1. Filmmaking Technologies and Production Systems
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Filmmaking Technologies and Production Systems

2. The Whole Equation
Moviemaking is, above all, a moneymaking enterprise.
Moviemaking is a collaborative enterprise.

3. Film Technology: An Overview
Analog medium
Three stages – shooting, processing, projecting
Format – gauge, or width, of the film stock; its perforations; and the shape and size of the image we see on the screen

4. Figure 11.1 The Motion-Picture Camera

5. Figure 11.2: Standard Film Gauges

6. Film Stock: An Overview
Format – measured in millimeters
Film stock length – the number of feet (or meters) or reels for a particular film
Film stock speed – the degree of light-sensitivity
Exposure – the length of time the film is exposed to light
Resolution – the capacity to provide fine detail in an image

7. Video Technology Video image consists of pixels (picture elements)
Low picture quality compared to film
Video’s strengths – cheap stock and no processing
Used in amateur filmmaking and low-budget documentary productions

8. Digital Technology
An electronic process that creates images though a numbered system of pixels stored on a flash card or computer hard drive
More versatile, easier, and cheaper to use than film
Uses less light than film, requires no processing, easily duplicated
Involves an electronic process that creates its images through a numbered system of pixels

9. Film vs. Digital
Film stock is a physical thing; digital is virtual representation
Computer-manipulated digital requires no lab processing
Film has a particular aesthetic – film grain, depth of color and shadow
The key factor for a digital conversion is economic

10. Film vs. Digital: Economics
Digital distribution is cost-effective compared with film distribution
The threat of pirating digital formats remains the same as film
Hollywood has used digital systems to produce less than 1 percent of movies released
Virtually 100 percent of all feature films are digitally edited

11. How a Movie Is Made: Preproduction
Filmmakers develop an idea or obtain a script
Arrange the financing
Begin discussions with key people responsible for design, photography, music, and sound
Rewriting, scheduling, rehearsals with cast and crew
Overall, can take one to two years

12. How a Movie Is Made: Production
Shooting can last six weeks to several months, or more
Director designs the shooting script, sets schedule
Director does rehearsals and blocking, filming and watching dailies
Number and type of shots dictates number of crew

13. How a Movie Is Made: Postproduction
Editing – visual images and sound
Preparing the final print
Marketing and distribution

14. The History of Hollywood in Three Periods
The Studio System
The Independent System
Combined System – today’s current model

15. The Studio System before 1931
Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC) (1908–1915)
Hollywood, California, attracted filmmakers
Studios dominated by central producers (moguls)
Central-producer system valued quantity over quality

16. The Studio System after 1931
Producer-unit system
Each studio had its own organizational system
Created an industry that favored standardization and created a “look”
Established a collaborative, industrial mode of production

17. The Golden Age (1940s)
Majors / Minors / “B” studios / Independent producers
Majors: Paramount, MGM, Warner Bros., 20th Century-Fox, RKO
Minors: Universal, Columbia, United Artists
B Studios: Republic Pictures, Monogram Productions, Grand National Films, Producers Releasing Corporation, and Eagle-Lion Films
Studios were vertically integrated companies
Producers dominated the studio system

18. Table 11.1: Structure of the Studio System until 1950.

19. The Actual, Physical Studios: “Dream Factories”
Studios were high-walled industrial complexes with guarded gates
MGM covered more than 117 acres, had 10 miles of paved streets, and 137 totally self-contained buildings
29 air-conditioned, soundproofed sound stages, some having almost an acre of floor space
MGM produced an average of 50 full-length features and 100 shorts a year, employing nearly 5,000 people

20. Decline of the Studio System (1950s)
Federal government actions signaled a change in studio business
Studios reorganized producer-unit systems
Shift in the relations between top management and creative personnel
World War II
The rise of television

21. Table 11.2: Feature Films Produced and Released in the United States 1936–1951

22. The Independent System
1930s–1940s: The package-unit system
Role of the independent producer
Producer’s team – may include an executive producer, line producer, and associate and assistant producers.
Allows for more creative innovation
Total cost / Creative financing of salaries

23. Labor and Unions Studio Basic Agreement (1926)
Screen Actors Guild (1933)
Management and labor carry out the three phases of moviemaking

24. Professional Organizations and Standardization
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (1916)
American Society of Cinematographers (1918)
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1927)
American Cinema Editors (1950)

25. Financing in the Industry
Vertically integrated studio system – direct or indirect costs
No rule governs the arranging of financing
Independent system – above-the-line (30%) or below-the-line (70%) costs
Accounting practices for films can be highly creative

26. Marketing and Distribution
Answer prints are screened for test audiences and focus groups
Independent producers have various distribution options
Professionals are in charge of advertising, distribution, exhibition
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) – ratings system

27. MPAA Movie-Rating System
G – General Audience
PG – Parental Guidance Suggested
PG-13 – Parents Strongly Cautioned
R – Restricted
NC-17 – No One 17 and Under Admitted

28. Table 11.5 MPAA Movie-Rating System

29. Production in Hollywood Today
Mixture of studio system (radically different than in “golden age”) and independent production companies
No studio “system”; few truly independent producers
Major studios define the nature of U.S. movie production
Independent producers distribute through the “big six”

30. Major Studios and Owners
20th Century Fox (News Corporation)
Warner Bros. Pictures (Time Warner Inc.)
Sony Pictures (Sony Corporation of America)
Universal Studios (NBC Universal)
Walt Disney Pictures (Walt Disney Pictures)
Paramount (Viacom Inc.)

31. Table 11.7 Production and Distribution Data for 2011 Oscar Nominees for Best Picture

32. 3-D Movies: Gimmick or Trend of the Future?
Not a new process; experimented with since 1900s
38 3-D features in 2011, including films by Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Francis Ford Coppola
Converting nondigital screens costs about $70,000 each
Even with recent successes, it’s still an open question whether 3-D movies are here to stay

33. Foreign Influences on Hollywood Films
In 2011, foreign ticket sales accounted for 68% of the global film market, up 10% in 10 years
To enhance appeal to global market:
Collaboration with local (foreign) producers
Hire more foreign actors in blockbusters
Rewrite scripts to enhance global appeal
Focus on action films that are by far the most successful

34. Maverick Producers and Directors
Mavericks refuse to conform to the accepted way of making movies
Producers: Scott Rudin, Jerry Bruckheimer, Brian Grazer
Directors: John Sayles, Robert Rodriguez, Mel Gibson
Other Notable Mavericks: George Lucas, Spike Lee, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese

35. Review
1. Today, what is the average cost to produce and market a Hollywood film?
a. $25 million
b. $50 million
c. $100 million
d. $150 million
ANS: c REF: The Whole Equation, Ch. 11, p. 484

36. Review 2. Which is NOT a filmmaking technology? a. film b. video
c. analog
d. digital
ANS: c REF: Film, Video, and Digital Technologies, Ch. 11, p. 486

37. Review
3. In the old studio system, the film budget consisted of which two categories?
a. Above-the-line costs, below-the-line costs
b. Production costs, postproduction costs
c. Direct costs, indirect costs
d. Overhead costs, underhead costs
ANS: c REF: Financing in the Industry, Ch. 11, p. 507

38. Review
4. Which of the following organizations is in charge of the Oscars?
a. Motion Picture Association of America
b. Motion Picture Patents Company
c. Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
d. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
ANS: d REF: The Independent System, Ch. 11, p. 505

39. Review
5. In filmmaking today, major studios account for what percentage of gross income?
a. 15%
b. 50%
c. 80%
d. 95%
ANS: c REF: Production in Hollywood Today, Ch. 11, p. 514