Beginning in 1975, the movie industry began a period of innovation and advancement that seems to remain ongoing. Sony released Betamax cassettes which first allowed for home video recording. Soon after the VHS system of recording and the VCR spurred in home movie viewing. Questions arose about the possibilities of copyright infringement with in home video recording, but in the end the VCR was found to be totally legal. These recording and viewing devices were very expensive which gave rise to video rental businesses like Blockbuster in 1985 and Netflix in 1997. In 1980, the disc system was introduced and LaserDisc became fairly popular; however, these large discs lacked recording capabilities. This led to the production of Digital Versatile Discs (DVD s) which revolutionized the movie industry. DVD s, over time, became responsible for nearly half of the revenue made by a movie; in fact, some movies go straight to DVD because of the profitability. The digital age further changed entertainment media. Blue-ray Discs capture films in high definition, video game consoles can stream Netflix rentals, and Redbox allows for $2 movie rentals with no subscription. Imax theaters are becoming increasingly popular as well by showing some films in 3-D.

1. Explain the psychology of entertainment. (Assignment #2) Please define the similarities between painting, sculpture, sporting events and cinematography.
Over time human beings have developed more and more leisure time. Human beings had the opportunity to choose how to spend their leisure time. For example, the Roman Empire held to gladiatorial games to satisfy the public’s leisure time. In more modern times, people developed different tastes and artistic forms, but it was for the same basic reasons; to spend leisure time in a satisfying manner, and to, sometimes, escape reality. Paintings, sports events, and movies all entertain people, satisfy their leisurely needs, and give them an escape from reality.

2. After watching about 20 minutes of “The Dock of New York,” a silent drama, explain, what are the elements that substitute the sound? (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xmt8e7_the-docks-of-new-york_shortfilms#.UTYOWFcoHjs)
Silent films engaged audiences very differently from modern films. There was no spoken dialogue in these films. Instead, orchestras were often playing at silent theaters because music significantly contributed to the emotion of the audience. Slides with written text were used to guide the audience through the show; moreover, audiences of silent films were much more involved and often created their own running dialogue while watching the film.

3. What has changed in the movie industry with the coming of sound? Why did producers fear the coming of sound?
After the arrival of sound, actors were now required to be English speaking and have experience on film or stage and silent theaters were either torn down or updated to accommodate films with sound. Producers feared the coming of sound because films now required a bigger sense of realism and many studios and theaters where shut down because the owners were unable to meet the costs of converting to sound.

4. What were the changes that took place in entertainment media with the coming of color?
Color in film, along with sound, created a new standard for film making. When color was introduced, film sets and the films themselves were expected to be much more realistic and natural. Color in films also gave rise to the use of special effects and action sequences.

5. Innumerate the innovations that took place in entertainment media in 1960s.
During the 60s, the majority of movie goers were in there teens and twenties. In order to really maximize from this audience, movie makers brought back older genres like gangster films, war films, film noir, and westerns. Movies also began creating social commentary to emphasize the social and political issues that were going on at the time. Drive in theaters became extremely popular as well.

6. Name at least 7 people that can be credited with the development of cinematographic tools that revolutionized the movie business (sound, color, special effects). Please explain why their innovations were significant.
Christiaen Huygens invented the “magic lantern” in 1659 which was the forerunner to the slide projector. The lantern used a light source to project medical drawings and hand painted images on glass.
Thomas Edison invented the kinetophone in 1895 which first introduced film and sound synchronization by displaying a motion picture through a kinetoscope while the viewer listens to the accompanying audio played through a phonograph.
Dr. Lee DeForest invented the audio amplifier tube by combining an amplifier with a device for recording and was able to record sound on film. He went on to create phonofilms and Phonofilm Studios.
The Warner Bros. were the first studio to use film and sound by recording sound on a disc. They opened a studio in New York to be closer to Broadway stars, and began making many short films.
William Fox created Fox Movietone News which was the first sound news weekly program. They had stories on Mussolini and Lindberg.
Edward Raymond Turner attempted to make the first color film in 1902. He made a short film and attempted to run the film through a projector that projected red, blue, and green light in hopes of projecting the film in color. He failed, however, to get the projector to work sufficiently.
Cecil B. Demilles created Hollywood’s first production “The Squaw Man” with his company The Lasky Feature Play Company.

In the early 1960s, filmmakers sought to capture and influence the youth.  80% of movie-goers were under the age of 2.  Films contained social commentary and romanticized rebellion with films like “Bonnie and Clyde.”  Toward the late 60s and early 70s, filmmakers wanted to improve older genres like gangster films with “The Godfather,” war films with “Patton,” and western films with “Little Big Man.”  American attention shifted during the mid and late 70s.  Escapist blockbuster hits became popular because of special effects, action, and concepts of good vs. evil with films like “Star Wars” and “Back to the Future.”  Toward the end of the 70s and early 80s, movies shifted their focus to political issues like the Vietnam War and racial and urban violence.  Films were capturing social commentary that was popular in the early 60s.  The films made in the late 80s and 90s captured family entertainment and comedy which had not been done previously.  They revived historical and political films with “Glory” and “Malcolm X.”  Movie production costs rose to nearly $40 million per film so they began to rely on blockbuster hits, remakes of older popular films, and high tech special affects like in the late 70s.  Movies continue to be the source of mass cultural influence.

Sink or Swim:  Hollywood After WWII

The movie industry in Hollywood was created mostly by Eastern European and Jewish immigrants.  They were extremely street smart and knew how to please the public regardless of race.  They ran tight production schedules and distributed their own movies to the theaters that they owned.  They went further as to divide the theaters into three categories:  first run, second run, and third run theaters.  The best movies would go to the first run theaters first to access the wealthier customers, they would then go to the second run and third run theaters that were located in less wealthy areas.  The star system was born and box office hits became the standard.  Despite the success of the movie industry, it did have its problems.  People worried about the influence of movies on young people, the Great Depression nearly bankrupted the industry, and there were significant political and cultural differences between the bosses and the talent and staff.  During WWII, however, America was united as a nation and all other issues were set aside as unimportant.  Post WWII, the movie industry began to improve; however, it would face several problems during post-war and cold-war hysteria, the baby boom, and social conformity.  First, artists wanted more creative freedom that conflicted with the tight scheduling of Hollywood.  People began purchasing vehicles and televisions and using their leisure time more.  Cold-war hysteria allowed for the birth of the filme genre Film Noir which appealed to conspiracy theories and government secrets.  Drive-in theaters were established to appeal to the growth in vehicle production and sales.  Smaller studios began to flourish because they offered more creative talent; and, the big studios used wider screens and color cinematogrophy and began producing films overseas.  

Sound and Meaning in Film

Film sound history’s beginning point is difficult to identify.  Technically, “The Jazz Singer” 1927 is considered the first film with sound.  However, Thomas Edison first introduced film and sound synchronization with his kinetophone in 1891.  The Warner Bros. began recording sound on disc and synchronizing it with the film in 1926, and Western Electric began recording sound on film in 1928.  These were the early developments of sound in films; however, the silent films were actually not really silent at all.

Opponents of sound in films believed it made the film more dependent on realism and naturalism. In a sense, sound through image has more emotional impact than sound outside the film, and that is way sound in films became the standard.  

Silent films, prior to the history of sound in films, were often accompanied by orchestras in the theater, audiences were especially not quiet, and, if not an orchestra, music was almost always present during a silent film presentation.  In a sense, because “The Jazz Singer” had sound and film synchronization all movies before it were declared the “silent” films even though they were hardly silent.

Film and sound theorists began exploring film and sound, and reproducing sound.  Eventually, they came to argue that a recording of a sound is represents that sound just like an image represents an object.  Other theorists argued that recordings of sounds are in fact totally different from the original sound.  This theory is based on the fact that recordings could be made in places with different spatial arrangements than where the original sound took place.  

Sound in films only gains meaning by its relation with the image presented in the film.  Environmental noises must be accounted for when filming and recording dialogue, and the noises in the film must match the images and scenes being presented.  For example, in a fight scene, the punches need to sound like punches.  Furthermore, in theaters, people attribute the sound they hear to what they see on the screen when in fact the sound is coming from the speakers next to the screen.  

He goes on to discuss helpful questions to use when analyzing films and sounds. The first is “What sounds are present?” For this one would analyze all voices, action sounds, environmental sounds, etc. The next question is (paraphrased) “Are the film and sound in synchronization?” To answer this, one would need to identify the sounds source; on screen or off? Furthermore, is the dialogue in the film from a narrator or a character? And finally, “What effects result from and what purpose does the sound have?”

1.  The film industry began in Fort Lee, New Jersey.  Sunlight was critical to make a film, and the rooftops in New Jersey provided excellent sunlight.  

2.  Filmmakers moved to California because it had large rural areas, Los Angeles had cheap labor, and Hollywood, settled in 1903, had a lot of real estate.  California itself offered the big city, seaport, open range, snow country, desert, and mountain settings which makes it perfect for filmmakers.  

3.  Cecil B. DeMilles came from New York to California with his company the Lasky Feature Play Company.  He created Hollywood’s first production “The Squaw Man.”  His brother and sister William and Agnes DeMilles followed him to California.

4.  Dr. Lee DeForest invented an audio amplifying tube which he combined with a device for recording sound on film.  In so doing, he invented the phonofilm.  DeForest Phonofilm Studios began sound and film experiments. 

5.  Warner Bros. was the first studio to use sound in film by recording the sound on disc instead of film.  They opened a studio in New York to use broadway stars in films, and they began with many short films.  

6.  William Fox created the Fox Movietone News which was a weekly news program with sound.  They had stories on Mussolini and Lindberg all seen and heard.  Fox Movietone News eventually had four shows weekly.  

7.  With the introduction of sound in film, actors had to receive training in drama and voice cultures.  Stage training became a requirement and broadway actors took over much of the business.

8.  Sound became sort of a new norm in the movie industry.  The movies now required English speaking actors, silent stages were torn down and rebuilt for the use of sound, and studios during filming were now silent to accommodate the sound recording.  The silent films that were still being made tried bigger screens, technicolor, and more expensive films to compete.

9.  Thomas Alva Edison invented the Kinetophone which first introduced the concept of sound and film synchronization.  

Social organization for all species developed progressively over time. Essentially, the social organization for humans and primates allowed leisure time for a majority of the group by employing a select few as guards, workers, etc. As humans evolved, leisure time became more and more abundant with farming and tool developments. Shivers (1997) defined leisure as “a time of opportunity wherein the individual has the freedom to perceive and select experiences which are either worthwhile or simply gratifying without any other redeeming quality.”

A majority of leisure time for most people is spent on entertainment; moreover, gained leisure time fostered ritualistic ceremonies, the family dinner, banquets, theater, sport, and art. Over time, the classes of people divided over which types of entertainment they took part in. Greek culture defined what entertainment should be, what affects it could have, and who should consume which type. Much like Egyptian and Chinese culture, high class Greek society held banquets, lavish theater shows, and sports events like the Olympics. Lower classes were entertained typically by mediocre theater, sports, and beer houses. In fact, the aristocracy in all of these cultures were granted leisure time for exciting entertainment, while those in working and lower classes were excluded.

The Roman Empire, on the other hand, developed the first forms of mass entertainment with state supported events up to 175 days per year. The Circus Maximus held 250,000 people (upper and lower classes) for gladiator fights and animal fights. The public baths were also a center for leisure time holding upwards of 60,000 people. Leaders of the Roman Empire often used the games to pacify the masses, while the needs of the masses dictated the type and frequency of the games.

With the decline of the Roman Empire and the spread of Christianity throughout Europe, leisure time became dominated by religion. Fairs became the main center of leisure activity and entertainment. Leaders of the time, however, only supported entertainers that based their shows on Christianity. As a result morality plays and allegories became the staple for the mobile stages. Along with mobile stages, permanent theaters became popular. The first public playhouse, The Theatre, opened in England in 1576. “Blood sports” and “low comedy” shows were still played for the crowds. As America began to progress, much of the entertainment forms from Europe carried over. Fairs, taverns, theater, and sports became the foundation of entertainment in America. At times, these forms of entertainment have been outlawed because they were believed to be too sinful. Thus the argument over what entertainment should and should not be ensued. Some believed that entertainment should in no way sway one from God, while others believed people needed to “escape reality” through entertainment.

Over time, entertainment gained support and it was seen as recreation instead of an escape. Concerts, theater, sports, and opera became the foundation for recreational activities. This in turn was only spurred by the invention of the radio and television. Entertainment has now become a necessity for daily life.

Entertainment media, to me, is anything that can provide some form of entertainment. It could be social networking, movies, music, etc.  Between cell phones, social networking, television and gaming I probably spend all my free time using entertainment media.

Entertainment media is more popular than news media because people have become dependent on being entertained and are less focused on issues in the world and local community.

News media and other media could borrow advertising elements, expand online, and make it exciting like most entertainment media.

I prefer to use a blog for the assignments in this class.