Skip to main content

The Great Debate - TV vs Film

As a film maker, it is vital that you acquire your own opinions, albeit someone else's. Whether you prefer TV or Film, it is important that you portray your ideas and views through the medium.
TV and Film have very different values. For example:
  • TV prefers 'long storytelling' (the ability to transform characters/plots over a long period of time).
  • Film on the other hand compresses the time period (allowing the plot to develop enough for the audience to create a bond whilst shortening the complexity of life into a 2-hour film).
One of the biggest arguments is that money has nothing to do with the entertainment value. For example:

These are the top-budgeting TV series at the present moment:
 The Borgias - $45-50 million (3 series)
The Pacific - $27 million per episode
Game of Thrones - 6 million per episode 
Vikings - 4.5 million per episode 
Downton Abbey - 1 million per episode
Sherlock - approx £800,000 per episode 
Doctor Who - approx £10 million per season 
Primeval - approx £6 million per season
X Factor - approx £6 million per series
Lost - $4 milion per episode
The Walking Dead - $3.4 million per episode

Meanwhile, when looking at Film, the budget is much much higher:
  • Avatar - $425 million
  • The Hobbit (An Unexpected Journey) - $200-315 million
  • Quantum of Solace - $230 million
  • Avengers Assemble - $225 million
  • Pirates of the Carribean: At Worlds End - $300 million
  • Star Trek into Darkness - £190 million
  • The Hunger Games - $78 million
  • The Matrix - $63 million
  • Twilight - $37 million
  • The Kings Speech - $15 million
  • Jaws - $12 million
  • Star Wars: A New Hope - $11 million
It is true however, that the amount of money necessary to create these films and TV series does highly affect the end result.
More arguments include:
  • TV takes more risks than film regarding the content.
  • Film is more experimental (the vision of the director can be achieved).
  • TV gives the audience extra time to build bonds with the characters.
  • Film creates a special one-off experience.
So, in order to form an opinion of this matter it is important to look at the pros and cons of each. Perhaps the following will enable you to create your own:


TV Pros
TV Cons
Film Pros
Film Cons
Can be informative and educational.
Takes up a great deal of time.
Film allows people to mingle.
Movies are made for profit, not charity.
Creates a sense of National identity.
Reality TV shows are often not worth viewing.
Film allows expression and communication of emotions
Films are more violent today than ever before.
The TV can bring specific subject areas to light that you would not find anywhere else.
Spending too much time in front of the TV causes many problems, both physically and emotionally.
Film allows the viewer to take a break for a couple of hours, and to indulge himself or herself in a new world.
Some movies portray certain themes that are far from real, and create false notions.
In some cases it can bring families and friends together.
Watching the television is addictive.
Many films are inspired by everyday life.
Marketing often teases the viewer into watching a movie that is not worth viewing.


























Is it too much to ask to be able to love both?

All in all I think Film and TV each have their own advantages and disadvantages. As much as I love film, I would hate not being able to sit down once a week with my family and indulge myself in a series. However, I would also hate not being able to have the opportunity to visit the cinema with my family and friends and watch a film for two hours on a massive screen! Although to be honest, if I had to choose one or the other it would probably be Film. And the reasoning behind that is that I cannot imagine a world without The Lord of the Rings, or Star Wars or Star Trek, and although TV gives you a chance to look forward to something every week, the experience of Film is simply like no other.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Hobbit - Defining the Look

A look into the use of lighting and colour to create emotion. Originally published in 1937, The Hobbit was written by J. R. R. Tolkien. It has since been made into a Trilogy by the film director Peter Jackson consisting of: The Unexpected Journey The Desolation of Smaug The Battle of the Five Armies What is most notable about these films is that they are very different to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Although set in the same universe of Middle Earth, there is a tangible contrast between them.  The Hobbit, some might say, is lighter, funnier and more suitable for children when compared with The Lord of the Rings. This being said, J. R. R. Tolkien did write the book for children and it was aimed at young readers around the ages of 9 and 10. One difference, for example, is the use of lighting and colour - which is used as a n extension of a particular character -  to provoke an emotional response from the audience. In general, the film is brightly lit,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gasman - the Importance of Trust between Characters

Gasman is a short film made in 1998 by Lynne Ramsay about a man who lives two lives. The film is shown mainly through the eyes of his daughter, in an innocent but hard-hitting way. It's the Christmas season. With her mom's help, Lynne, a girl of perhaps eight, dresses up; her younger brother Steven plays with a toy car. The children leave with their dad, who's affectionate with them. They walk down a railroad track where an unkempt woman waits with two children, about the same age as Lynne and Steven. The children go with them. They're all headed to a holiday party at a pub. Lynne notices that the girl acts all too familiar with her dad. What's going on?   Plot Summary - IMDB The film has an observant feel to it, like the camera itself is a 'third person' watching the plot unfold - sometimes from a distance and other times up close. The camera is mostly hand-held, free in a documentary style. It seems that the camera was left rollin...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are UFO's - working with children

How to interview children and young adults Introduction: There is much taboo about working with children in film. As W.C. Fields once said: “Never work with children or animals.” Sometimes they are too lively or energetic for a director to cope with; they may have short attention spans; they are unpredictable. "The audience always looks for the adorable young child or animal - they steal every scene. "many stars will never appear with animals or children in the belief that no adult can compete" has been cited in print since 1931, in a newspaer article indicating that this film tradition carried over from the stage."        - Barry Popik (2012), "Never work with children or animals" (Show Business Adage) But something special happens when you place a child in front of the camera, when you let them take centre stage and unleash their imagination. In taking away the pressure and the script, a filmmaker can use that unpredictability to cre...
Post a Comment
Read more