things that really, for me, created a large quantity of tension, was the fact that Rick is very comfortable in Casablanca, Ugarte gives him the papers, knowing that he will not leave Casablanca, as to why he hasn't chosen to leave Casablanca and perhaps even more importantly why he is there in the first place (One of the most crucial parts of the story).

The 39 Steps

This is an even earlier film than Casablanca, a pre-war thriller. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, I believe that this film in some ways is very important in the development of movie techniques. This movie begins effectively with a stage act that we dismiss as just a humourous interlude, the rowdy audience trying to put off the people on stage at the music hall. The dialogue mainly consists of 'cheeky' cockney jokes, but our main character is quite clearly established from the ruckus and mayhem, asking 'How far is it from Winnipeg to Montreal?' Roger Donat stands out from the predominantly working class audience, because he is well-dressed and well-spoken in comparison, we notice him very rapidly despite the fact that he is the quietest man in the room. The tension starts to build when gunshots are heard during a fight and everyone flees and he meets up with a woman who wants to go home with him, she later reveals to him that she is a spy, Hannay doesn't believe her but she is assassinated in the night. One of the things that makes this movie great is the humour delivered mainly through sarcasm and the fact that we are at some points thinking ahead of Hannay, like when the Spy woman tells him not to answer the phone because it is for her, but he is very sarcastic about that. I think that this movie is in many ways one of the big inspirations for the James Bond movies, because Donat's Hannay is very smooth, humourous, womanising and strangely enough seems to enjoy being put in danger.

The Lady Vanishes

Another Alfred Hitchcock movie, many people believe that this is his best film while he was still in Britain, personally I think it is one of the best Hitchcock films I have ever seen. It is both thrilling and humourous. You are introduced to several different groups of people, many of whom are humourous. There are the two main comic characters, Charters and Caldicott (played by the brilliant Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford), a group of glamourous girls including our main character, a mysterious man played by Michael Redgrave and an old lady who seems relatively harmless. The first half-hour introduces to the characters and establishes the potential for romance between the two strong-willed main characters. The real thrill arrives with the disappearance of the old woman whom our main character gets to know on the train. The quantity of characters and reasons for them not to tell her that they know the woman has disappeared are intriguing. The story is clever, the script is quick-paced, funny and thrilling, the direction is perfect and it does not keep to a single genre and takes a more action-filled route at the end. What I think makes this very thrilling is the fact that the movie, is not dated like some old movies, the plot is plausible even nowadays, the girls are still beautiful and the wit is still sharp.

Shots : ELS, LS, Mid Shot, Close up, POV

Movement: Pan, Tilt, Track, Crane and Roll

Positioning: High Angles, Low Angle, Eye-line Match

Lighting: High Key, Low Key, Natural Light, Chiaroscuro, Contrast, Key Light, Back Light, Filler Light.

Sound: Diegetic (dialogue, SFX, Sound from the film), Non-diegetic Sound (Voiceover, Soundtrack) Parallel and contrapuntal

Colour: Use of mirrors, symbolism, contrast, evil women wear red, 

Movie Poster

This poster for Chris Nolan's 'The Dark Knight' is a simple but effective view of a character in the film and his reaction to his surroundings.

The first thing to draw in our eye is the text scrawled by 'the Joker' on the frosted glass in front of the screen, writing on frosted glass is something we associate with mischievous children, that gives us the impression that this character is playful. However the fact that he is writing in blood also gives the impression he is a killer, these 2 images combined show a man who plays human life.

To add to the disturbing images conjured up, he is writing 'Why so serious?' and in addition a smile drawn where his mouth is. This man is drawing with blood very close to where the camera is taking the picture, the seriousness that is not apparent to him is the fact that we know very little about him and his manner is very alien and threatening, this man clearly takes everything too far.

His relationship with his surroundings is shown not just by his urge to deface the glass but also by the towering city in the background which is faded and misty in comparison to his bold and dark shape, he blights the landscape of the city as if posing a great danger to it. The logo 'The Dark Knight' emblazoned on the Batman symbol makes up only a small portion of the screen overshadowed by the looming threat of 'the Joker'. I chose this poster because it really makes makes you want to see the movie because this picture is so frosted you can't see this man, you know nothing about him, but from one look you know this man is evil that is why this poster is very effective

Things that I have learnt

• The names of the Camera shots and what each one looks like
• I learnt about the different camera movements
• I have learnt how to use Final Cut Express
• I learnt how to film on location
• I learnt how to find free non-copyrighted music 
• I found out uses for www.IMDB.com
•  I learnt about the amount of effort and money taken to produce a film. A film like 'Last King of Scotland' had 7 or 8 production companies.

Practical: The Arrival

Things that I have learnt :

Battery Charging.

How to balance the Tripod.

Where to put the camera for shots

How to think up ideas, such as plot etc.

How to persuade people that they want to be in our film.

Continuity.

We were given the title, The Arrival and we had to think up ideas, we quickly came to the conclusion that were going to have a plot involving a package or body-bag, but we thought about the body bag and concluded it would be quite difficult to get a body bag, so we decided on the smuggling of a package into school grounds and to the headmaster's office, the