1. The Hollywood Studio Age Domination by the Studio
The Seven Ages of Film
The Hollywood Studio Age
Domination by the Studio
Genre movies
World War II

2. History
The increased costs of film making had created the Studio system.
It had complex financing and control systems designed to ensure that the film would return a profit.
Expensive technologies
Cast of actors
Technicians
Investors

3. Studio System controlling production
Studio system of STARS
under exclusive contracts
Independents defied trust,
moved to Hollywood;
Created star system
Mary Pickford, early star.
(One of founders of United Artists) 3

4. Studio System United Artists broke away from studio system:
Mary:
Douglas:
Charlie:
Griffith: 4

5. The Golden Age of Hollywood
Color Films Advance
Technicolor developed 3 color films based on Red, Green and Yellow combinations.
Wizard of Oz – 1939
Gone With the Wind – 1939
Expensive, but very successful

6. Golden Age Formulas
Western
slapstick comedy
Film Noir
musical
cartoon
biopic… depending on the studio.

7. The Studios controlled the Directors:
Gibbons & Stothard - MGM
Cecil B deMille - Paramount
Newman & King - Twentieth Century Fox
Controlled the Actors:
Bogart & Bacall - Warner Bros
Garland - MGM

8. A studio is a factory for film production.
Technicians, Directors and actors all on salary and expected to work as required by contract.
Directors expected to produce films compared with modern system where a Director may only make one film a year.
e.g. Between the big directors: Curtiz made 44 films (Warner Bros ), Leroy made 36 and John Ford made 26.

9. Studio system meant that Director had little control over final product as final editing was done by post-production unit with Studio executives often making final decisions.
RESULT:
Studios had recognisable styles:
MGM - glossy production values + middle brow content.
Paramount = European
Universal = Horror
Republic = Western

10. Triumph of Hollywood Storytelling
Hollywood Genres
by making films that fall into genres, Hollywood provides familiar models that can be imitated. (romance, horror, etc)
Product standardization
Product differentiation

11. History
This meant that films across all studios had intellectual conformity that reflected public concerns, shared myths, and more as the films were designed to fit into the market rather than reflect the concerns of the Directors.

12. World War II
Studios became propaganda machines for the War Effort.
Films patriotic and focused on concerns of those on the home-front as they worried over those on the battle field as the stills from “Freedom Comes High” (1943) shows

13. 1940s Studios BIG FIVE Paramount MGM RKO Warner Bros.
Twentieth Century Fox
LITTLE THREE
Columbia
Universal
United Artists

14. The Internationalist Age Hollywood Studio decline
The Seven Ages of Film
The Internationalist Age
Hollywood Studio decline
The challenge of TV

15. History
WWII delayed the TV age but post war the threat of TV re-emerged.
Studios ordered to divest theatre chains - reluctance meant that they failed to capitalise on the possibilities of the TV as a medium for film.
Result: A period of mergers and consolidations as the Studios lost their power.

16. Triumph of Hollywood Storytelling
Alternatives to Hollywood
Bollywood
China
Hong Kong
Japan
S. Korea

17. History 1947-59 LARGE FILM STUDIOS BUY TV/MEDIA DISTRIBUTORS RESULT:
1) A horizontal control of the media with the Media Conglomerates able to exploit Film, TV, Books, CD, record, DVD publication for mass profit.
2) Individual contracting systems for “talent” rather than salaried staff favoured by the Studios. Actors, Directors, Technicians contracted for single movies.
3) The advent of the “Blockbuster” disaster genre as the Conglomerates look to mass saturation marketing and maximised profit.
4) Smaller Production houses move into specialised niche audience orientated films.