Video Nasty Planning

Practice Question: Multiplexes

What factors led to the decline of town or city centres cinemas in the late 1970s and early 1980s?

Certain factors such as production, distribution and exhibition in the film industry have influenced the decline in town or city centre cinemas which have been influenced by different changes within society which led to an increase in multiplexes on the outskirts of city areas as well as the atmosphere in cinemas becoming more of a social experience rather than going to actually enjoy a film which led to the rise of multiplexes being placed in shopping centres. In terms of technology since visual effects from companies like Industrial, Light and Magic (ILM) were becoming more popular it led to people desiring a spectacle in which they could only get that experience from a multiplex and not in town or city centre cinemas'. Economically, merchandise and marketing made films in a multiplex more profitable since multiplexes were placed in shopping centres which influenced the decreasing popularity of town or city cinemas. In response to these factors blockbusters were being made to fill multiplexes to have more control over films being made and multiplexes were being created to house blockbusters because the film industry realised that this would make a profit because all audiences wanted were style over substance films.

As town or city centre cinema declined in came the rise of the blockbuster and multiplexes. In terms of production, companies were beginning to play more with special effects to create a spectacle and in return, these new effects created hype around films like Jaws turning it in to an event movie, creating the idea of going to a multiplex to be a social experience. An example of directors using new visual effects in their films to create a spectacle is when George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created ILM which was involved in the creation of Star Wars and also influenced the creation of ET in years to follow. As a result of this it has later influenced other film companies to conform to similar production techniques as they new they would get large audiences from films with spectacle over substance. Only multiplexes could house blockbusters because in terms of technology multiplex cinemas had wider screens, as well as better sound and video qualities which town or city centres did not have which led to a decrease in popularity for these 'flea pit' cinema's because they were using older screen technology and could not offer the same viewing experience that multiplexes could.

As the UK were just coming out of a recession most families were still quite tight with money and could not go out to enjoy films in the cinema which meant there was a loss of business for town or city centre cinema's because they could rent a film and get the same experience that they would in a town or city centre cinema. Also piracy was also a huge issue, an example of this is ET, ET was the most pirated film in 1982. Piracy meant that American Hollywood Studios (AHS) were getting less revenue from the blockbusters and they therefore needed something brand new to give audiences or find another way to make their money back. They did this through merchandising. Blockbusters began to only be played in multiplexes and turned blockbusters in to event movies. This led to marketing a film selling merchandise and advertisement to increase revenue and attraction to the film before it is even released. An example of a film which followed this formula of marketing is the Star Wars franchise and the film was only given to Multiplexes as they created a bigger experience than town or city centre cinema with better seating and better sound quality. This hurt town and city centre cinema's as all the films that were making huge amounts of money were only being played in multiplexes which caused town and city centre cinemas to decline.Technological advancements like VHS and VCR meant that people did not need to leave home to watch films, because of this it became fashionable to watch films in your own home. This created an alternative to going to the cinema that was not available before. It would not be before the rise of the multiplex that people started going to see films again. Small town and city centre cinemas lacked the social event status that VHS and VCR provided. However, something to note is that  because of the recession most homes would not have a VHS or VCR because they would not be able to afford one which suggests that this technological advancement may not be the sole factor in the decline of town or city centre cinemas. A contrasting point however is that for the homes that did have a VHS or VCR it would be cheaper to rent a film, than to go out and watch a film in a 'flea pit cinema'.

During the late 70s and early 80s teenagers quickly became the cinemas main audience, they became this because they were economically dependent on their parents, were granted a disposable income and were able to go out socially whilst their parents worked for them. They were attracted to multiplexes which were placed in shopping centers which were where teenagers would interact socially before multiplexes were placed their anyway. This in a sense devalued cinema because it turned it in to a 'shopping experience'. Blockbusters also in return became formulaic to fit what teenagers liked. An example of this is Jaws, Jaws was a violent film which attracted teenagers and it was also based in the summer time in a beach setting which is relatable to things that teenagers like to do socially. Jaws was also released during the Summer time during a time where teenagers would go to the beach as well. This led to the decline in town or city centers because teenage audiences had a big influence on the film industry and multiplexes attracted them more than town or city centers because multiplexes gave them more choice and gave them a new experience in where they interact socially and town or city centers did not deliver the same experience so teenagers did not go there to see their films.

In conclusion there seems to have been a substantial decline in town or city centre cinema in the late 1970's and early 80's which seems to have a correlation with the rise of the blockbuster and the rise of the multiplex. There also seems to be a correlation between the rise of home video and a decline in cinema attendance in town or city centre cinema. These have been influenced by social, economic and technological factors which offered new experiences for cinema audiences and you could only achieve the best experience apparently in multiplexes which pretty much put town or city centers out of business because blockbusters were only being played in multiplexes who were placed in the UK by AHS and multiplexes eventually became an experience for cinema goers, rather than actually going for the film itself, essentially devaluing films and blockbusters began to be created to be place in multiplexes and multiplexes created to house blockbusters.

PDE What factors relate?

Production
-Test screenings
-VFX Studio
-Legal
-Producer and writer
-Artists and designers


Distribution
-Marketing
-Youtube/Vimeo = advertisements
-Web distributor
-Film lab
-DVD retailer
-Merchandising
-Distributor

Exhibition
-Youtube/Vimeo = advertisements
-Web distributor
-Cable/Satellite TV
-DVD retailer
-Film subscription service
-Multiplex cinema

Film practice questions

1. When was the first Multiplex in the UK?
2. What was cinema attendance like in this time? 
3. What films were being played in the new Multiplexes (name and year?)
4. How were these Multiplexes encouraging audiences to go to the cinema?
5. Where are these Multiplexes built instead of the High Street and why?
6. What had happened to audience leisure patterns that meant 'Fleapit' cinemas lost popularity?
7. What advantages did Multiplexes offer cinema audiences and film distributors over Fleapits?
8. What reasons was cinema attendance low? (Technologies and Audience Leisure Patterns)

1) Built in Milton Keynes in 1985.

2) The attendance was declining because we were just coming out of a recession in the UK

3) Star Wars 1977, Jaws 1975 and The Godfather 1972, Saturday Night Fever, Fame.

4)New experience, gave the audience the illusion of more choice, better sound quality and V effects.

5) Shopping centres to attract people, potentially making more money as well as giving audiences an 'all-in-one experiences'

6) Multiplexes gave audiences more choice and had a lot more to offer which pushed independent cinemas aside, causing the public to become dependant on multiplexes for entertainment and a new experience.

7) Distribution costed less for distributors over fleapits and multiplexes had more to offer with merchandise and commercial resources and gave audiences a better experience.

8) The recession, Not developed technology.

Homework: Rise of the multiplex

Lesson 4.3.2: Rise of the multiplex
Watch Mark Kermode videos
What are the arguments about the multiplex?
Treat their audiences as 'cattle'.
Money not going in to paying for Ushers or Projectionists.
Too focused on profit (Raise in 2D film prices).
Compares them to supermarkets (Multiplex) more choice. Put's natural grocers out of business (Art house cinema).
Under Staffed, films are not always projected properly.
What is PDE?
Production - Overseeing and creation of the film
Distribution - The company which sells the film out to cinema's/multiplexes. Includes advertisement/marketing (Toys, games etc). A way of increasing revenue.
Exhibition - Sales/profit made from the film in the cinema.
What is the effect multiplex had or production, distribution and exhibition?
Distributors want 3D in the multiplex.
Production - Bigger films (Stupider films).
Exhibition - People still going to see films but not always enjoying them after.

Mock Question Planning

What social, economic and technological context gave rise to the Blockbuster film from 1975 - 1983? Refer to specific films in your answer.

Planning:

Social:

Due to the long work hours adults had during the 1970's their lives begin to become repetitive and wanted an escape from their regular lives and because they wanted to see something that they hadn't seen before which they couldn't just get from TV and cinema's provided a spectacle in which they could escape from which led to a rise in people actually going to the cinema. (E.T, Star Wars).

Teen audiences began to have a huge influence during 1975 because blockbuster hits attracted huge media attention which drew teenagers to go and see the film in the cinema rather than just pirating them since all the media attention turn't it in to an event movie for example Jaws is seen as one of the first event movies which attracted masses of people because it was something which had never been done in the cinema before.

Multiplexes were also always on the high street which would attract teenagers to create a bigger audience which could explain why the rise of multiplexes had a strong correlation with the increasing number of teenage cinema attenders. Multiplexes also began to appear on motorways because there was more space to build them and could attract a diverse audience.

Technological:

More special affects and technology was very appealing to the public since it created a spectacle and was something in which they hadn't seen before for example Star Wars introduced elements in to films which had not been seen before.

The early 80s caused an increase cinema popularity due to new technologies becoming available to big budget companies which allowed them to create a spectacle to give people a chance to have a brand new experience, like Jaws and Star Wars being two of the very first event movies.

Economic:

Multiplexes were bought in by American companies because they were worried that their films were not being seen by English audiences, English people wanted/expected to see bigger and better films which America provided such as Jaws which is classed as the first blockbuster which is exactly what English people wanted to see which drew them to the cinema. 

Jaws and Star Wars were two of the biggest grossing films during the 70s and 80s which attracted audiences because they had pre existing audiences and news worthy budgets which made people believe that because the the budget was huge the film would be something worth going out to see. (Event Movie)

Star Wars, Jaws and The Godfather

The Godfather (1972)

Had: A Listers
Didn't have: Special Effects
Sets the trend for film franchises.

Jaws (1975)

Had: Well known actors, mixture of story, had merchandise, hype and advertisement (a lot of money).
Didn't have: Simplistic story and lacked in special effects.
Formulaic Films beginning to rise, easier to create than a complex story.

Star Wars (1977)

Had: Special effects, Hype, merchandise advertisement, was formulaic
Didn't Have: A Story (White knight, Dark night)
Significant because it changed  the formula for films.

During the UK recession people did not have jobs, so they could not afford to go to the cinema so instead watched TV. (1970's)
Teenagers had a disposable income from parents which means that they did not have to work and got money from their parents labour.
'The Teenager' Was invented in the 1950s
Cinema attendance was going down in the 70s, blockbusters in the mid 1970's raised attendance again. Saved the industry. Can still be done well. (Inception, Godfather, Jaws, Star Wars) Done in an attempt to get people back to the cinema.
Rise in multiplexes. Invented by America production companies to lure audiences back to the cinema.
Industrial, Light and Magic: George Lucas and Steven Speilberg.

Exam planning

Revision

Creative Artefact Location report

Creative Artifact Planning
Props: Wine glasses, wine bottle, china plates, candle, metal pot.
Costume: Mary (Before the memory loss procedure). - Smart-casual clothing since she is off work and does not need to be in her uniform, she is however wearing the memory loss headgear.
Mary (During the memory loss procedure). - Wearing her uniform this time and the memory loss headgear has disappeared.
Howard - Before and during the procedure he is wearing his work uniform. (Lab Coat, shirt, tie and smart jumper).
Hollis - Only seen during the one of the memories in a photo, she is wearing a cardigan and in a photo smiling next to Howard.
Actors: Emma W, Glenn D and Amanda D.
1st location of setting: Dartford Grammar School, W Hill, Dartford DA1 2HW.
2nd location of setting: 128 Hawley Road, Wilmington DA1 1PT
The use of the second location is mainly for the first part of my script, before Mary begins the memory loss procedure in Howard's office.
Public usage: Usually this setting would be filled with students as I am using a secondary school, however, the school has granted me and my actors permission to use the school to take my key frames after school hours.
Risk Assessment: My actors and I would have to be careful to avoid damage to the china plates and wine glasses as they are fragile and if they break they could harm someone.
They also may harm their selves on the lit candle during the taking of the photos so I will take precautions to avoid any serious danger.
We will be taking the photos near stairs at the second location so their may be a possible trip hazard that I must rectify when I take my 9 key frames.

Possible photos for my 9 Key frames

This photo will be used to show Mary following the man who's face she recognises and he ignores her calls. I will use Photoshop to put my Actors in this photo.

Through green screen I will put my actors in to this picture, and through Photoshop I will make the photo dimly lit and surreal looking to represent a dream state.

This photo is going to represent Howard's office and Mary laying on the sofa in his office, I am going to use either Photoshop or green screen to change the background to match up with the colour pattern of the other photos.

The bed is going to be used for one of Mary's fading memories where Howard and Mary are laying in the bed together.

The table is going to be used for another one of Mary's fading memories where Mary and Howard are having dinner together, I will use Photoshop to make the room darker than it is originally to represent that it is a decaying memory.

Another shot is going to be of a sign of the Dartford Grammar school sign which I will Photoshop to say Lacuna Inc. To make the location obvious.

The shot after will be a shot of Howard and Mary outside of Lacuna Inc. before they go inside for the treatment.

My final shots will be a close up of Mary's distraught face after realizing that she is about to forget about Howard and their relationship the other final shot will be of Howard looking through the closed blue doors that he had shut behind him looking through the window of the door with his face blurred out to show that Mary has forgotten everything about Howard since their first meeting and I will use Photoshop to create this affect and I will make the background around Mary darker with Photoshop also.

Summer Blockbuster pitch

Spectacle: 3D manuever gear, titan powers.
Set piece: Human's hiding in secrecy from titans hiding in skyscraper sized walls. They use the manuever gear to fight the titans.
A listers: James Franco, Tom Felton, Jennifer Lawrence