To what extent does Internet piracy pose a threat to the film industry?

To what extent does Internet piracy pose a threat to the film industry?

Internet piracy is the biggest threat for the film industry. Film industries are spending the money on making films but then gaining any profits from the audience as they are watching the films illegally. Audiences prefer watching the films online as its easier and cheaper than the cinema and really easily accessible. Also audiences find if the film is not good then they can turn it off and won’t have lost money on paying to go see it as the cinema.

Cinemas are now reintroducing 3D to try and gain audiences back and also in attempt to halt people illegally pirating the films as 3D films are harder to pirate as you will loose the image quality.

Due to the way technology has evolved we can now digitally distribute films ourselves to friends and each other. There are many sites that allow us to stream films easily and watch them such as movie2k. We can sit at home and watch the films whilst talking about them in social networking sites such as Facebook at the same time.

The internet now allows us to share films so easily and quickly without needing to do much sites such as movie2k allow you to stream films straight to home and watch them straight away.

Due to the amount of films that have been pirated the film industry have brought back 3D to gain more audience attendance and in attempt to stop film piracy. Films are much harder to pirate wen they are in 3D due to the technology used in making films 3D. Many directors are now being forced to make their films in the 3D to ensure audience attendance ad some form of profits. Some directors do not like the idea of 3D and feels it would ruin their work. Del Torro was being forced into releasing his film ‘pacific rim’ in 3D; he disagreed with the decision and so is releasing his film in 2D and 3D giving his audience members the choice on how they wish to view the film. Directors such as Cameron are very much pro 3D and his film Avatar is known as one of the best 3D films ever made making millions in profits. He felt 3D gave the film more depth and immersed the audience into the film.

By watching films online the audience are able to gain access to more films such as independent films as well as blockbusters. This means the audience would be able to gain access to many different film genres and watch something they wouldn’t normally watch. Therefore increasing their individual film consumption. Audience members may also feel “no risk free” and may watch genres of films they wouldn’t normally watch, as they don’t loose any money on doing so. If you were to find a goof film you can easily share the link to friends and ensure the film gets a good viewing, although this means that the film industry don’t make any profits and actually loose money.

Another problem audience members have with cinemas is the cost. Now more and more films are being released in 3D as the cinemas the downside is how expensive it makes it going to watch the film. To see 3D film at the cinema can be quite an expensive experience. The good thing to 3D films is that they are much harder to pirate, as the image quality will be poor and blurry. Also cinemas are now releasing older films in 3D, as it’s cheaper to rerelease a film in 3D then making a new 3D film.

I think that piracy is a big threat to the film industry and could one day lead to the end of the film industry, as we know it. In some ways piracy has helped the film industry in bringing back 3D to cinemas and helping technology in making 3D in order to support the films. It has also meant the release of some great films 3D films, as the film industry has had to take bigger risks with films in order to gain back audience attendance.

Overall I feel that piracy is damaging the film industry and is destroying cinemas and soon the traditional ways of watching films will no longer exists as the film industry can not afford to make films when they are not making profits. If there was a way to make viewing 3D films cheaper or to stop piracy on normal films and keep more options open to the audience would cinema attendance re increase. 

Film censorship is motivated by fears about audiences and technologies

Film censorship is motivated by fears about audiences and technologies

Film censorship is around for social and political reasons brought on by the government and to protect members of the public. Due to the developing technologies that allow piracy and for the films to be shared.

Home videos became popular in the 70’s, as it was easier and cheaper for people to stay at home and watch films. VHS was popular as the sound quality was much better than projection. Through format wars audiences decided they preferred the quality and the accessibility of vhs as cinema was quite expensive and there was an improved picture quality.  VHS was a lot easier to pirate and be shared. This meant that censorship did not exist, as people were able to get hold of the films and watch them anyway.

Video nasties came around in the 80’s when horror films became censored due to their graphic nature. The horror genre became banned due to moral panic and public outrage. Horror films were pirated and shared through VHS even though horror films had been censored due to the violent and gorey nature. The development of piracy was another reason why film censorship was introduced in an attempt to stop the moral panic.

Due to moral panic the right wing party set up the national viewers and listeners association set up by Mary Whitehouse. This was to protect the public from watching the gorey horror films in case they became influenced by them and attempted those events in real life. This was difficult as many of the censored films were pirated and still being viewed.

The BBFC gradually did end film censorship and home videos were left to the audiences’ decision with age guidelines in place to protect some of the younger audience members. As film censorship did not really exist this seemed the right decision to allow all previously censored films to be released.

Film censorship is motivated by audience fears and advancing technologies as technology stop film censorship from existing. Horror films now contain much more gore and horror then they did during censorship as audiences have become desensitized to the horror style, newer horror films now tend to push the boundaries of the horror genre in order to scare audiences. 

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