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.