MAC 143 Lecture 16: Blockbuster and Indie films

• School: Miami University
• Department: Media and Culture
• Course: MAC 143
• Professor: Dr.Ron Becker

Document Summary

Blockbusters and indie films: the industry responds to the crisis. Cut the number of movie they made from 80 to 15 or 20. Large factories designed to turn out movies were sitting idle. Ended long term contracts: competing with television, emphasizing spectacle (color, 3-d, cinemascope, stereo) Changed aspect ratio - dimensions of hollywood films. Emphasized color (but only small % films were shot in color) Invested in technicolor - promoted color quality. Stereophonic sound surrounded by high quality sound system. Early 3d technology - try to differentiate movie from tv: drive-ins, the rise of art house theaters (ingmar bergman, kenji mizoguchi) Focusing less on hollywood studios and more on independent. Independents got hit the hardest and most went out of business. A few of them could reinvent themselves as art house theaters if located in city - develop taste culture of movie goers to see foreign movies and then later cult films. Everyone in hollywood like a freelance agent.