British Film Industry Factsheets

 British Film

1) Write a one-sentence definition of what makes a film British
What makes a film British is the people making the film who are British, it is funded within Britain and the subject of the film is British culture related.

2) What is the difference between a Hollywood production context and production context of a British film?
The Hollywood production context means that most films made by Hollywood studios have high budgets, a heavy reliance on celebrities both in the cast and crew. Whereas, production context of a British film is defined as to having low budgets, character rather than spectacle driven stories and a heavier reliance on word of mouth and viral advertising. The British film production context does not have as many clearly defined characteristics.

3) When did the James Bond franchise start?
The 1960s brought about the start of the James Bond franchise.

4) In terms of film censorship and graphic content, what began to change in British film in the 1970s and 1980s?
The 1970s sees a rise in British Films of sexual content, both the act of sex and sex linked to violence with films like A Clockwork Orange. The 1980s see the rise of videos and the ‘video nasty’s scare where film-making was becoming more accessible and more extreme content. This shows that alot of things as revolutionized since the 1980s. 

5) What groups are often represented in British film? Give examples of films these groups feature in. 
Groups such as class, politics, social change and education are some of the many issues that British film has explored throughout its history.

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

Actors, British actors tend to be clearly identifiable as British and will often be associated with a particular genre of British film. British locations tend to be a heavily used feature of the film, with London being the most popular, however the overwhelming characteristics that will most appeal to a British audience is the social theme that provides the through line for many British film narratives. 

 British film industry

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. These four sections are: Cultural Context, Cultural Contribution, Cultural Hubs, Cultural Practitioners.

 

2) Complete the task on the Factsheet, researching the films listed and finding out what they score on the cultural test: Sweeney, Attack The Block, The King's Speech, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Skyfall.

Sweeney-Budget:£3,000,000: The cultural test score got 16/31

Attack The Block: Budget: 13,000,000: The lead characters are from Britain and represents British culture therefore, earned 16/31

The King's Speech: Budget: 15,000,000: The culture test score is 16/31 

We Need To Talk About Kelvin: Budget: 7,000,000:  This movie did not pas the cultural test since some of the lead characters were not all from Britain.  
Skyfall: Budget: 200,000,000: The location is filmed in London, The lead characters are all from Britain therefore, represents British culture. This scored got 16/31 in the culture test.

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

the British film industry has been production led rather than distribution led.This means that many UK films are made but, in order to get the film exhibited, the filmmakers have to sacrifice the distribution rights by selling the film to a distribution company. Another problem that the BFI faces is often described as a ‘cottage industry’. This suggests it is small-scale therefore, can never truly compete with the ‘factory industries’ of the Hollywood-based studios.

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

Britain has had a film industry since well before World War I and several important film studios are British, such as Ealing Studios. Also British films take 5% of world box-office takings, which is extraordinary for such a small nation. Sir Alan Parker believes the british film industry is strong for the following reason:
• outstanding creative skills of practitioners
• outstanding facilities

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

British filmmakers could choose to rely upon co-productions with American studios to keep the industry afloat.

The UK film industry’s second option is to attempt to make low budget films targeted at a niche, British audience.

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

In my opinion, The British industry should team up with the American Film industry. This will allow the film industry to gain more recognition around the world, not just in Britain. Their revenue for each movie will increase due to the increase in audience.