JESSICA ALBA

Jessica Alba:

Jessica Alba (born April 28, 1981) is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994). Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel (2000-2002).

Alba later appeared in various films including Honey (2003), Sin City (2005), Fantastic Four (2005), Into the Blue (2005), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Good Luck Chuck both in 2007.

Alba is considered a sex symbol and often generates media attention for her looks. She appears on the "Hot 100" section of Maxim and was voted number one on AskMen.com's list of "99 Most Desirable Women" in 2006, as well as "Sexiest Woman in the World" by FHM in 2007. The use of her image on the cover of the March 2006 Playboy sparked a lawsuit by her, which was later dropped. She has also won various awards for her acting, including the Choice Actress Teen Choice Award and Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television, and a Golden Globe nomination for her lead role in the television series Dark Angel.

Early Life:

Alba was born in Pomona, California to Catherine and Mark Alba. Her mother is of Danish and French Canadian descent and her father is Mexican American. She has a younger brother, Joshua. Her father's Air Force career took the family to Biloxi, Mississippi and Del Rio, Texas, before settling back in California when she was nine years old. Alba described her family as being a "very conservative family - a traditional, Catholic, Latin American family" and herself as very liberal; she says she had identified herself as a "feminist" as early as age five.

Alba's early life was marked by a multitude of physical maladies. During childhood, she suffered from collapsed lungs twice, had pneumonia 4-5 times a year, as well as a ruptured appendix and a tonsillar cyst. Ala became isolated from other children at school, because she was in the hospital so often due to her illnesses that no one knew her well enough to befriend her.

Alba has also had isolation from her peers. She has acknowledged that she has suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder during her childhood. Alba graduated from high school at age 16, and she subsequently attended the Atlantic Theater Company.

SCARLETT JOHANSSON

Scarlett Johansson:

Scarlett Johansson (born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. Johansson made her film debut in the 1994 film North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in 1996's Manny & Lo. Johansson rose to fame with her roles in 1998's The Horse Whisperer and 2001's Ghost World.

She transitioned to adult roles with her performances in Girl with a Pearl Earning and Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, for which she won a BAFTA Award, and both films earned her Golden Globe Award nominations in 2003. A role in A Love Song for Boddy Long earned her a third Golden Globe for Best Actress nomination.

Following an appearance in The Island, Johansson garnered a fourth Golden Globe nomination, for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in Woody Allen's Match Point. She also starred in other Allen movies, such as Scoop, with Hugh Jackman and Allen, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, alongside Javier Bardem Penelope Cruz and Rebecca Hall. Scarlett Johansson appeared in films such as Christopher Nolan's The Prestige and the summer blockbuster Iron Man 2. A role in the 2010s Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge gave her some of her best reviews for her acting, and she received a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play.

On May 20, 2008, Johansson debuted as a vocalist on her first album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, which comprises mostly cover versions of Tom Waits songs. Her second album, Break Up, with Pete Yorn was released in September 2009.


Early Life:

Johansson was born in New York City on November 22, 1984. Her father, Karsten Johansson, is a Danish-born architect, and her paternal grandfather, Ejner Johansson, was a screenwriter and director. Her mother, Melanie Sloan, a producer, comes from an Ashkenazi Jewish family from the Bronx. Johansson has an older sister, Vanessa, who is an actress; an older brother, Adrian; a twin brother, Hunter; and an older half-brother, Christian, from her father's first marriage.

Johansson grew up in a household with "little money", and with a mother who was a "film buff". She and her brother, Hunter, attended P.S. 41 in Greenwich Village in elementary school. Johansson began her theatrical training by attending and graduating from Professional Children's School in Manhattan in 2002.

MEGAN FOX

Megan Fox:

Megan Denise Fox (born May 16, 1986) is an American actress and model. She began her acting career in 2001 with several minor television and film roles, and played a recurring role on Hope & Faith. In 2004, she launched her film career with a role in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. In 2007, she was cast as Mikaela Banes, the love interest of Shia LaBeouf's character, in the blockbuster film Transformers, which became her breakout role. Fox reprised her role in the 2009 sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Later in 2009, she starred as the titular lead character in the film Jennifer's Body.

Fox ix considered a sex symbol and frequently appears on men's magazine "Hot" lists, including Maxim and FHM. In 2004, she began dating Brian Austin Green, of Beverly Hills. 90210 fame, after reportedly having met on the set of Hope & Faith. They were involved in an on-again, off-again relationship, before marrying in June 2010.

Early Life:

Fox is of Irish, French, and Native American ancestry and was born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee to Darlene and Franklin Fox. She was raised Roman Catholic and attended Catholic school for 12 years. Fox'x parents divorced when she was young and she and her sister were raised by her mother and her stepfather, Tony Tonachio. She said that the two were "very strict" and that she was not allowed to have a boyfriend or invite friends to her house. She lived with her mother until she made enough money to support herself.

Fox began her training in drama and dance at age five, in Kingston, Tennessee. She attended a dance class at the community center there and was involved in Kingston Elementary School's chorus and the Kingston Clippers swim team. At 10 years of age, after moving to St. Petersburg, Florida, Fox continued her training. When she was 13 years old, Fox began modeling after winning several awards at the 1999 American Modeling and Talent Convention in Hilton Head, South Carolina. At age 17, she tested out of school via correspondence in order to move to Los Angeles.

Fox has spoken extensively of her time in education; that in middle school she was bullied and picked on and she ate lunch in the bathroom to avoid being "pelted with ketchup packets". She said that the problem was not her looks, but that she had  "always gotten along better with boys" and that "rubbed some people the wrong way". Fox also said of high school that she was never popular and that "everyone hated me, and I was a total outcast, my friends were always guys, I have a very aggressive personality, and girls didn't like me for that. I've had only one great girlfriend my whole life". In the same interview, she mentions that she hated school and has never been "a big believer in formal education" and that "the education I was getting seemed irrelevant. So, I was sort of checked out on that part of it".

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY

Keira Knightley:

Keira Christina Knightley (born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham. From 2003 her appearances in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series took her to much greater prominence.

Knightley has appeared in several Hollywood films and earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in Joe Wright's 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. Two years later she again was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, as well as the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Atonement.

In 2008, Forbes claimed Knightley to be the second highest paid actress in Hollywood, having reportedly earned $32 million in 2007, making her the only non-American on the list of highest paid actresses.

Early life:

Knightley was born in Teddington, London, England, the daughter of Sharman MacDonald, an award-winning playwright, and Will knightley, a theater and television actor. Her father is English and her Scottish mother is of half Welsh ancestry. She has an elder brother, Caleb. Knightley,born Kiera, switched her name to Keira to make it easier for international audiences to pronounce.

Knightley lived in Richmond, attending Stanley Junior School, Teddington School and Esher College. She was diagnosed with dyslexia at the of six, but nevertheless was successful in school and was thus permitted to acquire a talent agent and pursue an acting career. She requested an agent as early as the age of three and got one when she turned six, from her mother as a reward for studying hard. knightley has noted that she was "single-minded about acting" during her childhood. She performed in a number of local amateur productions, including After Juliet and United States. She focused on art, history, and English literature while at Esher, but left after a year to focus on her acting and she also turned down her spot at the London Academy of Music and Drama.

ANGELINA JOLIE

Angelina Jolie:

Angelina Jolie (born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011.

Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She has been cited as the world's "sexiest" and "most beautiful" woman, titles for which she received substantial media attention.

Jolie made her screen debut as a child alongside her father Jon Voight in Lookin' to Get Out (1982), but her film career began in earnest a decade later with the low-budget production Cyborg 2 (1993). Her first leading role in a major film was in the cyber-thriller Hackers (1995). She starred in the critically acclaimed biographical television films George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), and won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama Girl, Interrupted (1999).

Jolie achieved wide fame after her portrayal of video game heroine Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), and established herself among the highest-paid actress in Hollywood with the Tomb Raider sequel The Cradle of Life (2003).


She reinforced her reputation as a leading action star with Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) and Wanted (2008), which marked her biggest non-animated commercial successes to date, and received further critical acclaim for her performance in the dramas A Mighty Heart (2007) and Changeling (2008), which earned her  nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Exceedingly beautiful Angelina Jolie is the finest actress that Hollywood has ever seen. Angelina is a born actress having inherited her acting talents from her parents-Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight and actress Marcheline Bertrand. Angelina Jolie's stunning performances in several Hollywood movies won her critical acclaim and applause including many awards and honors. She has so far appeared in over 40 Hollywood movies, many of them big blockbuster hits.

FILM PRODUCER

Film Producer:

A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.

The producer is often actively involved throughout all major phases of the filmmaking process, from inception and development to completion and delivery of a film project. However, an idea or concept for a film can originate with any individual, including a screenwriter, a director or a producer.

Role:

A producer begins by obtaining the rights to create or co-create a feature-length screenplay. The producer oversees the process, which includes coordinating, supervising and controlling major aspects of the project. This includes fundraising and hiring key roles such as the casting director of film director. They will also influence the hiring of other personnel such as the UPM or line producer and accountant.

Producer also oversee the overall conditions for making the movie, sometimes as union signatories. The approval involves following strict guidelines as outlined by unionized organizations such as the Directors Guild of America (DGA) or Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

Some would consider the producer as the Chief of Staff while directors are in charge beginning at principal photography. This "staff and line" organization mirrors that of most large corporations and many military structures. Even though the director's role is to oversee the film's making, the producer has overall control of the project and can even terminate the director under severe situations such as schedule or budget overruns. Sometimes the causes are diverging artistic directions or personality clashes.

After the film is complete, they arrange for distribution. The producer would also collect any Best Picture Academy Award in the televised ceremony.

CULT FILM

Cult Film:

A Cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fan bases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences. Many cult movies have gone on to transcend their original status and have become recognized as classic; others are of the "so bad it's good" variety and are destined to remain in obscurity.

Cult films often become the source of a thriving, obsessive, and elaborate subculture of fandom, hence the analogy to cults. However, not every film with a devoted fanbase is necessarily a cult film. Usually, cult films have limited but very special, noted appeal. Cult films are often known to be eccentric, often do not follow traditional standards of mainstream cinema and usually explore topics not considered in any way mainstream--yet there are examples that are relatively normal. Many are often considered controversial because they step outside standard narrative and technical conventions.


Cult films within a particular culture:

Occasionally, a film can become the object of a cult following within a particular region or culture if it has some unusual significance to that region or culture. An example is the cult status of British comedic actor Norman Wisdom's films in Albania. Wisdom's films, in which the usually played a family man worker who outsmarts  his boss, were some of the few Western films considered acceptable by the country's communist rulers, thus Albanians grew familiar and attached to Wisdom. Curiously, he and his films are now acquiring nostalgic cult status in Britain.

Another example is the place of The Wizard of Oz (1939) in American and British gay culture, although a widely viewed and historically important film in American culture. Gay men sometimes refer to themselves as "friends of Dorothy". Singin' in the Rain is another film adopted by American gay culture which used to regularly be shown during the 1980s and early 1990s for extended runs. Slaves of New York and A Night in Heaven have also found a cult audience in the gay community.

In the world of anime, the MTV spoof series Ultracity 6060 created by Beavis and Butt-head animator Mike Judge has become a hard-to-acquire cult classic among American anime fans. Judge's gory send-up When Animated Animals Attack is also a cult hit among animation festival fans in North America, as are the works of Don Hertzfeldt and Robert Smigel.

NATIONAL FILM AWARDS

National Film Awards:

The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.]

Every year, a national panel appointed by the government selects the winning entry, and the award ceremony is held in New Delhi, where the President of India presents the award. This is followed by the inauguration of the National Film Festival, where the award-winning films are screened for the public. Declared for films produced in the previous year across the country, they hold the distinction of awarding merit to the best of Indian cinema overall, as well as presenting awards for the best films in each region and language of the country. Due to the national scale of the National Film Awards, it is considered to be the equivalent of the American Academy Awards.

Juries and rules:

The National Film Awards are presented in two main categories: Feature Films and Non-Feature Films. The feature film jury for 2009 consists of 13 members, including Rahul Dholakia and is headed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta. The non feature film jury consists of five members and is headed by Bikram Singh. The juries are appointed by the Directorate of Film Festivals in India. Neither the Government nor the Directorate have influence over which films are selected for consideration by the jury panels. Over 100 films made across the country are entered in each category for the awards and deemed eligible each year.

A list of rules is presented every year in a document of regulations known as the National Film Award Regulations. The criteria for eligibility contains many clauses. Among them, there is a direct requirement for the makers of a film, and particularly the director, to be Indian nationals. Films entering the competition should be produced in India, and in case of co-production involving a foreign entity, there are as many as six conditions which should be fulfilled in order for the film to qualify.

According to the criteria, in order to be eligible for consideration of the jury, a film should e certified by the Central Board of Film Certification between January 1 and December 31. Whether a film is considered a feature film or a non-feature film shall be decided by the Feature Film jury. The eligibility list includes a section of rules determining which films shall not by eligible for entry in the competition.

SCIENCE FICTION FILM

Science Fiction Film:

Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic elements such as spacecraft, robots, or other technologies. Science fiction films have often often been used to focus on political or social issues, and to explore philosophical issues like the human condition. In many cases, tropes derived from written science fiction may be used by filmmakers ignorant of or at best indifferent to the standards of scientific of plausibility and plot logic to which written science fiction is traditionally held.

The genre has existed since the early years of silent cinema, when Georges Melies' A Trip to the Moon (1902) amazed audiences with its trick photography effects. The next major example in the genre was the 1927 film Metropolis. From the 1930s to the 1950s, the genre consisted mainly of low-budget B-movies. After Stanley Kubrick's 1968 landmark 2001: A Space Odyssey, the science fiction film genre was taken more seriously. In the late 1970s, big-budget science fiction films filled with special effects became popular with audiences after the success of Star Wars and paved the way for the blockbuster hits of subsequent decades.

Imagery:

film theorist Vivian Sobchack argues that science fiction films differ from fantasy films in that while science fiction film seeks to achieve our belief in the images we are viewing, fantasy film instead attempts to suspend our disbelief. The science fiction film displays the unfamiliar and alien in the context of the familiar. Despite the alien nature of the scenes and science fictional elements of the setting, the imagery of the film is related back to mankind and how we relate to our surroundings. While the sf film strives to push the boundaries of the human experience, they remain bound to the conditions and understanding of the audience and thereby contain prosaic aspects, rather than being completely alien or abstract.

Genre films such as westerns or war movies are bound to a particular area or time period. This is not true of the science fiction film. However there are several common visual elements that are evocative of the genre. These include the spacecraft or space station, alien worlds or creatures, robots,and  futuristic gadgets. More subtle visual clues can appear with changes of the human form through modifications in appearance, size, or behavior, or by means  known environment turned eerily alien, such as an empty city.

COMEDY FILMS

Comedy Films:

Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences. The comedy genre humorously exaggerate situations, the way of speaking, the action and characters.

Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending. One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies. Comedy, unlike other film genres, puts much more focus on individual stars, with many former stand-up comic transitioning to the film industry due to their popularity. While many comic films are lighthearted stories with no intent other than to amuse, others contain political or social commentary.

The comedy genre can be considered the oldest film genre. Comedy was ideal for the early silent films, as it was dependent on visual action and physical humour rather than sound. Slapstick, one of the earliest forms of comedy, pocked fun physical mishap, usually in practical jokes, accidents and water soakings.

Hybrid genres

Action comedy:

Films in this sub-genre comic antics and action where film stars combine wit and one-liners with a thrilling plot and daring stunts. The genre became a specific draw in North America in the eighties when comedians such as Eddie Murphy started taking more action oriented roles such as in 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop. These type of films are often buddy films, with mismatched partners such as in Midnight Run, Rush Hour, Bad Boys, and Hot Fuzz. Slapstick martial arts films became a mainstay of Hong Kong action cinema through the work of Jackie Chan among others. It may also focus on superheroes such as The Incredibles, Hancock or Kick-Ass.


Comedy horror:

Comedy horror is a type of horror film in which the usual dark themes are treated with a humorous approach. These films are either use goofy horror cliches such as in The Old Dark House, Young Frankenstein, Little Shop of Horrors, Haunted Mansion and Scary Movie where campy styles are favoured. Some are much more subtle and don't parody horror, such as Shaun of the Dead. Another style of comedy horror can also rely on over the top violence and gore such as in Dead Alive (1992), Evil Dead (1981), and Club Dread - such films are sometimes known as splatstick, a portmanteau of the words splatter and slapstick.

FANTASY FILMS

Fantasy Films:

Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genre do overlap. Fantasy films often have an element of magic, myth, wonder, escapism, and the extraordinary.

In fantasy films, the hero often undergoes some kind of mystical experience and must ask for assistance from powerful, superhuman forces. Ancient Greek mythological figures or Arabian Nights-type narratives are the typical storylines. Flying carpets, magic swords and spells, dragons, and ancient religious relics or objects are common elements. Bizarre and imaginary, invented lands include sci-fi worlds, fairy tale settings or other whimsical locales are common settings.

Usually, the main characters in fantasies are princes or princesses. Some fantasy-type films might also include quasi-religious or supernatural characters such as angels, lesser gods, fairies or in the case of live action/animation hybrids cartoon characters. Or they include gnomes, dwarves and elves. Strange phenomena and incredible characters are put into fantasy films, and often overlap with supernatural films.

Fantasy movies and the film industry:

As a cinematic genre, fantasy has traditional not been regarded as highly as the related genre of science fiction film. Undoubtedly, the fact that until recently fantasy films often suffered from the "Sword and Sandal" afflictions of inferior production values, over-the-top acting and decidedly poor special effects was a significant factor in fantasy film's low regard. Even 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, which did much to improve the genre's reputation in public as well critical, was still derided in some quarters because of its comic book-like action sequences and tongue in cheek comedy.

Since the late 1990s, however, the genre has gained new respectability in a way, driven principally by the successful adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy is notable due to its ambitious scope, serious tone and thematic complexity. These pictures achieved phenomenal commercial and critical success, and the third installment of the trilogy became the first fantasy film ever to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Harry Potter series has been a tremendous financial success, has achieved critical acclaim, and boasts an enormous and loyal fanbase.

DOCUMENTARY FILM

Documentary Film:

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primary for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record. A "documentary film" was originally a movie shot on film stock--the only medium available--but now includes video and digital productions that can be either direct-to-video or made for a television program.

"Documentary" has been described as a "filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception" that is continually evolving and is without clear boundaries.



Defining documentary:

In popular myth, the word, documentary was coined by Scottish documentarian John Grierson in his review of Robert Flaherty's film Moana (1926), published in the New York Sun on 8 February 1926, written by :The Moviegoer".

Grierson's principles of documentary were that cinema's potential for observing life could be exploited in a new art form; that the "original" actor and "original" scene are better guides than their fiction counterparts to interpreting the modern world; and that materials "thus taken from the raw" can be more real than the acted article. In this regard, Grierson's views align with Vertov's contempt for dramatic fiction as "bourgeois excess", though with considerably more subtlety. Grierson's definition of documentary as "creative treatment of actuality" has gained some acceptance, though it presents philosophical questions about documentaries containing stagings and reenactments.

In his essays, Dziga Vertov argued for presenting "life as it is" and "life caught unawares".

Pare Lorentz defines a documentary film as "a factual film which is dramatic". Others further state that a documentary stands out from the other types of non-fiction films for providing an opinion, and a specific message, along with the facts it presents.

Documentary Practice is the complex process of creating documentary projects. It refers to what people do with media devices, content, form, and production strategies in order to address the creative, ethical, and conceptual problems and choices that arise as they make documentaries.

There are clear connections in terms of practice with magazine and newspaper feature-writing and indeed to non-fiction literature. Many of the generic forms of documentary, for example the biopic or profile' or the observational piece. These generic forms are explored on the University of Winchester Journalism Department 'features web' where 'long form journalism' is classified by genre or content, rather than in terms of production as film, radio or 'print'.

BOX OFFICE

Box Office:

A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket.

By extension, the term is frequently used, especially in the context of the film industry, as a synonym for the amount of business a particular, such as a film or theater show, receives. The term can also mean factors which influence this amount, as in the phrases "good box office" and "bad box office".

Usage:

Box office business can be measured in terms of the number of people who see it or the amount of money raised by ticket sales. The projection and analysis of these earnings is very important for the creative industries and often a source of interest for fans. This is predominant in the Hollywood movie industry.

Some complain that industry focus on profit has diminished the attention given to film as an art form. However, analysis of the financial success of films is very influential for the production and funding of future works.

There are numerous website that monitor box-office receipts, such as ShowBIZ Data and Box Office Mojo. For a list of films which are major box-office hits, see List of highest-grossing films.

On average, the movie's distributor receives than half of the revenue, with the remainder kept by the movie theater. The split varies from movie to movie, and the percentage for the distributor is generally higher in early weeks. Usually the distributor gets a percentage of the revenue after first deducing a "house allowance" or "house nut". It is also common that the distributor gets either a percentage of the gross revenue, or a higher percentage of the revenue after deducing the nut, whichever is larger.

Colloquialism:

The term box office likely refers to the office where "boxes", private seating areas, were sold at theaters and its usage derive back to the 1780s. Theaters today still have boxes, and some cinemas and theaters refer to the best seats as box seats.

The term also possibly originates from Shakespearean times, in which boxes would be used to collect a fee. However, due to thieves, the boxes would only contain a small amount of money, and the full boxes would be placed in an office, collectively called a "Box Office".

MAJOR FILM STUDIO

Major Film Studio:

A major film studio is a movie production and distribution company that releases a substantial number of films annually and consistently commands a significant share of box-office revenues in a given market. In the North American, Western, and global markets, the major film studios, often simply known as the majors, are commonly regarded as the six diversified media conglomerates whose various movie production and distribution subsidiaries command approximately 90 percent of the U.S. and Canadian box office. The term may also be applied more specifically to the primary movie business subsidiary of each respective conglomerate.

The "Big Six" majors, whose movie operations are based in or around Hollywood, are all centered film studios active during Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s. In three cases--20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, and Paramount --the studios were one of the "Big Five" majors during that era as well. In two cases--Columbia and Universal --the studios were also considered majors, but in the next tier down, part of the "Little Three". In the sixth case, Walt Disney Studios was an independent production company during the Golden Age; it was an important Hollywood entity, but not a major.

Most of today's Big Six control subsidiaries with their own distribution networks that concentrate on arthouse pictures or genre films; several of these specialty units were shut down or sold off between 2008 and 2010. The six major movies studios are contrasted with smaller movie production and/or distribution companies, which are known as independents or "indies". The leading independent producer/distributors--Lionsgate, Summit Entertainment, The Weinstein Company, CBS Films, and former major studio MGM--are sometimes referred as "mini-majors". From 1998 through 2005, DreamWorks SKG commanded a large enough market share to arguably qualify it as a seventh major, despite its relatively small output. In 2006, DreamWorks was acquired by Viacom, Paramount's corporate parent. In late 2008, DreamWorks once again became an independent production company; its films will be distributed by Touchstone Pictures.

The major studios are today primarily backers and distributors of films whose actual production is largely handled by independent companies--either long-running entities or ones created for and dedicated to the making of a specific film. The specialty divisions often simply acquire distribution rights to pictures with which the studio has had no prior involvement. While the majors do a modicum of true production, their activities are focused more in the areas of development, financing, marketing and merchandising.

BLOCKBUSTER

Blockbuster:

Blockbuster, as applied to film or theater, denotes a very popular and/or successful production. The entertainment industry use was originally theatrical slang referring to a particular successful play but is now used primarily by the film industry.


Origin of the term:

Although some entertainment histories apparently cite it as originally referring to a play that is so successful that competing theaters on the block are "busted" and driven out of business, the OED cites a 1957 use which is simply as a term of "biggest", after the bombs. Whatever its origin, the term quickly caught on as a way to describe a hit, and has subsequently been applied to productions other than plays and films, including novels and multi-million selling computer/console game titles.

In film, a number of terms were used to describe a hit. In the 1970s these included: spectacular (The Wall Street Journal), super-grosser (New York Times), and super-blockbuster (Variety). In 1975 the usage of 'blockbuster' for films coalesced around Steven Spielberg's Jaws, and became perceived as something new: a cultural phenomenon, a fast-paced exciting entertainment, almost a genre. Audiences interacted with such films, talked about them afterwards, and went back to see them again just for the thrill.

Low-budget hits:

When a film, made on a low budget, is particularly successful or exceeds the expectations of the films in its genre, then those films are blockbusters as well, in the original meaning of the word. These films may not receive the title 'blocubuster' in the original meaning of the word, but are labeled 'hits' or 'sleepers'.

Return on Investment:

Film producers, in an era where producing blockbuster films runs a high risk due to the budgets exceeding $200,000,000.00 have been distributing small, but promising, low budget films with the hopes of capitalizing on the modern market's film consumption. The term sleeper hit may not always apply to films that take in large gross sales, but films that yield extreme profits based on investment. A number of films have been produced at extremely low budgets that have had proportionately high ticket sales, producing a very high return on investment to their respective studios.

Examples of this are the 2004 documentary film, Tarnation, whose budget weighed in at $218 and whose ticket sales totaled $1.16 million, a profit margin of 266,416.97%. A more famous example is the 2009 thriller Paranormal Activity, which operated on a budget of $15,000 and took in over $196 million in worldwide ticket sales. Other low-budget-high-gross films include The Blair Witch Project, American Graffiti, and Napoleon Dynamite.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Cinematography:

Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography. Many additional technical difficulties and creative possibilities arise when the camera and elements of the scene may be in motion.

History:

Cinematography is an art form unique to motion pictures. Although the exposing of images on light-sensitive elements dates back to the early 19th century, motion pictures demanded a new form of photography and new aesthetic techniques.

In the infancy of motion pictures, the cinematographer was usually also the director and the person physically handling the camera. As the art form and technology evolved, a separation between director and camera operator emerged. With the advent of artificial lighting and faster film stocks, in addition to technology advancements in optics and new techniques such color film and widescreen, the technical aspects of cinematography necessitated a specialist in that area.

Cinematography was key during the silent movie era - no sound apart from background music, no dialogue - the films depended on lighting, acting and set.

In 1919, in Hollywood, the new motion picture capital of the world, one of the first trade societies was formed: the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), which stood to recognize the cinematographer's contribution to the art and science of motion picture making. Similar trade associations have been established in other countries, too.

The ASC defines cinematography as 

a creative and interpretive process that culminates in the authorship of an original work of art rather than the             simple recording of a physical event. Cinematography is not a subcategory of photography. Rather, photography is but one craft the cinematographer uses in addition to other physical, organizational, managerial and image-manipulating techniques to effect one coherent process.

WORLD CINEMA

World Cinema:

World cinema is a term used primarily in English language speaking countries to refer to the films and film industries of non-English speaking countries. It is therefore often used interchangeably with the term foreign film. However, both world cinema and foreign film could be taken to refer to the films of all countries other than one's own, regardless of native language.

Technically, foreign film does not mean the same as foreign language film, but the inference, particularly in the U.S., is that a foreign film is not only foreign in terms of the country of production, but also in terms of the language used. As such, the use of the term foreign film for films produced in the UK, Australia, Canada or other English speaking countries would be uncommon.

In other English speaking countries, it would be extremely unlikely to class films made in the U.S. as foreign films, or belonging to World cinema, as American films are reasonably dominant in all English-language markets.

Websites such as subtitledonline.com have emerged in recent years, as an antithesis to the a perceived staid, yet dominant Hollywood favoritism world wide. This site looks at films outside of the UK and USA, with a focus on foreign language film.

World cinema has an un-official implication of films with "artistic value" as opposed to "Hollywood commercialism". Foreign languages films are often grouped with "art house films" and other independent films in DVD stores, cinema listings etc. Unless dubbed into one's native language, foreign language films played in English speaking regions usually have English subtitles.

Few films of this kind receive more than a limited release and many are never played in major cinemas. As such the marketing, popularity and gross takings for these films are usually markedly less than for typically Hollywood blockbusters. The combination of subtitles and minimal exposure adds to the notion that "World Cinema" has an inferred artistic prestige or intelligence, which may discourage less sophisticated viewers. Additionally, differences in cultural style and tone between foreign and domestic films affects at cinemas and DVD sales.

Foreign language films can be commercial, low brow or B-movies. Furthermore, foreign languages films can cross cultural boundaries, particularly when the visual spectacle and style is sufficient to overcome people's misgivings. Films of this type are becoming more common, and recent examples such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Amelie and Brotherhood of the Wolf enjoyed great success in American cinemas and DVD sales. The first foreign and foreign language film to top the North American box office was Hero in the fall of 2004.

VIDEO PRODUCTION

Video production:

Video production is videography, the process of capturing moving images on electronic media even streaming media. The term includes methods of production and post-production. It is the equivalent of filmmaking, but with images recorded electronically instead of film stock.

It is the art service of creating content, video editing and delivering finished video product as is the case of distributing television programs for broadcast syndication. This can include production of television commercials, corporate videos, event videos, wedding videos and special-interest home videos. A video production can range in size from a family making home movies with a prosumer camcorder, a one solo camera operator with a professional video camera in a single-camera setup, a videographer with a sound person, to a multiple-camera setup shoot in a television studio to a production truck requiring a whole television crew for an electronic field production (EFP) with a production company with set construction on the backlot of a movie studio.

Styles of shooting include on a tripod for a locked-down shot; hand-held to attain a more jittery camera angle or looser shot, incorporating Dutch angle, Whip pan and whip zoom; on a jib that smoothly soars to varying heights; and with a Steadicam for smooth movement as the camera operator incorporates cinematic techniques moving through rooms, as can be seen in Pulp Fiction and The Shining. A "Poor Man's Steadicam" is the Easyrig which is worn by the shooter like a tight vest with an arm that holds the camera.

Elements of Video Production:

All video productions are organized in the way noted below to ensure that the process is a seamless one, and the final-result is as envisioned.

• Pre-production: Pre-production is the planning stage of your shoot, and occurs before the camera starts rolling. By creating storyboards, scouting locations, and figuring out the budget ahead of time, the goal is for your production to be free of unnecessary worry.

        

• Video production: Production is the shooting stage of the shoot, which includes cinematography, audio. lights, as well as directing, art and effects. This may also include other elements, such as actors and presenters.

• Post-production: Post-production begins when the camera stops rolling. All footage is then logged and captured, organized, and then edited. This may include recording a voice-over, adding graphics, composing a music score or soundtrack, including animation sequences and Digital video effects. Different color compositions are made as well.

POST PRODUCTION

Post-production:

Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art. It is term for all stages of production occurring after the actual end of shooting and/or recording the completed work.

Post-production, in fact, many different processes grouped under one name. These typically include:

• Video editing the picture of a television program using an edit decision list (EDL)
• Writing, recording, and editing the soundtrack
• Adding visual special effects v - mainly computer-generated imagery (CGI) and digital copy from which release prints will be made.
• Sound design, Sound effects, ADR, Foley and Music, culminating in a process known as sound re-recording or mixing with professional audio equipment.
• Transfer of Color motion picture film to Video or DPX with a telecine and color grading in a color suite.

Typically, the post-production phase of creating a film takes longer than the actual shooting of the film, and can take several months to complete.

Post-production was named the one of the 'Dying Industries' by IBIS World. The once exclusive service offered by high end post houses or boutique have been eroded away by video editing software that operates on a non-linear editing system (NLE). However, traditional post-production services are being surpassed by digital, leading to sales of over $6 billion annually.

The digitally revolution has made the video editing workflow process immeasurably quicker, as practitioners moved from time-consuming linear video editing online editing suites, to computer hardware and video editing software such as Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, Avid, Sony Vegas and Lightworks.