Short Answer Questions

Question

1. Contrast the role of producers during the heyday of the Hollywood studio system to their role in contemporary independent filmmaking since the 1990s.
During the Hollywood studio era producers often had complete control over the filmmaking process, from choice of story material to production and postproduction. Now, however, contemporary independent film producers have a role that is much less hands-on and much more behind the scenes, as they work to secure financing for the film and create artistic freedom for the film director.

Question

2. What is the role of a film distributor and what effect does this role have on film spectatorship?
A film distributor is a company or agency that acquires rights to a movie from the producer and/or filmmaker and then rents, sells, or licenses the movie for exhibition in theaters, on television, DVD, streaming on the Internet, and so forth. Many independent and small films do not get adequate or even any distribution and therefore are seen by fewer people. Distribution companies ultimately decide which films reach a wide audience. However, the Internet has begun to level the playing field, allowing for more small films to reach wider audiences.

Question

3. How did D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation (1915) impact the Hollywood film industry in relation to the transition to feature films?
Prior Birth of a Nation, theaters typically showed a program consisting of short films often mixed with live entertainment. Producers were hesitant to make longer, feature-length films because they did not think people would pay attention for more than twenty minutes. The financial and cultural success of Griffith’s three-hour epic helped pave the way for a new distribution and exhibition model, which consists of a single feature-length film as the primary attraction.

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4. How might different release strategies affect an audience’s reception of a film?
Wide release films open simultaneously in many theaters to attract audiences before their novelty wears off or any bad word of mouth spreads. Typically, these films promise action sequences or special effects rather than controversial topics and tend to be “safe bets,” appealing to most moviegoers’ tastes. Conversely, limited release films may open initially in a few select, usually large, cities and then expand to a wider release depending on the financial success, critical attention, and buzz surrounding the film. Because they are less accessible nationwide, limited release films tend to attract more critical audiences, who are drawn to them based on sheer curiosity, favorable reviews, word of mouth, or the past work of directors or actors.

Question

5. What are some of the primary methods used to promote a film?
Advertisers frequently capitalize on our interest in stars and celebrities (actors, actresses, directors, or novelists), using name recognition to attract audiences to upcoming films. Tie-ins—from toys to CD soundtracks to T-shirts—are another way that distributors and exhibitors promote movies. Marketing campaigns for blockbuster films typically emphasize the scale, special effects, and “event” status of a film. Art or independent films may be advertised through cultural promotion emphasizing the artistic, critical, or intellectual value of the film.