Relationship between films and their production contexts

This report will explain how the production context and relationship between two films from
different decades, differ and compare. I will be analysing A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and A
Nightmare On Elm Street (2010) Remake.
There are many different production contexts which has all influenced the way films are produced
and seen by the general public such as Hollywood, Bollywood, British, international and
independent. Below I will explain these.

Hollywood
Hollywood is known worldwide and influence the way films are produced and portrayed to the
public. In my opinion the films that Hollywood are involved in have a reputation of an extensive
budget that makes high gross margins in sales, promotion, advertising and marketing. They have a
wealthy, money funded, and popularity persona offering a platform of a vast amount of famous
directors in their catalogue. So the influence they have on films depends on the collaborating
aspects with directors, producers and writers. Hollywood has a lot of influence in the way the film
are conducted within Pre, production and post but they also offer a lot of flexibility. For example
Christopher Nolan who directed The Dark Knight Rises had flexibility within his vision for the film
whilst being backed by 230 million dollar budget by Hollywood. The reason why Hollywood has the
budget to film such a highly financial production is that they have a large amount of contacts. Which
means they can exhibit their productions to a mass market, which enables them to bring in more
income. This then allows them to bring in stars within the industry. Thus gaining an audience which
will reimburse the income that they have budgeted for the film.

Bollywood
Bollywood is the name for the Indian film industry which in recent years has grown in popularity,
within the mainstream industry which is trending in the 21st century. This type of filming production
incorporates a vast amount of Indian cinematography, which is becoming more popular by the
decade. Bollywood want to portray some of their ideologies and ethics to show to the world. The
heavily exposed traditional cultured Indian music whilst showing visual imagery of the Indian culture,
has been explored through the medium of storytelling. They have influenced the way the viewer
sees a narrative, which incorporates heavily traditional Indian routes of food, poverty, location and
religion. If we compare Hollywood and Bollywood together I think that Bollywood is trying to
become more Americanised. Bollywood like the British and American filming industry, are influenced
by their own beliefs and cultures which makes the connection easier for the audiences to connect to
the narratives and characters. The franchise at the moment is booming within the industry due to
the control, directors and producers have over their films. The main difference between these two
different franchises is that Hollywood is focussed on getting as much money whilst having a huge
budget to gather a wide audience. Whereas Bollywood tends to base their films about their own
cultured ethics which includes Indian influences which could appeal to tourists.


British
The British film industry does have influences in the way films are produced. The way the British film
and cinematography industry influence their films is, by using British ideologies and using diverse
culture meanings. The way they use diverse meanings is by incorporating political views, society's
and ethnic cultures to tell a fictional and (or) non fictional narrative. The industry is drastically
changing over decades, in recent years budgets have become more expensive with the use of
graphics. Britain has a reputation which due to the need for films has given a spot light on the British
media business. The way the filming industry is going, has become more collaborate through
industry companies working together. An example could be Pinewood studios working with
Hollywood to create a collaborative film for the mass market.

International
International co-production are one of the most influential types of companies collaborating
together. The purpose that International co productions has over any other production context, is
that there are more ideas, money, marketing, mass market, advertising, television coverage and
campaigns. There is more opportunities to be offered with a collaborating process which can include
more cultured narratives for example Slumdog Millionaire. This has the British and Indian industry
collaborating together to create an international production which incorporates the culture of India
and Britain. The Bollywood aspects of this film is prominent right at the end of the credits, with the
indian choreographed dancing. The use of educating in international collaboration influences the
way we see their type of culture in how these companies want us to view the scenario or narrative.

Independant
Independent films are professional film productions which is created outside of the major filming
system that is known extensively around the world. This type of production content is the most
commonly used form of filming media due to having financial limitations. Aspirational directors such
as Jeff Harmer is an independent film maker in the United Kingdom who has won awards for his
independent films. The majority of filmmakers are independent as money is a factor that comes into
play within this industry. The media and the cinematography industry is growing in the 21st century.
The major big block buster companies such as: Pixar, Dreamworks and Warner Brothers has an
expectation that all films have to meet their standards which normally involves a high amount of
financial support. Independent film makers are influenced by these companies to up their game
however directs find different ways to source their money. Crowdfunding is a technique that
directors use to source income, actors, crew, editors and many areas within the filming industry. This
also shows that independent companies do influence their films as every aspect is on a hands on
approach.




My two examples A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)
Remake have 26 years between the release date, however the contents surrounding the relationship
between the films has changed. The filming industry has adapted with technology over the past two
decades which is shown especially in my two films that have been influential to the horror genre.

Financial determinants
Financial determinants is a vital part of any film that is being made independently or on a
commercial mainstream background. The Nightmare on Elm street in 1984 in to its remake 26 years
later, had a budget estimated of $1,8000,000 and the remake in 2010 had a budget of
$27,000,000. The remake cost $18,000,000 more than its pre predecessor which shows how much
technology in this generation has risen, due to technology being more technically advanced which
intern costs more.
Technologies of production
Technologies of production has vastly changed over the years and between decades between my
two chosen films. There are a lot more options now within the interactive technology industry
however back in the eighties they were still limited. For example at the time of shooting the first
Nightmare On Elm Street they used 35mm celluloid film roll. The second film have used more
technically advanced cameras such as Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2. These types of cameras
were more advanced than the 35mm cameras used in the first film. A major difference in technology
was the way both directors filmed scenes to gain as much footage in a rapid success of time.
Samaeul (the director of the remake) wanted to showcase the technical aspects to show how he
envisioned the first film to look like with a slightly different narrative focussed mainly on the
sympathy, of the way Freddy saw himself to the others. The way Wes (director of original) went
about shooting his footage using principle Photography. This discipline was used for the first film as
they were hiring equipment that they could not budget for. So they were rapidly losing money day
by day. The whole filming process took a whole month to shoot before the footage was a wrap. Wes
would direct from June to the end of July1984 and if any scenes were mis-placed they would have
been cut out of the film. This shows how expensive the cameras were back in the eighties however
technology is constantly revamping and revolving.

Distribution and Exhibition
Distribution And Exhibition affects every film that is made whether it be Independent, British,
Hollywood, Mainstream, Commercial. Distribution is a fundamental part to get a film recognised and
out to the public. Both films have a lot of money and time placed into the pre, pro and post
production so making sure this is shown to gain income for all parties involved is especially the main
focal point in big Hollywood mainstream production companies. The way the first film went about
distributing their film was to have a limited number of cinemas across the whole of America to
showcase this screening, which amounted to 165 cinema showing an exclusive screening of this new
horror film.


Wes and New Line cinema solely relied on word of mouth and hype with very little advertising to get
their film known. The positive aspect of doing this is that this is one way of knowing if there is a
market for a film. This shows the director, producer, editor and distributor that just by word of
mouth, if a film can gross over one million two hundred twenty seven thousand. Then they have
made a profit of 25 million in the first week through box office sales during the 165 shows which
makes this being an automatic commercial success. The negative side is that if this was not picked up
by the fans not doing many promotion might not get to the further market I.e on TV, posters,
articles, trailers. In this instance the first film has made a huge success with making over 24 times the
amount of income spent in the first week than creating the film. This shows to Wes and his
representatives, that there is a growing market for the film industry.
This worked in 1984 however in the 21st century, times have changed where you are up against a lot
of other competition that are trying to gain as much money as possible. Which makes the filming
industry a hard business. If we know look at the remake of the same film, you can see the budget to
make this whole project was a huge ordeal and a vast amount more than the first. In 2010 the
director Samuel and members of his Marketing team, set out events to gain as much attention to the
film. They created a viral campaign of posters and used a massive film publicity event which is called
Wondercon, to promote this film on a large spectrum to the mass audience. Fans of films were
there, the media press, fellow huge directors, actors, newspapers. The distribution and exhibition
for this film has made a lot of money due to promotion and red screen events at festivals around the
world. There were approximately over 4700 screenings within the United States which ran across
380 theatres. There were 215 more theatres that had shown this film than the first film which also
shows how big this genre has become. Also this does show the viewers how well they have
promoted this film. Another feature that they have added with the remake which did not happen
with the first film was the release of plastic toy figures.
Trends
When the first Elm street film was created, there was a horror scene booming. The gratification that
the thriller, violence, slasher, gory effects were scene to be the movies that were popular. A decade
before sough the release of one of the most famous films within the horror phenomenon, this was
called The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. This film shocked the world where there are reports of
many paying members of the public fainting and leaving in the cinema during the screening. There
were a lot of murders during the 1980s especially the 1979 1981 Atlanta Murders. At the time
Wes was writing his film, there were a lot of murders involving children and adolescents. At this time
horror, was becoming more of a subject that was consumed by the media. This being said trendy
filmography within the 1980's were the Sci-Fi/action genres for example (Indiana Jones Raiders Of
The Lost Arc, Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back, Ghost Busters, Back To The Future, ET, Jaws and
The Godfather) these were all trending films within the industry.
Due to a mass consumption of Sci-Fi and futuristic narratives exploited on film and media. Wes
wanted to not go down the conventional route of trends so the horror scene were starting to go on
the rise and the biggest hit was the release of the first film. John Saxon is a famous star that was the
detective that Wes cast. He was a very popular star, so having a star with a television series that was
trending on many broadcast channels helps publicity.



Genres
Genres that are popular at a time of production do influence the way a film can be shot. Genres
affects different trends. If we look at the remake, the horror genre has more fans than ever before.
There are now multiple genre trends for example Sci-Fi is trending with Star Wars and Star trek and
Horror with Nightmare On Elm Street and Saw. Thorpe Park has a ride called The Saw Ride and an
attraction called The Saw Maze which is taken after one of the most famous Horror Sequels The
Saw Movies. This shows that the horror genre is still actively being practised in the form of film and
television. Due to the success of horror building up over the years this sends a positive message to
Samuel and New Line Cinema that horror is in fashion. As this type of genre keeps them on their feet
(which gives the audience excitement), a lot of the public have a positive feeling for the horror
genre!

Regulatory issues
Regulatory Issues have to be abided by in any media and film outlet that your produce. Laws come
into every aspect that surrounds the world we live in. BBFC which stands for British Board Of Film
Classification are an independent non-profit organisation that are a regulatory body which adheres
to age ratings and laws of content within media and film. Laws have always been implemented
however they have tightened up in the 21st century due to debates about what is acceptable to
show content to a certain age bracket and the classification age. Many critics call horror movies as
video nasty's which has been labelled because shocking events that are re-created on a film shocks
viewers.
Here are a few laws that horror and any film has to abide by; The Obscene Publications Act 1959
and 1964, The Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937, The Protection of Children Act 1978, The
Sexual Offences Act 2003. These four laws that I have highlighted in bold are extremely important
as this stops criminal activity being shown across any forms of media and criminal activity.
If we look at the films I have analysed, the first film had a slightly different descripted written law
than The Sexual Offences Act 2003. The law before stated that the sexual offence would include 16
years old. However they changed this to 18 years, as this would be more appropriate due to content
being seeing at a young age which caused massive outcry and political debates. They have also
tightened up on sexual activity and graphical content in films. Rape scenes in films are restricted in
an 18 certificate than 16 as it was before 2003.
In the first film of the nightmare series you can see that the way Freddy used voyeurism on his pray,
seemed quite sadistic and in a way docile. The film could get away with a lot of gory scenes with
blood spread everywhere. However the constant violence throughout the entire film, placed a lot of
negative comments from the public. If we now look at the remake the use of effects to make the film
more realistic shows how advanced technology has become. Finding new ways to show what is
acceptable within films without breaking the law with a 18 rated film certificate is the new path
forward for horror directors due to having a market that loves, constant narratives fulfilled with
excitement.



Synergies between films
Synergies between films helps all promotion aspects of film contexts and production. The Nightmare
franchise have 7 sequels to the first film released which showcases the constant success of this
whole franchise with a trending market. Between all the sequels, the graphical violence and
gruesome scenes have been exploited more explicitly. Due to the success of horror fans the recent
remake has made new generation fans revisit the old series. During the time of the remake there
were events, merchandise, comic books, press conferences, film nights, festival runs and books. The
reasoning behind a growing trend in synergy is that there is an expectation of a structure that
happens when a film comes out. There are certain promotional areas that need to be addressed
with any upcoming film which involves press, viral campaigns, advertisement, interviews, articles,
marketing, signings, trailers etc.
Due to the success of all the films at the end of October every year on Halloween many avid fans
dress up as Freddy Krueger to go Trick or Treat. The use of synergy from the franchise has enabled
the brand to explode into other forms such as social media for example Freddy and the franchise has
his own social media sites which gives quotes to the fans.

Conclusion
Regardless of the production context, the producing techniques that are used have huge impacts on
film. In every production context the technology and equipment they use have been vastly improved
over the years they have been producing films. Although each production context differs to the next
for example Hollywood movies work with a much greater film budget than British or Bollywood
movies, they all share the same relationship to film making and produce films suitable for their
audience.


References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Nightmare_on_Elm_Street
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Nightmare_on_Elm_Street_(2010_film)
http://ilovethatfilm.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-relationship-between-production_2189.html
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20121222020903AAiNnS6