AUTHORSHIP IN CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD CINEMA

Abstract

From the beginning of the cinema, in which only one person took care of almost everything, the organization of a film progressively evolved, and the different functions in the process got wider and more specialized. The notion of collective authorship is a difficult concept to approach and understand in all its dimensions. In this article we try to clarify it after analyzing how the structure of team collaboration at that time influenced its creators, and why some can be considered authors while others are denied that status. In order to examine in depth what was the real procedure of the different trades, professional journals have been consulted, looking for interviews with photography directors, writers, directors, producers... in addition to previous studies in books, magazines and documentaries. It is found that there are certain figures that have been unfairly ignored, like the producer, the director of photography, the editor or the supervising editor, because their contribution was not a merely technical or managerial job. The case of the producer is specially discriminatory as it is usually thought they were exclusively focused in the economical aspects of the production, while they assumed key roles now usually part of the directors duties.