Australian Film Industry: Analysis
Introduction
The following report includes the discussion about the Australian film industry which is also commonly referred to be as the cinema of Australia. The Australian film industry is also referred to be as the system of production, its distribution and the following exhibition of films in Australia. The following report includes the discussion about the history of the Australian film industry. The report also includes the description of the development of the Australian film industry. The report also includes the information associated with the current film industry of Australia and also the issues on the development, support and sustaining of a national film industry. Finally a conclusion has been drawn from this over all conclusions at the last.
History and its development
The Australian film industry has seen several bust and booms due to the heavy unstableness and cyclical nature of the film industry. The industry have seen several troughs during the period when some films have made for decades while has also seen some hikes and peaks when a glut of films have seen a rise when they were accepted y the audiences. The history of the Australian film industry has been divided into different phases based on its level of development since its inception. The industry has been divided into five stages since from 1890s to present (Kindem 2000).
During the period of 1890s-1910 the athenaeum hall which is located in Collins street of Melbourne which was a dance hall initially from the period of 1880s, which also provide alternate entertainment to the patrons. During the period of 1896 it show casted its first movie which was shown in Australia. These were short films which were not continued for long; however the first feature narrative lengthy film in the world was produced in Australia i.e. the story of the Kelly gang in the year 1906 show casted in Athenaeum. During the period of 1897 to 1910, Melbourne has become the home for one of the first and largest studios i.e. the Limelight department which is operated by the Salvation Army. The limelight department become the largest film producer of its time by producing more than 300 films of various lengths (O’Regan 1996).
During the period of 1910s-1920s there was a high bust and boom. This is the second phase for the Australian film industry. During 1910s was the period of boom for the Australian film industry. During this period the industry has shown a high growth with 4 films of narrative nature released in 1910, 51 in 1911, more than 30 in the year 1912, and again back to 4 in 1914 this fall was mainly due to the beginning of the world war I. Australia has become one of the most prolific countries making films all around the world during this period. There were several factors which led to the decline in the industry this mainly includes the falling number of audiences, the lack of the interest in the Australian narratives and products and one of the most vital among all these factors is the world war and Australian participation. With the suspension of the local films and their production, the chains in the Australian cinema were looking for alternative products in other countries like US and analyzed that the Australian film production is much expensive than that of the products imported (Kindem 2000). In order to resolve the import and increase the production domestically the federal government imposed taxes on the on imported products and films by the year 1914 and this was removed by the end of 1918. Another explanation for the fall of the market was the anti competitive behaviour in between the cinemas and the film distributors. This leads to the establishment of the Australian films and union theatres, which established controls over the production, distribution and the films exhibitions. This also opened the way for the American distributors by the year 1920 and helped the US companies to sign deal with the Australian cinemas and sell or exhibit their products, and thus impacting and shutting down the local products and affecting the local film industry of Australia (Donovan and Lorraine 2002).
During the period of 1930 Efftee studios has been established by F.W. Thring, which was based in Melbourne. This was established in order to make talking films by using the optical sound equipments which were imported from USA. The first sound film was produced in the year 1931, by this company. Moreover the cine sound production was established in the year 1931 which later become one of the leading feature films production companies and also become the leading domestic studio. This studio was based on the Hollywood model. The first Australian Oscar award was won in the year 1942 by film directed by hall i.e. Kokoda front line. The industry show the making of several films based on stories from some Australian literature during the period of 1950s. In the year 1958 the Australian film institute was formed and initiated awarding the Australian film institute awards (Cettl 2010).
During the period of 1968-1971 several forms of government support for the arts and films were initiated. The state government of Australia and the central government also initiated support for the film industry of Australia. These factors led to the development and resurgence of the Australian films which was called as the Australian new wave. The major theme of the Australian cinema was developed in the year 1970, as during this period a number of horror bases films were created. The classical stories based on the literature of Australia and Australian history continued to become popular during the period of 1970s and 1980s (Donovan and Lorraine 2002).
During the period of 1990s to present period it has been proved to be a successful period for the Australian film industry. Several new stars have been introduced during this period to the global audiences. Several major Australian stars gained international recognition during this period. This period proved to be a major area for the emerging local stars with gaining higher film credits (Rayner 2001).
In the current period the Australian film industry is continuing to produce reasonable number of films every coming year. It is again evident that the Australian film industry is finding it difficult to face the competition from the American film industry. It has also seen that the Australian film industry has survived with the high aid of the government and their support for the Australian film industry. This is because that only the government support can help the Australian film industry to face competition with the Hollywood. It has also been argued from the analysis of the industry that the film industry itself has a very little value (Rayner 2001).
Current Australian film industry
The profile of Australian film industry in recent period of time is quite vibrant as there is a mix of development as well as declining state of the industry. The development of the industry can be seen in the context of enhanced volume of production of movies and on-screen dramas. Moreover, in comparison to American and other European countries the quality of movies has been affected quite intensively. In addition to this, in existing period of time, the intention of federal government of the country has become quite positive towards the growth and competiveness of the national film industry within international market. For this purpose, more structured form of the industry has come into the arenas in which, there are different governmental regulatory agencies for the purpose of keeping controlling and supporting an intensive growth of the film industry. In direction to supporting the industry, there were three crucial and prominent agencies namely Film Finance Corporation Australia, the Australian Film Commission and Film Australia operating within the country. These agencies were aimed to provide some intensive environment for the investment, and support from the side of government. However, the presence of such different types of agencies have made the existing structure of film industry quite complex, which makes the entry of new firms within the industry quire difficult. Understanding this problem, the Australian government has decided to merge these three different agencies together and come up with a consolidated agency, namely Screen Australia (Drama on and off the screen 2009).
In existing scenario, all the norms and practices related with film production, distribution and presentation is regulated by Screen Australia. Along with this, supporting the growth of local filmmakers and production for the purpose of registering their intensive contribution in the growth of the industry is also an important objective of organization. In addition to the establishment of these regulatory agencies, i.e. Screen Australia, the government is also providing some structural benefits to the industry. For instance, federal government of Australia has recently announced some intensive tax rebates for making the industry quite lucrative. In relation to this, the government has announced the tax rebate of 40 per cent for feature films. In the context of television productions and documentaries, this tax rebate bracket is 20% (Craven 2008).
In this context, from the perspective of government support and assistance, the film industry of the country is supported by the government quite intensively.
Issues on developing, supporting and sustaining a national film industry
Above discussion made within the paper, have presented existing scenario of the Australian film industry, which is quite dynamic by nature. Although the government of the country is making some significant efforts in the direction of the rapid development of the country, yet still there are some critical issues regarding the development, support from the side of society and government, and sustainability of the national film industry. The first and foremost issue in this regard is related with unequal distribution of the governmental funds and aids among different players of the industry. In relation to this, the main focus of the government’s programs for film industry is on the development of large scale feature films only. There are some other sectors of the industry such as small scale television productions and documentaries, which are rated on secondary priority. This condition is not in the favour of the long term success and sustainability of the country as comprehensive television industry and documentaries section is the feature of a successful film industry. For example, from the perspective of tax rebate also, discrimination in feature film and television industry. In this way, less developed small scale television industry of the country is preventing the entry of small investors and players within the industry, which is quite crucial for the sustainable structure and disposition of a film industry (Drama on and off the screen 2009).
In addition to this, another critical issue in the development of the industry is related with the intensive competition prevailing at global level. Films industry of different western countries such as USA, France, UK, and so on are developing at rapid pace. In comparison to such developed film industries, the Australian Film Industry is struggling for finding a significant place. In relation to this, the development and sustainability of the Australian film industry is quite harmed due to its incompetence to give competition to such highly developed industries (Cettl 2010).
Conclusion
The paper has revealed some of the historical and current development of Australian film industry. On the basis of the findings of the paper, it can be concluded that Australian film industry is having a bright history behind. However in existing period of time in which, needs and demands of customers have become quite dynamic and competition have become quite stiff, Australian film industry is facing some critical issues, such as lack of development, support from the side of society and government, and sustainability. In direction to this, the government is making some of the crucial and effective steps such as establishment of regulatory agencies and providing tax rebates so that the development of the industry can be promoted.
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