“First came the inventors, then the artists who sought to use the invention creatively. The problems posed by the discovery of the moving picture seem to suggest, even in the first crude efforts of film-makers, that a new art had been born. This is a rare phenomenon in history.” –John Howard Lawson from Film: the Creative Process

Persistence of Vision The human brain has a threshold below which separate images exposed to it will appear to be continuous The speed at which film is projected (24 frames per second), is below that threshold.

Magic Lantern The Magic Lantern was an early projector. Invented by Christiaan Huygens (an astronomer) late 1650s Just still images (like a slideshow)

Zoetrope A pre-film animation device which created the illusion of movement A cylinder with vertical cuts on the sides. As the cylinder moves, the viewer looks through the cuts and the illusion of movement is created. Zoetrope example

Leland Stanford & Eadweard Muybridge In 1872, Stanford and Muybridge were trying to win a bet about the hooves of a horse leaving the ground The Experiment for the “Flying Horse” Led to serial photography The Weird World of Eadweard Muybridge Leland Stanford Eadweard Muybridge

Eadweard Muybridge – The Horse in Motion

Eadweard Muybridge – Zoopraxiscope Muybridge created the zoopraxiscope to project the photographs Zoopraxiscope example

Thomas Edison & William K.L. Dickson Thomas Edison began his career as an inventor in Newark, N.J. He developed the phonograph – a device to record and play back sound William K.L. Dickson was a Scottish inventor who worked for Edison.

Thomas Edison did not invent the film camera in 1891 William Kennedy Laurie Dickson was asked by Edison to invent the kinetograph in 1891. It is considered the first film camera.

Perforated film and sprockets

Kinetoscope W.K.L. Dickson Greeting – Early film

Firsts related to Thomas Edison First experiments with film camera was in 1889 First film studio was Edison’s and it was called the Black Maria (1892) First film showings of the new technology (to investors and scientists) was in 1893

Thomas Edison Edison saw the PROFIT POTENTIAL in films He focused on “exploitative” films The Sneeze Turkish Dance, Ella Lola Boxing Cats (That’s right – Boxing Cats)

Filmmaking in France – 1890s The next big film camera (supposedly better than Edison’s (boo hoo for him)) The Cinématographe (where we get our word for cinematography). The Lumière Brothers (Auguste and Louis) created it though there is debate about whether they stole the idea from someone else) This camera was special because it had a film camera, printer, and projector all-in-one. Noted for the first public exhibition/ screening of films for an audience on December 28, 1895

The Mystery of Louis Le Prince A French inventor heralded as the “Father of cinematography” until 1930 Considered now as the “forgotten inventor of motion pictures” In October 1888, he shot his first film on an oily, paper film using his 16 lens camera, the LPCC-16, in Leeds, UK after living in New York and experimenting with his own film camera In September 1890, he was to have a public demonstration in New York, but disappeared His luggage and body have never been found Roundhay Garden Scene – the oldest surviving film New York Times article

The Vitascope Not to be outdone, Edison bought the patent to an early version of a projector called the Vitascope Debuted April 23, 1896 at Koster and Bial’s Music Hall in NYC

Kinds of Films in Early History Actualités: non-fiction films of everyday life, a precursor to documentary film. Coined by Lumiere Brothers. Trick films: films with optical/visual tricks Filmed theater: not their official title but it works. Instead of creating original stories, early film relied on theater for its stories. Historical films: many filmmakers wanted to try and portray history on film. Story films: not a focus on story. Filmmakers of the day thought Americans did not have the focus to watch long films so they kept them short.

Early Film Pioneers George Melies – experimented with visual effects – A Trip to the Moon Alice Guy – First female director – Cabbage Patch Fairy Edwin S. Porter – experimented with INTERCUTTING (EDITING) – The Great Train Robbery

How the Movie Industry works There are three PRIMARY PARTICIPANT / ENTITIES in the movie industry: 1) PRODUCTION STUDIO – A company, which makes the actual movie / film (creative decisions are made like the actors, directors, the sets, lighting, etc.) 2) DISTRIBUTOR – A company, which makes prints of the movie (made by the PRODUCTION STUDIO) and markets / sells the movie and distributes the movie 3) EXHIBITOR – A company, which screens the movie; usually at a movie theater

Examples 1) PRODUCTION STUDIO – (Before The Avengers): 2) DISTRIBUTOR – 3) EXHIBITOR – Mel Gibson story

Thomas Edison (again…) Edison tried to monopolize the film industry Joined forces with six other production companies to create ONE MASSIVE COMPANY – the Motion Picture Patents Company (AKA The Edison Trust or The Trust) George Eastman of Kodak agreed to only sell film to the Trust until 1911 Latham Loop

Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle battled the Trust Created International Moving Pictures (IMP) and eventually founded Universal Pictures William Fox also ignored the Trust Laemmle’s film exchange Worked with Thomas Ince – made 200 short films for IMP Created the image of Florence Lawrence (a former Biograph Girl) as a movie star Carl Laemmle William Fox

Florence Lawrence Hailing from Canada, Lawrence became known as The “First Movie Star” aka the “Biograph Girl” - 1909

The Trust Falls As a way to avoid lawsuits, early film producers moved to the West coast In 1915, the Trust was embroiled in litigation Courts deemed that it was a monopoly after the U.S. Justice Department sued – United States v. Motion Pictures Patents Co. – October 1, 1915

The Birth of the Studio System A method of film production and distribution dominated by a small number of “major” studios Refers to: a) producing movies on their own studio lots with creative personnel under long-term contracts b) Dominating exhibition through VERTICAL INTEGRATION

Thomas Ince – Producer / Director Starting directing for Laemmle, but left IMP in 1911 Developed the first Hollywood studio facility Introduced the “Assembly line” system of filmmaking He would oversee the productions and would make many films at one time The directors were creatively stifled at “Inceville” Died a mysterious death in 1924

The Big Five Warner Brothers Famous Players – Lasky (Paramount) RKO Metro-Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) Movie Tone Newsreels (would become 20th Century Fox)

The Little Three Universal (Carl Laemmle) United Artists Columbia (Originally CBC film sales)

Poverty Row Low budget and independent producers Included: Disney Pictures Selznick International Pictures 20th Century Pictures Republic Pictures