Classical Hollywood
Classical Hollywood was a period of American cinema also known as the golden age of Hollywood. Films were often created by a handful of larger corporations, commonly referred to as the big 5 studios. These studios were: MGM, Paramount, Warner Bros, RKO and 20th century Fox. Most of which still exist today. There were also several notable smaller studios known as the Little 3:
Universal, Columbia and United Artists.
Classical Hollywood created something known as the Studio System. This system allowed the biggest studios more freedom and control of the movies they created. The system meant that the companies producing the films were also responsible for the distribution of these films. They owned the rights from production to exhibition. This meant that the studios saw larger profit margins and could control how, where and when the money would go.
The Star System is another important part of Hollywood film History. Studios were famous for owning stars. Celebrities were on contract specifically to studios, and didn't get a say in the films they would be performing in. The studio would build personalities for their actors. They were also under strict contracts that contained many now controversial morality clauses. Actors and Actresses couldn't commit adultery, do drugs or other things that could ruin their image in the eye of the general public.
The technical side of Hollywood films is also notable, as it brought many film techniques into the mainstream. The narrative of Hollywood films have a clear structure of beginning, middle and end. this format is still frequently used in many big budget Hollywood films as it appeals to a wide audience and doesn't require a large amount of audience comprehension. Endings were also generally expected to have a clear resolution at the end.
Many shot types and shooting continuity was also made popular during this time period. These include the establishing Shot, shot/reverse shot when conversations took place. These also adhered to the 180 rule and 30 rule, where conversation shots should be always filmed within the same 180 degrees, and that if the camera were to move it should be in increments of at least 30 degrees. match on action and eyeline match were other film shot types that were used frequently.
We watched Singing in the rain in class and I found it very enjoyable. I havent watched many classical hollywood films, but I expected it to be a lot slower than it was. The fact it was a musical probably helped with that. I also thought that the humor might be a little bit old fashioned but when I watched it I felt it still worked quite well. I also really enjoyed the fact that it was a Hollywood movie about Hollywood movies. It gave a good glimpse into a behind the scenes of the industry in that period of history, even if it was from a few decades earlier.
Universal, Columbia and United Artists.
Classical Hollywood created something known as the Studio System. This system allowed the biggest studios more freedom and control of the movies they created. The system meant that the companies producing the films were also responsible for the distribution of these films. They owned the rights from production to exhibition. This meant that the studios saw larger profit margins and could control how, where and when the money would go.
The Star System is another important part of Hollywood film History. Studios were famous for owning stars. Celebrities were on contract specifically to studios, and didn't get a say in the films they would be performing in. The studio would build personalities for their actors. They were also under strict contracts that contained many now controversial morality clauses. Actors and Actresses couldn't commit adultery, do drugs or other things that could ruin their image in the eye of the general public.
The technical side of Hollywood films is also notable, as it brought many film techniques into the mainstream. The narrative of Hollywood films have a clear structure of beginning, middle and end. this format is still frequently used in many big budget Hollywood films as it appeals to a wide audience and doesn't require a large amount of audience comprehension. Endings were also generally expected to have a clear resolution at the end.
Many shot types and shooting continuity was also made popular during this time period. These include the establishing Shot, shot/reverse shot when conversations took place. These also adhered to the 180 rule and 30 rule, where conversation shots should be always filmed within the same 180 degrees, and that if the camera were to move it should be in increments of at least 30 degrees. match on action and eyeline match were other film shot types that were used frequently.
We watched Singing in the rain in class and I found it very enjoyable. I havent watched many classical hollywood films, but I expected it to be a lot slower than it was. The fact it was a musical probably helped with that. I also thought that the humor might be a little bit old fashioned but when I watched it I felt it still worked quite well. I also really enjoyed the fact that it was a Hollywood movie about Hollywood movies. It gave a good glimpse into a behind the scenes of the industry in that period of history, even if it was from a few decades earlier.
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