LiamTigheg322: Film Industry

Popcorn in the Film Industry 10/10/11

A former popcorn seller from Bristol has landed a $10 million (£6.4 mil) to transform his science-fiction screenplay into a Hollywood film.

Stuart Gallop, 31, spent 10 years writing the script for In War They Come, which centres on an alien species that plucks human soldiers from the Earth during major conflicts such as Vietnam to conduct experiments on them. He had previously travelled to the American film market in Los Angeles in the hope of selling his screenplay, but finally found a buyer after taking it to Cannes earlier this year.

Gallop has come a long way from his humble origins as a snack seller at a cinema in Cribbs Causeway, Bristol, 13 years ago, an experience which inspired him to work on his own blockbuster effort.
"I worked there because it was the nearest I could get at the time to being involved in films," he said. "Even just selling people popcorn and seeing what film people were going to see was exciting because I wanted to see their reaction."
"I was worlds away from thinking it was something I could do myself. When I was there, films like Saving Private Ryan were coming out. I remember some of the old veterans who went in to watch it coming out very upset and moved. Films really, really touch people, and I knew that was the sort of thing I wanted to do some day.''
In War They Come is now seeking a director after picking up financial support from a consortium of investors following Gallop's deal with LA-based actor and producer Beau Nelson and producer Kayo Anderson at Cannes. Ironically, the trip to France might never have taken place had the wannabe screenwriter not been made redundant in April from his job as a business analyst and project manager for the student accommodation company United. He now hopes to shoot his Vietnam-set film next year, possibly in Puerto Rico.

23/09/11

Defining The Film Industry 20/9/11

The UK's film industry is part of a constantly evolving creative media landscape.

When we talk about the film industry, we're referring to its six different component parts: Development, Production, Facilities, Distribution, Exhibition and Export.

The nature of the industry means production companies are often set up for a specific production and then close down when production is complete.

So while our latest research shows there are around 400 'permanent' (i.e. registered) companies in the film industry, this figure varies depending on the number of productions being worked on at any one time.

Of the companies existing today, we can say approximately 43% are production, 13% are distribution and the remaining 44% are exhibition companies.

In 2006, the UK film industry contributed £4.3 billion to the UK economy, up from £3.1 billion in 2004.

The UK industry is an independent creator of feature films, a co-production partner and a provider of services to the international film industry.

In 2007, UK production activity was £747 million, making it the fourth highest production year on record. Inward investment productions including Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and indigenous productions such as Brideshead Revisited and How To Lose Friends and Alienate People were just some of the productions made in the UK.

516 films were released across the UK in 2007, a 58% increase over the decade. UK films, including co-productions, accounted for 21% of releases and 29% of the market by value.

In 2007 the UK had the largest number of digital screens in Europe at 296 screens, double the number in 2006.

While it is usually the cinematic release of a film that establishes its reputation, over half the revenues of the industry in the UK come from DVD/video retail and rental.

Film theft was estimated to have reduced the legal UK film market by £404 million in 2007; illegal downloading and copying of films remains one of the major challenges for the industry.

Labour Market Intelligence Digest
Skillset's industry endorsed research programme provides authoritative Labour Market Intelligence (LMI) for the creative media industries throughout the UK.

Film Industry History 19/9/11

The first feature film ever made was The Story of the Kelly Gang, an Australian film based on the infamous Ned Kelly. In 1906 Dan Barry and Charles Tait of Melbourne produced and directed The Story of the Kelly Gang, a silent film that ran continuously for a breathtaking 80 minutes. It was not until 1911 that countries other than Australia began to make feature films. By this time Australia had made 16 full-length feature films.^{[citation needed]}
In the early 1910s, the film industry had fully emerged with D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation. Also in the early 1900s, motion picture production companies from New York and New Jersey started moving to California because of the good weather and longer days. Although electric lights existed at that time, none were powerful enough to adequately expose film; the best source of illumination for movie production was natural sunlight. Besides the moderate, dry climate, they were also drawn to the state because of its open spaces and wide variety of natural scenery.
Another reason was the distance of Southern California from New Jersey, which made it more difficult for Thomas Edison to enforce his motion picture patents. At the time, Edison owned almost all the patents relevant to motion picture production and, in the East, movie producers acting independently of Edison's Motion Picture Patents Company were often sued or enjoined by Edison and his agents. Thus, movie makers working on the West Coast could work independently of Edison's control. If he sent agents to California, word would usually reach Los Angeles before the agents did and the movie makers could escape to nearby Mexico

Film 18/9/11

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects. The process of filmmaking has developed into an art form and industry.
Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful method for educating – or indoctrinating – citizens. The visual elements of cinema give motion pictures a universal power of communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue into the language of the viewer.
Films are made up of a series of individual images called frames. When these images are shown rapidly in succession, a viewer has the illusion that motion is occurring. The viewer cannot see the flickering between frames due to an effect known as persistence of vision, whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Viewers perceive motion due to a psychological effect called beta movement.
The origin of the name "film" comes from the fact that photographic film (also called film stock) has historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for an individual motion picture, including picture, picture show, moving picture, photo-play and flick. A common name for film in the United States is movie, while in Europe the term film is preferred. Additional terms for the field in general include the big screen, the silver screen, the cinema and the movies.