Formulation of the Classical Hollywood Style

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Formulation of the Classical Hollywood Style

• The Classical Narrative

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• CAUSE EFFECT
• Primitive period (1894-1908), most common framing
  the long shot
• Impossible to see facial expressions small
  gestures
• Presented too much for viewer
• With classical model, this changed
• Multiple lines of action
• Narrative material broken down
• Editing, camera distance, inter-titles, acting
  articulated cause effect

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• CAUSE EFFECT REALISM
• Basis of cause effect narrative was
  compositional unity
• Reality has accidents coincidence not the
  classical narrative
• Realism important for mise-en-scène
• The classical film begins in medias res
• Begin in middle of action we learn about
  characters previous events through exposition
• In primitive film, we learn little about
  characters or events before film began

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• THE PSYCHOLOGICALLY BASED CHARACTER
• Film turned toward literature for characters with
  multiple traits
• These character traits were necessary to motivate
  action
• Characters have only traits needed for the
  narrative
• Realistic traits will motivate some later
  action or event

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• SUBJECTIVITY
• With increase in length complexity, additional
  traits added
• By 1915, mental subjectivity seen in some films
• Earlier films had included subjectivity
• Usually only as basis for entire film or when
  absolutely necessary
• With classical film, portions of objective
  narrations could be subjective

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• OTHER WAYS TO PERSONALIZE CHARACTERS
• By 1909, most important characters were given
  names
• By the mid-1920s, they were also given tags
• Star system also helped to personalize characters

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• CHARACTER GOALS
• Characters in primitive films reacted to events
  in classical films have clear goals
• Goals met with obstacles
• CHARACTER TEMPORAL RELATIONS
• As films became longer, plots initially covered
  more story time
• But generally showed only high points
• Temporal gaps marked with inter-titles

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• Films began to cover less time
• More, briefer, temporal gaps
• Sought ways to make narration less self-conscious
• This was solved in several ways
• Concentrating on character actions goals
• Technical devices marked deviations from
  chronological order
• Fades or dissolves instead of superimpositions
• Also motivated by the narrative
• DEADLINE important to structuring temporal
  progression

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• THE FUNCTIONS OF INTER-TITLES
• EXPOSITORY TITLES
• Common in primitive cinema
• Summary expository titles
• Establishing expository titles
• In later silent era
• LITERARY inter-title
• The ART inter-title
• Sometimes used to establish setting
• Or used non-diegetic images to convey idea

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• DIALOGUE TITLES (came later in primitive cinema,
  favored over expository titles)
• Expository titles used at beginning of scenes,
  dialogue titles within scenes
• INSERTS Close-ups of letters, newspaper
  headlines or articles, photographs, etc.

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• THE AMERICAN STYLE OF ACTING
• 1909-1913, shift in acting style
• More restrained style emphasized facial
  expressions small gestures
• Improvements in film stocks, lighting equipment,
  make-up, etc. better actors
• Helped bring about CHC editing style
• Close-ups needed to fully utilize this style of
  acting
• Breakdown of space required continuity rules

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• UNITY REDUNDANCY
• All of these features appeared in the primitive
  cinema
• But not used systematically with conventionalized
  meanings
• Might use 1 of these features, build the
  narrative around it
• Classical cinema codified devices, used to create
  unified feature-length films, redundant narratives

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Formulation of the Classical Hollywood Style

• The Continuity System

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• THE CONTINUITY SYSTEM SPACE
• Editing increased as films became longer more
  complicated
• A potentially disruptive force
• Required a system to maintain unity
• After 1907, industry, trade press how-to
  books promoted continuity as essential for a
  well-made film
• Referred to both narrative continuity
  clearly-articulated space time
• Continuity then came to refer specifically to
  editing guidelines

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• ESTABLISHING SHOTS
• Originally, films consisted of 1 long take with a
  fairly distant framing
• Then, a number of these shots (tableaux)
• No change in space or time within shots changes
  between tableaux
• Joined by expository inter-titles
• With multiple shot scenes, these became
  establishing shots
• Used to establish mise-en-scène show most of
  the action
• Came at beginning end of scene closer shots
  pointed out details, showed expressions, etc.

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• By late teens, establishing shot functioned as in
  continuity editing system
• 1 shot among many, established mise-en-scène
• Scene itself consisted of a number of closer
  shots
• Establishing shot appeared again only if
  mise-en-scène changed
• Placement varied not always at the beginning of
  the scene

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• ANALYTICAL EDITING
• IN THE PRIMITIVE ERA
• Cut-ins used rarely
• Most often medium shots, from same angle as
  establishing shot
• They were used to
• Show facial expression
• Show details not visible in the establishing shot
• To indicate POV
• To limit space for special effects
• Cut-ins avoided if possible actors moved closer
  to camera

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• BY THE MID-TEENS
• Cut-in became much more common
• No longer had to be motivated by POV, a specific
  detail of information
• Could be from any angle
• Could give a better vantage point
• Increase in film length editing made cut-in
  more acceptable
• By 1917, cut-in a staple of continuity editing
  system

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• SCREEN DIRECTION THE 180 RULE
• Originally, no editing, therefore no problem
• Later, 1-D sets backdrops made it impossible to
  violate rule
• Audience conceived of as if it were a theater
  audience
• With analytical editing 3-D sets, the tradition
  continued
• Breaks in continuity occurred, but relatively
  rare
• They occurred due to
• Shots taken out of continuity without script
  girls
• The lack of formal guidelines

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• MULTIPLE SPACES
• CONTIGUOUS SPACES joined by character movement,
  eyeline match, shot/reverse shot system
• NON-CONTIGUOUS SPACES
• Most often articulated using crosscutting
• Could compress time important with short films
• Later, used to expand time important with longer
  films

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• SPACE THE SPECTATORS ATTENTION
• Attention of viewer guided using other elements
  of film style
• STAGING IN DEPTH
• Actors began to move toward the camera
• After this, actors began to be placed more in
  depth
• Helped bring the viewer into a 3-D space

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• SETTINGS DEPTH
• Painted backdrops had advantages, but lacked
  verisimilitude
• As soon as studios could afford 3-D sets, they
  did so
• Late 20s, efforts to eliminate difference between
  location studio shots
• 3-D sets allowed for more extensive analytical
  editing

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• DEEP FOCUS CINEMATOGRAPHY
• During most of silent period, efforts to achieve
  greatest depth of field
• But only 2 planes were in deep focus (middle
  ground background)
• Deep focus made staging in depth possible
• However, lighting was needed to draw this
  attention

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• LIGHTING FOR CLARITY DEPTH
• During teens, movement away from even, overall
  illumination towards selective lighting
• An effort to motivate light as coming from
  diegetic sources
• Hollywood refined backlighting, creating rim
  lighting

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• FRAMING AS A GUIDE FOR THE SPECTATOR
• Classical cinema centered important narrative
  information
• Camera movement began as a way to center action
  in frame (reframing)
• Served other functions also
• Tracking panning to follow actions
• Panning tilting to reveal or conceal
  information
• With increased planning of shots, camera movement
  not as necessary

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• STABILITY AFTER 1917
• By mid-20s, CHC style reached a high degree of
  stability
• Many models to follow
• Young filmmakers in 1920s had films as their
  models
• Informal apprenticeship program
• Trade papers, instructional manuals, etc.
  perpetuated style
• Trade organizations also helped to perpetuate CHC
  style
• Adherence to quality filmmaking rewarded by
  audiences studio heads

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• CONTEMPORARY RECOGNITION OF STANDARDIZATION
• Standardization regarded as a positive force
• Early years regarded as a separate era
• Progress halted now that near perfection had
  been attained
• After this point, changes in CHC style relatively
  small
• Minor changes such as increased graphic
  continuity
• Assimilation ( taming) of other styles

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Clara Bow, the It Girl