Dorothee Verdaasdonk’s scientific contributions

In this paper, the results are given of a survey conducted among the audiences of two Dutch feature films, each of which was based on a Dutch literary novel. The agency that commissioned the research wished to know whether seeing movies based on literary books is conductive to reading the books in question. It was found, however, that such an effect is rare. Although the audience of both movies consisted for the greater part of consumers who were highly educated and had a keen interest in both literature and film, the majority of them declared that they were in general not inclined to buy and read the book after seeing the movie. Obviously, seeing a movie and reading a book are felt by consumers as activities which are different and largely independent of each other. The present research concerned two types of products (a movie and a book that provided its basis) which are thought and expected to have many similarities. For this reason, consumers could feel that both products are too similar and that together they do not provide new and fresh experiences. This article thus makes a plea for giving descriptions of product properties and consumers' perceptions of these properties an important place in research on cultural behavior.

This paper gives the results of a research project on how Dutch filmmakers practiced their profession during the period 1960–1983. The focus is on the conditions under which a number of them succeeded in pursuing their activities on a continuous basis. The two major research questions are (i) what were the socioeconomic conditions under which Dutch filmmakers developed their activities into a profession? (ii) what is the contribution of Dutch filmmakers to the professionalization of their activities?Practicing a profession means that activities are undertaken on a continuous basis. A professional filmmaker was defined in this research project as a person who has spent at least half of his or her career on making films. This means that there are financial resources, the possibility of receiving training for a future profession and that there is a union that unites most professionals. The development of professional careers shows differentiated patterns. In part, these points of view have also been developed within the sociology of professions and the sociology of culture. It should be noted, however, that very few studies in either field recognize the central role of financial resources in the development of (artistic) activities into a profession. One of these studies is La naissance de l'écrivain by Alain Viala.

Our research focus on the following question: Which of the efforts the distributers and movie owners use to attract more audience do have impact on the extention of the showing time of films in movie theaters? The three big European film festivals, Cannes, Berlin and Venice play an important role by the decision of the distributor to buy a film. The knowledge of the audience that a film was shown in the festival program of the three important film festivals, got a prize at the festivals or an Oscar or a Felix can make a film extra attractive. We will estimate different models of logistic regression to explain which independent variables in our model have an impact on the life cicle of the movies. Since the middle of the Eighties going to the movies has become a different experience due to the new movie theater concept based on experiences in Canada and the United States. New venues with spacious, attractive theaters and up to date technical equipment were built at the outskirts of cities from eight up to twenty five screens in one building. These venues, which are called multiplexes, programm a varied supply of films targeting different audiences. The ticket prices are differentiated according to time slots and day of the week. A lot of staff members provide different services. Parking places, pubs, restaurants, coffee shops and other leisure facilities are located in or around these multiplexes to create the possibility for "a complete evening out". The new movie theaters are a huge success. In six years, from 1989 to 1995, the movie attendance in Great Britain, the country that began with building multiplexes in Europe, rose from 193 million to 353 million. Belgium and Germany were the next European countries to apply this concept, also with exceptional success (Bähr, 1997, Schuringa, 1997, Cinema Yearbook 1991-2000).