Favourite Film Genre

The Films that Children Like the Most

This week's survey shows that children using the Education Quizzes website have a broad range of tastes in the films they watch. Action/Adventure just crept ahead of Comedy as the favourite; these two, along with Animation make up 57% of the total. There are then another 6 genres fighting it out for the remaining 43%.

There's Money in Films

The total size of the film industry worldwide is about £110 billion a year. The oldest and largest film industry in terms of revenue is Hollywood but hard on its heels is India. In fact, India produces more films than Hollywood and more people watch them – the apparent discrepancy is because in India it doesn't cost so much to watch films.

It can cost anything up to £300 million to make a film and "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" is reckoned to be the most expensive film of all time. The three films in The Hobbit Trilogy cost a staggering £500 million to make – that's half a billion £.

With all that money swashing around in the film industry, it's not surprising that it has made some individuals extremely rich. Tom Cruise, George Clooney, Mel Gibsons and Adam Sadler have all amassed fortunes in excess of £300 million. Possibly the richest man in films is someone you have never have heard about – Shah Rukh Khan. This Indian individual is often called "The King of Bollywood" and is reckoned to be worth £500 million.

Jobs in Films

It is estimated that over 2,500 films are made worldwide each year and that involves a great many people. If you think that a film requires just the actors you see on screen along with a sound recordist and a cameraman then think again. The average film requires 588 people!

The film industry provides employment for a myriad of different specialities. Let's take the recent film production of "Emma" – the Jane Austen classic. As well as the stars and big guns such as producer and director who work behind the scenes, it required the following offscreen personnel:

• 8 in the Makeup department
• 3 Production Management
• 7 Assistant Directors
• 30 in the Art Department
• 24 in the Sound Department
• 4 in the Special Effects Department
• 19 in the Visual Effects Department
• 28 in the Camera and Electrical Department
• 29 in the Costume and Wardrobe Department
• 16 in the Editorial Department
• 13 involved in Location Management
• 16 in the Music Department
• 2 in the Script and Continuity Department
• 5 in the Transportation Department
• 34 other crew

Listed in the credits for Emma are the "Etiquette advisor and movement consultant", the "Horsemaster", the "Chief Meteorologist" and the "Dialect Coach". So, if you are interested in the film world but don't necessarily want to be in front of the camera then there are plenty of opportunities. Although we have to admit that we haven't got a clue as to how someone managed to land the job for the "Specialist Knitted and Crochet Textile Artist" in Emma!

More Children's Surveys