Film industry

1. The American Film Industry
Lesson Objectives: To be aware of the historical development of the American
film industry, and the contemporary structure of the industry.

2. General Introduction
1. For the exam you should be prepared to
understand and write about the processes of
film production, distribution, marketing and
exhibition.
2. The nature of audience consumption and
the relationships between audiences and the
film industry.

3. General Introduction
• In addition, you need to know about:
• the issues raised by ownership in the contemporary film industry;
• the importance of convergence and synergy in production,
distribution and marketing of films;
• the new technologies that have been introduced in recent years at
the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange;
• the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for film
institutions & audiences;
• the importance of technological convergence for film institutions
and audiences;
• the issues raised in the targeting of national and British audiences
by international or global film institutions;
• the ways in which your own experiences of media consumption
illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour.

4. General Questions
• How do different films get produced and what is the
‘production process’?
• How do films get distributed and what does film
distribution involve?
• What does the exhibition of films involve?
• How do audiences ‘consume’ films and how has this
changed?
• How does the film industry, and particular film
production companies more specifically, attempt to
develop the relationship between institutions and
audiences?

5. How to approach this exam - Case
Studies
• These will involve the study of a specific studio or production company
within the contemporary film industry that targets a British audience.
• These might be based in the US (Hollywood), in Britain (Film4, BBC
Films, Working Title), or part of World Cinema (Bollywood).
• They will include the study of a studios patterns of production,
distribution, exhibition and consumption by audiences.
• They will also be accompanied by study of how contemporary films are
distributed (digital cinemas, DVD, Blu-Ray, downloads, etc) and how
this has changed the production, marketing and consumption of films.

6. Hollywood Studios
• How many logos for Hollywood studios can
you recognise?

17. The Origins of the American Film
Industry
• The origins and development of the American
film industry are the period from 1895 to
1930.
• During this time the emerging industry
developed into an important popular medium,
organised into clearly defined exhibition,
production, and distribution elements.

18. The Studio Era
• The period from 1930 to 1949 in American
film is known as the Studio Era.
• By 1930 the American film industry was
dominated by five companies known as the
‘Majors’ or the ‘Big Five.

19. The Big Five

20. Vertical Integration
• All of the Big Five studios were vertically
integrated.
• Vertical integration – where a company is
organised so that it oversees a product from
the planning/development stage, through
production, to marketing, and distribution,
through to the consumer.

21. Vertical Integration
• During the studio era the Big Five owned the
production studios, the distribution
companies, and most of the cinemas in the
US. Production Studio
Distribution
Cinemas

22. The End of the Studio Era
• In 1949 the major studios were forced to sell
off the cinema chains that they owned by the
US government, after a court ruling that their
practices were monopolistic.
• The American film industry declined further in
the 1950s due to the rise of television.
• It wasn’t until the late 1980s that Hollywood
studios fully recovered.

23. The Contemporary American Film
Industry
• The American film industry is now dominated
by six major film companies.
• The contemporary Big Six account for nearly
90% of the North American film market.
• All of these companies are subsidiaries of
major media conglomerates.

24. The Big Six
• Who do you think are the Big Six film studios
in the contemporary American film industry?
Major Studio Subsidiaries
Warner Bros Pictures
20th Century Fox
Paramount Pictures
Columbia Pictures/Sony
Walt Disney/Touchstone Pictures
Universal Studios

25. Ownership
Do you know which
conglomerate owns which
film studio?

26. Conglomerate Parent Division Major Studio Subsidiary
Time Warner Warner Bros. Entertainment Warner Bros. Pictures
News Corporation Fox Filmed Entertainment 20th Century Fox
Viacom Paramount Motion Pictures
Group
Paramount Picture
Sony Corporation of America Sony Pictures Entertainment Columbia Pictures
The Walt Disney Company Walt Disney Motion Pictures
Group
Walt Disney
Pictures/Touchstone
Pictures
General Electric/ Vivendi NBC Universal Universal Studios

27. Related Division and Brands
• Match the following subsidiary companies to their parent
company.
Universal Animation Studios New Line Cinema, HBO, Castle Rock
Entertainment, Turner
Entertainment, Warner Bros.
Entertainment
20th Century Fox Animation
Nickelodeon Movies, MTV Films
Pixar Animation Studios, Hollywood
Pictures. Marvel Studios
TriStar Pictures, Destination Films

28. Market
• Which of the Majors do you think is the most
successful.
• Rank the studio’s market share:
– 20%
– 16%
– 14%
– 14%
– 12%
– 10%

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• Declining audiences
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• Reduced output
• Expensive overheads sold off
• Stars released from contracts

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32. Cinerama

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This is whereby films can be made by a number
of different sources/investors so that it is a
team effort and not just one “vertical”
company doing all the work.
2)This one pays to distribute it in AMERICA
1)These two companies fund the movies
2)This one in EUROPE
3)This company is responsible for
putting it in the cinema/On DVD

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38. Timeline
• Create a timeline identifying key stages in the
American film industry.