Once upon a time, long ago, there were several film production studios: RKO, Warner Brothers, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, United Artist, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures and Columbia Pictures who controlled 90% of the film industry in America since the invention of motion pictures. These production companies churned out mass-market films to quench young America's thirst for entertainment. Most of the film had very similar plot, themes and actors. Each studio would give its own contribution to the story to make it their own. Sometimes the rival studio would release the same types of films on the same day to lure customers away from seeing another studio's film. I think it was only with the invention of the figure of the production designer that film studios began to form their own identity. In the late 1800s, theater was how most people viewed entertainment. Smaller theaters were dotted throughout America's small towns, with the largest theaters in densely populated cities. The main theater was heavily decorated and going there was a delight, the shows were astonishing spectacles for their time. The colorful costumes, live music and realistic backdrops are a sight to behold. People queued for hours just to get a change to see some of the most popular plays of the time. At the end of the 1800s photography was born and not long after the first photo was produced. The first film to simply feature still images, when flipped in sequence order, they appeared to be moving. Viewers were initially wary of this new technology, but over time they embraced it and wanted more. As with any new technology, cinema has begun to evolve. Synchronized sound was now being introduced into silent films. The first......half of paper......and miniature construction, faster, easier and more convenient to make countless storyboards for a movie. In today's film industry the art department is mostly computerized. There are countless graphic designers, motion capture designers and visual designers ready to produce a world on a computer screen in half the time it took Menzies to make his sketches. The independent film company can choose to choose its own production. Designer - PD, where in the old studio system, the system told the director who he should work with and to stick to the studio's vision of the film. The PD now has the power to express the visions it wants and not to force them to produce them. With the PD's freedom to express its vision, the film industry's production value has risen to new heights. If a production designer can dream it, his team can make it happen.