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”
Tag Archives: British Film
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 New technologies and creative processes are developed, adopted, adapted and eventually superseded.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”
Eating in the Studios: Dining with the Stars?
As we research the many maps, plans, images and contemporary accounts of the studios it becomes clear that as well as being factories of film production they were complex social communities employing a large, varied workforce. As well as practical workspaces including stages, workshops, stores and dressing rooms, many studios housed canteens, bars and restaurants.Continue reading “Eating in the Studios: Dining with the Stars?”
Studiotec: Film Studios: Infrastructure, Culture, Innovation in Britain, France, Germany and Italy, 1930-60 