Culver Entertainment

Ince Triangle Studios Sign

Numerous movie studios were constructed in Culver City. These were either renovated or owned by Thomas and Harry. Ince Triangle studios was the first movie studio built by Thomas H. Ince constructed in 1915.[5] This foundational studio was renovated in 1919 and became known as Goldwyn Studios. Goldwyn Studios was largely advertised and promoted worldwide.[6] Its iconic sign was published in United States and British newspapers.

As Culver City established itself, back lots were converted into movie studios – expanding from the original Ince Triangle Studios. Other movie studios added were Metro-Goldwyn Mayer studios, Lorimar Studios, Columbia Studio and Sony Pictures Studios.[7] Smaller lots were situated adjacent to these movie studios which included production for things like cartoons. It was estimated that by the 1930s 60% of all Hollywood movies originated from culver city. There was also a proposal by a local writer to rename the city 'filmville'.[8]

In the late 1900s the impact of DVD was unknown. As demand for direct-to-video increased DVD players became the “fastest selling item in history of US consumer electronics market”.[9] A survey conducted in 1984 concluded that 67% of consumers believed a video recorder was the best way to view a film.[10] Multinational corporations such as Sony had the ability to form a label such as Culver Entertainment with the ability to produce film and television content and distribute it. The formation of Culver Entertainment gave Sony Studios larger market share in the film and entertainment industry which in the late 1900s which was worth billions. A concept known as 'Home Culture' emerged in the 1900s where consumers desired to view film and television conveniently from their home – shifting market dynamics in the entertainment industry and creating a need to direct-to-video labels such as Culver Entertainment.[11] In the 1930s consumers would attend the cinema at least once a week – the industry experienced exponential growth in this period. Multinational film corporations began to view the cinema and film platforms separately instead of a package. Due to this, they noticed trends in audience engagement across the different platforms they identified; cinema and television.[12] The engagement at the cinema was decreasing due to the concept of home culture. This created a new approach from companies to respond to consumer engagement in different ways. However, when new products and technological advancements emerged corporations such as Sony Pictures recognised the need for a direct-to-video label.

The collapse of the DVD industry was simultaneous with the market recession of 2008.[18] Due to the severity of the consequences of this recession, it earned the name the 'Great recession'.[19] Both emerging and advanced economies suffered immensely. This included businesses across the United States, the film industry included. Many U.S companies including Sony Productions were forced to lay off staff due to increasing expenses and protection of investments.[20] Consumer confidence and spending fell drastically as citizens in the U.S began to lose their livelihoods.[21] Consumers began reducing spending on activities or luxury items due to decreases in disposable income. This consequently meant very few DVD sales. The great recession saw poverty rates exceed any figures seen before as it increases from 12.5 percent in 2007 to 15 percent in 2010.[22] In the previous years before the great recession DVD sales were at their peak reaching $16.5 billion, accounting for 64% of the U.S home video market in 2005[23] This is a result of consumers purchasing films being released on DVD over VHS.[24]

Simultaneously with the effects of the great recession, consumer purchasing behaviour changed. Consumers opted for on demand films. Streaming systems also became rapidly popular due to their convenience. 2007 to 2008 saw DVD sales drastically plummet by 26% as a result of the great recession. The great recession in conjunction with changing consumer needs for new technological advancements lead to the collapse of DVD sales in 2008.[25]

The establishment of the Blu-ray disc was instrumental for quality and high-definition films. The technology has disc data storage used to present high-definition videos for home entertainment. Blu-ray is the third disc software following direct to video (DVD) discs.[26] Blu-ray was a technological advancement which made the need for direct to video obsolete. Televisions were also evolving to be of higher definition with greater resolution than previous televisions. This made Blu-ray Discs and high definition televisions more compatible with each other. The Blu-ray disk has a diameter of 4.75 inches and motion picture data is encoded inside the disc. What makes Blu-ray unique is the blue light laser which reads the data. The laser technology allows the data on the disc to be read at a faster speed than DVDs.[27]

At this time, household televisions were also evolving. Televisions were being produced which allowed far greater resolution than before. A high definition television enabled resolution of pictures to be 1,920 by 1,080 pixels[28] which exceeds the amount of previous tradition televisions which only had 720 by 480 pixels.

As a result of these technological advancements, the profitability and sales of direct to video DVDs fell significantly decreasing by 86% from 2008,[29] whilst the sales of Blu-ray escalating reaching $2.37 billion in 2013.[30] However, in recent years the emergence of platforms such as Netflix and Hulu have had the same sever impact on Blu-ray.

The film and entertainment industry experienced an industrywide collapse of direct-to-video sales and consequently many employees were made redundant and large cuts were made to the business model. Culver Entertainment experienced significant change in personnel and managing styles. Influential change came from the top of Sony Pictures where cochairs Amy Pascal and Michael Lynton changed their leadership styles to reflect a high-performance culture from employees.[31] This inevitably allowed Sony Pictures and Culver Entertainment to educate fewer employees to being more efficient.

One of the largest competitors of Sony productions and consequently Culver Entertainment was Walt Disney. Walt Disney studios established a direct to video label Disney DVD which was released in 1997. Their product categories differed by having DVDs which were classified as platinum edition, diamond edition or signature collection. The platinum edition DVDs were the first direct to video motion pictures to be released. The company also later established Disney Blu-ray which were high-definition movies. The company's ability to sustain customer loyalty, maintain brand image and compete with technological advancements in the film industry previously and to the present day makes theme a strong competitor of both Sony Pictures and Culver Entertainment.

Walt Disney studios become highly competitive with Culver Entertainment due to their acquisition of Pixar in 2006 before the collapse of the direct to video industry. The acquisition of Pixar allowed Walt Disney to sustain competitive advantage through development of technology systems. One being the Computer Animation Production System also referred to as the CAPS system.[32] This software was crucial in providing consumers with 2D software which created coloured and drawn animations. Walt Disney was the first influential figure to give real meaning to animation as he drove the research and development into three dimensional affects.[33]

Another prominent competitor of Culver Entertainment was Warner Brother's direct to video label Warner Premier. The direct to video label was established in 2006 in order to compete with existing competitors such as Walt Disney and Sony Pictures. The label was also established in order to profit off the technology trend that was direct to video to enable consumers to view motion pictures from their own home.[34] Warner Premier released their first direct to video motion picture named The Dukes of Hazzard: The beginning. Similar to Culver Entertainment – when the direct-to-video market collapse in 2008, Warner Premier was shut down. In accordance to the drastic loss in sales, and the need for direct-to-video motion pictures being redundant Warner Brothers announced the closure of the company.[35] In a statement released to the press, the company announced that because of the declining direct to video market. The competing label also experienced challenges in adequately financing their employees due to the significant drop in DVD sales.[36]