Described in Wyatt (1994) as an academic model represented with a formula of ten-points, film scholars use the high concept when attempting to explain how big budget films are conceptualised by Hollywood.
while the term 'high concept' however, is used in Hollywood, producers do not keep a checklist to make sure that everything is in order - many of them have no clue about Wyatt and his book. Instead, they have 'internalised' what makes a Hollywood film a success. Not every high concept movie stays true to all of the formula points. Academic models and film industry business practice are not to be confused.
In trade papers, writers use the term 'high concept' fairly loosely to describe industry practices as a shorthand. 'Buzz words' are the circulation of new business ideas and references to examples of success. This is one way of how institutions work to have new industry practices developed.
The High Concept Model
1. A style of 'Post-generic' film making based on the simplification of character and narrative.
2. Use of extended montages, which are in effective pop videos.
3. Production design reflects the graphics frequently, glossy look and layout of contemporary advertising styles.
4. Scenes are easily replicated in trailers, televisions commercials or publicity stills.
5. Formal excess (not in a melodramatic sense).
6. Music track interrupts the narrative of the film for a separate performance.
7. Self-conscious allusion to other films and television.
8. 'Detached' appearances of stars, similar to 'guest stars' in a television series'.
9. Hyperbolic physiques of protagonists and hyperbolic action.
10. Ironic Distanciation: walking-talking brand.
1. 'Post-generic' filmmaking
'post-generic' is often the term used for a modern Hollywood production because of the preponderance of hybrid genres in Hollywood production - producing something new by combining two or more traditional genres together. While this is not a new idea, writer Rick Altman (1999) has showcased that even 'classical' Hollywood in the 1930's marketed a film by pointing out the fact that it could belong to more than one genre, it is now used almost to to the exclusion of 'straight' movie genres. As 'genre' has always been a loose term in the film industry, we have to be careful here, whereas academics have attempted to be more precise. Perhaps the criteria audiences use when selecting what films to watch is where the important distinction is found.
When advertised in early 1998, Columbia Tristar's slate of 18 films included comedy drama, romantic comedy, futuristic thriller, action drama, action thriller, romantic adventure, action adventure, comedy satire, comedy thriller and romantic comedy-drama. There is a lack of traditional 'pure-genres' such as gangsta, musical, western ect. Even science fiction is now more likely to be called 'futuristic thriller'. The emotional effects that films have is what the industry terms refer more to generally - weather they make audiences cry, laugh or be afraid. These hybrids place a stress on a double appeal to action and 'relationships' - the traditional belief that men are more interested in action and that females are more interested in the relationships (comedy, romance, drama).
The strengths and weaknesses of these hybrids can be identified in two Will Smith films. 'Men in Black' (1997) was a comedy/science fiction hybrid, which grabbed the attention of a huge audience, including that of the science fiction comic book fan base as it was considered to be stylish and, at the same time, genuinely funny - a more general audience. 'Wild Wild West' (1999), on the other hand, was a comedy Western made by the same team, did not please the western fan base as much and it was seen as being not so funny. The lesson here may be that audiences have not lost interest in the thrills of genres - they may just interpret them in different ways.
Only horror films, 'teen' comedies and martial arts films, in recent years, have foregrounded their generic roots. All have grown a strong 'tongue in cheek' and 'teen and horror' and have been joined by a hybrid. The 'Scream' series parodied these genres in a post-modern fashion, which was followed by Dimension Films creating a spoof of the spoofs, 'Scary Movie'. Even though writer Steve Neale has made it clear that explicit allusions to to other films were a feature of Hollywood during the 1930's, this did not provide the foundations for the entire film.
This stripped-down narrative plus post-generic characteristics are part of what defines the high concept movie and is the simplification of character. This leads us up to the types that are, once more, not something unique to 'modern' Hollywood cinema. in the high concept film, however, this is used to an extreme level where the character exposition is not used and the protagonist can rapidly be 'pigeonholed' by audiences. in 'The Bodygaurd' (1992) Kevin Costner's 'one-note' performance of stoic, dedicated, masculinity does not varie. The premise of high concept movies are often so simple that a text has to indicate that it is not taking itself seriously or else audiences will feel as if they are being spoken to as if they were children.
For this simplification to work, casting is crucial: Rather than for their acting abilities, supporting characters are selected for their appearance. These looks range from the 'good' to the 'bad' - in conventional terms, the latter is being held on to for the the part of the villain and his/her henchman. While 'bad' is not necessarily relating to 'ugly' it could be represented by sharp features , a slightly podgy face or even a reddened visage that tells an audience 'too much boozing' . On the other hand, the 'clean cut' are often regarded as being positive - For example, if a character is called Ben, then it's 'odds on' that he will be a 'fount of wisdom'!
Ideally, it should only take three sentences or less and no more than twenty-five words to pitch a high-concept movie. This was satirised in the opening of 'The Player' (1992) where producers were pitching movies as combinations of other films e.g. 'Out of Africa meets Pretty Woman'. The pitches then get further compressed into the tagline. 'The Bodygaurd''s is 'Never let her out of your sight. Never let your guard down. Never fall in love.' The macho-elements and the romance of the film are captured in sixteen words.
Narrative is de-emphasized by this simplification, making it a vehicle for the film's other enjoyments. This allows tie-in products, which have no obligation to preserve the narrative line of the 'original' against the clear economic benefits of multiplication, which secures the range of the product in the market place and encourages repeated viewings.
Friday 22 January 2010
Thursday 21 January 2010
'Post-generic' filmaking - research
What makes you want to see a film?
When thinking about what film to see, I mainly consider the stars and the storyline. For example, with 'Tropic Thunder' I noticed that the cast involved Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr, who have all been in films that I have enjoyed (e.g. 'Zoolander', 'School of Rock', 'Iron-Man'). Therefore I was curious to see a film with all of them in it together. Trailers also help when deciding what film to see as they help me get a rough idea of what the film could be about and what sort of topics it covers. Genre isn't really a huge concern, If I think the trailer looks good then I'll be interested to see it. - Me
When thinking about what film to see, I mainly consider the stars and the storyline. For example, with 'Tropic Thunder' I noticed that the cast involved Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr, who have all been in films that I have enjoyed (e.g. 'Zoolander', 'School of Rock', 'Iron-Man'). Therefore I was curious to see a film with all of them in it together. Trailers also help when deciding what film to see as they help me get a rough idea of what the film could be about and what sort of topics it covers. Genre isn't really a huge concern, If I think the trailer looks good then I'll be interested to see it. - Me
When I pick a film I have usually seen a trailer for it when I have been at the cinema watching a different film. I focus mainly on what the storyline is for example I don't really enjoy sci fi films so would generally avoid them but if the stroyline appears interesting in a trailer then it could draw me in and make me want to watch it. I ask other people's opinions on a film before I see them and this sometimes makes me want to see the film even more and sometimes puts me off it. Most of the time I don't really mind about who is starring in the film for example Avatar didn't have any actors I had heard of in it but I wanted to see it because of the reviews and becasuse I liked the look of it and was interested in the effects that were used. If I have seen a film and enjoyed it I usually want to see the sequel if there is one so that is also a factor in choosing a film. If an actor who I have seen in other films and enjoyed was starring in a film it would make me want to see it. Also when a book that I have read is turned into a film I usually go and see it to see if it is as good as the book. - Meg
Friday 15 January 2010
Presentation Research - US & UK films
Moon (UK)
Production
Studio: Stage 6 films
Budget of $5million, Director Duncan Jones decided there were no 'on-location' shots and the cast was kept small to control the budget. Filming took only 33 days.
When interviewed about the budget, Jones said
"Up front, we decided that we weren't going to go on any location shoots. We wanted to have completely controlled shooting environments, so we did everything on soundstages. We basically had two soundstages, one which was for the interior of the moon base, which we built in its entirety and which was another attempt to create a believable location space and also to save us some space, since a lot of our lighting was pre-existing within the set build. So our cinematographer only had a very small lighting kit that he had to carry around with him around the base. Most of the lighting was actually built into the base."
Models used instead of animation.
Written specifically for Sam Rockwell.
Reception
"Though it uses impressive sci-fi trappings to tell its story — the fabulous models and moonscapes are recognisably retro yet surprisingly real — this is a film about what it means, and takes, to be human, which is where Rockwell excels in a poignant performance. But Jones deserves credit too, and after keeping impressively off the radar in an era saturated with celebrity offspring, his thoughtful Moon is a good place for his career to start, providing a visually smart calling card while making some deceptively clever comments about mankind's obsession with personality." - The Times Online
89% 'Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 156 reviews.
$7,191,615 - Worldwide Gross at Box Office.
Sherlock Holmes (US)
Production
Studio: Silver Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures
Budget of $90million
Merchandise mainly in competitions, no direct sales.
Production
Studio: Stage 6 films
Budget of $5million, Director Duncan Jones decided there were no 'on-location' shots and the cast was kept small to control the budget. Filming took only 33 days.
When interviewed about the budget, Jones said
"Up front, we decided that we weren't going to go on any location shoots. We wanted to have completely controlled shooting environments, so we did everything on soundstages. We basically had two soundstages, one which was for the interior of the moon base, which we built in its entirety and which was another attempt to create a believable location space and also to save us some space, since a lot of our lighting was pre-existing within the set build. So our cinematographer only had a very small lighting kit that he had to carry around with him around the base. Most of the lighting was actually built into the base."
Models used instead of animation.
Written specifically for Sam Rockwell.
Reception
"Though it uses impressive sci-fi trappings to tell its story — the fabulous models and moonscapes are recognisably retro yet surprisingly real — this is a film about what it means, and takes, to be human, which is where Rockwell excels in a poignant performance. But Jones deserves credit too, and after keeping impressively off the radar in an era saturated with celebrity offspring, his thoughtful Moon is a good place for his career to start, providing a visually smart calling card while making some deceptively clever comments about mankind's obsession with personality." - The Times Online
89% 'Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 156 reviews.
$7,191,615 - Worldwide Gross at Box Office.
Sherlock Holmes (US)
Production
Studio: Silver Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures
Budget of $90million
Merchandise mainly in competitions, no direct sales.
Tuesday 12 January 2010
Hollywood Machine
General Facts
For every 10 productions in Hollywood, 6 of them end up not being successfully made.
- At the box office, one of the successful 4 'breaks even' in terms of finance, whilst the other do 'good', 'amazingly good' and 'exceptionally amazingly spectacular'
To be successful, a movie must earn 3 times of what it cost to make.
'Titanic' had one of the most out of control budgets in Hollywood film-making to date, with the cost of the movie being around $150million at one stage.
Due to the film receiving negative comments at one its early screenings, 'Dr.Dolittle' used popular comedians, such as Chris Rock, as the voices of the animals.
When early snapshots of Wolverine appeared during the production stages of 'X-Men' it received criticism from fans of the comic book series due to the costume appearing differently.
While 'Gladiator' was still in its production stages, a member of the cast (Oliver Reed) died. which meant some of his scenes had to be re-written in order to fit with the story.
Russel Crow, the lead actor in 'Gladiator' grow so unhappy with one of the film's writers and forced them to quit.
'Scream' was intended to be a cliche of horror movies, but during a preview screening Some members of the production team said that they thought the mask used looked 'stupid'.
For every 10 productions in Hollywood, 6 of them end up not being successfully made.
- At the box office, one of the successful 4 'breaks even' in terms of finance, whilst the other do 'good', 'amazingly good' and 'exceptionally amazingly spectacular'
To be successful, a movie must earn 3 times of what it cost to make.
'Titanic' had one of the most out of control budgets in Hollywood film-making to date, with the cost of the movie being around $150million at one stage.
Due to the film receiving negative comments at one its early screenings, 'Dr.Dolittle' used popular comedians, such as Chris Rock, as the voices of the animals.
When early snapshots of Wolverine appeared during the production stages of 'X-Men' it received criticism from fans of the comic book series due to the costume appearing differently.
While 'Gladiator' was still in its production stages, a member of the cast (Oliver Reed) died. which meant some of his scenes had to be re-written in order to fit with the story.
Russel Crow, the lead actor in 'Gladiator' grow so unhappy with one of the film's writers and forced them to quit.
'Scream' was intended to be a cliche of horror movies, but during a preview screening Some members of the production team said that they thought the mask used looked 'stupid'.
Script
While it was in its early production stages, the team behind 'Tomb Raider' found writing the script to be difficult due to a lack of resources, which meant many drafts were dismissed. The director decided to write the script himself.
The writing team behind 'There's Something About Mary' were afraid that the film would offend audiences - due to rudeness of some parts.
During a test screening for 'Tomb Raider', viewers were given a questionnaire to take whilst watching it so the production team could try and make the film better before marketing it.
it is a common process for a film to have new scenes added in after negative responses from a test screening.
Marketing
Most films begin with a poster when marketing is concerned.
'Hannibal' was mainly controlled by the director when the poster was being crafted. The film went on to take $300million at the box office.
Actors and actresses often give films extra publicity.
'Spy Kids' collaborated with fast food restaurant M'cdonalds by including toys in the kids meals for marketing the film. It went on to take £144million at the box office.
When the opening weekend of a movie is a success, it can often mark the start of an international campaign.
- in the US, a box office claim of $30million or more means a movie is a success.
-80% of the box office profit goes to the studios at this time.
While it was in its early production stages, the team behind 'Tomb Raider' found writing the script to be difficult due to a lack of resources, which meant many drafts were dismissed. The director decided to write the script himself.
The writing team behind 'There's Something About Mary' were afraid that the film would offend audiences - due to rudeness of some parts.
During a test screening for 'Tomb Raider', viewers were given a questionnaire to take whilst watching it so the production team could try and make the film better before marketing it.
it is a common process for a film to have new scenes added in after negative responses from a test screening.
Marketing
Most films begin with a poster when marketing is concerned.
'Hannibal' was mainly controlled by the director when the poster was being crafted. The film went on to take $300million at the box office.
Actors and actresses often give films extra publicity.
'Spy Kids' collaborated with fast food restaurant M'cdonalds by including toys in the kids meals for marketing the film. It went on to take £144million at the box office.
When the opening weekend of a movie is a success, it can often mark the start of an international campaign.
- in the US, a box office claim of $30million or more means a movie is a success.
-80% of the box office profit goes to the studios at this time.
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