Innovations in 1920s and 1930s Hollywood Cinematography, Sound Technology, and Feature-Length Animation

Abstract

The American film industry was in a hurry to grow up, from the early ‘teens to the 1930s. The ragtag nickelodeon days transformed into Classical Hollywood’s studio structures and star system. East and West Coast became configured as, respectively, the business and the production ends of the studios. The vertical integration of the studios had begun, insuring that the film product would be produced, distributed, and exhibited under one banner. Cinematographer Glen MacWilliams, sound technician Bernard B. Brown, and Disney animator Ollie Johnston were the children of this era. In their respective fields, they were eyewitnesses to the development of sophisticated camera techniques, talking-picture technology, and the maturation of the animated feature film. For a useful overview of the early days of the emerging studio system, see Janet Staiger, Ed. The Studio System (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, NJ, 1995).