HISTORY OF CINEMA THE BEGINNINGS

MULTIPLE SOURCES 1.Magic Lantern: Samuel Pepys wrote of visitor in Sequential photographs: Edward Muybridge, a San Francisco photographer (1877).

EVOLUTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS 1.From Muybridge to Zoetrope: a revolving disc holding the transparencies and lit from behind. 1.Thomas Edison and William Dickson: machine to accompany his photograph—a Kinetoscope, a peep show at a penny a shot (1891). (1894) 3. Norman Raff parlors in 1894.

FILM PROJECTION 1.William Dickson and the Latham family overcame obstacles, with others’ help: a)Films had to be lengthier. b)Intermittent movement: to photograph movies necessary to stop each frame for a fraction of a second to allow the light passing through the lens to impress its image on the film—must find a way to do that in a projecting machine. c)Simple alternative of leaving slack in the film at the top and bottom of the film gate to take the stress off the tightly threaded ribbon of celluloid. d)Thomas Armat: what the camera did to hold the film stationary while the images were being photographed could be repeated in the projector. e)Edison not interested in a projecting kinetoscope, but Armat had one and called it a Vitascope with Edison’s approval.

OTHER ORIGINS 2. Lumiere Brothers: a) pioneered the moving snapshots that formed the basis of parlor amusement. b) Sent their light, hand-cranked projectors into middle Europe, Russia, and even the Far East, showing audiences films, “holding a mirror up to nature” (1895). (1895) 3. Georges Melies: Magician turned filmmaker: Stage presentations concentrated on the fantastic. In glass-enclosed studio, turned out the cinematic equivalent of tableaux fantastiques, whose increasing length allowed more room for fade-outs, dissolves, and double exposures, as well as special effects. The Damnation of Faust (1898). Hugo (2011)

MOVE TOWARD REALISM 1.Edison, The Dream of Rarebit Fiend (1906) eschews painted scenery. a)Directed by Edwin S. Porter, a sailor and electrician. b)Most well-known for The Great Train Robbery (1903):took a few more steps in evolving a film grammar: 1)matte shot of a train passing, 2)a full-screen closeup of a bandit, 3) scenes with few titles, 4)camera pans with the escaping bandits. 5)Edited his films the way it seemed best to tell a story—saw films in terms of plot instead of character. Porter: Director-general of Famous Players, the forerunner of Paramount by 1912 but left to work for Simplex projector company in Note: pre-world war I, America and France had the most vital filmmaking, with few stars other than comedian Max Linder.