Lecture 2:Lecture 2: The Nuts and Bolts of Getting The Nuts and Bolts of Getting a Movie Before an Audiencea Movie Before an Audience

Professor Michael Green

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Previous LessonPrevious Lesson

• How to succeed in an online course• How this course is organized• What we study in an introductory film

course– Form – Content

• Do the Right Thing

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This Lecture This Lecture • Film as Art

• Film Production

– Preparation

– Shooting

– Assembling

• Film Distribution

• Film Exhibition

• Case Study: Jaws (1975) directed by Steven Spielberg

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Film as ArtFilm as Art

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), directed by Clint Eastwood

Lesson 2: Part I

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How do We Classify Film?How do We Classify Film?

• Is it Art?• Is it Entertainment?• Is it Business?• Can it be all three at once?

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• The authors of your textbook, Bordwell and Thompson, argue that film is at the intersection of art, entertainment and business.

• They remind us that art often comes from popular traditions that were at one time not considered art, such as jazz and even Shakespeare's plays, but that such forms can foster art of high quality.

According to the TextAccording to the Text

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CinemaCinemaBordwell and Thompson consider film an art because it offers filmmakers ways to

design experiences for viewers, and those experiences can be valuable regardless of

their pedigree (whether a film is considered highbrow or lowbrow, made for

commercial purposes, etc). Films for audiences both large and small belong to

that very inclusive art called cinema.

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Form and StyleForm and Style• Art in film, as it is in music or literature, is the result of the application of form and style.• All films have subjects and themes that contribute to the artistic effect, but in themselves these are just raw material.

– For example, there are many movies about serial killers, but the application of form and style makes each one distinctive.

– Because of form and style, The Silence of the Lambs is a much different kind of movie than Friday the 13th, and arguably a much more complex and interesting one.

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Bordwell and ThompsonBordwell and Thompson“It’s through form and style that a movie draws

us into a moment by moment engagement. As a film unfolds in time, it offers a developing

pattern that encourages us to ask why things are happening and to wonder what will happen next. The film engages our vision and hearing, our knowledge of the world, our ideas and our feelings. The filmmaker can create a structured

experience that will involve us keenly and sometimes change the way we think and feel

about our lives.”9

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Patterns in FilmPatterns in Film• A director repeats story information in the

form of dialogue, sounds or images, that helps the audience keep up with the story.

• These patterns in a film are often conventions borrowed from other movies that help viewers interpret the language of film, even if only unconsciously. – The knives in The Shining

– Butterflies/moths in The Silence of the Lambs

– The color red in The Sixth Sense10

Film ProductionFilm Production

Lesson 2: Part II

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Four Phases of ProductionFour Phases of Production

• Scriptwriting and funding• Preparation for filming• Shooting• Assembly

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Scriptwriting and FundingScriptwriting and Funding

• Two roles are central in this phase:– Screenwriter– Producer

• Tasks of the producer are: – Financial– Organizational

• The chief task of the screenwriter is to prepare the screenplay or script.

The Tasks of the ProducerThe Tasks of the Producer

–Nurses the project through the

scriptwriting process

–Obtains financial support

–Arranges to hire the personnel who

will work on the film

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Tasks of the Producer Tasks of the Producer (continued)(continued)

– During shooting, he or she acts as the

liaison between the writer or director and

the company that is financing the film

– Arranges distribution, promotion and

marketing

– Monitor the payback of money invested

in the production

Independent vs. StudioIndependent vs. Studio– An independent producer unearths film

projects and tries to convince production

companies or distributors to finance the

film.

– A producer may work for a distribution

company and generate ideas for films.

– A studio may hire a producer to put

together a particular package.

Kinds of ProducersKinds of Producers

• Executive Producer–Arranges financing/obtains literary property

• Line Producer–Oversees day to day filmmaking

• Associate Producer–Acts as a liaison with labs and technical

personnel

The ScreenwriterThe Screenwriter

Writes the script, which goes through several stages:

• The Treatment– A synopsis of the work

• Drafts of the script– Revisions

• The Shooting Script– The Final Version

Preparation for FilmingPreparation for Filming

Director Christopher Nolan rehearsing Director Christopher Nolan rehearsing Memento (2000) with Guy Pierce(2000) with Guy Pierce

PreproductionPreproduction

– Producer and director set up a Producer and director set up a production office, hire a crew and production office, hire a crew and cast the rolescast the roles

– They prepare a daily schedule based They prepare a daily schedule based on continuity, which is the most on continuity, which is the most convenient order of productionconvenient order of production

– Screenplay revisionsScreenplay revisions– StoryboardsStoryboards

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Preproduction (continued)Preproduction (continued)

– Production designer designs the film’s Production designer designs the film’s settingssettings

– Set decorator/set dresserSet decorator/set dresser– Costume designerCostume designer– Previsualization with computer Previsualization with computer

graphicsgraphics• Episode III: Revenge of the SithEpisode III: Revenge of the Sith

StoryboardsStoryboards

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Shooting the FilmShooting the Film

Clint Eastwood directing Blood Work (2002)

ShootingShooting

Also known as principle

photography

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Director’s CrewDirector’s Crew • Script Supervisor

–Continuity

• First Assistant Director–Plans shooting schedule, sets up shots

• Second Assistant Director–Liaison among the first AD, the camera crew

and the electrician’s crew

• Third Assistant Director–Messenger for director and staff

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Director’s Crew (continued)Director’s Crew (continued)

• Dialogue Coach–Feeds performers their lines

• Second Unit Director–Films stunts, location footage, action

scenes

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Other Aspects of ShootingOther Aspects of Shooting

• Cast/Acting– Director shapes performances

• Visual Effects Unit• Stunts• Animal Wranglers• Camera Operator

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Other Aspects of Shooting Other Aspects of Shooting (continued)(continued)

• Key Grip– Supervises grips who carry and arrange

equipment and props

• Gaffer– Head Electrician

• Boom Operator– Microphones

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Assembling the FilmAssembling the Film

Thelma Schoonmaker, who has edited many of Martin Scorsese’s movies

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PostPostproductionproduction

• Editor– Works with the director to make creative

decisions about how the film footage can best be cut together to tell a story

– The editor’s job can be a huge one

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Post Production TermsPost Production Terms

• Rough Cut– The shots loosely strung in sequence,

without sound effects or music

• Final Cut– The finished film, still without sound

• Outtakes– Unused shots

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SoundSound• The Sound Editor builds the soundtrack,

which is made up of:

– Dialogue

– Sound effects

– Music

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Modes of ProductionModes of Production

• Large Scale Production– Studio Filmmaking

• Warner Brothers, Paramount, Disney

• Exploitation and Independent Production– Small Companies

• Miramax, Focus Films

• Small Scale Production– Personal Filmmaking

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DistributionDistribution

Lesson 2: Part III

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• Bordwell and Thompson refer to

distribution as the “center of power”

• Distribution companies form the core of

economic power in the film industry

• They provide mainstream entertainment

to theaters around the world

What is Distribution?What is Distribution?

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Six Hollywood firm’s remain the world’s largest distributors:

• Warner Brother’s

• Paramount

• Walt Disney/Buena Vista

• Sony/Columbia

• Twentieth Century Fox

• Universal

DistributorsDistributors

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• The major distributors have won such power because large companies can best endure the risks of theatrical moviemaking, which is very expensive

• They also stand to recoup the most profits• Smaller distributors usually distribute

specialty films

Large vs Small DistributionLarge vs Small Distribution

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Ancillary MarketsAncillary Markets

• Home video/DVD• Cable and Broadcast television• Airlines and hotels• Cyberspace/Video on Demand

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ProfitProfit• Ancillary markets are where films make most

of their money, sometimes recouping the losses from a film that did poorly in theatrical release.

• Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery did moderate box office in the theater, but really found its audience on video, paving the way for theatrical sequels, which now had a built in audience.

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MarketingMarketing

• Trailer• Television commercials• Web• Newspapers• Soundtracks• Video games• Merchandising

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ExhibitionExhibition

Lesson 2: Part IV

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Kinds of ExhibitionKinds of Exhibition• Theatrical

– Commercial movie houses– City art centers– Museums– Film Festivals

• Non-theatrical– Home video– Cable– Schools

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TelevisionTelevision

• Television keeps the theatrical market going.

• In 2004 distributors earned about ten billion dollars worldwide from theatrical distribution and about 23 billion from home video.

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JawsJaws

Lesson 2: Part V

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Why Why JawsJaws??

• JawsJaws is a famous production that highlights both is a famous production that highlights both

the problems that arise during the creative the problems that arise during the creative

process of filmmaking as well as the innovation process of filmmaking as well as the innovation

necessary to overcome those problems.necessary to overcome those problems.

• JawsJaws was a watershed moment in the history of was a watershed moment in the history of

film. Along with film. Along with Star WarsStar Wars, it is credited with , it is credited with

ushering in the era of the blockbuster (which we ushering in the era of the blockbuster (which we

are still in). It changed the way that films are are still in). It changed the way that films are

distributed and exhibited.distributed and exhibited.

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The Production of JawsThe Production of Jaws

• Based on a bestseller by Peter Benchley

• Rights acquired by producers Richard

Zanuck and David Brown

• Spielberg tapped as director

– His second feature film after The Sugarland

Express and the TV film Duel

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ProblemsProblems

• The film was pushed into production early

• It was a technical nightmare– The shark almost never worked

• Slow production with a lot of pressure from the studios

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ResultsResults• Jaws became the highest grossing film

ever at that time• Proved the success of “repeater”

business• One of the first films to open “wide” on

many screens at once as opposed to being slowly “rolled out.

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End of Lecture 2End of Lecture 2

Next Lecture: Narrative Structure and Say Anything.