The British film industry: intro

 Factsheet #132: British Film

Use our brilliant Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) to find Media Factsheet #132 on British Film. You can find it online here - you'll need to log in using your Greenford Google login. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) Write a one-sentence definition of what makes a film British.

- producers of film are British 

- cast is British 

- funded from within Britain

- films subject matter has to do with British culture or values 

2) What is the difference between a Hollywood production context and production context of a British film?

Hollywood has high budget production, a heavy reliance on celebrities and spectacle driven stories. Independent film production doesn't have a high budget and relies more on word of mouth , with viral advertising rather than spectacle driven stories. 

With British films they're not as clearly categorised, they can have a high budget/ concept films such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1. Or they can be more character driven, small budget films such as Kill List   

3) When did the James Bond franchise start?

1962

4) In terms of film censorship and graphic content, what began to change in British film in the 1970s and 1980s?

What we see over the course of the 20th century and into the 21st century is a gradual acceptance of social taboos being included in British Film, this usually centres on the main subjects of violence, sex, drug use and criminal activity. As the 20th Century progress we began to see more of these taboos in films, with them being increasingly more graphic. 

The 70s we see a rise in British Films of sexual content, both the act of sex and sex linked to violence with films like A Clockwork Orange (Warner Bros, 1971).

The 1980s see the rise of videos and the ‘video nasty’s scare where filmmaking was becoming more accessible and more extreme content was being created and finding its way to Britain.

5) What groups are often represented in British film? Give examples of films these groups feature in.

The representation of youth became increasingly important in the , especially the 50s and onwards. The way youth is portrayed in a very singular way in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (Warner Bros., 1971),for example is very singular. With a focus on violence, anti-establishment and a compulsion to act in an anarchic way. Another recent example is 

Eden Lake (Rollercoaster Films, 2008). Both films play a role in perpetuating the stereotype of the rebel youths that lean towards violence. However none of these characters usually have any depth and are used by producers to be the source of violence and threat (in the case of Eden Lake) or allow social commentary by the writers or censorship and repression.  

 

6) What does the Factsheet suggest might be the audience appeal of British film?

A film set in Britain, portraying British culture. 

Factsheet #100: British film industry

To complete our introduction to the British film industry, we need a little more background to the industries context.

Find Media Factsheet #100 on the British film industry. You can find it on the same link as above. Read the whole of the Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What is the 'cultural test' to see if a film counts as British?

 The Cultural Test is divided into four sections and a film must score at least 16 out of a possible 31 points to be classified as British. 

A - Cultural Context :

A1 The film is set in the UK 

A2 The lead characters are British citizens or residents 

A3 The film is based on British subject matter or underlying material 

A4 The original dialogue is recorded in mainly the English language 

B - Cultural Contribution:

B The film represents or reflects a diverse British culture, heritage or creativity 

C - Cultural Hubs:

C1 British studio and/or location shooting, visual effects or special effects 

C2 British music recording, audio post-production or picture post-production 

D - Cultural Practitioners:

D1 British director 

D2 British scriptwriter 

D3 British producer 

D4 British composer 

D5 British lead actors 

D6 Majority of cast are British 

D7 British key staff (lead cinematographer, lead production designer, lead costume designer etc.) 

D8 Majority of crew are British

2) Complete the task on the Factsheet - choose three of the films listed and research them to work out what they score on the cultural test: The Sweeney (2012), Attack The Block, The King's Speech, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Skyfall.

The Sweeney(2012) - 

Financing - 

Production/ finance companies: 

• Vertigo films 
• Embargo Films 
• Exponential media 

Cultural test - 

Attack The Block - 

Financing - 

• Film 4
• UK Film Council 

Cultural rest - 

The King's Speech - 

Financing -

• UK Film Council 
• Molinare

Cultural test - 

We Need To Talk About Kevin - 

Financing - 

• Footprint Investments 
• Piccadilly Pictures 
• LypSync Productions
• Artina films 
• Rockinghorse  Films 

Cultural test - 

Sky Fall - 

Financing  - 

• Eon Productions 
• B23
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
• Columbia Pictures 

Cultural test - 

• 3/30

3) What is the main problem for the British film industry?

 Historically the British Film Industry has been production led rather than distribution led 

4) What are three of the strengths of the British film industry?

1.  stunning natural landscapes 
2. outstanding creative skills of practitioners 
3. Film studios 

5) What are the two options for the future of the British film industry?

1.  British film makers could choose to rely on co-production with American studios to keep the Industry afloat
2. Could attempt to make low budget films for a niche,  British audience 

6) In your opinion, which of these two options would best safeguard the future of the British film industry?

I think making niche low budget films would be better for the safety of the British Film Industry as it would preserve British culture while creating an audience for it. For example Shaun of the Dead, is set in Britain with references to British culture. It was successful and I think if we made more tv shows and movie like that, it would be bring us a lot of revenue.