The History of Hollywood

AIMS:• To be able to describe the development of the American film

industry.

• To be able to explain how film consumption has changed over time.

To get you thinking…

• Guess the names of these films, summarised by a 6-word plot (Twitter: #6wordfilmplots):

1. Big ship can’t sink; it sinks.2. Harry, you’re a wizard: kill Voldemort.3. Genetically engineered dinosaurs come to

life.4. The sun gives him power. 5. Fish gets lost. Fish gets found.

Task 1 – Timeline!

• The timeline you have been given charts cinema from the 1800s to the start of the 20th Century…

• But what are the significant milestones in cinema history since then?

Task 1 Answers

• 1927 –• 1930s –• 1950s/60s –• 1980s –• 1990s –• 2000s –

Task 1 Answers

• 1927 – First film with sound (the Jazz Singer)• 1930s – Colour film is developed• 1950s/60s – first phase of 3D• 1980s – VHS• 1990s – DVDs, IMAX technology• 2000s – Blu-Ray, downloading, second phase

of 3D.

Why was California chosen?

• Geographical – terrain (desert, mountains, forests)

• Financial – films made on the east coast were subject to licensing laws

• Spatial - Large amounts of land to build studios; cheap

• Legal – Hollywood not part of Los Angeles until much later therefore fewer constraints on what was filmed

History of Hollywood

• Read the article from Wikipedia summarising the film industry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_the_United_States

Highlight any and all key facts you find.

Film Studios then and now

• Vertically integrated• Restrictive contracts• Production line;

typecasting• Formulaic;

hegemonic

1920s-1940s

– Studio System

The Big Five

Vertical Integration

• All of the Big Five studios were vertically integrated.

• Vertical integration – where a company is organised so that it oversees a product from the planning/development stage, through production, to marketing, and distribution, through to the consumer.

Film Studios then and now

• Increased creativity• Buy-outs and

takeovers• Negotiated

contracts• Globally integrated

1940s-2000s – struggle

for supremac

y

The Contemporary American Film Industry

• The American film industry is now dominated by six major film companies.

• The contemporary Big Six account for nearly 90% of the North American film market.

• All of these companies are subsidiaries of major media conglomerates.

The Big Six

• Who do you think are the Big Six film studios in the contemporary American film industry?

Major Studio Subsidiaries

Warner Bros Pictures20th Century FoxParamount PicturesColumbia PicturesWalt Disney/Touchstone PicturesUniversal Studios

Cinema’s place in people’s lives – 1920s

• Dance halls• Pubs• Theatre• Clubs• Music• Vaudeville / circuses• Sport• Cinema

Leisure time is less diversified and people tend to experience mass entertainment – everyone sees the same films and experiences things in the same way

Cinema’s place in people’s lives – 2010s

• Cinema• Radio• Internet• Television• Games• Pubs/clubs• Music

Leisure time is more diversified and with the advent of home entertainment technology like DVDs, it is hard to maintain a monopoly on people’s time.

Consumption then and now

• What has changed in the way people watch films since 1905?

• What has changed in the availability of films?• What has changed in the way films are made

and distributed?• How has this threatened the film industry?