Introduction
While the early years of Hollywood are usually seen in light of legendary figures such as Adolph Zukor, it is the engineers, technicians, and bureaucrats who supported the system that were responsible for every frame Hollywood produced. This introduction reorients the reader away from stars and producers and toward these technical workers and their organizations. It discusses the role of concepts such as creative industries, Hollywood’s invisible style, scientific management, technological determinism, scientific progressivism, engineering history, and trade organizations in the broader arguments presented throughout the book. When we look at Hollywood motion picture production as a technology business, rather than an anomalous industry, the studio system takes its place within its proper historical context of the American economy and culture as a whole.