Research Guides: J 430/530: Black American Media: Film Production and Industry Information

Production Information: Primary Sources

How did a film get made? What was its budget? How were decisions made about locations, hiring crew, and developing the screenplay? Was the film financed through a major studio or independently? How was it promoted to potential audiences and exhibitors? The following sources can help you find information about these aspects of film production.

The databases immediately below provide primary sources, which you will have to interpret and make sense of. Secondary sources like books and articles from journals and magazines can provide useful context for understanding primary sources (see second box below).

AFI Catalog
Profiles of every American film from 1893 to 1975, with full or short records for films from 1976 to Present. Most records include extensive plot summaries, production histories, and bibliographies of primary sources.
Digital Pressbooks Collection, 1914-1953
Cinema pressbooks are primary source materials originally distributed to cinema owners and the mass media with the intent of publicizing a specific motion picture. They often contained technical descriptions and synopses of a film, brief biographies of and interviews with the film's stars, advertisement and poster designs, still photographs, and suggestions for effective promotion of the film.

Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
Full-text digitized access to core entertainment industry publications, such as Variety. Covers the era of vaudeville and silent movies through to 2000.
Core US and UK trade magazines covering film, music, broadcasting and theater are all included, together with film fan magazines and music press titles. Magazines have been scanned cover-to-cover in high-resolution color, with granular indexing of all articles, covers, ads and reviews.

**Tutorial available: View an Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive tutorial

Hollywood, Censorship, and the Motion Picture Production Code, 1927-1968 This link opens in a new window
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Production Code Administration Files collection documents forty years of self-regulation and censorship in the motion picture industry. This collection includes PCA files for 500 films.

SEE ALSO: Motion Picture Association Production Code Administration Files for 500 additional films.

Motion Picture Association Production Code Administration Files
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Production Code Administration Files collection documents forty years of self-regulation and censorship in the motion picture industry. This collection includes PCA files for 500 films.
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SEE ALSO: Hollywood, Censorship, and the Motion Picture Production Code, 1927-1968 for 500 additional films.

Los Angeles Times (1881-1997) This link opens in a new window
An excellent source for film industry news, interviews, gossip, publicity stories, and photographs.

Media History Digital Library
Full-text digital reproductions of early film industry and fan magazines, including Photoplay, Film Daily, and much more.
**Tutorial available: View a Media History Digital Library tutorial

New York times (digital reproduction, 1851-2015) This link opens in a new window
An excellent source for film industry news, interviews, gossip, publicity stories, and photographs.

**Tutorial available: View a New York Times tutorial
Press Kits online
A collection of digitized press kits and promotional materials related to a myriad of films from around the world. From the William K. Everson papers at NYU.