Oral Histories

Interview of Mary Meacham Hogg

Motion picture title artist who began at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in the early sixties and continued through work at the Walt Disney Company in the 2000s.
Series:
The Crafts in Hollywood: Production Design
Topic:
Film and Television
Biographical Note:
Motion picture title artist who began at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in the early sixties and continued through work at the Walt Disney Company in the 2000s.
Interviewer:
Collings, Jane
Interviewee:
Hogg, Mary Meacham
Persons Present:
Hogg and Collings.
Place Conducted:
Hogg's home in Los Angeles, California.
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library’s Center for Oral History Research.
Interviewer Background and Preparation:
The interview was conducted by Jane Collings, principal editor and interviewer, UCLA Center for Oral History Research; Ph.D., Critical Studies in Film and Television, UCLA.
Processing of Interview:
The interviewer prepared a timed log of the audio recording of the interview. Hogg was given the opportunity to review the log in order to supply missing or misspelled names and to verify the accuracy of the content. A number of corrections and additions were made and were entered into the text without further editing or review on the part of the Center for Oral History Research staff.
Length:
4.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
Audio:
Series Statement:
This series of interviews was undertaken in collaboration with the Art Directors Guild. Its aim is to document the lives and work of Guild members and staff who have made a significant contribution to film and television history. Interviews capture the work of title artists, set designers, art directors, production designers, and many other categories. The contribution of labor unions in shaping the conditions of the work is also addressed.
Early life in San Francisco--Begins work for animator Milt Kerr--Hired by Kerr to work at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) in the titles department in the early sixties--Early training in the graphic arts in San Francisco--Life in Los Angeles in the late sixties--Kerr stipulates that Hogg be able to join the Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists Local 816--Works with animators Oz Evans and Russ Roberts at MGM--Painter Kleng Rude--Few women in Local 816 at the time--Treatment of female staff by male staff--Enjoyed the studio structure at MGM--The dismantling of MGM--Innovative work for titles for Around the World in 80 Days, Fun with Dick and Jane, The Wind and the Lion and others.
Notable title work done at MGM--Ways that male staff behaved toward female staff--Few women in the union at the time--The impact of the acceleration of the pace of production on the title department--Efforts to save the MGM studio--Begins title work at Walt Disney Studios in 2000--The work process with regard to titles at Disney--The anti-union attitude at Disney--The importance of branding at Disney.
The impact made by the unions on production methods and working conditions--Technological challenges in title work--Anti-piracy protocols at Disney--Disney policy on sexual harassment--The title department at MGM--A collection of MGM-era still photographs taken by Fred Parrish--Production resources available at MGM--As female staff, would be the de facto unit secretary.