Abstract
This report will discuss the varied, ever changing film industry with a motive of seeking a career path in the industry. Based upon primary and secondary research and first hand experiences of interviewed professionals from the industry, the job role and career path as a director will be explored. Considering economic, social and technological factors, film industry’s future trend will be assessed.
Key Aspects of Filmmaking
The film industry is largely a combination of institutions that educate about filmmaking and its allied areas, organizations, production companies, professionals with various skill sets like acting, screenplay, script writing, directing, etc. One common activity is making movies or motion pictures. Following are a list of key aspects of filmmaking.
- Story, Screenplay and Dialogue: Story is the basic skeleton or framework of a movie. Stories/ scripts are those single or multiple ideas, which are expanded into a logical sequence. Hence, a story with spontaneous flow and logic is the base foundation. Screenplay is the art of weaving a story virtually. It is how the story is showcased. Hooking and compelling screenplays are very essential to make the movie a blockbuster hit. Dialogues add dimensions to the story. Dialogue delivery is therefore, a major aspect. Despite of a good story, screenplay and other elements, if the dialogue delivery is not appropriate and impacting, the movie will be ruined.
- Director: Director is the head of the film crew. What is produced on screens is the imagination and creativity of a director. She/he must be technically strong and very clear about what they require from other departments. The director is like captain of the ship.
- Production Values: Money is the fuel required to make a movie. Producers provide money; hence they are the owners of the movie. A clever producer can make proper use of resources and get great results out of it. As Walt Disney once quoted, “We don’t make movies to make money; we make money to make movies.” (Walt Disney)
- Cinematography: Camera usage, focusing, framing and composition are what cinematography is all about. Camera acts as a medium of connection between the screen and audience. Therefore, a clever and strategic use of the camera can work wonders on screen. Lack of effective cinematography tends the script to lose its life and brilliance.
- Music, Dubbing, Re-recording: Another important aspect of filmmaking is the sound. Well-fitting background music is very essential to give a scene its intended feel and takes the film to the next level. Sound supports and elevates the movie largely.
- Editing: Editor holds an important role of making the movie crisp and effective. A movie with a good story may also not be a blockbuster hit because it had too many details that hindered the story flow. A film director must have good knowledge about how a movie editing works. If not aware, the movie will end up a nightmare with many inconsistencies and disturbing mistakes.
- Lighting: Lighting enhances the characters on screen. Insufficient or inappropriate lighting can spoil the feel and effect of the scene. Improper lighting will sometimes cause the movie to receive negative reviews.
- Technology: With great advancements in technology, today movies make use of it to bring brilliant scenes on screen. Technologies like 3D animation and special effects are celebrated, welcomed and demanded by people. People have started expecting many new elements in a movie. Roger Deakins has mentioned in his interview, “It seems like everyone is technology mad now.” Hence, technology has become one important aspect of filmmaking.
- Acting: Although today many movies are welcomed because of the star value of its actors, it is not that all movies survive on star values. Acting and actors add life to the story. Actors are the ones who enliven the characters on screen, and so they are responsible to give the movie a special element.
Industry Overview
Today, majority of the movies are targeted on mass-market consumption, especially focusing the youth market. Many blockbuster-hit movies are based on comics, some being sequels which are supported by mass-marketing strategies. A recent study has shown that a majority of the feature films in almost all countries has been from USA and dominated in the top 30 movies of 2010 and 2011. These movies were largely distributed by six major Hollywood studios. The study has also revealed that the rise and importance of 3D movies has significantly risen between 2005 and 2011. All these movies were targeted at the child-youth audiences, most of them being animated films and action-adventure subjects. These days, movie subjects are mostly adaptation, sequels or prequels. Original concepts have greatly reduced. Comedy is another genre, which has stood out, in the top 30 list, says the researchers.
The study by UNESCO has shown that, world film production has grown with a 39% increase in the period of 2005-2011. Their research has shown that there has been stagnation in the film industry since 2008, with the number of films produced all over the world summing around 6500 per year. When this data was analyzed in the level of countries, it was understood that increase in world film production was dependent on the top 10 producers, comprising 65% of the world population.
US filmmakers have received happiness after the prediction of 20% internal growth and more profits worldwide by 2015. In North America, the film industry is expected to make $50.3 billion showing a growth of 20%. The leap of worldwide profit is predicted to be even more from $88.8 billion to $113.1 billion showing even more rapid growth. The report by PricewaterhouseCoopers has also mentioned that, although there is a rise in the number of 3D movies produced, audiences prefer to watch 2D movies at cheaper ticket rates. One of the reasons for the downturn of 3D screens is because some studios fail to provide high-quality 3D effect, worth the cost of a premium ticket as stated by Jeffrey Katzenberg, head of DreamWorks Animation Studios. The global motion picture and entertainment industry are predicted to reach close to $87 billion, according to MarketLine (world market movies and entertainment). They say that this forecast is expected to slow down by a rate of 0.3% through 2015.
However, Steven Spielberg has made an unsettling comment about the future of the film industry quoting, “the implosion of the film industry is on its way”. He has warned that a few quick failures of high-profile-box-office can change the way in which studios are doing business, dramatically. As mentioned in an interview, “That’s the big danger, and there’s eventually going to be an implosion- or a big meltdown. There’s going to be an implosion where three or four or maybe even a half-dozen mega budget movies are going to go crashing into the ground, and that is going to change the paradigm.” Benjamin Swinburne of Morgan Stanley says that, between 2007 and 2011, pre-tax profits of five studios which are in control under large media conglomerates has dropped by around 40%. One reason for this is because the “big six” studios are growing slower compared to TV, says Swinburne. Spielberg has also spoken about what would be the scenario post- “implosion”. He said that, people would have to pay $25 to watch the next ‘Iron Man’ movie while now we are probably going to pay $7 to watch ‘Lincoln’. He says that, prices for a film production have greatly increased over the years.
The film industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions. It includes film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post- production, actors, directors and other film crew personnel. Regarding the jobs in motion pictures and sound recording, the number of employments reached an all-time high in December 2012 with a figure more than 395,000 as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Following is a statistical data regarding the employment and revenue figures of the film industry.
The major pressure on the film industry recently is in relation with the fiscal crisis the entertainment industry on the whole is facing. Two factors responsible for this crisis is the adoption of a global strategy by Media Corporation to limit the financing and distribution options for medium and low budget films; the reduction in the number of medium budget films. Other pressures faced by professionals in the film industry are fund sourcing, pressure on studios to make movies that attract the largest group of population, etc.
Research Methodology
A proper understanding of research methodologies is required to choose the right method. The four main aspects of research methodology are design, sampling, data collection and data analysis. Incorrect selection of research methodology may produce misleading results. Research Methodology is widely divided into two types namely qualitative and quantitative methods. The type of research methodology to be used will depend on the research pursued and its requirement of data analysis.
- Qualitative Research Methodology. Qualitative research is to be used when the research requires understanding any trends, beliefs, experiences. This methodology involves the collection of information from different sources for better understanding of the topic.
- Quantitative Research Methodology. Quantitative research methodology is a method suitable for data collection, which can be used to backup any findings. It is about measuring variables, testing existing hypothesis or theories. Questionnaires and statistics are the most common elements of this methodology.
The research question being about exploration of career path as a film director, considering economic, social and technological factors; it calls for Qualitative Research Methodology. This research involves primary and secondary research. Primary research includes interviews with professionals from the film industry and secondary research includes consideration of statistics and trend of industry’s future.
The information and statistics have given a clear picture about the scope of becoming and being a film director. Primary research has helped in further strong convictions regarding the economic status of present and future film industry, employment opportunities, shortcomings and pressures.
Film Director- Job Description
Film director is a key person of the movie unit. She/he has various critical responsibilities to create a film. Below is a list of some of the important responsibilities of a director.
- Educational qualification for a director does not require any formal education. The minimum requirement is to have a degree from schools which teach film studies. This is to have knowledge about the art and craft of film making. However, in-depth knowledge of all minute details of filmmaking will be gained through experience.
- Directors may sometimes be the story writers. They must visualize the final picture and make decisions accordingly.
- It is the responsibility of the director to make crucial decisions like selecting cast and crew during the pre-production stage.
- They must manage technical aspects like lighting, cinematography, screenplay, editing, music, design and special effects. Although separate departments will be available for each of them, director will be the key person to guide, assist and get output on screens.
- During post-production, the director should be in close communication with the editor in order to achieve a brilliant movie.
- A director must keep the entire team motivated to achieve the best results. She/he must be able to appreciate the producer’s needs and expectations.
- Elements like costume approval, planning the day’s shots, directing actors, explaining the required effect and feel of the scene, reviewing cinematography, editing, screenplay also come under the director’s control.
Primary Research
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation is one of the six major American film studios. A SWOT analysis of the famous studio has listed out a few aspects as its strength, weakness, opportunities and threats. The strength of 20th Century Fox is identified as its high standard research and development facilities, innovations, its strong brand name and equity, and the pricing. However, studios with big brand names also have a few weaknesses which include diseconomy to scale, low market share. These problems are probably not just with 20th Century Fox, but with all other organizations as well because of the worldwide economic crisis and recession. Still the opportunities are bright. Opportunities on expanding products and services, acquisition, and emerging markets which will help in the studio’s future growth. Threats posed to studios with a good brand name are numerous. They face pressures to produce movies which attract the major population; based on what kind of movies are liked by the public, competition, economic slowdown which may hinder a movie production or any other activity, threat of competitors with low prices. SWOT analysis of 20th Century Fox gives an idea of what the film industry is largely made up of.
Paul Thomas Anderson, director of ‘The Master’ shares his experience in an interview with The Los Angeles Times. Anderson shares his understanding of film language and the process of filmmaking. He tells that he keeps on writing and reading some stuff, shooting some small things just to keep himself ‘sharp’ as a director. He says, “I write every day, I try to at least, and if I don’t, I never feel right.” Paul Thomas Anderson believes that, with constant writing, reading, filming things, experience will grow and make a better director. He also explains about how he develops a frame for his story. Sometimes the writing happens fast, but other times, it is necessary to allot time and do all possible research in that time, when you can get hold of some really good story or concept which fits into the work currently in the process. By doing a lot of research and spending patient time to come up with a proper, logical story frame is essential, says Anderson.
David Fincher, the director of ‘Seven’, ‘Fight Club’, ‘The Social Network’, and ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ provides an insight on responsibilities of storytelling in a film. He begins by telling that, as a director, it is his responsibility to place his eyes in the eyes of the audience. This kind of view helps in understanding the viewer’s expectations, says Fincher. He points out telling, “Filmmaking isn’t if you can just strap on a camera onto an actor, and Stedicam, and point it at their face, and follow them through the movie, this is not what moviemaking is, that is not what it’s about. It’s not just about getting a performance. It’s also about the psychology of the cinematic moment, and the psychology of the presentation of that, of that window.” Fincher explains that it is the director’s responsibility to present the audience an engaging visual story.
Summary and Reflection
Based on the information and data collected during this research, a number of conclusions can be drawn considering the economic, social and technological factors; regarding becoming a director in the film industry.
Accounting on the economic conditions and future trend of the filming industry, though there may be some shortcomings like economic slowdown and demand for medium and low budget movies from the producers, the growth of the industry has not been significantly affected. The changes and variations in the film industry are seen on considering both worldwide and country wise.
With respect to the technological demands, it is understood that people have started expecting movies with very new and varied concepts. Use of technological advancements is celebrated. However, the response towards 3D movies is relatively less to that of 2D movies, because of the difference in ticket prices. People are well informed about the filming techniques, like what kind of elements makes a real good movie. Therefore, the trend of film surviving with star value is reducing, which is a good sign of survival for new directors in the industry.
Thus, bearing all the changes and demands of industry; skillset required to be a director; expectations of people; the choice of career path as a director in the film industry is impressive. Directors must have sound technical knowledge about filmmaking, beginning from story until distribution. The film industry will grow and bloom with world’s economy, change with the changing times and trends. It is understood from the research, what it takes to pursue a career as director in the film industry.
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