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Formulation of the Classical

Hollywood Style
The Classical Narrative

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

CAUSE & EFFECT & REALISM

Basis of cause & effect narrative was


compositional unity

Reality has accidents & coincidence; not


the classical narrative

Realism important for mise-en-scne


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

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

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

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

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 intertitles

Films began to cover less time

More, briefer, temporal gaps

Sought ways to make narration less selfconscious


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

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

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.

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

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 featurelength films, redundant narratives

Formulation of the Classical


Hollywood Style
The Continuity System

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

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-scne & show


most of the action

Came at beginning & end of scene; closer


shots pointed out details, showed
expressions, etc.

By late teens, establishing shot


functioned as in continuity editing
system

1 shot among many, established


mise-en-scne

Scene itself consisted of a


number of closer shots

Establishing shot appeared again


only if mise-en-scne changed

Placement varied; not always at


the beginning of the scene

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Clara Bow, the It Girl

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