Early Hollywood

1. Early Hollywood

2. Transition to Sound • Early on, when film prints traveled from small town to small town in the American heartland, they were often narrated by a live raconteur, who would explain the action on-screen to audiences. "Intertitles"—those cards between moments of action—contained explanations of action, or important moments of dialogue, or even bits of poetry to set the mood. • Read more: Movies and Film: A Brief History of Sound in Movies — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/cig/movies-flicks-film/brief-history-sound-movies.html#ixzz21JDxNS1y

3. Synchronization and amplification were problems that needed to be overcome • During the expansion in the 1920’s Warner Brothers was the first studio that invested in a sound system using records in synchronization with film images (Vitaphone) • Vitaphone, which produced the first commercially viable sound system, essentially a very large phonograph hooked up to a film projector

4. Don Juan (1926) • Orchestral accompaniment and sound effects on disc • The Jazz Singer (1927) (part talkie with some scenes accompanied by music • These two films popularized the idea of sound on film • The success of these films proved that sync sound could be profitable

5. Technological Advances • Sound films needed to be compatible with all projectors • Eventually a sound on film rather than a sound on disc system had to be invented • This became the standard • The sound track is printed on the strip of film alongside the image

6. Setback for Hollywood style • The camera had to be placed in a large casing called a blimp • The camera couldn’t move except for short pans and tilts • One solution was multiple cameras in a booth • Boom Invented

7. Diegetic Sound allowed for better continuity editing (sound bridge) • Large studios developed distinctive approaches • MGM: Prestige studio (huge number of stars and technicians under long term contract) • Warner Brothers was a smaller studio that made more specialized features • They invested in sound because they were interested in producing musicals (more fragmented like vaudeville acts strung together) • RKO constructed musicals as classically constructed narratives

8. Deep Focus Citizen Kane: 1941 • Some musicals in the 30’s were shot in technicolor • This required a lot of light • The technical development of using light on the set led to the development of deep focus films • Greg Toland, Cinematographer for Citizen Kane used this technique

9. Frank Capra Meet John Doe • Affectionate portrayals of the common man • Films deal with the strengths and foibles of American democracy • Sicilian descent: came to the US in steerage • Depicts a battle to prevent a power-crazed industrialist from taking dictatorial control of the country in "Meet John Doe"

10. Heroes of Capra Films • Homespun American heroes • Naïve idealists who are up against evildoers • The central characters win, because of their innate goodness • "Meet John Doe" drew criticism for what was seen as a "cop-out" happy ending. But BosleyCrowther of The Times called the 1941 movie "superlative" and said it was "by far the hardest-hitting and most trenchant picture on the theme of democracy" Mr. Capra had yet made.

11. Career • In 1922 bluffed his way into making a successful one-reeler • Columbia Pictures (made a series of adventure films) • A Lady for a Day 1933 • It Happened One Night 1934 • Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 1936 • Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 • Meet John Doe 1941 • It’s a Wonderful Life 1947

12. "I always felt the world cannot fall apart as long as free men see the rainbow, feel the rain and hear the laugh of a child”

13. Classic Narrative • Representation: signifies a world or a body of ideas • Semantics of narrative (semantics: the study of meaning) • Narrative can also be studied in terms of structure

14. Fabula • Russian formalist term for the narrative events in causal chronological sequence • Narration: the process of cueing a perceiver to construct a fabula by use of syuzhet patterning and film style (the way the story is organized) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZyur2rlh6A

15. Syuzhet and Hollywood Screenwriting Formula • Initial state of affairs which gets violated and must then be set right • Undisturbed stage • Disturbance • Struggle • Elimination of disturbance

16. Causality • The prime unifying principle • Cause and effect • Spacial and Temporal representation are motivated by causality • This process is especially evident in a device highly characteristic of classical narration: The deadline

17. Classical Syuzhet presents a double causal structure • Heterosexual romance • Goals obstacle and climax (Work war mission or quest )

18. Scenes • Hollywood narration clearly demarcates its scenes • Unity of time • Space (a definable locale) • “The bounds of the sequence will be marked by some standardized punctuations: dissolve, fade, wipe or sound bridge.

19. Scenes or Sequences • Usually are closed temporally and spatially, but open in terms of the overall causality • Always move causality forward • Montage (Classical Hollywood) Compresses time • Fills in information to move causality forward

20. Distinct Phases of a Scene • Exposition specifies the time, place and distinct characters relevant to it • In the middle of the scene characters act towards their goals • They often struggle, make appointments, set deadlines and plan for future events • The Classical scene either closes off cause-effect developments brought about in previous scenes or begins new ones

21. Syuzhet Variations • A film in which the Syuzhet focuses on a single space for most of its duration will punctuate scenes in different ways • A film that spans decades may need more than a simple fade to black to communicate that

22. Classical Hollywood Endings • Smooth careful linearity • Logical conclusion of the string of events • The final effect of the initial cause • Arbitrary readjustment of the world knocked awry in the previous 80 minutes • Sometimes this is predictable (in 100 sampled movies over 60 ended with a display of a united heterosexual couple)

23. Transparency and Visibility of Narration • Classical narration tends to be omniscient • Knows more than most or all of its characters • Conceals very little (except what will happen next) • First few shots (Overt narration—exposition) • Once the action starts, the narration becomes more covert (the character’s actions take over)

24. Montages • Tend to become self conscious • Express narrations awareness of the viewer • A classical Hollywood montage compresses time

25. Soviet Montage • Aspects of cinema are juxtaposed for meaning or for heightened emotional effect • Not always clear in terms of demarcated scenes

26. Experimental Film • Causality is not always a factor • “ambiguous interplay of subjectivity and objectivity”

27. “Realistic” motivation • Audiences see films fully prepared • Conventions • Genre • Personality types • Transtextual motivation (star system)

28. “Artistic” Motivation • “Moment of spectacle” or technical virtuosity • Unmotivated shift from the objective to subjective perspective • Connections between sequences ruminate on themes rather than causal relationships • Limited focus on a single goal • Musical numbers