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-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

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-scène & 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-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

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 SPECTATOR’S 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