Bowman Library

 

Film Industry Research Guide

 

What is the Film Industry?

The film industry revolves around the creation, production and distribution of motion pictures. It encompasses scripts, actors, directors, producers, a crew of hundreds, photography, sound, editing, and getting the finished product out to an audience. It is a business in which the revenue of a single blockbuster feature film can approach or exceed $1 billion, but the financial risks are also huge. The global film industry is dominated by Hollywood, but regional centers such as Bollywood (based in India) are making small inroads in this vast, international industry.

  
 

Getting Started

Before beginning research, spend some time thinking about a topic and how to develop a search strategy for finding information. Some things you might consider when doing film industry research are:

  • Are you researching something about the history of film?
  • Do you need box office statistics or production costs of a film?
  • Are you researching a timely topic, such as the impact of DVD rentals and Internet downloads on movie theaters?
  • Will you need information on how films are produced and distributed?
  
 

Finding General or Background Information on the Film Industry

Use both general and subject encyclopedias to find background and overview information on film. Search Bowman Library’s online Encyclopedia Britannica for information on film history, the film industry and film genres. Searching ROSIE for “film encyclopedias” or “motion pictures encyclopedias” will provide you with titles and call numbers of reference and non-reference works about film. Two examples are:

Standard & Poor's Net Advantage - under Quick Links, go to "Industry Surveys" to "Movies & Home Entertainment." This is a good source of industry trends, statistics, and forecasts.

 

  
 

Finding Film Industry Information in Books

Searching ROSIE Using Keywords:

It’s often best to begin searching ROSIE with a word search. As with any search strategy, brainstorm for synonyms and ideas related to your topic and begin by searching with those. For example, "film industry," "cinema," and "Hollywood" are all terms you might use. Remember that you’ll also probably gather some results that aren’t appropriate for your topic. When you find appropriate books, you can link to their subject headings for a more focused search.

Searching ROSIE by Subject:

Searching by Library of Congress Subject Headings allows you to do a more precise, focused search for your topic. Some subject headings that may be useful in doing film industry research include:

Cinematography
Documentary films
Motion pictures censorship
Motion pictures history
Motion pictures production and direction
Women in motion pictures

Browsing Call Numbers:

Because books are arranged on the Library’s shelves by subject, browsing the library stacks in the call number areas suggested below can also be useful. You may also browse the shelves virtually by using the Call Number search in ROSIE.

PN1993-PN1999

Keep in mind that books on certain aspects of the film industry may also appear in other subject areas; for example, books on film cinematography might be in the photography section, not the film section. Books about music in film might be in the music section.

  
 

Finding Articles About the Film Industry Using Research Databases

Bowman Library subscribes to many Web-based databases where you will find newspaper, magazine and scholarly journal articles. Ones that are particularly useful for researching the film industry are listed below. See Searching Electronic Resources Effectively for guidelines on making the most of your search.

ProQuest - journal, magazine, trade journal and newspaper articles on a broad range of subjects. Includes subjects such as the motion picture industry, documentary films and directors and producers.

Historical New York Times - contains the full text of the New York Times from 1851-2002 and is especially useful for historical information on movies and the early days of the film industry.

Business and Company Resource Center - use the "Industry" tab to search for "Motion picture" to find market information, industry snapshots, organization and structure, industry leaders and background information on the film industry.

LexisNexis Academic - contains magazine and newspaper articles on many subjects, including the film industry.

  
 

Selected Free Web Sites

The following Web sites have been selected by Bowman Librarians as examples of sites appropriate for college research. Keep in mind, however, that free Web resources are rarely filtered, often making it difficult to determine the content's accuracy. Use our guide Evaluating Web Resources to help you review the authority, currency and objectivity or bias of every site you use.

  • The Internet Public Library Film Making Page
    http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ent50.20.00/
    This page, from the Internet Public Library at the University of Michigan, contains Web sites on aspects of the film industry, including how motion pictures are made and the history of cinematography.
  • The Internet Movie Database
    http://www.imdb.com/
    It bills itself as "Earth's Biggest Movie Database," and this is the place to find all the details about casts, crews, production details and plots.
  • Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
    http://www.oscars.org/
    This is the place to go to look up who won what and when in Hollywood.
  • Box Office Guru
    http://www.boxofficeguru.com/
    This database contains comprehensive box office data on motion pictures released between 1997 and the present. Figures are updated weekly using data published in the magazine Variety.
  • The Movie Times
    http://the-movie-times.com/
    Box office grosses for films, actors, actresses and more are tracked here.
  • Earlycinema.com
    http://www.earlycinema.com/index.html
    This site provides an introduction to the first decade of cinema and its effects on modern filmmaking. It includes a timeline, as well as information on early film pioneers and technology.


  
 

Citing Your Sources

Be sure to check with your professor on which citation style is required. Bowman Library provides the following resources to assist with citation format:

For online resources, see How to Cite Your Research for links to MLA, APA and Chicago citation styles.

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers - LB2369 .G53 2003 (Located in Library Permanent Reserves).

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association - BF76.7 .P83 2001 (Located in Library Permanent Reserves).

The Chicago Manual of Style - Z253 .U69 2003 (Located in Library Permanent Reserves).

  
 

Have Questions?

  • Explore WOODIE for help with Research.
  • The following guides included related information that may assist your research:
  • Ask a Librarian. We are here to help!