Film Production Essay Research Paper In the

Film Production Essay, Research Paper

In the period previous to the 1930’s, the predominant form of filmmaking was

that of the crank camera. This is not to say that motor-driven cameras were

not possible. However, the motors to advance the film were so large that they

were simply too cumbersome to be effective. Thus, it was the cameraman

himself who would crank the film at a steady rate to expose the frames.

When it came to showing the film, on the other hand, motor driven projectors

were quite convenient, and by the 1920’s a standard 24 frames per second

was established for projecting films. Filming, however, remained

unstandardized due to the inherent variation in recording speeds, since it

depended directly on the cameraman. An experienced cameraman was

capable of filming an entire film at approximately the same speed, yet often

variations were made in the recording speed for dramatic effect. Decreasing

the number of cranks, for example, exposed fewer frames and thus when

projected at the standard 24 frames created the frenzied action that

characterized much of the Vaudeville cinema. The French filmmaker Georges

Melies was among the first to employ changing backdrops and costumes to

tell his story. Up until that point many film were only a few minutes long taking

place on a single set. Changing sets and costumes opened a vast range of

new possibilities and spurred further growth in the fledgling industry. As the

film industry expanded in America, filmmakers found and increasing need for

to establish a single location at which they could build sets and film

undisturbed. The bright sunlight, relative stability of climate, and varied terrain

found in California made it an ideal place to film, much of the reason for the

industry’s concentration there. During this time, films were shot on a single

reel, resulting in filmstrips that were only 15-20 minutes. Independent

producers pioneered the use of double reel filmmaking during the years

before the First World War. This allowed much longer films and opening the

door for further opportunity, both financially and creatively, as well as

bringing into being the double reel camera that became such an icon of movie

production. The major advance of the 1930’s was the introduction of

synchronous sound and dialogue in the late 1930’s. First invented and shown

in the 1920’s, it became the standard by the early 1930’s, partly due to the

invention of a device based on the radio that could effectively amplify sound

in the theater. Initially there were two available systems with which to record

sound. The first was similar to a phonograph, and recorded the sound to a

separate disc. The second, more popular, system recorded the sound directly

onto the celluloid strip. Initially sound hindered the filmmaking process, since

the cameras had to be encased to muffle the noise of their motors and actors

could not stray far from the stationary microphones. However, technological

advances soon made up for this and the sound became an integral part of

filmmaking. The incorporation of sound into film and the resulting movie

theater draw triggered a number of mergers in Hollywood as companies tried

to consolidate their power (and their wealth). The result of these unions was

the creation of the first major studios that dominated the industry for decades,

Fox Studios (later 20th Century Fox), Leow’s Incorporated (later

Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer), Paramount, RKO, and Warner Bros. These

studios monopolized the industry through vertical consolidation, meaning they

controlled every part of the production process. They owned the writers, the

directors and producers, the actors, the equipment and crew, even the

theaters. They controlled every step and dominated Hollywood until 1948

when the U.S. Government found them to be an illegal monopoly. It was also

during this time that color in movies became possible through the use of the

Technicolor system. Technicolor was created using a special camera that ran

three strips of film, one in red, one in blue, and one in yellow. When the three

strips were consolidated, the resulting image was in full color, though the

colors were frequently very exaggerated as can be seen in two such films that

were filmed in this manner, Gone With The Wind (1939) and The Wizard of

Oz (1939). The 1940’s also marked the beginning of the Italian movement

known as “neorealism.” This movement focused on portraying the

non-fictional aspects of Italian society for entertainment, in contrast to many

of the dream worlds that were being produced by Hollywood. Future

generations of filmmakers would look to this movement as inspiration for their

own films depicting their home countries in a style that is sometimes known as

“slice-of-life.” A novelty technique used during the 1950’s was the

introduction of 3-D. Filmed with special len

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