The Producer unit system

 The Producer unit system

Near the end of the one-reel era, the director-unit system was taken over by the producer-unit system. While studios maintained units led by the director many of the managerial tasks, particularly in the pre-production phase, that had traditionally fallen to directors were done by managers.

Some people who were directors at the time (in the early 1910s) stopped directing and became producers.

This system was closely linked to the rise of feature filmmaking, which required more investments per film and had much more detailed planning and managerial oversight than in the one-reel era.

This control over production was happened mainly through the continuity script which basically means a blueprint for the shooting of the film and a record of the shooting of the film.

The continuity script contained shooting dates, highly detailed description of actions, budget data, and information on release and distribution.

Also when making films using this system the makers planned every detail in advance.