Tuesday, December 24, 2019

The Studio System Essay - 14396 Words

The Studio System Key point about the studio system could be: Despite being one of the biggest industries in the United States, indeed the World, the internal workings of the dream factory that is Hollywood is little understood outside the business. The Hollywood Studio System: A History is the first book to describe and analyse the complete development, classic operation, and reinvention of the global corporate entities which produce and distribute most of the films we watch. Starting in 1920, Adolph Zukor, head of Paramount Pictures, over the decade of the 1920s helped to fashion Hollywood into a vertically integrated system, a set of economic innovations which was firmly in place†¦show more content†¦The following essay will examine how these changes took place, and what impact it had on the film making industry in America. We shall also examine how the system relates to the current production methods used in film making. The main issues raised within the text will be summarised concisely within the conclusion. Before a film reaches the cinema screen, and its audience it must go through a three stage process. Firstly and most obviously it has to be produced, following this it must then be distributed, and finally exhibited. Before the introduction of the studio system in the 1920s all of these processes were controlled separately. Although this gave the makers of films, such as directors and producers, room to express their creativity it pla ced a heavy constraint upon the amount of movies that could be made, and financial profits. However, despite Hollywood’s uneasy birth, by the 1920s it had become one of the worlds leading film producers (Dirks, 2002). This was largely due to the introduction of the producer, or studio syste Cinema is a collaborative art so it is difficult to determine the influence of one particular person on a film. The only way to truly judge a single persons contribution to film is to look at their entire filmography, in that way you can begin to distinguish patterns that can be identified with individuals. With this in mind, it isShow MoreRelatedHow does Sunset Boulevard represent the Hollywood Studio System?1897 Words   |  8 Pagesthe Hollywood Studio System to reveal the truth behind the organisation. During the time the film was released in the 1950s and 60s, audiences started to see the demise of Hollywood as cinema going began to decline and the fierce competition of television almost proved too much for the well established system. Throughout this essay I will discuss how Sunset Boulevard represents the Hollywood Studio System, as well as exploring post war literature giving reasons as to why the system began to crumbleRead More Destry Rides Again, Mr Smith Goes to Washi ngton, and the Fall of the Hollywood Studio System3533 Words   |  15 PagesDestry Rides Again, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, and the Fall of the Hollywood Studio System Thomas Schatz cites the 1950’s as the inevitable end of the Hollywood film studio system, with the signs appearing as early as the height of the second World War (472). However, the seeds of discontent and disintegration within the system were apparent as soon as the late 1930’s, exemplified in such films as Destry Rides Again (1939, George Marshall) and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939, Frank Capra)Read MoreStudio Systems : The Studio System1662 Words   |  7 Pagesindependent, DIY and small-scale productions. The classical Hollywood â€Å"studio system† uses the mode of mass production.1 A studio is a company in business for making films for example Paramount and Warner Bros are studios.1 These studios have a system called â€Å"studio systems† in which they operate the filmmaking process.1 In mass production systems, writers, directors, actors and all workers in between are under contracts.1 These studios have ultimate control on what is being made , how the producers areRead MoreThe Distribution Of The Studio System2750 Words   |  11 Pages After the breakdown of the studio system the leading film companies started to buy each other on a conglomorate scale in order to increase their quality and income during the production or distribution of the film. Conglomorate ownership has been in the business for very long time and has shaped the industry. Most companies in hollywood are economically driven rathern than artisticly driven, therefore whilst making films it is in the company’s best interest to make more money. For the better understandingRead MoreThe Supreme Court Case United States Vs. Paramount Pictures, Inc.1615 Words   |  7 Pageschange in the entire system, leading to a completely new Hollywood. The Paramount Decision in 1948 incited a chain reaction of effects, including the fall of the studio system and a change in censorship, which gave directors more leverage in the making of their movies, ultimately developing into the self-conscious â€Å"auteur† directing that is characteristic of New Hol lywood. Before the Paramount Decision, Hollywood’s studio system was vertically integrated, meaning that the studios had control over productionRead MoreThe Structure of American Film Industry Essay2262 Words   |  10 Pages Outline the main changes the paramount decree effected on the structure of the American film industry and discuss the measures the ex-studios took to remain in control of the film market. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The period of the 1920’s to 1950’s where known as the studio era in Hollywood. A few major companies monopolized the industry through vertical integration when the film companies controlled all production distribution and exhibition. The majors determined which movies were shownRead More The Worker Management Techniques Essay2873 Words   |  12 PagesMotion Picture Patent’s Company known as the Trust. By the time of the Great Depression, this small band of independent entrepreneurs would demonstrate that by applying certain worker management techniques within a capitalist vertical integration system, near absolute control of the film industry could be achieved. Prior to the domination of Hollywood, French film making was amongst those at the fore front, if not the fore front itself of the film industry. However, in the wake of the First WorldRead MoreThe United States versus Paramount Pictures, Inc. Essay1251 Words   |  6 Pagescreat e such a successful industry, and if it’s taken away, the industry would sink. The court found the studios guilty of block booking and outlawed theater pooling, the alliance of theater chains for a mutual advantage. The ruling addressed block booking by saying â€Å"the copyright ownership of any film was, in actuality, a limited monopoly protected by the U.S. Constitution† (SIMPP, 2002). The studios had to take out their theater pools, but the Big Five were allowed to keep their chains for themselvesRead MoreThe Main Changes That the Paramount Decree Effected on the Structure of the American Film Industry and the Measures the Ex-Studios Took to Remain in Control of the Film Market2265 Words   |  10 PagesOutline the main changes the paramount decree effected on the structure of the American film industry and discuss the measures the ex-studios took to remain in control of the film market. The period of the 1920s to 1950s where known as the studio era in Hollywood. A few major companies monopolized the industry through vertical integration when the film companies controlled all production distribution and exhibition. The majors determined which movies were shown in which theatres, choosing theirRead More Vertical integration in studio system Essay475 Words   |  2 PagesVertical integration in studio system The term vertical integration refers to the structure of a marketplace, which is integrated (rather than segregated) at a variety of crucial levels. In the case of the motion picture industry, the studio system established a market in which the studios owned production facilities, distribution outlets, and theaters. In other words, the studios controlled every level of the marketplace from the top down, from production to exhibition. Vertical integration

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Central Motif for Saving Face Essay Free Essays

Saving Face is a romantic comedy that unveils the truth about how the character’s identity can cause personal and cultural conflicts. Wil, the protagonist, and Ma had been keeping secrets from their family making it hard for them to connect with others and come to terms with themselves. Motifs were seen throughout the whole movie expressing thoughts and feelings. We will write a custom essay sample on Central Motif for Saving Face Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now For example, face, time and tight camera angles were the motifs in this movie. Throughout those motifs, face was the central motif. Face was the central motif in Saving Face because it was the only reoccurring pattern that would show an individual’s identity. However, the tight camera angles in the movie made it captive for anyone to embrace their identity. The tight camera angles were able to show pain and scorn one was facing as they started to peal their identity away. One saw how hard it could be in being upfront and honest to themselves to others. When Ma had to explain to her father that she was pregnant with no husband, the movie captured Ma boxed in. In this shot, Ma was in a room, sitting down closed in by the narrow hallway leading to where she was sitting. Her father was in the same room as her not seen, but only heard. This shows how the outside influences make it difficult to accept one’s state and affects making connections with others. Ma now felt she had to marry someone, even if she wasn’t interested in him. Wil witnessed her mother being scolded by her grandfather, making it more difficult and complicated for Wil to tell her family she was lesbian and going out with Vivian. Throughout Saving Face, the motif time represents how time rushes and prevents the characters from making decisions they need to make for their identity. Saving Face represents time as both linear and circular because time continues to progresses in life but there is a repetition of the characters’ being themselves. Time ages for both Ma and Wil to the point that they are running out of time to change their lives that they continue to live repeatedly every day. The montage in the film shows that Ma is wasting her time with men she isn’t interested in. She goes on dates with an old friend when she’s actually interested in someone else. Time prevents Wil from making her decision because while she was sitting down with Vivian having a serious talk about where their relationship was going, the screenplay showed from sunset to twilight. This shows that expectations were being lost and time was passing by. The central motif of Saving Face is â€Å"face† because it represents the characters’ identity. Saving Face is an expression to keep definition. Face is a motif because face is used repeatedly, especially in close-ups to captivate the person’s identity. In the opening shot, there is a close- up on Wil’s face which she is seen wearing beauty masks to hide her true identity. The beauty mask prevents Wil from expressing her true identity because the face mask shows that Wil is living a life with a false identity. Wil has not accepted herself for her orientation and continues to masks herself because she does not have the courage to take it off. There are also close-ups on Ma’s face which explains how she is hiding her identity by living a life that her father requests her to live by. The close-ups on the faces show entrapment of the characters’ because they are not accepting their identity and live by their family’s request. In conclusion, the central motif of Saving Face is â€Å"face†. The motif face explains how the characters keep an identity that society enforces them to have, not an identity that they would like to be presented by. Even though time and tight camera angles were reoccurring patterns in this movie, it leads to the main point which is face. The characters struggle to come in terms to themselves and struggle to connect with others because of their secrets. How to cite Central Motif for Saving Face Essay, Essays

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Essay Karrick Gold & Copper Ltd

Question: Write an essay on "Karrick Gold Copper Ltd". Answer: In order to accept an audit assignment preconditions for an audit as required under ISA 210 Agreeing the terms of audit engagement should be present. As per ISA 210 an auditor is required to: Check whether the financial statements of a company are prepared according to the appropriate financial reporting framework (FRM), and Check that those who are in charge of management understand and acknowledge their responsibilities. If the above mentioned conditions are not present then an auditor should not accept the audit unless it is required under the law. An auditor should consider and carry out the following procedures: Clients Background auditor have to collect the information about clients business and assess his standing / reputation to ensure the level of risk associated with the clients business. Auditor also has to assess the integrity of management. Clients Industry Analyze the nature of business in order to identify the applicable rules / regulations / standards to the clients industry. Risk Auditor has to evaluate the following in order to assess risk associated with client: Weak / poor accounting system, Ineffective management, Appointment of new auditors frequently, Related party transactions, Market report about client, etc. Competency auditor should make sure that he has all the required skills / competence / expertise to conduct the audit of his client. Conflict of Interest auditor should make sure that there will be no conflict of interest with the existing clients after accepting the new audit engagement. Ethical Requirement auditor has to ensure that there will be no threats to his integrity, objectivity and independence by accepting any audit assignment. Resources the auditor should ensure that he has the required resources to conduct the audit of a large business organization such as competent audit team which can complete the assignment timely. Communication with Previous Auditor - it is a mandatory requirement under the law that the auditor before accepting an audit assignment has to communicate in writing with the outgoing auditor to make sure that there are no ethical / professional / legal reasons for non acceptance of audit assignment. Auditor has to obtain the clients permission before communicating with outgoing auditor and in case client declines, then auditor should not accept the audit assignment. Similarly, outgoing auditor also has to obtain clients permission to reply back to the new auditor and in case client declines, then the auditor should not accept the audit assignment. After considering all the above factors and procedures auditor may accept or reject the audit proposal. In case of acceptance of audit assignment following procedure would be followed: Removal of outgoing auditor is conducted as per the prescribed rules and regulations under the applicable law. Appointment of new auditor is in compliance with the statutory requirements. Preparation of Engagement Letter. (KAPLAN, 2012) Audit risk involves that the auditor cangive an incorrect opinion on the financials of a company, such as, qualification made in the report where no qualification was required, no qualification being made where a qualification was justified, fail to disclose any material fact in his report, etc. Audit risk is a product of many risks that occurs while conducting an audit. Auditor must analyze the level of risk for each component of audit risk for maintaining the total audit risk within the acceptable level of risk. There are 3 major components of audit risk which are as follows: Inherent Risk risk that material misstatement will occur in the financials due to error or omission. Where estimations and high degree of judgment are involved, inherent risk is also considered high. Control Risk risk that material misstatement will occur in the financial due to inefficiency and in effectiveness of clients internal control system which will fail to prevent / detect / correct errors. Detection Risk risk that auditor will fail to detect errors through his audit procedures. For analyzing the overall audit risk an auditor will use Audit Risk Model, in which he will calculate the total audit risk by using the following formula: Audit Risk = Inherent Risk * Control Risk * Detection Risk In the given case the product of all the risk is 4 % (.80 * .10 * .50) which is very low for an audit assignment, therefore, auditor should accept the audit assignment of KGC Ltd. Audit program contains a list of audit procedures which are to be conducted by the audit team for obtaining sufficient audit evidence. After analyzing the accounting system of the company and after finalizing the audit strategy which is to be followed individual audit procedures are planned. A proper audit program includes audit procedure for each and every area of business, audit strategies to be followed, audit tools which are to be used, substantive audit tests which will be performed by the audit team. Following are the points which will be included in the audit program of KGC Ltd. mine in PNG: General Items: Obtain financial information such as monthly / quarterly financial reports, yearend trial balance, etc. Last years audit report, unusual items. Analysis of internal controls. Cash Bank (reconciliation, bank statements, physical verification). Amounts due from others. Property, Plant and Equipment and Vehicles (valuation, depreciation, impairment, etc). Accounts payable. Operating Procedures. Special Items: Analysis of estimates made for investment in new PPE over the next 7 years of $ 5.0billion AUD. Analyze whether license agreement allows for renewal in case of new findings for silver and lead ore after the expiry. Evaluation of managers expectation in relation to finding of commercial quality silver ore in near future. Making provisions for the cost of remediating the sludge spill. It is favorable to make provisions as per higher compensation limit, i.e., $ 60 billion AUD. Evaluation of sludge control system to check its efficiency so that in future no such incidence occurs. IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment provides the accounting treatment for PPE. All the property, plants and equipments are initially recognized at cost and valued subsequently either by revaluation model or cost model. AASB (Australian Accounting Standards Board) has recognized two methods for the valuation of assets. First is historical cost method and second is fair value method. In historical cost method asset is recorded at its historical cost (purchase price) in the books of accounts while in fair value method, asset is revalued to its current market price. Revaluation is done at regular intervals by comparing the price withsimilar assets. In general, fair value method seems to be an advanced method for valuation of assets but company has to face certain issues while valuing its assets as per fair value method. The biggest issue with fair value method is that a company is able to measure the current market value of assets reliably. Fair value method also leads to unethical or wrong business practices, such as, misleading the stakeholders by wrong asset valuation in the financial statements. There are many instances of incidence happening in corporate history which exploited this method. Fair value method for valuation of assets is more relevant but it has a major drawback because it is not always reliable. Therefore, it is more like a trade-off in which we have to choose one quality over another. So it is a fact that fair value method is more relevant but it is not always reliable for the asset valuation. (Deloitte, 2016) In the given case of KGC Ltd., it will face same issues which are mentioned in the above paragraph whether to use fair value method or not for the valuation of its property, plant and equipments. According to the IAS 16.31 it is clearly mentioned that the revaluation model is used only in case where the fair value is calculated reliably and depreciation / impairment can also be measured reliably. In order to resolve these issues auditor will have to value each and every asset carefully so as to get the reliable fair value and in certain cases valuation can be done with the help of a professional. Auditor has to consider the future economic benefits of the assets while valuing them. (KPMG, 2011). Future Prospects of KGC Ltd. mine: KGC Ltd. is in operation from last 30 years and is located in a very isolated area of Australia. The current business operations can be carried only for next 8 years after that license period will be expired therefore in order to maintain going concern prospect KGC Ltd. will have to find the commercial quality silver and lead ore in near future because the reserve of gold and copper will exhaust in next 7 years.Therefore as a general overview, the position of KGC Ltd. in long run is not certain and is mainly dependent on renewal of its license and finding of new ore in the licensed region. However, there are certain aspects which are in the favor of KGC Ltd and can help themin future by thesupport of government as it is the only company which operates in the PNG region and provides employment to 3000 PNG citizens. It is a major source of revenue for PNG government and it provides water processing plant which is the only one in that region, grade schools, health centers and hospitals. Because of all these social and environmental services of KGC Ltd. there are chances that it will get full support from PNG government and its going concern factor will not get affected. In 1994 Elkington developed the concept of the Triple Bottom Line which proposed that business goals were inseparable from the societies and environments within which they operate. The triple bottom line is made up of Social, Environmental and Economic aspects and indicated by the phrase People, Planet, Profit phrase. People Human Capital. It implies fair and beneficial business practices towards labor community and region in which anorganization conducts its business to create long term value. For example, policy restraining use of child labor, fair pay to workforce, health and safety at work place, tolerable working hours, etc. and would not otherwise exploit a community or its labor force. Planet Natural Capital. It refers to sustainable environmental practices. A company which decides to follow triple bottom line approach always keeps in mind that it does no harm to nature or creates negative environmental impact.(The Economist, 2009) As per the above mentioned explanation to Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach, since KGC Ltd. has followed this approach therefore it is conducting its business operations socially and in an environmental friendly way. Therefore auditor should not hesitate in signing this statement as being true and fair. Since KGC Ltd. wants to invest in its PPE assets and in order to carry out its research activities for finding new sources of silver and lead ores therefore it has decided to raise $ 5 billion AUD through a share issue for which it will require a duly drafted prospectus. It has stated the following statements in its prospectus: Operations in PNG region are its principal assets it is correct because companys major source of revenue is its mine in PNG. Its operations are low risk this statement would justify for short term operation because its toxicity level is relatively low but in long term exposure it can create serious chronic health issues, therefore this statement cannot be justified and is inappropriate for the prospectus. Its operations are indefinite (permanent) in duration this statement cannot be justified at all. It is clearly visible that it isleft with only 8 years after which its license will expire. Further it has not found any commercial source for silver ore till date and in the absence of any fresh source for ore it only has reserve for 7 years therefore, in no case it can say its operation are permanent or indefinite in durations. Since there are unjustified statements mentioned in the prospectus therefore auditor will not sign-off this prospectus as being true and fair. Reference: Deloitte, 2016, IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment, viewed on 17th June. KPMG, 2011, Guidance note on audit of PPE, viewed on 17th June. Accounting Simplified, 2013, Audit Risk Model, viewed on 17th June. The Economist, 2009, Triple Bottom Line (TBL), viewed on 17th June.