The above image is a combination of a stereoscopic image that was published in the trade journal Phonographische Zeitschrift on September 26, 1907. The image was made by the editorial staff of the journal on occasion of a visit to the production of a sound image for Alfred Duskes by the director Gustav Schönwald.1
(more…)Tante Fritze
Onkel Ernst, Günther
Thanks to family Günther (written on the back of the postcard and marked with a small cross on the front; they are situated on the last window to the right in the middle of the photo) we can glimpse into the everyday life of Berlin after the turn of the century.
While Random Finds: Change of heart already glanced at Continental-Kunstfilm-Gesellschaft (in this article abbreviated as CF) regarding their administrative tasks this short interlude will shed some light on a rather creative or not so creative mode of operation.
CF produced well over 100 films of which the majority were made between 1912 and 1915.1 That amounted to an average production output exceeding 30 films a year or two to three productions per month. To maintain that level of output a lot of scripts had be produced and even more ideas spun.
Advertisement by CF.2
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Advertisement in Erste Internationale Film-Zeitung.1
As the surge of the Monopolfilm in Germany began at the end of the year 1910 it transformed the way cinemagoers perceived films. A transition from a program based approach to a centric one pivoting around feature films took place and alongside promotional practices changed with it. While it was common practice for a production company to accompany a release with posters the aspect of promotion evolved over the months as well.
(more…)Continental-Kunstfilm-Gesellschaft was a Berlin based production company that emerged in spring of 1912.1 Originally founded as Schmidthässler-Film-Gesellschaft on October 23, 1911, by Max Rittberger and the actor Walter Schmidthässler the company was later converted to Continental-Kunstfilm-Gesellschaft (in this article abbreviated as CF).2
(more…)List of publications that were published under the Kino-Bibliothek label by the Filmtext-Verlag, Berlin.
(more…)Doing research in trade journals I once came across an article featuring photos of the premises of a distributor. Before that I actually knew almost nothing about distributors apart from the obvious historic legacy like ads, texts and promotional material that usually revolves around the films rather than people and the space behind it. Therefore a peek inside is mend as a category of stories that will give an unusual glimpse into to microcosm of film distribution.
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