Steadicam

Halloween (1978) was one of the earliest films to use Steadicam the first was Rocky (1976). The opening Point Of View sequence, which is seen from Michael Myers' point of view as he stalks through the house to kill his sister, was shot using a Steadicam.

Where Does The Price Of My Movie Ticket Go?

Investors And Filmmakers 30% - The people who paid to make the film need to be repaid. Investors in the movie for profit will want to be "first out", meaning they get paid before any other investors. Major filmstars and directors can also claim a percentage of the box office. This can be as much as 20% for a Tom Cruise or Peter Jackson.

Distributor 50% - For major blockbusters the movie distributor can demand as much as 50% of the price of the ticket, but this can be more like 25-28% for smaller films. They get the largest portion as they have put the largest investment into the film. As a rule of thumb a film must make 3 times its budget to cover its full production, distribution and advertising costs.

Cinema 20% - the portion of the ticket price given to the cinema showing the film is relatively small. This is why your popcorn cost so much (consessions); its how they make thier money.

Genre And Audience Quote

I found a good quote about genre and audience that you might want to use in your essays.

"Every movie is unique, so one can't learn much about what will capture an audience. And just when you think you have it down, tastes change or something new comes along and the old formula comes crashing down....there really is nothing that is predictable, not costs, not performance value and certainly not revenue. Genre means nothing; rating has only a small effect on porbabilities...stars only change the odds slightly and at high cost."

DeVANY, A.S., (2004). Epilogue: Can You Manage A Business When "Nobody Knows Anything"?, Hollywood Economics: How Extreme Uncertainty Shapes The Film Industry, Routledge, p.267

Key Tracking Assessment

KTA1:

1. Pick one of the following genres:

• Science Fiction
• Horror
• High-School Teen Movie

2. Make a list of the genre’s generic elements, i.e.

• Typical Style
• Mise-en-scène : iconography, props, set design, lighting, temporal and geographic location, costume, shot types, camera angles, special effects,
• Editing : Fast paced, slow paced, etc,
• Typical Sound Design : types of dialogue, music, sound effects, etc.).
• Typical Narrative Structure (plots, historical setting, set pieces).
• Themes (the underlying messages, ideas, concepts the film deals with).
• Generic Types, i.e. typical character types (do typical male/female roles exist, archetypes?).
• Typical Studios, i.e. certain film studios are associated with particular genres.
• Typical Personnel (directors, producers, actors, stars, auteurs etc.).

3. Make a list of key film text from that genre.

KTA2:

1. Watch a sci-fi, horror or high school teen movie and identify its stages of equilibrium, disequilibrium and return to a new equilibrium.
2. Identify your own example of a genre film which pastiches another media text.
3. Identify your own example of a genre film, which parodies another media text.

KTA3:

Choose a Horror, Sci-Fi or High School Teen movie and analyse it in terms of how it reflects the key themes associated with its genre.

KTA4:

What elements of these posters (Star Wars: Clone Wars, Juno, Diary Of The Dead - see handouts and blog for images) allow you to identify the film’s genre?

KTA5:

Answer the following exam question: "Generic conventions provide a basic structure, but that is all. Every film is unique." Discuss this view. [45 marks]

KTA6:

Answer the following exam question: Explain how and why certain films combine the conventions of more than one genre. [45 marks]

KTA7:

Answer the following exam question: Discuss how and why film genres change over a period of time. [45 marks]

Essay Help

I have uploaded a folder onto Moodle containing essay plans, lists of useful quotes and past exam questions.


I have also made added a list of all the Key Tracking Assessment (i.e. your homwork tasks) and put them on Moodle.

Remakes Of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers

• Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956) - The Original, Dir. Don Seigel, (Themes - conformity, communism, HUAC).
• Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978) - Dir. Philip Kaufman, (Themes - urban alienation, enviromentalism,).
• Bodysnatchers (1993) - Dir. Abel Ferrara, (Themes - socio-moral collapse of the US, adolescence, loss of innocence, darkening of the American Dream, break-up of the family).
• The Faculty (1998) - Dir. Robert Rodriguez (teen horror, set in a highschool, Themes - conformity v. individuality, cliques).
• The Invasion (2007). - Dir. Oliver Hirschbiegel (Themes - the state of the world today, post 9/11 paranioa, disease (e.g. Bird Flu, SARS, AIDS etc.) but generally politically confused.)

Key Tracking Assessment 5

Answer the following exam question: 9. "Generic conventions provide a basic structure, but that is all. Every film is unique." Discuss this view. [45 marks]

2735 Media Issues And Debates Thursday 12th June 2008. Section B - Film: The Concept Of Genre In Film.

To help you write this essay, I have uploaded a folder onto Moodle containing essay plans, lists of useful quotes and past exam questions.