| Biograph Studios |
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Information AboutBiograph Studios |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT AMERICAN MUTOSCOPE AND BIOGRAPH COMPANY | |
| film production companies of the united states | |
| companies established in 1895 | |
| defunct media companies of the united states | |
| companies established in 1991 | |
| re-established companies | |
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A new company with the same name was incorporated in 1991. {Link without Title} FOUNDING Biograph films before 1903 were mostly “actualities”: documentary footage of actual persons, places and events, each film usually less than two minutes long. The occasional narrative film, usually a comedy, was typically shot in one scene, with no editing. Spurred on by competition from Edison and British and European producers, Biograph production from 1903 onward was increasingly dominated by narratives, and as the stories became more complex, the films became longer, with multiple scenes to tell the story, although an individual scene was still usually presented in one shot without editing. Biograph's production of actualities ended by 1908 in favor of the narrative film. With the increased reliance on narrative films, Biograph moved in 1903 from its rooftop studio on Broadway to a converted Brownstone mansion on East 14th Street in Manhattan, its first indoor studio, and the first movie studio in the world to rely exclusively on artificial light. Biograph moved again in 1913 , as it entered feature film production, to a new, state-of-the-art studio on 175th Street in the Bronx . D.W. GRIFFITH Director D.W. Griffith joined Biograph in 1908 as a writer and actor, but within months became their principal director, and helped establish many of the conventions of narrative film, including cross-cutting to show events occurring simultaneously in different places, the Flashback , the Fade-in/fade-out , the interposition of closeups within a scene, and a moderated acting style more suitable for film. Although Griffith did not invent these techniques, he made them a regular part of the film vocabulary. Griffith’s prolific output, often one new film a week, and willingness to experiment in many different Genres helped the company become a major commercial success. Many early movie stars were Biograph performers, including Mary Pickford , Lionel Barrymore , Lillian Gish , Dorothy Gish , Robert Harron , Carol Dempster , Alan Hale, Sr. , Blanche Sweet , Harry Carey , Mabel Normand , Henry B. Walthall and Dorothy Davenport . Mack Sennett honed his craft as an actor and director of comedies at Biograph. DECLINE In December 1908, Biograph joined Edison in forming the , Kalem Company , George Kleine Productions , Lubin Studios , Georges Méliès , Pathé , Selig Studios , and Vitagraph Studios , and dominated distribution through the General Film Company . The Motion Picture Patents Co. and the General Film Co. were found guilty of antitrust violation in October 1915, and dissolved. {Link without Title} NEW COMPANY In 1987 producer Thomas R. Bond, II and his father, the late Tommy Bond , who played “Butch” in “Our Gang” (also known as “ The Little Rascals ”) revived the company, which was incorporated in California in 1991. Biograph is now an independent film and entertainment company and is located in the historic core section of Downtown Los Angeles . {Link without Title} In 2003 Bond announced that he had aquired title to 1,777 acres on the Moon for use as a filming location, and stated he planned to start filming there by 2008. {Link without Title} SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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