New-Day Era Film Industry

In the Age of the New Day on Aren, cinema is alive and well. Three major powers compete for the lucrative market, with two of them being quite politicized. The Gudersnipe Foundation makes movies in Modia, the Trans-Draconic Federation has well-funded studios in Weagal and Arindell; and a thriving independant industry exists in the region of Serpentia, centered mostly around a city outside Polaris. There is also a thriving Necromancer film industry; however since their films are intended for the necromancer audience, they do not consider them as "competing" with the more standard film cartels.

Port Feira, Serpentia

A gorgeous planned city not located near water, Port Feira houses the bulk of the so-called "Free Agents" film industry (so called because they are not beholden to any greater organization and operate "freely"). A number of large studios and production houses film here. The city was founded in the mid second-century N.D., financed with loans from HMBT.

Port Feira is known for making big-budget, financially successful films with little critical or artistic value. While Feira-based critics certainly disagree, the wider film world is often quite hard on the center.

In contrast to the other centers of film production, where the story or director take a central place in the marketing, Port Feira tends to promote actors. This is most blatant in the "Por Feira Darlings"; attractive young women given major roles and then heavily promoted. Opponents of the Feira industrial complex are quick to point out that you seldom see many of these darlings past the age of 25.

Film recuts are a frequent source of ire among the consumer-base. Its often said that studios in Port Feira first film an NC-17 version of every movie, then cut it down to the desired rating level. As evidence, film buffs will note that even movies aimed squarely at children will include implied sex via scenes that cut away quickly, or substantial violence that conveniently happens "just off screen". While this accusation lies on the extreme end, it is well known that nearly every PG-13 film also has an "R" and usually an "unrated" cut with a lot more inappropriate material in it.

Despite Modia's emphasis on war films, Port Feira is known for producing much more violent, graphic pictures.

Notable Studios

Studio Jenez

Studio Jenez is the largest of The Big Three, known for making high-concept and expensive films, usually with borderline exploitative themes. The studio's primary moneymaking ethos can be boiled down to "overpay for story rights people want to see, then sex it up".

The Feira Fantasy

An oft-mocked phenomenon of the Port Feira films is a strange tendency to depict the Trans-Draconic Federation and Gudersnipe Foundation as mortal enemies locked in eternal war. The reasons for this are perfectly practical; both navies use the same warship designs, which makes it very simple to stage large naval battles (in point of fact, the TDFN buy obsolete warships from the Crimson Blade and refits them as a matter of course, the only new ships ever built are fleet carriers and submarines).

Most of these films are depicted more as "what if" or based on novels where events have driven the two superpowers to war. Exactly how deep the malice goes varies heavily from work to work; with some depicting the two sides as merely ideological rivals, while others portray blood enemies hell bent on mutual destruction. Most depictions are of the spy/thriller variety, but numerous war movies have also been made.

The films owe their roots to a genre of literature involving mutual espionage between the two powers. Usually one side finds out something deeply alarming about the other, and must fight to either bury the secret or reveal it. As a genre it is quite popular, however the accuracy and status as fiction are never in doubt.

There is some grain of truth to the genre. The TDFN requires "force parity" with the Crimson Blade Wet Navy on Aren. The reasons for this are largely bureaucratic, orders issued directly from the dragons and never rescinded. It is at times ruinously expensive.

Modia

Modia has no single centralized film production region, but a large network of state-owned facilities provides extensive capacity. It is difficult to tell where the privately-owned studios end and the Foundation begins, though all but very small independent ventures produced in the region are at least distributed by the Foundation. As such, the Foundation weirdly considerable control over what gets made and how.

While Feira-based critics often point out that "Modian films don't have to make money", the movies that come out of this region consistently rank higher on quality or artistic merits. Modian films are also more likely to rely chiefly on practical effects than CGI, with truly enormous casts borrowed from the Crimson Blade.

Modia is known primarily for producing two kinds of films: war pictures, and emotion-heavy movies about families. It is an odd dichotomy, but it works surprisingly well. The family-centric films offer intricate plots, emotional resonance, and nuanced performances. Most Modian actors work under contract, which means they're paid a flat salary even when not working, and generally have to take the roles they are given. Ironically, most of Port Feira's most successful actors are poached from Modia.

The region is famous primarily for war films. Very occasionally the "Feira Fantasy" genre will crop up, but most often the films portray Crimson Blade soldiers fighting against un-named "belligerent nations" and always winning. Smaller-scale conflicts are often based on the real-life exploits of actual units, and dramatizations of famous wars are incredibly popular subject matter. Most notably even during the New Day, the Foundation continues to produce multiple movies each year set during the Kamian Succession Wars (an event which, in the late New Day-era, took place nearly 4,000 years ago). These films offer varying degrees of historical accuracy and often use modern weapons and props.

Modian films are known for being grand, effects-heavy, and featuring enormous casts of extras. Crimson Blade soldiers seen in the backgrounds are typically portrayed by actual active-duty soldiers, and filming on bases or with real vehicles is extremely common. Naval films shot using entire fleets of active-duty warships get made on a regular basis.

Despite the heavy emphasis on practical effects, Modia's VFX industry is still the best on Aren, able to creative cutting-edge and highly realistic renderings.

Though less well-known, the bulk of Aren's high-quality animation studios(both traditional and digital) can actually be found in Modia. They produce mainly children's and family films and release under a wide variety of labels, but the actual work from writing to voicing to animation to editing is carried out in Modia.

Ratings and Demographic Targets

An odd point about Modian war films is that, despite the subject matter, the movies seldom break a PG rating. Graphic violence is uncommon and blood is subtle if used at all. A complaint frequently leveled by Por Feiran critics is that, despite having "the best practical effects on Aren", Modia's moulage effects are childish.

This is because the Foundation prioritizes broad appeal, with the emphasis on stories and characters not gore. Most of the violence is implied, with gunshots actually hitting characters on screen being exceptionally rare.

Port Feira Interactions

Despite the prevalence and popularity of Port Feira films over Modian, Port Feira's VFX industry still fails to match up in quality to what Modia produces. This leads to high-budget Feira productions outsourcing VFX work to studios in Modia, much to the consternation of Serpentia's government. Since the studios are ultimately owned by the Foundation, the Foundation is quick to leverage this politically.

Necromancer Films

Necromancer Cinema is widely regarded as its own unique genre. The necromancer film industry is incorporated primarily in the Anea region in the Anea Foothills, this area being home to some of the denser Necromancer populations. It is interesting to note that there are no explicit "necromancer studios". Rather, various temples own sound stages and other production facilities. The temples then grant access to specific productions, with few real production companies. Necromancer film companies form and dissolve with high regularity.

Most necromancer productions are much smaller-scale than the sorts of films produced by the major studios in Por Feira and Modia. Because necromancer movies are made primarily for consumption by other necromancers and for artistic purposes, the productions tend to be much smaller in scope.

Necromancer films tend to make use of more location shooting than sound stages, which has given rise to "caravan studios". That is production companies with no real brick-and-mortar address beyond an office to handle business aspects. Everything else lives on the road, being driven to wherever the film is set to take place.

Necromancers will also often film on any available sets, working at night or on weekends. Since their style tends to use relatively few special effects and relies on the talent of necromancer actors, they can get away with quite a bit. Errors in ever-changing backgrounds are often worked into the plot.

When sound stages are called for, viewers can expect to see a handful of popular recycled sets being re-dressed over and over again. These have become so egregious that specific "eras" in necromancer film history can be identified by the presence of given sets. One particular set, originally built as the lobby for an apartment complex, stayed in use for over ten years and portrayed everything from a bank to a school office.

Critical Reception

Necromancer films occupy an interesting space in the realm of film criticism. The movies rely almost exclusively on practical, most often in-camera effects if any special effects are used at all. The quality of the sets and locations are low, the props are typically even worse, and the stories often appear simplistic.

And yet, despite all of this, any serious film critic will point to the overwhelmingly high quality of the cinematography; with the use of camera angles and lighting being among the best in the industry. The acting is also praised as superb. And while the stories often appear simple, the ways in which they are told never cease to amaze critics.

None-Necromancer Audience Reception

The chief complaint about necromancer films is that they tend to use an exorbitant amount of sex and nudity. Necromancers abhor violence, especially depictions of violence. So sex scenes are frequently used as a euphemism. Necromancers also do not believe that depictions of nudity are inherently damaging, so casual scenes of characters changing clothes or bathing are shown without any attempt at censorship. Many necromancer films are set within fictional orthodox communities in which mixed bathing and social nudity are expected, so "Recuts" of these films without all the body parts are not possible.

Necromancers further do not employ a rating system and necromancer-owned theaters quite infamously will not impose age restrictions. As such, necromancer films attract a considerable crossover audience consisting of non-necromancer teenagers without easy access to pornography. Ironically many of these teens grow up to be directors, film producers, or just film aficionados due to the early exposure to good film making.

The Necromancer Chic subculture also cannot be ignored, non-necromancers who value the necromancer films for their artistic merits. This group can often propel a necromancer film to enormous commercial and critical success by bringing it to the wider world.

Necromancers in Outside Cinema

While it is uncommon for a primary necromancer director to work outside the necromancer industry, their directors of cinematography are often poached to work on Modian films(And less commonly, Por Feira). Editors and other technical professionals often find work as well. Necromancer actors also frequently receive supporting rolls in major mainstream films. While Port Feira does not like to bring in necromancer directors, they are fond of necromancer women for their willingness to do nude scenes.

Station 19 Productions

Originally created as a television network to service the remote mountain city of Arindell, Station 19 started life as a re-broadcaster of imported content. As the city's population grew, it expanded first into news programs, then general interest, and finally locally-grown entertainment. By the 5th century N.D., Station 19 has grown into a small yet thriving network of city-owned production houses. The network operates primarily on a public-access model, with an emphasis on getting real people in front of the cameras and not just professional actors.

Station 19 finances just 2-3 films per year, the productions of which are given access to Station facilities for filming, editing, etc. Hopeful filmmakers must submit a proposal along with a budget, which is first peer-reviewed by other hopefuls and must then be approved by a review board. Once completed, the project then goes into a lottery system with the other projects before being selected at random. This has led to some controversial films getting through; though the emphasis on giving a voice to the voiceless is generally enough to subdue the critics.

Compared to Modian or Port Feira films, the productions that come out of Station 19 are viewed as woefully low-budget and amateurish. But despite all of these obstacles, a few truly classic films have come out of the program.