Film Industry: factsheet 132 & factsheet 100

Factsheet 132

1) A film is British if it is made in Britain, funded by Britain, has British characters, made by British and has to have a subject matter that shows the British culture.

2)

• Hollywood production context: Most films made by Hollywood studios have high budgets, a heavy reliance on celebrities both in cats and crew and spectacle driven stories.
• British film production context: Large budget high concept, eg: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows and Skyfall. However, they can also be character driven or small budget films such as 'Kill List' or 'This Is England'. They have recurring characteristics which are reflected in movies like 'The Kings Speech'- British culture.

3) The James Bond franchise started in 1962- Dr No, it is still present now.

4) The 1970s saw a rise in British Films of sexual content, both the act of sex and sex linked to violence in films like 'A Clockwork Orange' coming under a lot of scrutiny. The 1980s saw a rise in videos and the 'video nasty's scare where filmmaking was becoming more accessible and more extreme content was being created and finding its way to Britain. And so continual evolution of film censorship and classification in this country has happened since the 1980s that sees all films released in the UK to have one of 7, maybe 8, classifications awarded to it.

5) Youth is one group that the British Film represent. In the 1950s, the subject youth youths became a topic of increasing importance and from the 1950s onwards and has seen an change in some areas of the representation as well as a persistent consistency in the way some films portray younger people. For example, Eden Lake. Also, in Attack the Block shows a more realistic portrayal of youth challenges the stereotype of the threat or the rebel.

6) The factsheet suggests that the audience appeal of British film may be the British culture or lifestyle presented through film so it's easier for audiences to understand.


Factsheet 100

1) The Cultural test is divided in 4 section: Cultural context, Cultural contribution, Cultural hubs and Cultural practitioners,and you must get at least 16/31 to be classified as a British Film.

2) Their budgets

• Attack The Block: - 13 million 
• The King's Speech: - 15,000,000
• We Need To Talk About Kevin:- 7,000,000 
• Skyfall:- 200,000,000

3) The main problem for the British Film industry is that it has been production led rather than distributed led. This means that movies are made but, in order for them to be exhibited the filmmakers have to sacrifice the distribution rights by selling the film to a distributing company.

4) The strengths of the British Film industry:

• Outstanding creative skills of practitioners:
  Directors like Richard Curtis have made films, such as Love
  Actually (2003), which have grossed billions of dollars worldwide
  and intellectual property, such as J. K Rowling’s Harry Potter
  books, have also enabled British film production companies to
  be involved in the production of financially successful franchises.
• Outstanding facilities:
  British studios, camera companies and digital post-production
  houses all attract investment from filmmakers around the world,
  especially the USA.

5) The two options are:

• British filmmakers could choose to rely upon co-productions with American studios to keep the industry afloat.
• Make low budget films targeted at a niche and British audience.

6) In my opinion, I believe that British filmmakers should rely on co-productions with American studios to an extent. This way they can keep their industry afloat and make high quality productions. However, if you make low budget films targeted at a niche audience, you are able to maintain the British culture that they want to reflect in movies.