What Has Happened to Television?

Today, I sat down and watched Lauren Zalaznick on TED titled: The conscience of television. I started watching, not knowing anything about Zalaznick. I watched with an open mind and walked away well informed. In the TED video, she believes that television influences the way the world thinks and operates today. I believe the same. She then goes on to mention that the reason our culture here in the states enjoys watching television so much is simply because we like to be entertained. Zalaznick states that Americans watch more television a day than any other country. Other countries should be wary of this. A majority of our television shows are distributed to other countries and those countries can end up engulfed in television just as we are.

I then research Lauren Zalaznick to learn what her role in the industry played. There is some information about Lauren Zalaznick that should be known. Lauren is a well rounded film and television producer in the entertainment industry. She has completely revamped Bravo, oversees Oxygen and other networks. According to CNN Money, Zalaznick has secured U.S. Spanish-language rights to the FIFA World Cup from 2015 to 2022. Based on her history in the industry, she has a very strong idea of how television evolved and what it would take for television to succeed today.

I really enjoyed this speech. It was a short, but informative speech about the evolution of the audience's preference in television genres. She offered graphs that showed how the audience for each decade changed their interest as television developed. Since 2000, reality television has peaked because that is what viewers want and the humor genre has declined. I personally am only a fan of at most two reality shows; one is a dance competition show and the other is a competition show to have a role on a television show. I do not necessarily fall under the statistics she presented for this decade but understand why and how reality has peaked in interest.

The Excitement Behind SXSW Film Festival

South by Southwest (SXSW) is one of the largest and diverse festivals to be held in the United States with 2012’s attendance equaling out to be around 60,000 attendants. SXSW first opened its doors in 1987 in Austin, TX. It first began as a festival to bring an audience to Austin diverse music scene.  It continues to grow year after year. SXSW now holds an Interactive Festival, Music Festival, Film Festival and Trade Shows. It is a place where new businesses can showcase network and showcase their product. The Music Festival used to be the more populated festival until the Film Festival exceeded the attendance numbers in 2012.

I have been a fan of The South by Southwest Film Festival. It is very important for independent filmmakers to see the importance of this festival. It offers a lot of opportunities for upcoming filmmakers who want a chance to gain recognition in the industry. It is an affordable way to meet industry leaders and well-known actors. For filmmakers who want to focus on the technical side of film, there are opportunities to Some benefits of of attending SXSW are the movie premieres for anticipated movies. Bridesmaids (2011) and Cabin in the Woods(2010) premiered its movie at the film festival. Both movies have gone on to be a success. One of the more promising benefits of participating in the festival is having the opportunity to win a distribution deal, like The Tall Man and Girls Against Boys have.

Submitting a film to South by Southwest and having it accepted into the festival can open many doors. As previously mentioned before, it can open up the opportunity of sealing a credible distribution deal. Whether the filmmaker wins an award or not, think of it this way. The film was shown in front of other filmmakers and well-known industry attendees. The filmmaker gains recognition which can lead to networking with idols and potentially gaining work or partnerships.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Movie Review

I have had the privilege of attending an advance screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey movie adaptation is the first installment of three films from the acclaimed novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is the prelude of The Lord Of the Rings. The follows the journey of a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. Baggins leaves his comfortable lifestyle to embark on an adventure with 13 dwarfs and a wizard named Gandalf. The purpose of the adventure is to reach the treasures guarded by a dragon.

The main excitement behind the release of this film is having the option to see the film in 24fps 3-D, 48 fps 3-D, or 24fps 2-D. But most movie viewers do not necessarily know the difference.The term "fps" stands for frames per second. A majority of films are projected in 24fps. The frames per second are how fast the images are projected per second. To simply put it, the higher the frame rate, the sharper the image and less blurry the film will appear. 

This film was definitely entertaining. I am still have not made up my mind on whether I particularly like it or not. I felt the movie was longer than it needed to be. It did not help that the key to the projector was not programmed correctly, so we had to wait almost an hour for the film begin. It turned a three hour event into a four hour event. I saw the film in 48fps in 3-D. Yes, it was a visually appealing movie, with fantastic visual effects, but since it was a prequel to an already successful trilogy, I felt it took away from what Lord of the Rings originally delivered. At the same time, I understood Peter Jackson’s approach. The Hobbit is a kid friendly novel and creating the film in 48fps gave it a kid friendly feel. The movie does evolve into a progressively dark film. The Hobbit was definitely a successful return to Middle Earth. Outside of the technical aspect of the films, I would suggest this film to any Lord of the Rings fan. 

The Film Industry's Glass Ceiling: Independent Filmmaking

Within the last ten years or so, independent movies have been making its way to the mainstream realm. This is with the help of studios and A-list actors. Large studios are branching out and creating independent film companies to create films that lack the ideal plot of a blockbuster film.

What are some advantages of independent films? The biggest different between an independent film and a blockbuster film is the unique approach to story telling. The stories are more bold and aggressive. The plots are not made to make the audience happy. The plots are simply created to tell a really good story. This allows the director and the screenwriter have full creative control over the finished product.

Another advantage of independent films is the actors. Independent films tend to display talent from unknown actors, who have potential in developing a strong career. Audiences are drawn to independent films to see up and coming actors. For mainstream films, it can feel like the same stories are being told because the same actors are type casted in the same type of films. Because of the type casting, if the content is solid, an independent filmmaker may grasp the attention of an A-list actor to pursue a role in the film. A-list actors chose independent films to re-establish themselves as a good actor who can do more than the mainstream material.

Independent filmmakers go the route of self distribution to maintain their own distribution. Self distribution is considered a separate industry within itself. It takes more time going through the distribution process than it does making the film. To avoid the hassle of self distribution, independent filmmakers will choose to submit the film to several festivals, hoping a studio picks it up and distributes the film. It sometimes means submitting a shorter version hoping to sell the script for a quick fee.

There are many ulterior motives as to why filmmakers create independent films. Do not get discouraged if you have planned to only work in with independent film industry. Money can still be made. It will just be a difficult marketing process. If you chose to create a film under your own company, instead of a studio, consider hiring a distribution company. Use most of your funds to distribute your film.