How I Consume and Produce Film (Improved)

I rarely find myself going to see a film at the cinema (probably 3 times a year) and for this there are many reasons. Firstly, although there is a cinema in Harlow, there is not one within walking distance of my home. This means that it is often inaccessible until late evenings or the weekends when transport can be provided. Another reason for this is the extortionate ticket prices. From observing on fairly irregular cinema visits over the past 6-7 years, i have found that ticket prices have increased by around 50%, and prices have risen further still with the introduction of 3-Dimensional movies that are priced around £10. When added to popcorn and drink prices, this becomes a fairly large amount of money just to see a movie - it is thought that 85% of cinema's intakes are from concession stands. Some cinemas now even offer VIP and premium seats, where customers can enjoy more comfortable seating at a higher cost. Also, some cinemas are beginning to introduce a '4-Dimensional' viewing experience, where audience members are seated in chairs that move, vibrate and provide physical effects to match onscreen visuals and audio. This would come at an even higher cost still but is not yet widely available across the nation, although i predict it will be. Furthermore, my personal film genre preference (british cult films) does not tend to often be played at my local cinema. However, amongst many others amongst my demographic, visiting the cinema is still a very popular pastime and way of watching films. Approximately 30% of cinema attendees are within my age group (15-24 year olds). Males then have a slightly higher attendance rate than females.

Fortunately, the cinema is not the only means of watching films in the modern day as it was in the past. At home i have access a satellite TV. This means that i have access to many film channels, such as FILM4 and Sky Movies as well as channels that aren't predominantly film channels but do show films on occasions such as Channel 4 (3rd most viewed channel in UK being watched by 10.9% of TV viewers) and the BBC (most viewed channels in UK - watched by 32.3% of TV viewers).  However, i rarely find myself watching these channels, as often when flicking onto these channels, the films have already started or are mid-way through, and as you can with many programmes, it is difficult to establish whats happened previously, ruining the film experience.  However, once again, this doesn't mean that television film watchers are in decline. A recent survey suggests from the British Audience Research Board that film channels take 8.55% share of TV viewings.

As further reason why i tend to not watch film is because in every room in my house that has a TV it has a DVD player of some form. In the modern day, many games consoles, such as the XBOX, Playstation and Nintendo Wii can double-up as DVD players, making films even more accessible. I would think that DVD's is my preferred method of film watching as it is so controllable (can be rewinded, paused, fast forwarded, offers scene selection and subtitles). Due to the recent increase of internet film accessibility, recently i have not bought many DVD's, however when i do i buy them from charity shops or second hand as they are considerably cheaper, meaning i can buy more. Nevertheless, i do not own a blu-ray player. This means that i do not have access to full high definition movies, but most blu-ray releases are also released on DVD currently, meaning only the viewing quality is compromised but the film can still be watched. Currently, sales of DVD's are in huge decline, with physical side sales falling by about 30% since their 2004 peak. In the near future, i predict that the rate of DVD production will decrease further still, and that more films will be produced on blu-ray due to the technology that we will have on offer.

At home i also have access to a hard disc recorder, and occasionally find myself recording films on it. This device can be very useful when a movie that has appeared on TV has been missed, as it means that it can be watched at a later date. But i find it rare that a film of my liking will be shown on the TV, so on occasions that they are shown i will make sure that i do not miss the original showing. 

     
Another way of accessing films is through the use of the internet. I have access to the internet on around 7 devices in my house such as on smartphones, PC's, tablets, games consoles and Smart TV's, each of these being capable of displaying films. For example, sites such as Netflix - who have 13.8 million worldwide subscribers in 40 countries and 4.5 million within the UK - require internet access but can be accessed on a multitude of devices. Currently, 78% of Netflix users watch on their Tv's, contrary to the belief that internet films are usually watched on computers. Due to this convenience, i find that this is my preferred way of watching films. Often i download films from online sites on my PC so that i have the file as an MP4. This means that i can transfer the film between my devices and watch them in different places and on different screens if necessary. Alternatively, i will stream online films on websites such as YouTube (an online video streaming service receiving 1bn users per month) By doing this, i can directly view the films on every one of my devices that has access to the internet, making it very convenient and giving me access to films 'on-the-go'. Currently, mobile viewers make up for 40% of YouTube, so this is a large portion of the population that are likely to watch films and video with the ease of using their mobile phone screen as a viewing platform. YouTube has noticed this trend in film watching on their site, and have now introduced their own film section, where many films have to be purchased (especially new releases) rather than watched for free by private uploaders, however there is still a section for free movies in the YouTube designated movie area. Of the films that i watch, most are professionally made. However, on occasion i will watch unprofessionally made films on YouTube. Generally these sorts of films will be non-fiction or factual, whereas i would prefer to watch a fictional professionally made film. When i consume many films, my ideal environment is to be alone in a dark room in silence, on a large TV. I feel that this environment makes for a good viewing experience because there is little to distract you away from the film. At other times, i like to watch films with friends because it can generate discussion and make a good social event.

In the modern day, we are very fortunate to be able to produce video as easily as we can consume it. With the help of technology, we can not only generate video without difficulty, but we can also edit and then share the video with others. Fortunately, i now have access to many devices that are capable of recording video such as my smartphone and tablet which are particularly useful for quickness and ease of editing and uploading. However, for better quality video, i have use of a DSLR camera. Even these (at the top end) have a built in Wi-Fi device that allows for an easy method of file transfer. This again illustrated just how possible it is for anybody to produce amateur video work. I often use this camera and do lots of video creation followed by editing. However, much of this is merely for practise purposes and i therefore do not share it online but use it for my own personal use. I also like to video myself playing music as i am a guitarist. I do this just so i can archive it and look back over it in the future.

Currently in the UK, industry statistics from the Broadcasters Audience Research Board show that around 96% of homes have atleast one television set. Also from research i have found that around 60% of families have 2 or 3 televisions in their houses. In the USA there are more TV's per home than people. in 2009, the average household had only 2.5 people and 2.86 televisions. This year, 54% of homes in the US had 3 or more TV's whilst 28% had 2 televisions and only 18% had one! Also of the 25.1 million homes In the UK, 19.2 million have access to a freeview television box. This shows us just how accessible the television is, and that it is available to almost everyone in the modern day, and that most have access to film channels also, enabling them to watch films on their televisions.

According to a survey, in the UK, 82.5% of people are internet users, increasing by 60% in 10 years. Similarly, in the USA 84.2% are online. This figure also shows us just how available films are now and that they can be watched by almost anyone in economically developed countries such as the UK and USA. Not only this, but it also means that most people are able to share their own work with the world.
         
 Finally, the number of people in the UK with a smartphone has risen by 14% in 10 months alone and has now reached 72%, whereas the total in the USA is 61%. Once again this shows us just how almost anybody can view film on a multitude of devices and how film production, editing and sharing technology is available to almost everyone.