Week 6-Petrelli's thoughts on Australia's Film Industry

In 1906, Australian film-makers produced what is thought to be the world’s first feature length film, The Story of the Kelly Gang, about the country’s most notorious outlaws. The film enjoyed enormous success at home and was shown in British and New Zealand cinemas. Today, the Australian film industry has a reputation for innovation and quality, producing films with a unique flavour and global appeal.

Australia’s actors, directors, producers, costume designers, writers, cinematographers and animators are attracting growing international acclaim. Actors such as Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Rachel Griffiths, Abbie Cornish, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Heath Ledger and Naomi Watts have amassed a body of work that has won critical acclaim and commercial success. The Australian production Happy Feet won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2007.

The qualities that attract overseas film producers to Australia include its world-class studio facilities, highly-skilled local technical crews and the stunning diversity of the landscape.
In 2006–07, 28 Australian-produced and co-produced feature films, with a total production value of $270 million, and 45 television drama programs, with a total production value of $272 million, went into production in Australia. In the same year, the value of foreign film and television production in Australia was $49 million.

The Australian Government actively supports the film industry financially and provides tax incentives to private sector investors and assistance to training bodies. Direct government funding for production is channelled principally through the Film Finance Corporation. In 2006–07, government funding represented 17 per cent of the total funding for Australian produced and co‑produced feature films in production.The Australian Film Commission (AFC) operates as part of the Australian Government Film Program to support the creation, availability and preservation of Australian audiovisual content.The AFC provides marketing advice and support, including professional development and production opportunities. It coordinates an Australian presence in international marketplaces, promotes the availability of Australian content to Australian audiences, collects and analyses statistics on Australia’s audiovisual industries and administers the international co-production program. Australia has now concluded film co-production agreements with the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Ireland, Israel and Germany and memorandums of understanding with France and New Zealand.

To preserve Australia’s screen and sound heritage, the AFC administers the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA), which maintains Australia’s largest collection of recorded sound and moving image. The NFSA holds more than two million items, including television and sound recordings, newsreels, scripts, posters, film stills, memorabilia and other items produced during more than 100 years of Australian film‑making.

Week 3-Petrelli on Censorship in Australia:

Firstly, i'm agree with the ratings that are given to movies because in some way, it is a protection for the children. as we know that in some of the movies, they always include some scenes about violence, kill and scary stories. it is bed for the children i think. for example, the M ratings given to Harry Potter movies, which are meant to be for children. and also there is another movie called Baise-Moi which was banned in Australia for a long time. it was banned because the genre is not easy to escept by the audience.

In Australia, the censheship is different than others. Australia is a federation, and responsibility for censorship is divided between the states and the federal government. Censorship of Video Games and Internet sites hosted in Australia are considered to be the strictest in the western world.

The Federal Parliament has the power under the Australian Constitution to make laws relating to communications and customs. Under the communications power the federal government can regulate the broadcast media (television and radio), online services (the internet), and under the customs power, the import/export of printed matter, audiovisual recordings and computer games. However, the production and sale of printed matter, audiovisual recordings and computer games solely within Australia lies with the states.

However, to reduce duplication and ensure some national consistency, the states, territories and federal government have agreed to establish a co-operative national classification scheme. Under this scheme, the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) (a federal body) classifies works. Federal law enforces these classifications with respect to customs, and online services. (Broadcast media are not under the purview of the OFLC, but rather a separate federal agency, ACMA.)

But since the federal Parliament has no power to criminalise the domestic sale or exhibition of printed matter within the States, the States and Territories then as part of the scheme pass their own laws criminalising such sale and exhibition. However, although they have delegated their censorship responsibility in general to the Commonwealth, they reserve the legal right in specific cases to either.

As of 2005, censorship regime is largely the purview of the OFLC, a statutory body which operates independently of the Federal Government.
Failure to obtain classification is an implicit ban and the OFLC occasionally refuse to give classification. All feature films, videos, computer games, and magazines that contain sexual content for commercial release are required to be submitted to this body, made up of “community representatives” appointed by the government for two-year terms.
Some films (those made for educational or training purposes, for instance) are exempt from classification under certain conditions. Film festivals and institutions such as ACMI - Australian Centre for the Moving Image must apply to the OFLC to have the films on their proposed program made exempt from classification for the purpose of screening at a particular film festival or event. If the OFLC believe an unclassified work, in their estimation would receive an X18+ classification if it were to be classified they will not grant an exemption for public screening as an X18+ cannot be exhibited. Film festivals may be required to age-restrict entrance to a festival or screening.
In addition to the OFLC, the Australian Communications and Media Authority is also active in making recommendations and setting guidelines for media censorship. Confusion has recently arisen between the three bodies over censorship of mobile content.

The OFLC is not responsible for classifying television shows. Television is regulated by the ACMA, and the content of free-to-air commercial television is industry-regulated under the Australian Commercial Television Code of Practice. However, the OFLC does administer the classification of TV programmes for private sale (eg. DVD and video), using the same rating classes and advisory graphics as for feature films.

Week 4 -Petrelli's Top 10 list of favourite films

Number One: Crash (2004)

Crash is a 2004 American drama film, the reason that i like it is the story is so touch inside of your heart. and the story about the race in the American society which giving us a understanding of the situation.






Number Two: Forrest Gump (1994)


i like Forrest Gump not just because i'm a big fan of Tom Hanks but also because the way which this movie chosen to present for the audience. during this movie, we defined a long way which is a meaningful process for his whole life. Family, Friends, Love, career and all those points can make a phenomenon story for us.






Number Three: The fifth element (1997)


Science fiction movies always be the best choose for me, i'm such a big fan of it. imagine that you have a spaceship and a Alien friend can give everything you want and travel around the world. i believe it can be every young boy's dream.






Number Four: Leon (1994)


A hitman whithout cold blood, how he could be. Talking about the director Luc Besson, who is a fantastic director in the world. He directed so many movies such as The Fifth Element, Taken and so on.






Number Five: Taken (2008)


it is a 2008 action thriller film starring Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace based on a script by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. in this movie, every movement that they take was so exciting for me and let me try to think about what gonna happen next.






Number Six: Titanic (1997)


it is a disaster romantic drama film which presented in 1997. i like this movie because the love between rose and jack was so touching and especially the ending was such a tragedy.






Number Seven: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)


From a old man grow up to a baby, Benjamin Button learned his life in a perticular way. it is so amazing that you can following him and see what happened in his life.






Number Eight: Man of the year (2006)


he is a host of a comedian and satirical talk show, but accidently he started to stand as a candidate. it id such a great comedy movie. and during this movie, you can learn a litter bit about the process of running a candidate.






Number Nine: Perfume: the story of Murderer( 2006)

The film was a financial success, especially in Europe, earning $135 million worldwide. It was deemed unmarketable for American audiences and released in a very limited number of theaters in North America, taking in a modest $2,223,293.

Number Ten: Fight Club(1999)

Studio executives did not like the film, and they restructured Fincher's intended marketing campaign to try to reduce anticipated losses. Fight Club failed to meet the studio's expectations at the box office, and received polarized reactions from critics. It was cited as one of the most controversial and talked-about films of 1999. The Guardian saw it as an omen for change in American political life, and described its visual style as ground-breaking. The film later found commercial success with its DVD release, which established Fight Club as a cult film.

Week 4-Petrelli's Film Review: Garden State

Garden State (2004) 

 Starring: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Ian Holm, Peter Sarsgaard.

Director: Zach Braff.

Running time: 102 Minutes.

Genre: Comedy, Drama. Romance

 Life is not simple, family relationships, job, and lover, friends, sometime it is getting worse and out of control. But sometimes, one small mistake will change your life.

 Andrew Largeman, played by Zach Braff who is also the director of this film, He doesn’t like to talk to people at the beginning of the movie. He was return from LA where he is a part-time waiter. The reason why he came back was his mother’s accidently death. It is the first time in 9 years Andrew back to town. During the funeral, he meets his old friends. It is a small town, and everyone seems had a dream, that is become rich. Then, Andrew meets the girl Sam in the hospital, he started to change. The relationship with his father, I think they both had the same felling which is regret of his mother’s death. Because it was one small mistake

 The sound track of this movie has a significant effect in each of the scene in this movie. At the end of this movie, the song Let Go was really touched. It created an emotional atmosphere which represented the meaning of love between Andrew and Sam.

 About the camera angel, there are lots of close up shot. The audience can actually see the face of each character and really into it. When you focus on the camera angel, the camera took a close shot, the character always on the left or right of the screen, not at the middle of the screen. It remains me to think about the movie 2046. By using this skill, the audience will more focus on the characters instead of the empty place.

 The colour and lighting was really catchy but dark. Back to the scene which Andrew and Sam went to this warming swimming pool with his friend. The lighting was brilliant. It created a sense of fancy atmosphere. You can feel the love from the setting and the colour as well. The best scene to demonstrate this meaning will be the one when they seating in the bathtub.

 The camera movement always followed the bike from the shot which is really close to the long shot.  It used the movement which from the down to the top. The scene will be the last part of the film when the want to this valley and try to find the significant card. It is the way that the director wants to tell the audience how deep the valley is.

 Time to leave, every story has an end. For this, it seems to be sadness, but not really. After he got on the plan, he starts to think. It is the love inside of his heart.  Like what Andrew said when they both seating in the bathtub and Sam asked how do you feel now. Andrew said safe, like a home.

Week 2- Petrelli on Drama

Hi Everyone, In this week's topic, I'm going to talk about the movie genre which is drama. and give some examples to support this article. and also, i would like to analysis that why i like it and what is the culture impact of this genre in those movies. 

The genre of drama is mostly depends on the realistic characters dealing with emotional themes such as racial prejudice, crime, drug addiction and alcoholism. We must to know that all genres can include dramatic elements which means the genre of a movie can be not only drama but also mixed, for example, The Godfather(1972) which is belong to the genre of Crime Drama. There is another movie called Forrest Gump(1994) which is a Drama Comedy. In those movies, the elements of drama is not the mainly issue which are focusing in the movie. otherwise, it makes the movie more interesting especially for those people who interested in different genres.  

The first movie i would like to talk about is Crash (2004) which won three Oscars for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing of 2005 at the 78th Academy Awards. It is a movie about the relationships in different class of people in the society and how they are all relate to each other in one story line. when i first saw this movie, i thought those people has no connection with each others but after few more times focusing on the story i finally catch it. in this movie, it talks about the issues such as Class, Racism, culture shock and religion. it is such a phenomenon movie which touch the audience so deeply in a way that the audience had a connection with. 

i do believe that chick flicks create unrealistic expectations of man. because the answer is simple that the man which created in those movies are unrealistic, most of them are not related to the real world it just like a hallucination in their mind. 

Firstly, i would like to say that action movies are different from violent movies. in my theory, those are two different type of movies. Action movies are actors jumping out from a speeding car or somebody trying to catch up a flight or something. but on the other hand, the violent movies are the audience amazed by those things such as blood and dead body. 

Ok, that's all for today, i hope you like it and share your opinions with me, thank you.

Week 1- Petrelli's Introduction

Hello everyone.

I'm Petrelli. Welcome to our blog. Our group members are Susan, Anita, Grace and me. In our blog, we are going to present informations about different types of movies. And also including the culture influence and different genre of the movies.

In movie theory, there are different understanding of movie genres. such as Action, Drama, Comedy, War, Sci-fi and Documantray.

Personally, i like drama movies such as Crash which is a fantastic example. in this movie, it tell us a story about different groups of people from up-class to the working-class. The film received generally positive reviews with the review tallying website rottentomatos.com reporting that 145 out of 192 reviews they tallied were positive for a score of 75% and a certification of fresh, while metacritic tallied an average score of 69 out of 100 for Cresh's critical consensus. talking about the horror movies, it is not what i interested in. i don't like horror movies because the sound and the atmosphere.

so, thank you very much and hope you enjoy our blog and give us your idea about different genres of movie. thank you.