Web207: Topic 1.2: Film

Notes from this week's lecture and readings:

• Lord Of The Rings was the first franchise which promoted via the web. Actor Ian McKellen started a blog during production which quickly became very popular as did the largest fan site The One Ring.net
• The Blair Witch Project was the first film to be a fake documentary style. It's website portrayed it as fact. It's budget was a mere $35,000 but it's success was due to the viral spreadable notions of web dissemination
• Four Eyed Monsters was an art house film released on YouTube - the first full feature film to be released this way. Producers struck a deal with Spout.com to receive $1.00 per play and they made all their money back and more!
• Paranormal Activity only cost $15,000 to make but made $193 million in sales Dreamworks picked up the rights and were going to re-make it, however for one reason or another they didn't, and the fan interest was huge
• The movie 'Monsters' released in 2010 consisted of only 3 crew and 2 actors. All special effects were done on a home computer
• The Matrix was based on a combination of comics, manga, cyberpunk, film noir, Buddhism, Christianity and Sci Fi
• 13,000 films are screened at film festivals each year, but only 500 receive theatrical distribution (Tryon, 2009)
• The use of digital media has expanded the sense of who can get involved in film making and distribution. Instead of indi films being confined to city centres – DIY filmmakers can reach larger audiences via social media  (Tryon, 2009)
• For the devoted fan of a particular star, director or series, there is no such thing as enough. Fans may provide extensive publicity, however they can also leak information onto the Internet. Some fans are prepared to spend time and money on inaccessible material (Thompson, 2008)
• Hollywood's acceptance of fan-generated publicity is uneven. Even though New Line, Sony and Warner Bros are receptive to fan sites – others are not, ie, DreamWorks and Universal. As Hollywood discovers the value of such publicity,  more studios will undoubtedly figure out how to ensure security without quashing fan enthusiasm (Thompson, 2008).

Reflection:

Even though anybody with a home computer is capable of making movies - it still takes a lot of money, superior audio and visual equipment and marketing to make money in the film industry...especially if you want them to be blockbusters.

References:
Thompson, K. (2008). Click To View Trailer. In The Frodo Franchise: The Lord Of The Rings And Modern Hollywood. (1st ed., pp. 133-164). University of California Press.

Tryon, C. (2009). Desktop Productions: Digital Distribution and Public Film Cultures. In Re-inventing Cinema: Movies In The Age Of Media Convergence, (pp. 93-124). Rutgers University Press.