Movie Studio:
A movie studio is, in the established sense of the term, a company that distributes motion pictures. Literally, however, the term denotes a controlled environment for filmmaking. This environment may be interior, exterior or both.
In general parlance, the term is synonymous with a major motion picture production company, due largely to the fact that the leading production companies of Hollywood's Golden Age--from the late 1920's to the late 1940s--owned their own studio facilities, as do a few today. However, worldwide the majority of production companies have never owned their own studios, but have rented space at independently owned facilities that, in many cases, never produce a picture of their own.
Beginnings:
In 1893, Thomas Edison built the first movie studio in the United States when he constructed the Black Maria, a tarpaper-covered structure near his laboratories in West Orange, New Jersey, and asked circus, vaudeville, and dramatic actors to perform for the camera. He distributed these movies at vaudeville theaters, penny arcades, wax museums, and fairgrounds. Other studio operations followed in New Jersey, New York City, and Chicago.
In the early 1900s, companies started moving to Los Angeles, California. Although electric lights were by then widely available, none were yet powerful enough to adequately expose film; the best source of illumination for motion picture production was natural sunlight. Some movies were shot on the roofs of buildings in Downtown Los Angeles. Early movie producers also relocated to Southern California to escape Edison's Motion Picture Patents Company, which controlled almost all the patents relevant to movie production at the time.
Today:
With the breakup of domination by "the Studios" and the continued incursion of television into the cinematic audience, the major production companies gradually transformed into management structures that simply put together artistic teams on a project-by-project and distribute the finished products. Their studio spaces or backlots have been in most cases retained and are available for rental.
In general parlance, the term is synonymous with a major motion picture production company, due largely to the fact that the leading production companies of Hollywood's Golden Age--from the late 1920's to the late 1940s--owned their own studio facilities, as do a few today. However, worldwide the majority of production companies have never owned their own studios, but have rented space at independently owned facilities that, in many cases, never produce a picture of their own.
Beginnings:
In 1893, Thomas Edison built the first movie studio in the United States when he constructed the Black Maria, a tarpaper-covered structure near his laboratories in West Orange, New Jersey, and asked circus, vaudeville, and dramatic actors to perform for the camera. He distributed these movies at vaudeville theaters, penny arcades, wax museums, and fairgrounds. Other studio operations followed in New Jersey, New York City, and Chicago.
In the early 1900s, companies started moving to Los Angeles, California. Although electric lights were by then widely available, none were yet powerful enough to adequately expose film; the best source of illumination for motion picture production was natural sunlight. Some movies were shot on the roofs of buildings in Downtown Los Angeles. Early movie producers also relocated to Southern California to escape Edison's Motion Picture Patents Company, which controlled almost all the patents relevant to movie production at the time.
Today:
