Advantages and disadvantages in possible ways in which we can consume and produce films

Write an illustrated essay outlining all the ways possible to consume and produce films, with advantages and disadvantages.

There are many ways in which we can consume and produce films. The possibilities have changed a lot through the years and now it is easier than ever to consume films.

The first way is on a DVD. Before the DVD there was the Video and is a disk which can be inserted into a player and watched when ever the consumer wants to. Advantages of this includes the fact that the consumer can watch it as many times as they want when they want once they have brought it. However, once they have brought it can then be passed on to whom ever they want as long as it is not to people who are paying meaning that the companies are missing out on some money. It also makes making pirate films a lot easier and therefore is another way for the film makers to loose money.

A new updated version of DVDs has come out which is Blu-ray. It is high quality for consumers to watch the film meaning that the film experience will be improved. It is important that changes like this happen to keep people interested in the film industry itself. It does have its draw backs though, it means that consumers have to purchase something in which the disks will play in as ordinary DVD players can not play them. Also, if they wish to watch a film in Blu-ray which they already own they will have to re-purchase the film as a Blu-ray disk which generally costs more money than your average DVD.

Smartphones are also another way in which you can watch films. This allows the audience to watch films when ever they want whilst on the go. Also, when you buy a DVD sometimes they come with a code for you to use to get a free digital copy of the film which can be played on any digital device  (including on your smartphone). The disadvantage of using your smartphone to watch films means that because the screen is so small the meaning and effect of the film may be lost due to the film being made to watch on a bigger screen. It is also the same for tablets. Even though their screens are slightly bigger, meaning that the quality may be a little better than a smartphone, the full effect of the film will not be view by the consumer.

You can also produce films on smartphones. It may be more practical as people have their phone to hand most of the time but the quality will not be as good due to it not being specially made for that purpose. As well as watching the film, the filming itself may be effected by the size of the screen. 
The more conventional approach to filming today is by using a digital video camera. The screen is bigger and due to it being made for the purpose of filming it will have much better quality and therefore making the finished product better and more enjoyable for the consumer to watch.

In addition, videos on demand through websites such as Netflix are getting ever more popular in the way we consume films. This is because there are many positive aspects of them. It allows the consumer to watch the film when ever they want to which is not possible through TV channels themselves.  As well as this it may work out cheaper for the consumer as the amount spent per month for the subscription is fixed but if they buy the DVDs the amount when collected together will be higher once they buy a certain amount. However there are negative sides to using videos on demand such as DVD sales drooping dramatically. In 2011 DVD sales were down by 18.3%, on the other hand subscription services were up between 40% and 45%. Due to it being so popular is has destroyed many other services which allow people to watch films when they wish to such as Blockbuster.

Cinemas have been a successful platform for the consumption of films for many years. People pay to watch a film due to the fact that the experience they will get will be better to the one that they would get at home. However, due to bigger TV screens the cinema experience isn't always confined to the cinema screen so they have had to come up with more ways in which to get people to go. Viewing films in 3D is normally seen as the normal way to watch a film in the cinema in todays world but yet again TVs have improved and you can now get 3D TVs. IMAX is also another way in which you can watch a film in the cinema. Tickets cost more but the quality of the cinema experience is enhanced greatly due to better quality images and sound making more people want to go.

Overall the way we consume films and produce films has changed a lot over the years to keep up with the ever changing society in which we live in today. Even though things have changed there are still huge drawbacks for either the consumer or the companies involved.