Feature Film Production Research Articles

Embattled Shadows: A History of Canadian Cinema, 1895-1939

A history of Canadian film-making in the years before the establishment of the National Film Board of Canada in 1939. It begins with an account of the travelling showmen who brought the movies to large and small communities across the country, and discusses the films produced in Canada before World War I. In the atmosphere of heightened nationalism during and after the war there was a determined attempt to establish a film industry. Peter Morris chronicles its occasional successes while, at the same time, examining the reasons behind its ultimate failure - using the colourful career of the independent producer Ernest Shipman (Ten Percent Ernie) as a particular reference. He goes on to describe the establishment and eventual collapse of both the federal and Ontario governments' Motion Picture Bureaus. By the thirties, with the connivance of the Canadian government, Canadian feature film production had deteriorated to the point of turning out quota films from the Hollywood mould. Other Canadian film producers concentrated their efforts on short productions, mostly in government or commercial companies such as Associated Screen News of Montreal. The works of Gordon Spalding, Bill Oliver, and Albert Tessier are discussed in this context. Morris concludes with the founding of the National Film Board which, under the dynamic guidance of John Grierson, was to breathe new life into a moribund industry. In a postscript Morris explores some of the reasons for the unique development of Canadian film making - particularly its use of natural settings and documentary when virtually the rest of the world's industry was following the Hollywood pattern of studio location and fictional plots and examines the relationship of the early industry to later developments in Canadian film making. At a time when Canada's cultural industries are struggling to survive in the wake of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States and under the threat of Free Trade with Mexico, this text should be useful reading.

Caribbean Films

This article trares the development of documentary and feature film production in the Com monwealth Caribbean, with particular reference to the work of government film units, sponsor ing organizations, educational and television companies and the locally based film industry. The survey is accompanied by a select list of films produced in and about the Caribbean, and a bibliography. A previons article "Caribbean recordings: notes on sources with a select discography" also by Vilerie Bloomfield, appeared in the January 1976 issue of the Journal, pages 46-72.

European Television Film Production Methods

Initially, European television film production methods followed procedures set by the cinema, the only substantial difference being the use of 16mm film with magnetic sound. However, the special requirements dictated by television have given rise to new methods of production and film handling. These include the use of 16mm film in conjunction with the Pilot-Tone technique for live telecasts and the use of 35mm film in conjunction with the Electronic Cam procedure for feature film production. Similarly, these production methods have initiated the development of new magnetic sound equipment.

Canada's National Film Board

Prologue Canada is one of the most prosperous nations in the world. It is an immense and magnificent land and now plays an important part in world affairs. Yet, Canada is the poorest in the art of cinema and, without the National Film Board, would remain unrecognized as a film-producing nation. Why this should be is not difficult to explain. Right from the earliest days of motion pictures, Hollywood-and to a much lesser degree, the studios of Englandhave provided all the films necessary to keep Canadian cinemas open and to please the paying public. It is noticeable that non-English-speaking countries, much smaller and poorer than Canada, have developed their own film industries. With state assistance these have successfully established themselves in the face of strong competition from Hollywood. They are successful because they satisfy the desire of their people to hear films in their native tongue. Since Canada is an Englishspeaking nation this desire does not exist except in Quebec Province where French is spoken. The citizens of Quebec are therefore well satisfied with French films, which are widely shown, together with a few inexpensive motion pictures made in the province and dubbed Hollywood productions. Where feature-film production is concerned, Canada fell prey to Hollywood in the same way as did other countries, particularly those speaking English. Hollywood made films for a mass audience and produced enough to satisfy a world-wide demand. Hollywood became the cinema capital of the world and by some remarkable