Evil Dead II

This semi-sequel to Sam Raimi's cult hit The Evil Dead is filled with hyperkinetic camera acrobatics, rapid-fire editing and "splatstick" gore effects ... not to mention a truly goofy performance by Bruce Campbell. Nearly the entire storyline of the previous film has been re-shot and presented in a drastically condensed form within the first few minutes: rock-jawed but clueless "hero" Ash (Campbell) now visits the mountain cabin only with girlfriend Linda (played here by Denise Bixler). Upon arrival at the cabin, Ash discovers the Sumerian Book of the Dead, the ritual dagger and a reel-to-reel tape containing the professor's translations of the book's hieroglyphics. The incantations summon an unseen, growling spirit from within the woods, which bursts into the cabin and takes possession of Linda's soul. Ash is forced to decapitate her with a shovel, after which he buries her in the forest. At first dawn, Ash tries to make his escape, but is promptly set upon by the spirits, given a solid thrashing and nearly possessed himself, saved only by the arrival of sunlight. Cut off from the outside world, Ash is forced to hole up in the cabin and wait for the next demonic onslaught -- which arrives sooner than expected, led by Linda's rotting corpse. After being bitten by Linda's chatty decapitated head, Ash's hand becomes independent of his body and begins pummeling him repeatedly. 

The story then jumps to a local airport, where the professor's daughter Annie (Sarah Berry) and her partner Ed Getley (Richard Domeier) have just arrived with the missing pages to the Necronomicon. They employ a cranky pair of local rednecks, Jake (Dan Hicks) and Bobbie Joe (Kassie Wesley), as guides to lead them through the dense woods to the cabin ... where, at that very moment, Ash is removing his belligerent hand with a chainsaw, creating yet another ambulatory foe. Driven to the brink of insanity, Ash fires blindly at a noise outside, unaware that the new arrivals are Annie and company. Bobbie Joe is injured by the gunshot, which incurs the wrath of Jake, who knocks Ash senseless and locks him in the fruit cellar. Believing her father was murdered by Ash, Annie plays the rest of the professor's recording to learn the truth, and discovers her possessed mother was buried in the same cellar -- and not exactly resting in peace. This touches off a string of unbelievably gruesome (and hysterically funny) events, including Henrietta's transformation into a stop-motion creature (reminiscent of a Ray Harryhausen creation), Ed's sudden metamorphosis into a toothy, levitating ghoul, and Ash's climactic confrontation with the forest demon itself. The obvious glee with which Raimi and company present this cavalcade of slime-drenched monstrosities and Three Stooges pratfalls makes it impossible to take seriously as a horror film, but Evil Dead 2 is nevertheless essential viewing among connoisseurs of truly demented cinema. 

Film distribution ppt

P-D-E Video Essay Clips

TECHNOLOGICAL
VHS (Piracy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spY_AIOLV2g


Old VCR Ad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p_M7kyy1Uo


SOCIAL

Old Cinema 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8X9ivsAgZo



Star Wars Merchandise
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y65N3q12lgY

ECONOMICAL
Gaining money from videos that are bought
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p_M7kyy1Uo

Social Context in the 70s

They liked to have the best quality, whoever had the best, was better.
Britain came into trouble with oil and it was embarrassing to not have it all.
Miners saw an opportunity to make money. They took a strike which halfed the production of coal. People had to cut down on electricity bills. This meant they had to go elsewhere for entertainment.
Music tried to cheer up the spirit of people and look to the future.
1974 began with shortages and blackouts. Food, heat and light we're precious resources.

Production, Distribution and Exhibition

PRODUCTION
Test Screenings
Film Lab
VFX Studio
Legal
Producer/Writer

DISTRIBUTION
Marketing
Web Distributor
Merchandising
Distributor

EXHIBITION
Youtube
Cable/Satellite TV
DVD Retailer
Film Subscription Service
Multiplex Cinema

Starter: How blockbuster effected P-D-E?

1. When was the first Multiplex in the UK?
2. What was cinema attendance like in this time? 
3. What films were being played in the new Multiplexes (name and year?)
4. How were these Multiplexes encouraging audiences to go to the cinema?
5. Where are these Multiplexes built instead of the High Street and why?
6. What had happened to audience leisure patterns that meant 'Fleapit' cinemas lost popularity?
7. What advantages did Multiplexes offer cinema audiences and film distributors over Fleapits?
8. What reasons was cinema attendance low? (Technologies and Audience Leisure Patterns)

Final 9 Key Frames

KEY FRAME 1

KEY FRAME 2

KEY FRAME 3

KEY FRAME 4

KEY FRAME 5


KEY FRAME 6

KEY FRAME 7

KEY FRAME 8

KEY FRAME 9

Homework

What social, economical & technological context gave rise to the Blockbuster film 1975-1983? Refer to specific films in your answer.

Write a 30min timed response to the question.

From 1975-1983 there were many films that gave rise to the blockbuster industry. Examples would be Jaws, The Godfather and Star Wars. These films were the starting point for a generic formula that blockbuster films follow by. The first out of the films that was released was the Godfather, which was star-studded so it became an event. Godfather was not shown in Multiplexes, as well as Jaws, because they didn't have a spectacle about them like special effects. However the Godfather brought in lots of profit because it was star-studded. Whereas in Star Wars, the actors where unknown before the film. Jaws was the next film to be released and it was the first event movie because it was released in the summer so lots of people went to see it. Jaws is actually character led so it was different to other blockbuster plots. Star Wars was the next blockbuster to be released and it was the beginning of blockbusters because they had visual effects that generated the formula that blockbusters have to include special effects in order to gain a profit.

The rise of multiplexes came about, and the first multiplex in the UK was in Milton Keyne. This changed the way people viewed cinemas as there were more cinema screens, which were bigger and had better sound for films that had spectacles such as blockbusters. People also had more choice on films, this means that they wanted more, so this means better effects and even bigger screens. This started the hype marketing which meant that movie producers relied on their effects to sell their movies. This comes under economical context because without effects that produce hype, film producers wouldn't be able to gain enough profit for their film. This caused a changed in marketing tactics and producers started to sell merchandise to promote their films. This changed films into events that people would go together with and in turn created a social meeting place. Blockbusters changed the way films were produced because more money was spent on effects because this is what gained lots of money. Producers didn't want to take a risk because film  budgets rose when visual effects rose. An example of this would be Star Wars, because they were the first film to spend money on visual effects, this made it a blockbuster. Star Wars then brought in audiences because of its effects. This audience was often the youth which invested their time in watching Sci-fi films such as Star Wars and E.T. The cinema started to become a place where video games became a reality. Pre-sold films brought in more money because they wanted their fantasy to become a reality. An example of this would be Superman because it was previously a comic book. Jaws and Star Wars were the highest grossing films in the 70s and 80s, their news-worthy budgets made people want to see the films because they believed that the larger the budget, the better the film. Nowadays, this isn't always the case. Blockbuster films also became popular because people also wanted to escape from reality, such as war and the economy. They would pay to see something different on the cinema screens, they enjoyed seeing films on a larger scale as this became something special. VCR's were then introduced, which meant that people could watch films at home instead of paying the expenses of going to a cinema. This meant that film producers wouldn't gain as much profit as they would've from cinema ticket sales.

Cinema in the UK

MID 70s: There was a recession in the UK.

What did people do if they didn't go to the cinema?

They watched TV.

TEENAGERS

They had more money, pocket money, able to spent, social context (disposable income).

1960s

There was rock and roll. Teenagers didn't exist before the 1960s. Kids went to work before then. Cinema attendance was down before the blockbusters. back then blockbusters saved the cinema as they bring people in.

NOW

Because people are downloading films online for free, it reduces the amount of profit for films and films get more generic.

Why did multiplex cinemas come about?

America created the idea that it also matters where you watch a cinema as well.

FILM DISTRIBUTION

Film distribution was hard because the film reels were heavy. Film companies create the films then sell in the multiplex cinemas that they own, their not going to let independent cinemas sell their films so thats why independent films went out of business.

INDUSTRIAL, LIGHT AND MAGIC Special Effects Company:

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the company and they both created Star Wars and E.T. Shows that they created the films to show off their special effects.

Blockbuster Trailers

JAWS (1975)

GODFATHER (1972)

STAR WARS (1997)

E.T. (1982)
)

HOW DO THEY COMPARE AS BLOCKBUSTERS?

• At this point as Blockbusters, these films are not the same which shows that they are not formulaic.
• Star Wars is a blockbuster because there was loads of special effects in it. 
• The Godfather was a blockbuster because it was star-studded so it became an event. Whereas in Star Wars, the actors where unknown before the film. 
• Jaws was the first event movie because it was released in the summer so lots of people went to see it. Jaws is actually character led - it had a story line where you sympathised with the characters.

SYNTHESIS:

You can bring back good blockbusters like the Godfather because it didn't have special effects but it did bring in lots of money. Godfather was not shown in Multiplex's as well as Jaws because they didn't have a spectacle about them like special effects. Star Wars was the beginning of blockbusters because they had visual effects that generated the formula that blockbusters have to include special effects in order to gain a profit.

Context Notes of the Rise of the Blockbuster

About Multiplex's

• The first multiplex built was in Milton Keynes, Star Wars - explosions, effects, lightings, sounds etc.
• Multiplex were built by film studios who built Blockbusters.
• THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THE MULTIPLEX'S WERE THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THE FILMS.
• Blockbusters became known when cinema viewing became better with bigger and more cinema screens. 
• More seats were included for a better comfort. This changed the way people watched films, Blockbusters were displayed on theses bigger screens to captivate audience.
• Better sound.
• They had more choice on films, the bigger the spectacle, the bigger the film. 
• Started the hype marketing. 
• The audience wanted more, better effects, bigger screens.
• New experience.

Mini Mock

What social, economical & technological context gave rise to the Blockbuster film 1975-1983? Refer to specific films in your answer.

Technological: 

• Rise of the multiplex's- Blockbusters became known when cinema viewing became better with bigger and more cinema screens. More seats were included for a better comfort. This changed the way people watched films, Blockbusters were displayed on theses bigger screens to captivate audience. 
• They had more choice on films, the bigger the spectacle, the bigger the film. Started the hype marketing. The audience wanted more, better effects, bigger screens.
• VCR's made cinema attendance drop, they were able to watch at home, but bigger screens were at the multiplex.
• Blockbuster's and Multiplex's came around at the same time which means that theres a link between the two.

Social:

• Cinemas became a place to go as films were seen on a bigger scale, they were becoming an event, a marketing strategy.
• People came to watch a Blockbuster because they were spectacles and that they became an event to go to.
• Cinemas were places to go, they gave them an escape from reality, fantasy characters (Star Wars, E.T.), and heroic stories (Superman etc).

Economical:

• Because viewing films became more of a spectacle, the price of a cinema ticket rose, therefore it was easier to gain a profit from producing a film.
• Big budget on Blockbuster meant it changed the way they produced films, they rely on effects to gain a profit, no spectacle no money.
• Leads to sequals - easy to follow, pre-existing audience brought in more money, fans wanted to see what they like.

Film Context

Breaking Bad film

Breaking Bad has a previous audience, therefore it would be good to make a blockbuster out of the TV series.

Movie Name: ?---

Actors: Bruce Willis, Jared Leto

Iconic moment:  Gustavo Face off scene

CGI: meth explosions, 

How does your film fit the blockbuster criteria?

It would be hard for the film to be a global appeal because Breaking Bad is set in New Mexico, so it would be hard to sell to other countries such as the UK. However Breaking Bad has a really large fan base so devoted fans would flock to the cinema to see the film. There is also a lot of products for the TV series. Stunts and explosions could come under SFX/CGI because the production that goes into stunts and explosions still costs a lot. Fans would find a Breaking Bad film enjoyable because there is meaning behind the plot rather than the same bad Vs good plot. Walter White is seen as more of a vigilante by fans even though his acts are illegal. But because they are justified, his means to keep his family alive and greed, drives his determination, which is something that many people can relate to.

With new technology developing, such as Television (advertisement and trailers), internet (piracy), this has changed the way the audience look at films and expect from them (more spectacles). New markets, 3D, these are all the aspects that have developed since 1973. Most movies are childish as the main target audience are the youths, who see the grand marketing and trailers (which is all hyped up to gain the youth attention), those youths decide to go to the cinema to watch the movie. They're making pre-sold films to gain the attention of the youth audience who are distracted by games and internet (interactive audience). Therefore they have to bring the "old" stories back in a new light (CGI, spectacles). They bring in spectacles and do hyped marketing, inorder to bring the youths back into the cinema. They use I-max, 3D effects, high technology to attract the young audience back into the cinema. 

Technology reasons:

• Cut costs by generating effects on computer, style over substance.
• Better quality, better viewing experience.
• Special effects attract audience, spectacle.
• Audience goes to cinema to see big screen, 3D, event etc.
• 3D gets people back in the cinema.

Economic reasons: 

• Easier for people to download films therefore they don't go to the cinema, therefore it's harder to gain  a profit.
• More money put in creates an event, you get money back.
• More money means it difficult to be creative.
• Pre-sold films sell for more because they stick to an idea that sells.

Social reasons:

• Recognisable fan-base, come back to see what's changed, reboot? Have to be pre-sold in order to gain money back, fans buy into franchises.
• Losing interest in cinema, less people go, watch it online.
• Pre-sold films get interest back.
• The audience doesn't just watch films, into interacting (gaming etc)
• Blockbuster's rely on marketing not just word-of-mouth.
• Producers don't want to make a original film incase they lose money so they follow what they know has sold well.

Review on RoboCop Screenshots

Last Key Frame

For my last key frame I will draw the attention away from a fight scene, which would be hard make realistic and most likely too gruesome. Therefore instead I will have a shot of a blood splatter on significant objects, like a toy or family photo. This will insinuate that there has been a murder but doesn't show any gruesome details.

NEW Script Draft