Oscar and other awards

AMERICAN CINEMA

Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording actual people and objects with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects.

Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form (especially art film), a source of popular entertainment, and a powerful method for educating-or indoctrinating citizens. The visual elements of cinema give motion pictures a universal power of communication; some movies have become popular worldwide attraction, by using dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue.

The first man whom we should appreciate for the current sound motion picture was Thomas Edison. The cinematograph based on Edison's kinetoscope was invented by two brothers Louis and August Lumiere. They were determined to develop a machine that would both photograph and project celluloid film. The Lumiere device, called the Cinematographe, gave the medium name by wich it is known in much of the world: the cinema.

In the United States early filmmakers were also discovering the ability of the motion picture to record the real world and at the same time be an expressive artistic tool. "The great train robbery" made by Edwin S. Porter was the first film Western. There Porter carried experiments in editing a step further, bringing together two separate and simultaneous story lines.

"The great train robbery" included the basic ingredients of the Western: a hold-up, a chase, and a gunfight. It used a great variety of shots by showing the action at different distances from the camera- long shots of action in the distance, but also medium shots of the actors shown full-length, and chase-ups of the face and shoulders of a gunman shooting directly at the audience.

Throughout most of the decade, silent films were the predominant product of the film industry, having evolved from vaudevillian roots. But the films were becoming bigger (or longer), costlier, and more polished. They were being manufactured, assembly-line style, in Hollywood's 'entertainment factories,' in which production was broken down and organized into its various components (writing, costuming, makeup, directing, etc.).

The first US feature film to be shown in its entirety was H. A. Spanuth's five-reel production of "Oliver Twist" (1912). The four-reel silent costume drama "Queen Elizabeth" (starring Sarah Bemhardt) was the third film to be shown whole, in its US premiere in July at the Lyceum Theatre in NYC. The five-reel "Richard III" (1912) is thought to be the earliest surviving complete feature film made in the US. Although US production and exhibition of feature films started slowly in 1912, the next few years demonstrated tremendous growth when foreign competition (with often superior products) encouraged development.

The early years of the 40s decade were not promising for the American film industry, especially following the late 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, and the resultant loss of foreign markets. However, Hollywood film production rebounded and reached its profitable peak of efficiency during the years 1943 to 1946 - a full decade and more after the rise of sound film production, now that the technical challenges of the early 30s sound era were far behind.

Charlie Chaplin directed and starred in his first talking picture, "The Great Dictator" (1940), almost five years after the release of his last silent film, "Modem Times" (1936). It was a war-time, anti-fascist, satirical, thinly-veiled lampooning of the Third Reich and its dictatorial leader (rare among American films) in which a Hitler-like, despotic tyrant named Adenoid Hynkel ruled the kingdom of '(P)Tomania.' Its most memorable scene was the one in which Hynkel dances and tosses around a giant world globe/balloon.

Some of Hollywood's best directors, John Ford, Frank Capra, John Huston and William Wyler, made Signal Corps documentaries or training films to aid the war effort, such as Frank Capra's "Why We Fight" (1942-1945) documentary series (the first film in the series. Prelude to War was released in 1943), "Ford's December 7th: The Movie" (1991) (finally released after being banned by the US government for 50 years) and the first popular documentary of the war titled "The Battle of Midway" (1942), Huston's documentaries "Report From the Aleutians" (1943) and "The Battle of San Pietro" (1945), and Wyler's sobering Air Force documentary "Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress" (1944).

The 50s decade was known for many things: post-war affluence and increased choice of leisure time activities, conformity, the Korean War, middle-class values, the rise of modem jazz, the rise of' ‘fast food' restaurants and drive-ins, a baby boom, the all-electric home as the ideal, white racist terrorism in the South, the advent of television and TV dinners, abstract art, the first credit card, the rise of drive-in theaters to a peak number in the late 50s with over 4,000 outdoor screens (where young teenaged couples could find privacy in their hot-rods), and a youth reaction to middle-aged cinema. Older viewers were prone to stay at home and watch television (about 10.5 million US homes had a TV set in 1950).

Paramount's wrap-around, big-screen Cinerama debuted in 1952, a break­through technique that required three cameras, three projectors, interlocking, semi-curved (at 146 degrees) screens, and four-track stereo sound. It made audiences feel that they were at the center of the action. The first film using the three-strip cinerama process was "This is Cinerama" (1952), a travelogue of the world's vacation spots, with a thrilling roller-coaster ride.

Cinema in the 1960s reflected the decade of fun, fashion, rock 'n’ roll, tremendous social changes (i.e., the civil rights era and marches) and transitional cultural values. This was a turbulent decade of monumental changes, tragedies, cultural events, assassinations and deaths, and advancements.

The 1970s opened with Hollywood experiencing a financial and artistic depression, the decade became a creative high point in the US film industry. Restrictions on language, adult content and sexuality, and violence had loosened up, and these elements became more widespread.

The hippie movement, the civil rights movement, free love, the growth of rock and roll, changing gender roles and drug use certainly had an impact. And Hollywood was renewed and reborn with the earlier collapse of the studio system and the works of many new and experimental film-makers (nicknamed “Movie Brats”) during a Hollywood New Wave.

The counter-culture of the time had influenced Hollywood to be freer, to take more risks and to experiment with alternative, young film makers, as old Hollywood professionals and old-style moguls died out and a new generation of film makers arose.

After the innovations of the 70s, films in the 80s were less experimental and original, but more formulaic, although there was a burst of films eager to capitalize on new special effects (CGI) techniques - now available. Predictions were grim for the industry - production costs were soaring while ticket prices were declining. The average ticket price at the beginning of the decade was about $3, and over $4 by the end of the decade, while the average film budget was over $18 million. However, fears of the demise of Hollywood proved to be premature.

In 1990, Kodak introduced the Photo CD player. And in 1992, the Second Edition of the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary, was also made available on CD-ROM. By 1992, broadcast TV was beginning to lose large numbers of viewers to cable-only channels.

By 1997, the first DVDs (digital video discs) had emerged in stores, featuring sharper resolution pictures, better quality and durability than videotape, interactive extras, and more secure copy-protection. In just a few years, sales of DVD players and the shiny discs proliferated and would surpass the sale of VCRs and videotapes.

And with the digital revolution, some pioneering film-makers were experimenting with making digital-video (DV) films, pushing digital imagery and special effects, or projecting films digitally. There are such films as: Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy (1990) was the first 35 mm feature film with a digital soundtrack; Jurassic Park (1993) was the first film with DTS sound; Forrest Gump (1994) used digital photo trickery to insert a person into historical footage, to erase the legs of amputee Gary Sinese, and to enhance the ping-pong game and etc.

Today there are a lot of different approaches in American cinema. Now filmmakers have so many possibilities to shoot film with many different effects that we even can't see in our dreams.

But also current filmmakers invent new technologies. For example, Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride" is the first movie to be shot with still cameras. A still camera, it should be mentioned, is a type of camera used to take photographs. To give the film the traditional look of movie film stock, each image was processed with a color profile based on type of film used in feature length movies.

It should be mentioned that American cinematography as any other spheres of American life has been changing for a long time. As a result of its development now we can see the strongest system with a lot of people and means involved.

As one of the social and cultural event American cinema was influenced by the historical and social processes, passing in the USA in different periods of time. Consequently, we can see evident differences between conception of filmmaking in the initial stage of American cinematography and current views on it.

As the differences between the beginning of the development and the current views are so obvious we can say about new methods invented for production of films.

Hollywood industry

When people think about of Hollywood, they probably think of film stars like Marilyn Monroe, Gary Grant and James Dean. Hollywood is the center of the international movie industry and American movies are distributed all over the world. They are made in English but often dubbed into other languages. In some countries 90 percent of the movies that people see are US production.

There were several reasons why film makers went to Hollywood. Firstly, there was a lot of space; secondly, California's warm sunny weather was ideal for making films outside. Thirdly, there was a variety of locations for filming: ocean, mountains, deserts, villages, woodland and rivers.

During the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood, which lasted from the end of the silent era in American cinema in the late 1920s to the late 1940s, movies issued from the Hollywood studios like the cars rolling off Henry Ford's assembly lines. Most Hollywood pictures adhered closely to a formula—Western, slapstick comedy, musical, animated cartoon, biopic (biographical picture)—and the same creative teams often worked on films made by the same studio.

The American companies that dominated the film industry in the 1920s and 1930s were Paramount, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Wamer Brothers, 20^th Century-Fox, Universal, Columbia and RKO. Each of these companies formed a "vertical monopoly" - that is each was involved in all three areas of modem industrial enterprise:

-Production (the film studios)

-Wholesaling (film distribution)

-Retailing (theatrical exhibition).

Today the Wamer Brothers Inc. is the largest film studio in America. In 2008, Wamer Brothers broke all-time studio record, grossing $1.753 billion breaking the previous record of & 1.711 billion set by Sony in 2006. It is responsible for the Harry Potter film series, one of the highest grossing film series of all time. Wamer Brothers is also responsible for The Dark Knight, the 2008 Academy Award-winning Batman film that eventually became the studio's highest grossing film ever with over $1 billion.

We can't but mention such director as James Cameron who made great contribution into the development of American cinema. The most recognizable work is "Titanic", film-disaster.

The shooting of 'Titanic' in 1997 brought people flocking to the cinemas. It has become a blockbuster and brought big profits to the producers. The reasons are, on the one hand, the thrilling plot of the film, depicting the first of the greatest disasters of the 20th century, and, on the other hand, new technologies of film making, used by James Cameron. Everybody wanted to see if the film was really worth eleven 'Oscar' awards.

'Titanic' is the latest screen version of the tragedy happened on April 14-15, 1912 during the maiden voyage of the British luxury passenger liner. The vessel sank with a loss of about 1,500 lives: men, women, and children. Their voyage on board the dream ship ended in a nightmare. It revealed all human vices: arrogance, self-satisfaction, greed, selfishness and self-confidence.

But at the same time this tragedy showed the best traits of human character:

the sense of duty and responsibility, self-sacrifice and short but immortal love. The love-story about Jack and Rose, a young poor artist and a 17-year old girl from the upper society, arouses our sympathy and admiration. Paired with the main story­line, it adds much to the impression of the film. 'Titanic' made the leading actors Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslent international celebrities. The music of James Homer created a special atmosphere in the film and has become popular with the public.

The film is interesting not only from the artistic point of view, but from the technical ones as well. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, defeating "Starship Troopers" (1997) and "The Lost World" (1997), James Cameron's film was the most expensive film ever made - up to its time, at approximately $200 million.

Another famous film which associated with the style and fashion up to now is Blake Edwards's "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Its budget made up about $2500000 and box-office receipts arranged in the USA $ 8000000.

Telling about classical cinematography it is worth mentioning David 0. Seiznick's "Gone with the wind". David 0. Seiznick created the film based on Margaret MitchelPs novel. The casting of the two lead roles became a complex, two-year endeavor. Many famous or soon-to-be-famous actresses were either screen-tested, auditioned, or considered for the role of Scarlett. But only two finalists, Paulette Goddard and Vivien Leigh, were tested. For the role of Rhett Butler, dark Gable was an almost immediate favorite for both the public and Seiznick.

Today people are fond of different genres of motion picture, making in America. But mainly most films are designed for the masses. Still there are many producers who make their films, using unusual plots and technologies. Such films are usually for those who like enjoying "complicated" art.

Tim Burton is one of such producers. He has created some of the most outstanding dark, strange and stimulating creative visions in filmmaking history, including "Edward Scissorhands", "Ed Wood", and "Sleepy Hollow".

His dark and evocative dreams come to life on film revealing an imagination lush with originality and atmosphere. He has an ingenious talent for creating haunting landscapes that come alive with an intensity and beauty rarely seen. His characters are inventive and inspiring and yet often on the edge of society. But still there are many good qualities in their souls that we are unlikely to find in an ordinary man's soul.

Oscar and other awards

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is one of the most prominent film award ceremonies in the world. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences itself was conceived by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio boss Louis B. Mayer.

The 1st Academy Awards ceremony was held on Thursday, May 16, 1929, at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood to honor outstanding film achievements of 1927 and 1928.

The official name of the Oscar statuette is the Academy Award of Merit. Made of gold-plated britannium on a black metal base, it is 13.5 in (34 cm) tall, weighs 8.5 Ib (3.85 kg) and depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco style holding a crusader's sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes. The five spokes each represent the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), a professional honorary organization, maintains a voting membership of 5,829 as of 2007.

Today, according to Rules 2 and 3 of the official Academy Awards Rules, a film must open in the previous calendar year, from midnight at the start of January 1 to midnight at the end of December 31, in Los Angeles County, California, to qualify.

Rule 2 states that a film must be "feature-length", defined as a minimum of 40 minutes, except for short subject awards and it must exist either on a 35 mm or 70 mm film print or in 24 frame/s or 48 frame/s progressive scan digital cinema format with native resolution not less than 1280х720.

The major awards are presented at a live televised ceremony, most commonly in February or March following the relevant calendar year, and six weeks after the announcement of the nominees. It is the culmination of the film awards season, which usually begins during November or December of the previous year. This is an elaborate extravaganza, with the invited guests walking up the red carpet in the creations of the most prominent fashion designers of the day.

Black tie dress is the most common outfit for men, although fashion may dictate not wearing a bow-tie, and musical performers sometimes do not adhere to this. (The artists who recorded the nominees for Best Original Song quite often perform those songs live at the awards ceremony, and the fact that they are performing is often used to promote the television broadcast.)

There are others American awards in the cinema industry. The most famous and prestigious of them are Emmy and Golden Globe Award.

The Golden Globe Awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television. The formal ceremony and dinner at which the awards are presented is a major part of the film industry's awards season, which culminates each year with the Academy Awards.

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and Grammy Awards.

They are presented in various sectors of the television industry, including entertainment programming, news and documentary shows, and sports programming. As such, the awards are presented in various area-specific ceremonies held annually throughout the year.

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 1132