Karina Aveyard

The place of television programme formats

‘Formats are king!’ or so declares the trade publication TV Formats Weekly. Indeed there are solid grounds for such claims regarding the current place of this type of programming in television schedules around the world. Formats are perceived to be highly effective in mitigating commercial uncertainties brought about by multi-channelling, and the social uncertainties associated with cultural mobility and de-territorialization. However, their ubiquity also presents us with an interesting geo-cultural paradox. As an industrial commodity, formats have a highly mobile, readily transferable quality. However, as a social and cultural artefact, they can take on a form that is specific to the particular community for which they are adapted. In this article, we explore the characteristics of these multi-layered geographic interrelationships and consider the conceptual value (and limitations) of some of the key terms around which the role and function of formats have been understood.

Private Sponsorships and Independent Film Exhibition in Taiwan

Following the deregulation of the Taiwanese film exhibition industry in the late 1990s, local movie theatres increasingly have spurned domestic productions in favour of more dependable Hollywood blockbusters. With little commercial support for the screening of their projects, independent filmmakers in Taiwan have begun to turn to private sponsors as a means of securing theatrical deals. This article explores the historical development of this practice, and examines how it has helped some filmmakers overcome the structural and economic constraints that affect domestic productions at the cinema. The article is based on research conducted by Hongchi Shiau over a five-year period in Taiwan.

Australian films at the cinema: rethinking the role of distribution and exhibition

Australian films are criticised regularly for their failure to engage local audiences and for their lack of commercial success. Academic and industry analysis of these shortcomings has tended to focus on problems in production and financing, but has given inadequate attention to the role of distribution and exhibition. This article examines how the commercial and cultural situation of Australian films is fundamentally shaped by the manner in which they are circulated and screened. It highlights the complex interrelations between the production, distribution and exhibition sectors, and addresses the implications of these issues for contemporary film policy and practice in Australia.

'Coming to a cinema near you?': digitized exhibition and independent cinemas in Australia

Abstract Australia is on the path to achieving a full-scale conversion to digital cinema exhibition probably within the next five to ten years. Despite early optimism that digitization could provide a catalyst for greater democratization of the Australian exhibition market by creating more opportunities for audiences to see independent and alternate films, this outcome now appears far from certain. The launch and ongoing roll-out of the international standard for digital exhibition, which is now firmly controlled by the major American studios, is intensifying, rather than diminishing, the market dominance of these media conglomerates and their local allies, the major Australian exhibition chains. Independent film exhibition and alternative presentation formats, on the other hand, are being pushed even further to the periphery by these increasingly centralized market forces. While independent and major exhibitors have historically coexisted, although at times in a somewhat uneasy relationship, the financial imperatives of digital cinema now threaten to drive many independent cinemas to the edge, and with them the ongoing diversity of cinema culture in Australia. Of particular concern is the fate of independent theatres in regional and rural locations where many provide the only public screening opportunities within large geographic areas. This article outlines digital developments in Australias commercial cinema industry within a national and international context, and in doing so considers the impact of digital exhibition technologies on Australias independent cinema sector.

What the Country Tells Us: The Place of the ‘Rural’ in Contemporary Studies of Cinema

Cinemas have an important place in the social and cultural life of many Australian rural towns. They are valued as spaces around which residents of isolated communities can gather and interact, and have a role in mediating concepts of identity and in promoting positive emotional attachment to place. Rural cinema histories suggest these aspects of non-metropolitan movie-going have been significant since the very early days of this screen format. This article examines the role of geography in shaping the circumstances and meaning of cinema-going in contemporary rural Australia. It also explores the connections between modern and historical film attendance practices, which hitherto have been obscured by scholarly neglect of the rural. These interrelationships suggest a basis for rethinking the ways in which cinema audiences are categorised and studied.

Vocal hierarchies in early Australian quiz shows, 1948-71: Two case studies

This article examines the complexities involved in transferring content and genre from one media platform to another by emphasising the shifting, fragile yet stabilising part that sound can play in such a transformation. Early television is often labelled as a period of ‘radio with pictures’, and this intriguing designation directs our attention to this ‘moment’ of changeover. This analysis explores the parameters of sound in televisions displacement of radio as the primary broadcasting medium in Australia in the 1950s. We focus in particular on the role of the human voice (host, audience and contestants) in two early quiz shows – Wheel of Fortune and Pick-a-Box – that began on radio and were both successfully remade as television programs.

Film consumption in the 21st century: engaging with non-theatrical viewing

Film consumption has changed dramatically in recent decades. The rise of the multiplex has reconfigured the public experience of cinema. At the same time, movie viewing has grown exponentially in domestic and mobile spheres, driven by increasingly flexible access to content and the diversity of screens this material can now be delivered to. While the history of movie watching in theatres has been relatively well traversed, the more recent and highly popular practice of viewing outside cinemas remains significantly under theorised. This article takes up the issue of this critical neglect. It suggests that the practice of watching movies needs to be conceptualised in more integrated manner and that theories successfully applied to understanding digital, Internet and mobile media may be considered equally relevant to film.

Introduction: Sound media, sound cultures

Sound is an ever-present, ever-changing component of communication and media. It has been a central part of the dramatic developments that have occurred in recording, screen exhibition, radio and television broadcasting and telecommunications technologies since the 1800s. Yet, in relation to audio-visual media forms in particular, sound is often seen as a secondary element – something that is subordinate to the visual immediacy and the assigned textual primacy of the image. The aim of this issue of MIA is to help redress this imbalance and reassert the place of sound within wider conceptualisations of media and culture. The articles engage with the significance of the aural from a wide range of perspectives, taking in its experiential and immersive characteristics in relation to screen media as well as the commercial contexts of sound and music and its role in identity-making and social organisation.

Big screen to small screen: Australasian film and its new formats (part II)

Welcome to part two of the ‘Big Screen to Small Screen: Australasian Film and its New Formats’ special issue. The articles in this part of the collection continue the exploration of the key themes identified in 6.2 to do with new and emerging trends in how, when and where films are viewed, and the ways in which the evolution of new formats and technologies is reshaping such activities. We also look in some detail at developments in film policy and the place of Australasian content within an increasingly globalized cinema industry. We begin with two essays that direct our attention to the impact of technological innovation – the rapidly evolving mobile screens sector and the growing digitalization of local film festival circuits. Gerard Goggin, one of Australia’s leading mobile media scholars, examines the production for and consumption of audio-visual content on personalized portable screens. Drawing upon an extensive array of industry data, the article charts the development and rapid uptake of mobile devices in Australia and analyses how they are used for viewing. It also looks at what kind of audio-visual material is being watched by consumers, considering both local and internationally produced content. Engaging with earlier predictions that mobile screens would develop into a distinctive format (a fourth screen sitting alongside cinema, television and PCs), Goggin argues that these portable devices have thus far proved to be more interdependent on other media than has previously been recognized.

Cinema on the Edge: Improvised Film Exhibition and Digital Projection in Rural Australia

ABSTRACT Digital projection technologies are changing the nature of movie exhibition on a global scale. Commercial cinemas are now rapidly embracing the high-end (and high-cost) Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) Standard for projection in place of traditional 35mm film. This new equipment is helping to give exhibitors greater control over their programming schedules, lowering operating costs and enhancing the quality of the film presentation for audiences. The large capital cost of DCI equipment has meant that small, marginal cinemas have largely been excluded from this aspect of the digital revolution. However, they are not being left behind completely. The development of improved, low-cost systems for projecting films on DVD and Blu-ray disc has boosted the viability and flexibility of screenings in remote and isolated locations. This article focuses on the use of DVD projection in rural areas of Australia and examines some of the unique types of cinema enterprises that this technology is helping to support. More broadly, this article questions the veracity of claims regarding the demise of the cinema as a socially and culturally relevant place for viewing films.