The Birth of Hollywood (1900-1930)
- Why did film makers and producers move to Hollywood?
Los Angeles became the capital of the film industry in the United States, the vast amount of different terrains made it a good place to shoot.
2. Name some of the big stars, directors and pictures from the silent Era of Hollywood?
Big Stars–
Charlie Chaplin, Clara Bow, Fatty Arbuckle
Directors-
D.W Griffith, Buster Keaton, King Vidor
Pictures–
Gold Rush, The General, City Lights]#
3. In what ways were the early Hollywood studio system like a factory or production line or even the Premier League
In Hollywood, the stars were almost owned by the company’s that they worked for the company’s decided when they worked and for what studio, Actresses and actors didn’t have a large say in what they wanted to do.
4. When and what was the first “talking picture”?
The Jazz Singer which premiered on October 6, 1927.
5. Why did the end of the silent era cause problems for some performers working in the film industry
This was due to their unsuitability of their voice or acting abilities with the new medium. A lot of film stars lacked vocal training that was needed.
6. What was happening in America ( and around the world ) at this time?
Wall Street Crash 1929 – This meant that a lot of people lost their jobs and savings
WW1 1914-1918 – This stropped production in Hollywood as many people went off for war and money would be low.
The Hollywood Studio System 1930-1947
- what were the Big 5 studios & what type of movies was each studio famous for?
The top five studios were
- Metro – Goldwyn – Mayer / celebrated for its lavish musicals including Wizard of Oz (1939)
- Warner Bros. / They became famous due to there films which synchronised sound.
- Paramount / Created European movies
- Fox /
- RK0 / well known for their musicals and well known actors
2. Explain what vertical integration and block-booking was?
Block booking– Block booking was a system where they would sell multiple films as a package deal or to sell a unit to a theatres.Studios would package unseen pictures with A- Class features meaning that they would be forced to buy numbers of studios low quality films just to get a A- class one.
Vertical Integration – This allowed film studios to control the production process, enabling them to dictate the creative aspects and reduce reliance on external suppliers.
3. Why and when did the original studio system collapse?
On may 4, 1948 finding that the studios had violated anti – trust laws.
4. What was happening in America at this time?
The great depression, Dust bowl and the start of WW2, as a result of these events film became more popular as a way of the working class to escape from the hardships of day to day life.
5. What genres were popular and why did people go to the movies in this period?
Comedies where popular due to the public needing laughter and escapism
Classical Hollywood Style
What is meant by the invisible style of storytelling?
Invisible style is when the story seems natural and not artificially created, the style tries to show the narrative of the story more than the style of editing. In invisible editing it is not clear that there is editing as it feels very natural to the story.
What is continuity editing?
A type of editing which makes the narrative clear by following rules, for example if a actor looked at a painting the next scene would be a shot of the painting. This makes it easy for the viewer to watch and understand the movie.