Before World War I, films were mainly shot in European countries and Japan. However, when the war interrupted European film production, the American film industry began to dominate the world market. In the years between 1917 and 1927 silent cinema reached the peak of its development. The United States had the largest film industry and American films dominated the international market. Germany and Japan still had some film industries, but mostly left to the domestic market. Many nations deemed film production to be an important issue for national culture, sometimes restricting film imports. DW Griffith transformed the early days of domestic production into an era of Hollywood world domination. The major corporations that dominated Hollywood were Fox, Paramount, Warner Brothers, MGM, Columbia, and United Artists. One of MGM's famous films was a silent version of Ben Her. Hollywood films became increasingly expensive to make as productions became more spectacular and stars commanded huge salaries. As Hollywood and other countries' film industries produced hundreds of films each year, certain standardized forms took precedence over individual creative inspiration. Films adopted categories, known as genres, from earlier arts and popular entertainment. These included comedy, western, mystery, horror, romance, melodrama and war story. More and more large cinemas were built, major producers expanded their distribution systems and purchased entire theater chains. Major film studios attempted to produce one film per week. A typical movie show consisted of a feature film starring famous actors, a short comedy, and a newsreel. The 1922 film Nanook of the North, directed by American Robert Flaherty, is often considered the first great achievement of documentary film. Most films made during this period reflected the frenetic pace and materialistic concerns of the nation's prosperous "flapper" era. While the settings and costumes were often elaborate, the films' stories were often superficial. Most people went to the "cinema" to see movie stars, and it was often the star who saved a bad movie from total failure. Some stars, seeking freedom from the mass production methods of the big studios, banded together to form distribution companies to market the films made at their own studios. United Artists, founded in 1919 by Griffith, Chaplin, Douglas Fa......middle of paper......eras and stages. In most early sound films, movement appeared static, because cameras had to be enclosed in soundproof boxes that were difficult to move. Cameras with silent gears were eventually developed; microphones were placed on booms or poles, which could be extended as needed. Early cameras used different frame exposure speeds, but with the advent of sound film in the late 1920s the standard had become 24 frames per second. The sound revolution ended the careers of many silent film artists whose voices did not record well, but it also brought new artists to the screen who had theatrical experience in speaking roles. Playwrights who knew how to write dramatic dialogue were hired to replace the silent dialogue. Film screenwriters and many plays were made for the screen because they provided ready-made dialogue. With the advent of sound, film animation gained popularity. Walt Disney made the first cartoon with sound.