By Richard Farmer Ming the panda on set at Marylebone studio. The Sphere, 3 June 1939, p. 384 Here at STUDIOTEC we’re very interested both in the spaces of film production and those that work in them. While this usually means humans, we have not ignored the role that animals have played filmmaking, and dedicated more timeContinue reading “Pandamonium at Marylebone studio”
Tag Archives: British Film
Getting plastered in British studios
By Richard Farmer Cigarette card showing the plasterers’ shop at Shepherd’s Bush studio. The model of the clock tower at the Palace of Westminster was made for Friday the Thirteenth (1933) When visitors were shown around film studios and the curtain was lifted on how films were actually made, they came to understand some of the processes thatContinue reading “Getting plastered in British studios”
Shepperton world of adventures: Sound City Zoo and Wonderland
By Richard Farmer Norman Loudon In late 1938, Norman Loudon, Managing Director of Sound City (Films) Ltd., issued an underwriting prospectus in the hope of drumming up £125,000 to invest in a new venture at his company’s studios at Shepperton (Williams 1938). Loudon had been the driving force behind the creation of the Sound CityContinue reading “Shepperton world of adventures: Sound City Zoo and Wonderland”
‘A red glow filled the sky’: Fire at Elstree Studios, 1936
By Sarah Street On Sunday 9th February 1936 film producer Herbert Wilcox lay awake in the early hours of the morning at his home located high up on Deacons Hill Road overlooking the British and Dominions’ Imperial Studios he’d founded at Elstree in 1930. He recalled with horror: ‘I could not sleep. I got up andContinue reading “‘A red glow filled the sky’: Fire at Elstree Studios, 1936”
Conference Report: Film Studios
By Steven Roberts The ‘Film Studios’ conference provided a forum for international research, looking beyond traditional geographical, historical, and methodological boundaries of studio research in keeping with the comparative STUDIOTEC project, which hosted the event in Bristol between 5-7 June 2023. Over three full days, the ideas of invited speakers flowed freely and were receivedContinue reading “Conference Report: Film Studios”
‘Philippa’ arrives at Pinewood
By Richard Farmer The summer of 1946 was an exciting time at Pinewood. The studio had just reopened after the war, de-requisitioned after being used for a variety of filmmaking and non-filmmaking purposes during the conflict. Visitors to the site would have found a studio seeking to face up to the challenges of the post-war world, eager toContinue reading “‘Philippa’ arrives at Pinewood”
British film studios and the 1947 fuel crisis
2022 marks the 75th anniversary of the fuel crisis that partially paralysed Britain at the start of 1947. Our researcher Richard Farmer explores the impact that the crisis, and the exceptionally harsh winter that accompanied it, had on British film studios. 1947 proved to be a particularly challenging year for Britain, a country still recovering fromContinue reading “British film studios and the 1947 fuel crisis”
The Pinewood Merry-Go-Round studio magazine
By Sarah Street Film studios were communities of workers who established close bonds through the collective enterprise of film production. They employed many diverse occupations, including canteen employees, art directors, costume designers, hairdressers, secretaries, publicists, electricians, and carpenters. Establishing a sense of community was important, especially when working conditions could be pressured and intense, withContinue reading “The Pinewood Merry-Go-Round studio magazine”
Supporting feature: tubular scaffolding
By Richard Farmer Kinematograph Weekly, 24 October 1929. Film studios are places of innovation. New technologies and creative processes are developed, adopted, adapted and eventually superseded. Some of these innovations, such as the arrival of synchronised sound or widescreen, are designed to be obvious to the viewer, to provide spectacle and inspire wonder and pleasure.Continue reading “Supporting feature: tubular scaffolding”
The Austro-German Connection: Italy’s Transnational Films and the UK
By Carla Mereu Keating As we continue to compile our filmographies to map regional, national, international and transnational nodes and networks of film production, several lesser-known cases of collaboration among the four countries of the project have emerged. This blog post shares ongoing research on the history of Italian film studios in the years followingContinue reading “The Austro-German Connection: Italy’s Transnational Films and the UK”
Studiotec: Film Studios: Infrastructure, Culture, Innovation in Britain, France, Germany and Italy, 1930-60 