The Hidden Cost of Commercials

Why are we still working like it's 1920?

One day, while making my way back to video village from the craft service table, I paused and took a look at the bustling soundstage around me. Electrics were running cables. The stylist was steaming a rack of clothes. Camera assistants were unpacking cases, while an actor chatted it up with the makeup artist. The thought suddenly occurred to me: “Whose idea was this?” Grips, call sheets, camera assistants, prepro books—who came up with this process, with these positions?

The question took hold. My life consisted of prep, shoot, wrap, repeat. Where did it come from? I had to find out.

So, I started researching the genesis of the production process, back to when motion pictures first arrived on the scene. The public loved movies right from the start. In 1905, the day after the first movie theater in Pittsburgh opened, 1,500 theater patrons were lined up around the block, nickels in hand, waiting to get a glimpse of one. By the late 1910s, movies had become big business and early studio moguls knew that to make money you had to save money, so they created efficiency systems to maximize profit.

In 1913, the auto industry unveiled a marvel of productivity, the assembly line, and Hollywood snatched it up. Producers realized that by creating a perpetual production machine, they could keep costs low. They hired staff by the hundreds and assigned them to multiple projects at the same time. Writers, prop-makers, producers—crew in the studio era were always working. The savings were significant.

Feature films were cheaper to produce than shorts, so they became the industry standard. More footage with the same wardrobe, sets and crew meant more savings. Scripts were written according to what sets were already on the lot. It was a veritable factory of dreams.