How Piracy through Digital Media has affected the Film Industry

One of the main impacts that Digital Media has left on the film industry is piracy.  Now that the internet is so wide, it is very easy for films to leak out on to the internet and be made available for download. This has obvious effects on the industry including loss of profits.

Illegal film downloads are very damaging to the economy of the Film Industry. Film companies are losing money when their film is watched online. The Guardian reported in March 2011 that illegal downloads are “threatening the future” of the British Film Industry (1). They further stated that estimated losses were “around £500 million per year” (1). This is a significant amount of money that is being lost in the industry. Has it become too easy to get a hold of films online that is now seen as convenience over making a trip to the cinema?

There is an argument surrounding why people should pay to sit in a cinema screen when they can sit and watch a movie in the comfort of their own home for free.  Films that are on a limited cinema release reach a wider audience online but the film industry is a business and “movies need to be paid for” (2). I was told that the people who download the most films illegally are the group of people who go to the cinema most often. This could be supported by the fact that in Avatar was downloaded 16.6 million times via various torrent websites yet it still made over $1 billion at the box office in 2009 (3). The film then went on to break home release sales records (3).

In 2010, the government introduced the Digital Economy Bill. This bill introduced penalties for individuals for the online infringement of copyright (4). The act however, was challenged by BT and TalkTalk as a company called MediaCat claimed to have IP addresses of illegal downloaders (5). There was that this only identifies one internet router which could be used by multiple people and this does not identify the individual who is downloading (5).

This case was taken to court and on the 20^th of April 2011, the Daily Mail reported that the appeal was “thrown out of High Court” (6). Their reason for this was to “protect the creative industries hit hard by online piracy” (6).  This is a positive outcome for the film industry but Daniel Hamilton described the act as a “worrying incursion on users’ personal privacy and freedom of access to information” (6).  Is he right? Is this a step too far into people’s privacy? Maybe this is the only way to start making a stop to this problem?

I think that the problem of film piracy is currently in fact too wide to take effective action. It is very damaging to the industry but I think it has gone on too long and become too easy that it will be a hard thing to crack down on with a new law that is just being enforced now and not several years ago.

References

1.       Thorpe, Vanessa (13 March 2011), http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/mar/13/illegal-downloads-threaten-british-film, Accessed 14 April 2011

2.       Carey, Lavinia (9 February 2006),http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4691216.stm#2, Accessed 29 March 2011

3.       Child, Ben (22 December 2010),http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/dec/22/avatar-illegal-downloads-torrent-chart, Accessed 20 April 2011

4.       UK Government Legislation (8 April 2010), http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/24/introduction, Accessed 20 April 2011

5.       Burkhill, Guy (22 March 2011), http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2011/mar/22/acslaw-filesharing-digital-economy-act, Accessed 20 April 2011

6.        Daily Mail (20 April 2011), http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1378803/Internet-piracy-crackdown-approved-appeal-Digital-Economy-Act-fails.html, Accessed 20 April 2011

How Digital Media allows us to Interact through Social Networking with The Film Industry

Digital Media has clearly left a large impact on the Film Industry. Interacting through Social Networking has changed the industry a lot.

We can define the term ‘interact’ as “to become involved in communication or social activity (1). Film fans, film critics and film makers can now communicate with each other through digital technologies and most important the craze of the internet and social networking. I believe that this has encouraged my enthusiasm for films as I feel like I can really get involved.

Twitter has developed a craze where you are now able to tweet your favourite film stars and filmmakers. The director, Chris Weitz (2), has a twitter account to act as a Q & A service to communicate with fans (3).Most celebrity twitter users infrequently reply to fans but Weitz responds to questions on a daily basis.

The use of conducting online interviews is another opportunity to interact. Recently I have seen MTV ask on Twitter for questions to use to interview a film star. This gives the opportunity for fans to ask exactly what they want to know. Online webchats are similar to this but more informal. It acts as face to face interaction between the film star/filmmaker and the fans.

The use of vlogging from actors in their own personal time or from film sets lets them address their fans directly. Videos from film sets let us right into what is happening in the production of the movie.

Celebrities have exploded onto the social networking scene and to an extent we can now follow their daily lives. However, are celebrities revealing too much information about their personal lives?  Digital Media has allowed us to interact with celebrities in real time which was not possible before.

On the 17^th of April, I followed the Water for Elephants premiere online. I was nowhere near the New York yet I was updated by the minute through digital media.  Within 4 minutes of the premiere starting, a picture appeared on twitter via a mobile phone. Twitter users were using the hashtag “#wfe” and film critics and fans were tweeting live from the event (4). MTV streamed the premiere live over the internet which you were able to watch from anywhere in the world (5). Apple had an application available from their App Store that you could upload and share your pictures from the event (6). Digital Media allows us to access so much more information now and makes us feel like we are part of an event even though we are not there in person.

Before Digital Media really took off, we knew little about the films that were due to be released and less about those who starred in them. I think Social Networking has definitely given us a bigger insight into the production process but sometimes it is possible that we find out too much also. This is simply through the interaction of people online. It only takes one person to share data for a thousand people to share it. Digital Media has made it more difficult to keep secrets in this industry but gives us a greater insight of that they do as a business.

References

1. MSN (2009), http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861621730/interact.html, Accessed 18 April 2011
2. IMDB (2011), http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0919363/, Accessed 18 April 2011
3. Twitter (2011), http://twitter.com/chrisweitz, Accessed 19 April 2011
4. Twitter (2011), http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23wfe, Accessed 17 April 2011
5. MTV (2011),http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/04/16/join-us-on-sunday-for-the-water-for-elephants-premiere-live-stream/, Accessed 17 April 2011
6. Color (2011), http://www.color.com/waterforelephants, Accessed 17 April 2011

Group Prezi Presentation

Here is our group Prezi Presentation created by Emma Galloway, Daniela Stanica and myself. It explains the concept of how film and television are now interactive entertainment experiences because of digital media. Enjoy!

Analysis of 'Old Film' Photos in comparison to how Digtal Media has affected 'New Film'

"William Reed filming "The Romance of Runnibede", Sydney, 1927 / Sam Hood" (1)

This photo is from 1927 and is illustrates of a film shoot. I think this a very raw photo and the black and white style makes in sync with the era. The limited cast members and they are not standing in front of a green screen which is common in new films. It gives the idea of “what you see is what you get” as this looks like what will appear in the finished film. It’s significant as it is so simple compared to the digital technologies used in filmmaking today where the majority of a film can be computer generated.



"William Reed filming "The Romance of Runnibede", Sydney, 1927 / Sam Hood" (2)

Through the use of Digital Media and advancing technologies, films can now be made with very compact equipment. Filmmakers are now creating films by using iPhones and uploading them on to the internet. I like this photo as it highlights a very nostalgic period of the film industry. The wooden tripods and small cameras are nothing big or fancy. It is very minimalistic film equipment and is capturing film footage which will not be grossly over enhanced by CGI in post-production.

"A possum and a movie camera 1943" (3)

This photo is from 1943. It shows a possum trying to operate the movie camera. Focusing on the camera, this appears to be a big piece of equipment. It does not look like it offers a lot of flexibility and is not going to be easily portable. I previously said that films are being made on iPhones now and that is a big comparison. Improvements in Digital Media have allowed ease of access to equipment and tools have become so compact, they can fit in a filmmakers pocket so they can shoot anywhere. The big camera shown in this photo would not allow this opportunity.

Lyric Theatre, Third Avenue between 12th and 13th street, Manhattan (4)

A photo from 1930's Manhattan of an old style movie theatre. In the description, it says "man purchusing ten cent ticket". As digital technologies advance more, films are costing more to make and viewers are expecting more from films. I personally believe that cinema prices are getting more expensive all the time and the cost is taking away the value of the cinema experience. I still love going to the cinema but more people are now downloading films online as the cinema prices are too expensive. Has Digital Media ruined what the cinema industry once was?

 The Fifties in 3D (5)

 This photo reflects an early 3D showing in 1951. 3D films have been one of the most significant changes in the film industry through new technologies in Digital Media. It is however, considered to be a fairly new development which is in fact not true as this picture shows us. The people is this photo look really impressed and I am sure we could judge that to us now it would not be that impressive at all. It could therefore be suggested that Digital Media has encouraged the positive growth of 3D film technology.

Yiddish movie poster for "East Side Sadie" (6)


This film poster is from 1929 and it is promoting a Jewish movie. I noticed on the poster the lines where it has possibly been folded before it has been distributed. It also looks very worn and has a vintage classic look to it. Modern day movie posters can be largely digitally enhanced by Digital Media and are normally distributed over the internet first. I like this photo as it has not been enhanced digitally and looks very real. The ‘real’ aspect of old film photos is very appealing as it shows there was a world before technology and the effects of Digital Media.


References

1. State Library of New South Wales Collection (1927), http://www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryofnsw/3676790621/, Accessed 18 April 2011

2. State Library of New South Wales Collection (1927),  http://www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryofnsw/3677005013/in/photostream, Accessed 18 April 2011

3. Australia War Memorial Collection (1943), http://www.flickr.com/photos/australian-war-memorial/3527157206/, Accessed 18 April 2011

4. New York Public Library (April 24 1936), http://www.flickr.com/photos/nypl/3110612076/, Accessed 18 April 2011

5. The National Archives UK (11 May 1951), http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/3002426059/, Accessed 18 April 2011

6. Center for Jewish History NYC (129), http://www.flickr.com/photos/center_for_jewish_history/5414087425/, Accessed 18 April 2011

Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video By Peter W. Rea, David K. Irving

I would like to point out the first five paragraphs on this page from 'Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video' by Peter W. Rea, David K. Irving. I think this is a perfect summary of digital media as it addresses the uprising digital technologies used in present day film production but also makes a brilliant point.

"No matter what the tools, art is created out of the heart" - this quote from paragraph four sums it up perfectly. Technologies can be improved and improved to the point where we can make fantastic visually dynamic films. However, these technologies don't have a patch on an film makers passion and enthusiasm for an idea.

A 3 step guide on using Google as an information dashboard

iGoogle is a great tool and can be used for many purposes. It allows you add many different applications to control different amounts of information such as calendars, RSS feeds and much more.

Step 1: Register for an Account


I already had an iGoogle account so I have not registered recently. However, it is very simple and does not take very long to set up.The feature "Create your homepage in under 30 seconds" allows you to select your interests, the country you live in and a theme you like. This the generates an iGoogle homepage for you.

To personalise your homepage, you need to log in with your Google account. Signing up for an account is also very simple if you do not already have one.

Step 2 - Add tabs



You can personalise your homepage in any way you like but I added a tab for each of the current modules I am studying. I did this by clicking the small arrow beside "Home" and then I clicked "Add Tab".

You will the be presented with a window that asks you to name your new tab and

then your new tab will appear under "Home".

Step 3 - Add RSS feeds

I added an appropriate RSS feed for each module for these modules. I obtained these through twitter and delicious feeds.

I edited the CustomRss app and inserted the RSS feed link from a 'Digital Media' Twitter search into the two boxes indicated by the arrows.

After saving these settings, this is the finished result.

I repeated these steps on every tab which enabled me to have an appropriate RSS feed for each module.

Digital Technology Enabling Independent Filmakers

Emerging Markets in Digital Media, Indie Film Scene and Digital Technology - by L. Kazmi, UW MCDM 2009

This presentation links to what I said about The Hillywood Show in an earlier post. Digital media has made a BIG impact on filmmaking by allowing independent filmmakers to share their creative content with a world wide audience. This presentation is worth viewing as it highlights how succesful these digital technologies have been in encouraging independent filmmakers in Pakistan. It outlines the decline of cinema on a timeline and then carries on to state the role of digital media in filmmaking with quotes. It is a brief presentation but I think it has interesting content.