The British FIlm industry part 3 questions

Question 1 Why do you think 3D takings went down when the number and variety of 3D films increased in 2011?

There are a number of reasons why 3D takings have gone down. The first is that the “hype” around 3D films has dissipated. When 3D first came out, it was a huge novelty. However now 3D films are very common and not as desirable as they were before as the experience is only marginally different than that of a 2D film.

The other reason that 3D takings may have gone down is that they are more expensive to produce in comparison to a 2D film. And due to these 3D films not making great money as people don’t mind what they watch, the film producers decide to make 2D films instead, thus decreasing the variety.

Question 2 Where do you think these films end up being shown?

In terms of 3d films, they are shown almost everywhere. Buying 3d film reels is now common place as they are widely available. They are shown in many small theatres as they can charge a higher price for the 3d film ticket, thus they can make a larger amount of money for a reasonable cost.

Question 3 Why do you think there are more people going to the cinema mid-week? Who are more likely to attend the cinema outside of opening weekends?

Many people find that the opening weekend is very hectic; there is a very high demand for tickets and those who prefer comfort and space may not wish to buy tickets for the opening weekend. So when all the ‘hype’ about the latest film has subsided, many people go during the week.

I feel those who are ‘middle-aged’ will prefer to attend the cinema outside of opening weekends. This is mainly because teenagers as an audience are reasonably unperturbed by a small amount of discomfort and stress affecting their movie experience and thus they go on the opening weekend.

Question 4 Why do you think there has been a decline in dvd sales in the last few years?

I feel one of the main reasons for this is the digital film market. Over the past few years, digital film providers and piracy has rocketed with the technological age. Thus people don’t bother to go out and buy hard copies when they can download a film permanently to a hard-drive which can hold more films and takes up less space. Thus Dvd’s are now becoming slightly redundant.

Question 5 Summarise what has remained the same about the Uk film market over the last ten years and what has changed dramatically?

Generally, admissions to UK cinemas have stayed the same over the last 10 years. Even though digital film streaming and downloading has increased dramatically, it is clear that there is still a huge demand for the cinema experience.

Question 6 How does film production in the UK seem to be very different from the Hollywood model of large, powerful studios?

I think one of the main differences is budget; These large, powerful Hollywood studios usually have a very large budget and thus they can afford to use lots of special effects, props and different “artificial” sets. Where as in the UK the budget is a lot smaller overall creating a different style of film. It is less “glossy” and becomes more realistic. The films tend to be about real life situations rather than apocalyptic doomsday’s where the humble hero must save the day.

Question 7 What is the benefit to a film producer of their film being branded as British? What is it about “Britishness” that is attractive to investors from outside the UK? What is it about “Britishness” that makes it easy for Hollywood studios to dominate our film market?*

One benfit is Tax Breaks. If an outside producer is able to class their film as British, then they are liable for 20% less tax. This means the producer can make 20% more money on the film and gain a larger net profit once a smaller amount of tax has been deducted.

Question 8 How many of these films could be considered as British films? How many of them are coproductions where the majority of the money leaves the country? What does this say about the scale of the UK film market?

In my opinion I would say that 10 of the films listed could be considered British.

These include: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, The inbetweeners movie, The King's Speech,Sherlock Holmes a game of shadows, Johnny English Reborn, Paul, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Horrid Henry the Movie, Hugo and The Three Musketeers could be considered British Films.

Of these 10 films, There are 7 co-productions where the majority of the money made has left the country. This tells us that the scale of the UK film market is much smaller than that of America. Admittedly this is true for a number of reasons; America is geographically much larger than the UK and has a much larger population. Thus it has to cater to a larger more varied audience causing the film market to be larger.