HUMA 2740

Lecture 7

Thomas Ince

- Pioneered the use of the shooting script as the blueprint for the
production of a film
o Becomes of way of organizing labour (producer to writer to
filmmaker to e.g. costume designer, set designer, slowly
becomes contractual and steady employment)
- Script sets out the division of labour to be used in completing the film
- Begins in 1911
Stars by Richard Dyer

- Analysis of the Star Image: (stars create other institutions) – star

system
o Promotion – stars going on tours, coming to opening nights
o Publicity – e.g. newspaper articles about the stars
o Films – stars in recurring roles (e.g. Charlie Chaplin)
o Criticism and Commentary
- Film producers begin to realize some performers were more popular
than others
- At first, credits were very short, no director or actors mentioned
- Broadway stars first came to films to build a career
- Way to differentiate the product (films)
- There was already a star system in place though before (e.g.
Broadway actors and sports industry)
Exhibition

- Old forms of exhibition disappear (amusement parks, Nickelodeons,

others listed above)
- More elaborate stand-alone theatres are built
- Some of these are Movie Places with 3000 seats and full orchestra
providing musical accompaniment
Ownership: Public, Private and Mixed

Television Regulators

- TV industries regulated by the state

- Regulators are state agencies monitoring the actions and
interactions of public and private TV broadcasters to make sure they
are operating in accordance with the established broadcasting
policies
- If a TV network violates a broadcasting policy, may be fined by the
regulator
- Regulatory agency may develop new regulations for TV broadcasting
or enforce old ones
Television Ratings

- A rating is info abt the number of people who watch a particular TV

show at a specific point in time
- Ratings firms emerged in response to need of TV networks and TV
advertisers for a supposedly neutral research mechanism that could
generate objective info abt the TV audience they exchanged
- Advertising firms use ratings to determine when and where to place
their adsTelevision and the Nation-State: Cultural Policy
- TV is a cultural good
- Culture is governed and cultural policy represents the state
administrative means and techniques for doing so
- States have played a central role in facilitating and legitimizing the
emergence of TV industries