Blog #6

1    1. Silent films were so popular because it created a way for the audience’s imagination. Georges Méliès, a French magician, created the first movie theater in 1896. He figured out that you can be creative when making a film like creating fairy tales. He began playing around with the film using different techniques to edit them by using slow motion and making cartoon films. These silent films created short stories and people enjoyed watching them.

2.    2.   Nickelodeons helped immigrants learn English and so they could go to a movie theater for a reasonable price. The reason why nickelodeons were so affordable is because they used only a pre-owned projector and a large white sheet to display the film. They also included live music and theater operators to add sound effects that went along with the movie. Nickelodeon theaters after that became more popular and attracted more people.   

3.      3. Hollywood ended up being the center of film production due to World War I. American films were marketed in Europe but once World War I happened, Europe’s film production industry crashed. Once Europe was disrupted, the United States was the only ones who could control Europe’s film production. After that, Hollywood became the center of film production.

4.      4. During the late 1940’s, when the Great Depression occurred, people stayed home and listened to the radio because it was cheaper than going to the movies. However, when people listened to their radios instead of going to the movies, the TV got rid of both radio and movies. TV channels then began to shows about social problems such as racism and alcoholism. Then TV improved and was produced in color instead of black and white. Television then went on to develop into wide-screen images and eventually decreased the fuzziness in the image.

5.      5. Major movie studios make money from the film business in many ways. One way is my getting part of the box office profit. Another is by making DVD’s, rentals and downloads. After that they would put the movies on cable TV in which the cable and television stations would negotiate with the studios to put the movies on their channels. The movie industries also sent the movies internationally. Studios let independent filmmakers and producers use their studios so they can gain popularity. Lastly, they earn money by product placement, for example, an actor drinking a Coca-Cola during a scene.

6.      6. Major movie studios make money from the film business by promotion and synergy. Synergy is when different types of media try to promote and make sales of a particular product. Some examples are turning the movie into a book, calendar, clothing, toys, theme parks and many more.

7.      7. The movie industry is embracing and are alright with the Internet using their movies. They believe that the more devices they can watch their movies on the better. What they do to promote their films is by advertising their movies in the media like Facebook.

8.      8. Inexpensive digital technology has made a huge impact on filmmaking. The low-cost videos allows for new and creative artists to make their own movie. It also allows people to make their own movies at a low cost. In more recent films such as Paranrmal Activity was made with $15,000. Using digital technology allows independent filmmakers to show their work and get an audience.