Around 1907, transitional cinema reached a predicament concerning a lack in narrative clarity. In order to make films understandable to the audiences, exhibitors found it necessary to increase the use of lectures (Pearson, 29), which consequently raised the cost of each screening. This created a demand from the exhibitors for a "regular infusion of supplied product", which required a set of standard production practices, an increase in organized division of labour, and a "codification of cinematic conventions" (Pearson, 23). Filmmakers strived to develop methods to meet this demand for increased efficiency and narrative coherence, which was partially accomplished through experimentation with formal filmic elements and their organization. By 1914, as production, distribution, and exhibition occupied separate areas of the market, the process of filmmaking was becoming increasingly dependent on division of labour (Pearson, 23). Expert practitioners worked within their sphere of responsibility. "Writers thought up story lines, scenic artists painted backgrounds, and designers fashioned appropriate costumes" (Gomery, 46). This aiding the progress towards standardization of moviemaking practices (Thompson, Bordwell, 69), thus inferentially contributing to the shift towards narrative integration. However, while pressure from the exhibitors constitutes one of the most significant influences on the shift towards narrative "photoplays" from the direction of the exhibition mode, it does not entail the full extent of its contribution. The exhibition mode further assisted the shift with the emergence of picture palaces.

The rise of the nickelodeons that began to appear in 1905 elevated the film industry to the plateau of a highly profitable business (Pearson, 25). The establishment of permanent venues required frequent changes of programmes. This demand was met by the film exchanges, as films were purchased by the manufacturers and rented to exhibitors. This system made the concept of permanent exhibition financially feasible and increased the popularity of the medium (Pearson, 25). By 1907, the first movie theatre was built and the subsequent years exemplified a consistent increase in films being exhibited in upscale picture palaces and other forms of "legitimate theatres" (Pearson, 38). The establishment of designated dwellings, dedicated exclusively to the experience of watching films, supports the shift to narrative "photoplays" for numerous reasons. The extravagance of "movie palaces" attracted middle-class audiences who indirectly encouraged producers to reconsider the "quantity over quality" formula in order to adhere to a more demanding demographic. Consequently, through the deployment of different formal elements the films were becoming increasingly coherent and multifaceted. The creation of legitimate theatres also translated into an increased demand for a consistent supply of cinematic product, thus making "codification of cinematic conventions" more necessary. The picture palaces exuded affluence and extravagance, providing the patrons with a valued experience of being pampered along with the screening of the cinematic attraction. As the film industry was rapidly evolving into a colossal capitalist enterprise, the picture palaces served as monumental investment ventures that became their ultimate status symbols. Nevertheless, while the development of legitimate theatres contributed to the shift towards narrative cinema from the direction of exhibition, the establishment and expansion of film studios aided this move from the production side.

The Motion Picture Patent Company (MPPC), developed in 1908 by the Edison and Biograph companies, attempted to stabilize the industry by integrating the most prominent producers and establishing oligopolistic control (Pearson, 25). The MPPC retained power from patents on film stock, projectors, and cameras, and demanded license attainment and royalty payments from potential users (Pearson, 25). By 1910, the MPPC established a separate distribution art, which is a practice many Hollywood studios would later emulate in the form of "block bookings" (Pearson, 25). This practice involves the production company forcing exhibitors to purchase their entire filmic output rather then individual units. Soon after a 1912 court decision limited MPPC's privileges by "rendering the Latham-loop patent void", independent firms restructured into a studio system that formed the organizational environment conducive to the production of narrative cinema (Thompson, Bordwell, 68).

In 1915, Carl Laemmle opened a studio north of Hollywood, called Universal City, thus forming a complex that exists to the present day (Thompson, Bordwell, 68). By this year, Universal was already partially vertically integrated by expanding to control production and distribution within the same company (Thompson, Bordwell, 68). In 1912, Adolph Zukor formed Famous Players, which specialized in exploiting literary adaptations and capitalizing on the appeal of the star system; soon becoming one of the most significant studios in Hollywood (Thompson, Bordwell, 68). In 1914, William Fox formed Fox Film Corporation by merging exhibition, distribution, and production operations. These significant developments in the reorganization of the production wing, which was being merged with other avenues in order to control a larger sphere of the market, emphasize the degree to which film was becoming a dynamic, multi-level medium. The production of a higher "quality" product - within this rapidly evolving market - would seem the most natural and appropriate progression. Los Angeles was becoming the central for film studio facilities. These were comprised of large, dark spaces, where filmmakers could control lighting with electric lamps (Thompson, Bordwell, 69). The back-lots were utilized to build outdoor sets in order to cut expenses. The building of studios and the monopolization through vertical integration provided an appropriate milieu for the inauguration of equally dynamic narratives within their films.

During the 1910s, filmmakers continued exploring techniques to clear storytelling. Such exploration translated into a host of indispensable discovering in the cinematographic and technical fields, without which the move towards narratives "photoplays" would be impossible. In the early 1910s, as films were being extended in length, they continued to appear as numerous one-reelers interconnected together (Pearson, 39). Filmmakers recognized the need for a new treatment of the narrative form, with new methods of organization, cinematographic techniques, and technological application. Intercutting was being employed in increasingly complex ways, as "individual scenes within a single space were likely to be broken into several shots, beginning with as establishing shot, following by one or more cut-ins to show portions of the action" (Thompson, Bordwell, 70). Such techniques as point-of-view shots, shot/reverse/shot, and 180-degree rule were becoming fundamentals of continuity editing. A revolutionary application of effect lighting is exemplified in Cecil B. De Mille's, the Cheat (1915), which is a now a landmark in the history of cinematographic experimentation. David Wark Griffith, who was one the most prolific directors of the era, greatly expanded the possibilities of moviemaking through his innovative contributions to its formal elements. In American Silent Film, William K. Everson suggested that,

With the proven value of Griffith's innovative cutting techniques (the stupendous financial success of The Birth of Nation was in itself sufficient "proof"), directors who had hitherto kept their cameras nailed to the floor and had rarely broken up scenes into successions of long, medium, and close shots, suddenly stove to copy Griffith's style (5).

One of the most notable stylistic advancements of the transitional period constitutes innovation in shot-scale. In the beginning of the transitional period, Vitagraph Company began constructing shots using the "9-foot line", showing the actors from the ankles up (Pearson, 29). By 1911, the camera moved closer to produce the thee-quarter shot, which became the dominant scale until the end of the silent period. The decreased distance between camera and actors enabled the audience to read the emotional fluctuations of the character without the necessity for melodramatic acting. Furthermore, actors could now be easily identified, which aided in the development of the star system.

The European influence on American film production constitutes one of the secondary factors contributing to the shift towards narrative film. Prior to 1908, the practice of distribution and exhibition was completely reliant on the multi-reel film. Furthermore, the system constructed during the nickelodeon boom demanded short programmes and "rapid audience turnover and profit" (Pearson, 29). The studios adhered to these needs by treating each reel separately, and most nickelodeons showed one reel in a programme (Pearson, 39). However, the success of European, and especially Italian film imports, such the two-reel Fall of Troy, directed by Giovanni Pastrone (1911), persuaded the American industry to compete with longer films (Pearson, 39). Italian historic epics experienced immense popularity and profit, thus proving that multi-reel films provide an approach worthy of exploration. In History of the Movies, Benjamin B. Hampton suggests that this move to lengthier productions was quite significant by stating that, "the extension from two or three reels to five was not merely an expansion of screen time" (105). He further elaborated by contending that "it necessitated a different and much more expensive technique permitting even more improvements of each department of production" (Hampton, 105). Giovanni Pastrone’s, Cabiria was incredibly influential for its innovative use of slow tracking shots away from or towards a static action (Thompson, Bordwell, 58). This technique was referred to as the "Cabiria movement", which became a common feature of films produced in mid-1910s (Thompson, Bordwell, 58). Furthermore, in 1908, as American filmmaking strived to emanate cultural legitimacy, the French film d'art serves as their model. The most well-known of the film d'art was L'Assassinat du Duc de Guise. Despite the fact that it was based on a historical incident, the script embodied an internally coherent narrative (Pearson, 35). This film made a considerable impact on the United States. Mainstream press featured articles that urged American producers to allow themselves to become inspired by film d’art and to emulate this strategy in order to "assert its cultural bona fides" (Pearson, 35).

In his writing on American film, Tom Gunning asserts, "the investigation of cinema must consider the broader cultural context in which films are made, exhibited, and understood" (259). However, upon consideration of the film industry itself, the changes in production, distribution, and exhibition provide a more pertinent basis for the analysis of transitional cinema and the move toward narrative film. During the transitional period, as exhibitors pressured production companies to standardize their practices, producers felt inclined to develop more coherent, integrated narratives. Furthermore, as picture palaces emerged exclusively for film screenings, the exhibition mode of filmmaking further assisted in the move towards narrative films; the demand for which was being met by film studios constructed during this period. As filmmakers working in these studios applied technological innovation and experimented with cinematographic elements, they immensely contributed to the actualization of narrative integration in American cinema. Nevertheless, while the European influence played a less dominant role in the shift towards narrative cinema, it remains worthy of consideration.

Works Cited

Everson, William K. American Silent Film. New York: Oxford UP, 1978.

Gomery, Douglas. "The Hollywood Studio System." The Oxford History of World Cinema. Ed. Geoffrey Nowell-Smith. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1996. 43-53.

Gunning, Tom. "Early American Film." The Oxford Guide to Film Studies. Ed. John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. 255-271.

Hampton, Benjamin B. A History of the Movies. London: Noel Douglas, 1932.

Pearson, Roberta. "Transitional Cinema." The Oxford History of World Cinema. Ed. Geoffrey Norwell-Smith. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1996. 23-42.

Thompson, Kristin, and David Bordwell. Film History: an Introduction. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002.