The British Film Industry 30 Questions

 

The British Film Industry 30 Questions

What % of global box office was the British film industry responsible for?

The British Film Institute said UK film releases took £3.45bn in 2012 which is a 15.3% share of the world market.

What was this % in 2009?

The British Film Institute said UK film owned 6.8% share of the world market.

What might this change indicate about British film?

This change presents that British films are becoming more dominated within the film production box office as proven in a double change since 2009.

What films have been responsible for this change?

The higher market share in 2011 can be partially attributed to the success of the final Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, and Oscar-winning hit The King's Speech

What % of the British film industry makes a profit?

According to the figures revealed by the British Film Institute (BFI) only 7% of films made in the UK turn over a profit.  

What % of Hollywood films makes a profit?

Greengrass told the BBC that 17% of higher budget films are profitability in Hollywood.

How does that % differ between £2m and £10m budget British films?

4%

What might we infer from this difference?

This indicates that film production at box office dropped

Which age group makes up the largest % of UK cinema goers?

The age group that most frequently visits the cinema is 25 – 39 year olds which is a 24% of the cinema viewers according to 2012 figures 

 

 

 

 

Why do you think this might be?

This is the age where people are often in secure employment and are willing to spend their disposable income on leisure activities.

Which 'type' of film has seen an 18% drop in attendance?

The type of film which has seen a drop in attendance is 3D within the UK as shown on the BBC website - A total of 43 3D films were released, down from 47 in 2011, but the figures continue a slight downward trend.

Within that 'type' which genre has seen the biggest fall?

Mr Stolze on the BBC website said that the big family films have seen the biggest fall - "On the big family films there seems to be a lower proportion of people opting to choose 3D. There were very successful films like Madagascar 3 and Brave, and only about a third of their total revenue came from 3D ticket sales."

What did Charles Grant put this decline down to?

Film reviewer Charles Gant said the 3D attendance at films like Madagascar 3 and Brave could be down to families' need to economize, and that prices mounted when the 3D premium is taken into account alongside the need for several tickets and parking.

Who is Paul Greengrass?

Paul is a director, writer and producer; he started his filmmaking career with a super 8 camera he found in his art room in secondary school. Those short movies were animation horror films he made using old dolls, artist dummies, and the general art room clutter. He has directed the Bourne Ultimatum, Captain Phillips and The Bourne Supremacy.

How did he describe the British film industry?

Speaking at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), he described the British film industry as a "success story" and predicted it would continue to see international growth; especially in China. Greengrass told the BBC on Sunday night the 17% figure for higher budget films was approximately the same rate of profitability as Hollywood.

What did a BFI spokesperson say was the point of less profitable low budget British films?

"tiny budget films that, while commercial success is always hoped for, are successful and beneficial to the industry for other reasons like skills and training development and for artistic and cultural importance"

What was the budget for Filth and how much money did it take?

BUDGET: $5,000,000 (estimated)

BOX OFFICE: £247,860 (UK) (29 September 2013) (38 Screens)

What advantage did James McEvoy feel £100m films have over low budget films?

"An independent film managed to get people to come and see it without a studio and without hundreds of millions of dollars of advertising money. That's remarkable - it means British film can do it on its own." "He said $100m (£61m) movies that "sometimes aren't very good" had an advantage over smaller films because they had a massive budget to sell the film."

What is VOD?

Video on Demand

What % increase did VOD see last year?

50% Increase

What impact might VOD have on distributers and Studios?

"Maybe VOD [video-on-demand] is going to change everything because the distributor and the studio might become less important."

What impact has it had on Blockbuster rental stores?

It has forced the company to go bust because everybody nowadays uses VOD which means that nobody uses the video shops anymore.

What was unique about Ben Wheatleys 'A Field in England'?

In July this year, Ben Wheatley's film A Field in England was the first UK film to be released simultaneously in cinemas, on DVD, on TV and through video-on-demand. Wheatley's "psychedelic trip", set during the English Civil War, took more than £21,000 at the box office on the same weekend it was available free of charge on Film 4. It also sold more then 2,000 copies on DVD over the same period. The film was made on a modest budget of £300,000.

What does director of The Machine Caradog James think is the toughest part of film making?

"The toughest thing is you make a good film but can you get it to reach an audience? It's events like this and individuals who champion independent cinema that give us a profile and any chance of a mass audience."

Why have rules been relaxed on what makes a film 'British'?

Anna Mansi (the BFI's head of certification) told the BBC "This puts us on a level playing field with our creative content tests and other European culture tests, the increase in visual effects points will also be very beneficial to the effects industry."

 How has the use of visual effects in films been encouraged?

Alex Hope of visual effects company Double Negative said he was "delighted" with the tax changes, hoping foreign productions filming in the UK would hire British effects companies rather than taking the work back overseas. "Today's measures target productions that would not otherwise qualify for tax relief and incentive them to bring VFX or production business to the UK," he said.

Name five of these rules and link them to The Kings Speech, Kill List, The World's End, Film set in the UK - all three films are set in different parts of the UK.

Lead characters British citizens or residents - the main characters are all of British descent (Colin Firth - The King's Speech, Simon Pegg - The World's End, Neil Maskell - Kill List). Film based on British subject matter or underlying material - The King's Speech is about our English monarchy, The World's End is about traditional English pubs in a traditional English town (with a twist), and Kill List is about two hitmen in the North, traditionally this can be seen as quite an American subject matter however the strong dialect and British twist to the film makes it qualify as this. Original dialogue recorded mainly in English language - all the films were filmed in English. Represents/reflects diverse British culture, heritage or creativity - The King's Speech is more upper class society, The World's End is more middle class and Kill List is working class.

What rules has chancellor George Osbourne announced for tax on British films?

"George Osborne also announced tax relief would be increased from 20% to 25% on the first £20m of qualifying production expenditure. Productions will also only have to spend 10% of their budgets on UK expenditure to qualify - down from 25% - to help more independent production companies and make the UK a more attractive co-production partner. Mr Osborne will also announced a £5m investment in the National Film and Television School's Digital Village, to create a training centre for the UK's digital and creative industries."

What is the highest grossing film in UK box office history?

Skyfall (To date, the 23rd Bond adventure has earned £94.3m in the UK, beating the previous record holder, Avatar, which grossed £94m in 11 months).

How much has it taken and how many screens was it available on?

£20,180,369 (UK) (28 October 2012)(587 Screens)

Megan Fox & Armani Underwear + Jeans Advert

Kelly Brooks & Lynx Apollo Advert (0.04 - 0.25)

The Male Gaze

The Male Gaze

Marjorie Ferguson - 

Chocolate Box: the Chocolate Box expression, is described as a half or full smile, with the lips together or slightly parted, and the face full or three-quarters to camera. The projected mood aims to be soft and sweet, not too hot or cold, where the uniformity of the woman’s features in their smooth perfection (like the surface of a chocolate) is more important than her quirks or individuality.

Invitational: emphasis on the eyes, mouth shut or with only a hint of a smile, head to one side or looking back to camera. This is suggestive of mischief or mystery, the hint of contact potential rather than sexual promise, the cover equivalent of advertising’s soft sell.

Super-smiler: full face, wide open toothy smile, head thrust forward or chin thrown back, hair often wind-blown. This reveals an aggressive, ‘look-at-me’ demanding, the hard sell, ‘big come-on’ approach.

Romantic or Sexual: a fourth and more general classification devised to include male and female ‘two-somes’; or the dreamy, heavy-lidded, unsmiling big-heads, or the overtly sensual or sexual. This presents the person as possibly available and definitely available.

Trevor Millum - 

Seductive: similar to the cool/level look in many respects - the eyes are less wide, perhaps shaded, the expression is less reserved but still self-sufficient and confident; milder versions may include a slight smile.

Carefree: nymph like, active, healthy, gay, vibrant, outdoor girl; long unrestrained outward-flowing hair, more outward-going than the above, often smiling or grinning.

Practical: concentrating, engaged on the business in hand, mouth closed eyes object-directed, sometimes a slight frown; hair often short or tied back.

Comic: deliberately ridiculous, exaggerated, acting the fool, pulling faces for the benefit of a real or imaginary audience, sometimes close to a sort of archness.

Catalogue: a neutral look as of a dummy, artificial, wax like  features may be in any position, but most likely to be with eyes open wide and a smile, but the look remains vacant and empty; personality has been removed.

Dredd 2012 Presentation Script

Dredd Research Script

 Chloe:

The film was directed by Pete Travis who has directed films such as Vantage Point, Omagh and Endgame. DNA Films (who has done films such as 28 Days Later and the History Boys) produced the film with IM Global (who has done films such as Safe, Insidious and many upcoming films).  Dredd was distributed by Entertainment Film Distributers and Lionsgate. The film got the green light on 20th December 2008.

The cast includes Karl Urban (who plays Dredd) fromm Star Trek and The Bourne Supremacy,  Olivia Thirlby (Anderson) who has been in Juno and No Strings Attached and finally Lena Headley (Ma-ma) who has been in 300 and the Game of Thrones series.

The film received positive reviews from critics. The film had an average rating of 6.5 on the review website Rotten Tomato’s. IGN awarded the film eight out of ten and said, "Dredd is a character study, primarily, one fuelled by violence and action, and we can't think of a better way to re-introduce this character to cinema audiences.” The Guardian's Phelim O'Neill scored the film 4 stars out of 5 and praised Urban's performance, saying, "The essence of Dredd is that he is almost an anti-character—he doesn't change or learn—and Urban nails it in an ego-free performance".

The script for Dredd was written by Alex Garland who began writing in 2006. Garlands draft mainly revolved around one of Dredd’s main enemies called Judge Death. When developing the Judge Dredd character, Garland tried to closely follow what he was like in the comic-books, so he would only have small personality changes over a lengthy period of time.

Will:

A viral advertising site called “Dredd Report” was launched in august 2012. The site consisted of a video showing the use of Slo-Mo and links to news about the film. A tie-in comic book was published on the 5th of September and it is a prequel to the film's narrative and follows Ma-Ma's life as a prostitute. Posters for the film were released shortly after. Reports say that Lionsgate contributed $25 million to advertising and print costs.

Dredd won an Empire Award for best 3D and was nominated for best British film and best science fiction/fantasy film. They also won a Golden Trailer Award for Best Thriller TV Spot for the trailer.

The problem was that the 3D and 2D showings at cinema's were that there wasnt enough showings of them in the UK, so therefore people couldnt find places to watch the film at certain times or even find any showings of the film, as there was report in a review of the film that in some cinemas the film was only showed once so often. I think that Dredd did not have good success because they narrowed down the target audience too much and the sci-fi feel to it would not appeal to a lot of people. I also think that people may have thought that it was too simple and straight forward because the plot was easy to predict.

Jack:

The film was shot digitally and primarily in 3D using RED MX and Phantom Flex high-speed cameras. Some 2D elements were converted to 3D in post-production. Mega-City One’s high rise towers were created in Cape Town Film Studios.

Paul Leonard-Morgan used electronic music and 80’-style synthesisers and modern sounds to create various combinations of music. He said, "I was looking to create a timeless score which couldn't be placed in any particular era. So it's ended up being a cross between a modern dance track and evocative soundscapes." For scenes showing the effect of the Slo-Mo narcotic, he composed new music with real instruments and then slowed the songs down by thousands of percent. The film also includes songs from artists such as Vitalic, Matt Berry and Bobby Womack.

Chloe: 

I throughly enjoyed watching the whole film of Dredd. It was full of action and excitement with a very grown up yet thrilling persecutive to the cartoon comic judge Dredd. The film had a very gripping and understandable storyline that grow on me as it went through the film, but at the start i wasn't too sure how it would end or how it would all come together as it took a while for it to really get into the story line and become full of action. The only fault was that it ended too quickly and quietly, needed more fight and excitement at the ending of killing 'mama' she died to easily and quickly, despite that all in all was a thrilling and brilliant film to watch full of action and excitement despite its low budget and high loss, i enjoyed the film and will be watching it again.

Will: 

Although the film and its helmeted main character are straightforward and simple, it actually works better because it is easier to understand and is more realistic. The day-in-the-life style plotis a good way to introduce Judge Dredd and Mega City One and the film mostly avoids doing anything really annoying or irrelivant. I also liked the fact that Judge Dredd is not given a back story and is instead portrayed as the mysterious man with no name and that he never removes his helmet (just like the comics. I also appreciated that this version of Dredd is more hardcore and extremely violent whereas the 1995 version of Dredd was very feeble and comic.

Jack: 

Sci-Fi movies are not usually in my favor, meaning I don’t really like them. But action films; action films are my biggest interest when it comes to relaxing and watching a good movie. Dredd is a sci-fi and action genre film which means I could love it or hate it. As it happens I loved Dredd, the idea of the slow-mo drug in the film really gives the chance for the producer and directors to show slow, detailed scenes which you don’t get to see in some other films. These scenes are the parts such as gun shots and the detail when it hits the bad guys and you see everything that happens like the skin exploding and blood flying around. This brought a realistic feeling to the film not like in most films where it generally looks like fake killing and blood.

DREDD (2012) Research

Dredd (2012) Research

The film Dredd was directed by Pete Travis, Pete has also directed the films: Vantage Point, Omagh and Endgame.

The cast included the stars: Karl Urban (Star trek, Star Trek: Into Darkness, The Bourne Supremacy), Olivia Thirlby (Juno, No Strings Attached and The Darkest Hour) and Lena Headley (300, The Purge and The Game of Thrones)

The Producer(s) of the film Dredd was the producing company DNA Films (28 Days Later & The History Boys + many others) and IM Global (Safe, Insidious and many upcoming films in 2014 such as Sleeping With Other People)

The Distributors of the film Dredd was Entertainment Film Distributors who have also distributed the films Saw ll and Wedding crashers. The other Distributor of Dredd was Lions Gate Entertainment who have also distributed the films The Expendables 1 + 2 and Keith Lemon: The Film.

The film Dredd had an estimated budget of $35,000,000 before production but there were reports that an extra $25 million was spent by Lionsgate on marketing. They then only managed to receive a gross profit of $13,401,683 and below half of this being in the opening weekend $6,278,491.

The writer of Dredd (2012) was Alex Garland. Garland began writing Dredd in 2006 during post-production of Sunshine and completed his first draft during filming of 28 Weeks Later. Alex Garland has also written the film scripts: 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Never Let Me Go. Alex Garland has also taken part in the writing of video games for PS3 and Xbox like: Enslaved, Odyssey to the West and the writing of novels such as The Beach and The Coma.

In August 2012, the viral advertising site "Dredd Report" was launched, satirizing the Drudge Report. The site featured a video condemning the use of Slo-Mo, and links to news about the film. A tie-in comic book was published; its plot serves as a prequel to the film's narrative and follows Ma-Ma's life as a prostitute, controlled by her pimp Lester Grimes. An exclusive film poster featuring artwork by Jock was released by Mondo to promote the film's appearance at the 2012. The film Dredd was awarded the Golden Trailer Award for the Best Thriller TV Spot. There were reports the indicated that Lionsgate contributed an extra $25 million to advertising & printing costs. 

The film Dredd received the Green Light for production on December 20^th 2008. DNA Films, the movie production company behind such films as Danny Boyle's Sunshine and 28 Weeks Later, announced Judge Dredd will go into production in 2009 and Jason Kingsley, CEO and Creative Director said, "We can't give away too many details at this point, but we're looking forward to working with DNA Films to bring Judge Dredd back to the big screen."

Many people suggest the reason why Dredd was not as successful as other ‘Hero’ films is due to the being a Mid-Budget production. Others believe that the marketing via Lionsgate was only on the hook for the cost of prints and marketing for Dredd, so they may not have had the financial incentive to push the film hard enough. Others seem to believe that is wasn’t much of a remake of Sylvester Stallone Judge Dredd movie. Another reason spoke about is the lack of mainstream appeal. This may be proof, once again, that a movie needs to do more than appeal to the Comic Con crowd, to make money. Dredd was a love letter to fans of the comic, but never quite spoke to fans of generic action movies or Nolan's Batman films. Finally the R rating, this was the over-the-top violence in Dredd that was one of the best parts of the film according to some audience, but the comic has always been aimed at the smart 13-year-old. You could easily imagine a PG-13 Judge Dredd movie that would convey the violence and lunacy without quite so much gore and aiming it again at this market for example using Marvel would have made more ‘gross’ as a result.

The film was filmed in 3D using RED MX, SI2K and Phantom Flex high-speed cameras. Multiple camera rigs were used for this. Some 2D elements were converted to 3D in the post production of Dredd. The filmmakers wanted Dredd to have a realistic, visceral look and drew inspiration from crime and gangster films. For scenes conveying the time and space altering effects of Slo-Mo, Mantle aimed to create images that would be beautiful but disorienting. The film was then later released on the 14^th January in the UK; it was released in 2D and 3D versions on DVD and Blu-ray and a 2D version on Digital Download.

There were many tie-ins to the film released, the soundtracks by Jubilee (Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around) which was written by Bobby Womack was released by ABKCO Music, Incorporated. There have also been the original Judge Dredd comics/magazines which have been released since 1977, and then a new edition was released in 2012 giving a brief of the 2012 Dredd film which was being released.  There has also many toys and other merchandise released such as: clothing, tattoos, and toys of the vehicles & characters. These pieces of merchandise have been released since the original Judge Dredd. 

Review of Dredd (2012)

Review of Dredd (2012)

The film Dredd was produced by DNA Films and IM Global and the director was Pete Travis. The main stars of the film were Karl Urban (Who plays ‘Judge Dredd’ in the film) Olivia Thirlby (Who plays ‘Anderson’ in the film) and Lena Headley (Who plays ‘Ma-Ma’ in the film). These are all actors who have played characters in a similar role during other films. The film was released in UK cinemas on the 7^th September 2012. It was then released on DVD later on after being in the cinemas. I watched this film on DVD on the 28^th September 2013.

The film Dredd is an Action/Sci-Fi, the story line is as follows: The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lays Mega City One - a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called "Judges" who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge - a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of "Slo-Mo" experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed. During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson, a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation. A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture - a 200 storey vertical slum controlled by prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma and her ruthless clan. The Storyline is taken from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1343727/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 .

How I felt about the film? Sci-Fi movies are not usually in my favor, meaning I don’t really like them. But action films; action films are my biggest interest when it comes to relaxing and watching a good movie. Dredd is a sci-fi and action genre film which means I could love it or hate it. As if happens I loved Dredd, the idea of the slow-mo drug in the film really gives the chance for the producer and directors to show slow, detailed scenes which you don’t get to see in some other films. These scenes are the parts such as gun shots and the detail when it hits the bad guys and you see everything that happens like the skin exploding and blood flying around. This brought a realistic feeling to the film not like in most films where it generally looks like fake killing and blood. The violence also brought a quick solution to what type of person and world Judge Dredd was living in, such as the skinning of people by the villains then throwing these skinned people from massive heights. Currently I don’t feel like I have any negative feelings towards the movie Dredd but can see from other peoples prospective of not liking it due to the violence, but the film was rated an 18, so this automatically means there is disturbing scenes so they shouldn’t watch it.

I would recommend any Sci-Fi fans to watch this movie because it gives an impression of what our future world could look like and I would recommend Action fans to pretend they didn’t notice it was a Sci-Fi and watch it because the Action overpowers what Sci-Fi you’re seeing in the film. I would also advise people who have a fear of blood to watch a different film, not Dredd!

By Jack Green 

AS Media Studies Summer Work - Monsters University & Rosie Webster

As Media Induction by jackg165