Film History The Beginnings

Early Innovations 1816 & 1839 – photography () 1836 - Telegraph by Cooke and Wheatstone Revolutionized human (tele)communications. Morse Code a series of dots and dashes used to communicate between humans. This is similar to how computers communicate via (binary 0/1) data today. Although it is much slower!! 1858-1866 - Transatlantic cable. Allowed direct instantaneous communication across the Atlantic. Today, cables connect all continents and are still a main hub of telecommunications. 1876 - Telephone. Alexander Graham Bell Exhibits. Telephones exchanges provide the backbone of Internet connections today. Work toward wireless in late 1800s

Class vs. reading We’ll get through early technological developments in class Mostly up to 1940

Three Ways to Look at Film History Business Art Technology

Inventors Early film is a result of inventors, not artists.

Persistence of Vision / Phi Phenomenon The ability of the brain to retain an image a split second longer than the eye actually sees it. If we see 16 individual images in rapid succession the brain connects them to make a fluid sequence of movement.

Toy Makers Toy makers used this theory to create hand held machines that were the basis of film development.

Zoetrope Circular drum with slits. allows moments of darkness. creates illusion of movement. 1834 by William Horner.

Experimentation Was going on in many countries at the same time. France, Germany, England, and the U.S. all claim to have invented the movies.

Had to have photography before motion pictures

Camera tchnology

Important Dates 1816 - Nicephore Niepce made first photographic images. 1839 - Louis Daguerre created clear, sharp images on silver copperplate. Required 15 minutes exposure time. 1841 - Only 3 minutes needed for exposure. Daguerre Self-portrait

Eadweard Muybridge 1872 - Set up 12 cameras along a track, tied strings to the shutters which were tripped as the horse ran down the track. Created movement with photography.

Etienne-Jules Marey 1882 Invents “photographic gun.” Lens in the muzzle, paper in the chamber. Pull trigger and have 12 rapid exposures. Eventually 100 exposures.

George Eastman 1884 Developed celluloid film. Originally created for the still camera, it made motion pictures possible. Flexible and allows light to pass through. Eastman and Edison make movies

Fred Ott’s Sneeze 1889 William Dickson (working for Thomas Edison) begins using celluloid film. First film in America.

Motion Picture Photography Solved! Filmmakers now had to find a way to show their images.

Kinetoscope October 1889 Dickson shows Edison projection with sound. Quality is poor. Edison opts for silent, individual showings of films. Invents Kinetoscope. Kinetoscope Open

Kinetoscope Kinetoscopes were set up in parlors . You would see dancing, juggling, clowning, wonders of the world, a few re-enactments. No stories yet. Kinetoscope Closed

Thomas Edison Despite Edison’s shortsightedness in mass projection he did leave his mark on motion pictures. He contributed sprocket holes on film. Black Maria. First movie studio.

Black Maria Camera could only move forward and backward. Roof opened to allow sunlight in. Building rotated to catch sun’s rays. Camera used electricity. BUT …

Start of movies Thomas Edison is said to have considered movies a passing fad

These are a few of the contributions from America These are a few of the contributions from America. The history now goes back to Europe.

Projection Projection was a difficult problem to solve. Its roots go back as far as 1646.

Magic Lantern 1646 Father Athanasius Kircher made drawings of a box that could reproduce an image through a lens. Ancestor of present day slide projector.

18th Century Showmen travel across Europe showing magic lantern shows. Used drawn images in the beginning. Eventually used photographs. Phantasmagoria

19th Century Photo plays drew viewers to a story just as film does today. Combination of magic lantern shows, live actors, and photography. Some lasted up to 2 hours and told melodramatic stories. Proved the potential of projected film.

Projection Problems Projector needs a powerful light source to make images clear. Film has to run smoothly past this light source without tearing. Vitascope Projector

Late 19th Century Discovered intermittent movement was needed (similar to Zoetrope slits). Each frame stops briefly in front of the light source. Ended problem of the light source and tearing. Created problem of burning film. Invented cooling system Today’s projection? digital

Lumiere Brothers 1894 Tinkered with Edison’s Kinetoscope. Designed their own machine within a year. Auguste and Louis

Cinematographe Machine shot the pictures, printed them, and projected them. The camera was portable. A hand crank provided the power.

December 28, 1895 First theater opens to the paying public. Basement of a Paris café. Lumieres’ show: Workers leaving the Lumiere Factory. Arrival at Lyon. A Baby’s Meal.

Summary so far…

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Early 20th Century Beginning of stories in movies

Early 20th Century

Late 19th Century

D.W. Griffith / Mack Sennett

Early 20th Century Remainder of chapter – 20th Century growth, success and challenges in the Motion Picture industry…

Partial review – read the chapter This review will only cover a part of quiz and test content – read the chapter and make notes of all facts and people. Partial review – read the chapter

Inspired by French illusionist George Méliés, he established the basic principles of editing, the joining together of bits of film shot in different places and at different times to form a single, unified narrative See Chap. 8

This document deplored the actions of the Hollywood Ten and pledged not to knowingly employ a Communist or a member of any party or group which advocates the overthrow of the Government of the United States by force or by any illegal or unconstitutional method: See chapter 8

More of a refiner than the innovator, he is the “father of American film” who shaped the basic elements of filmmaking into the language and syntax that would serve cinema for more than a half a century: See Chap 8

Not only was he the “father of film comedy” but he developed the star system, giving actors billing on their films: See Chap. 8

This company was the first to take a gamble on sound motion pictures (the first ‘talkie’ was ---? See Cjap. 8

He introduced Hollywood to an assembly-line system of film production which included preplanning films on paper and developing a shooting schedule so that related scenes could be shot sequentially: See Chap. 8

What city in November 1907, enacted the first movie censorship law in America? With that law the first censors (enforcers) were ________. See Chap. 8

The _____ was so successful that no federal censorship laws were ever passed and it lasted until the early 1950s: See Cjap. 8

Why did Hollywood become the cinema capital of the world? See Chap. 8

Early on, why did many independent filmmakers brought their operations to Hollywood See Chap. 8

What was blacklisting? What was it really about? See Chap. 8

Who was the first to record action spontaneously and simultaneously as it occurred? See Cjap. 8

What early movie established the basic principles of editing, used innovative camera placement, established the single reel as the standard length of films and established a three-tiered system of production, distribution and exhibition? See Chap. 8

What early movie was three hours in length, was the first American film to be accompanied by an original score, was more expensive than any film to date, and its production time was longer than any film to date ? See Chap. 8

He provided the plan for the film industry’s financial and economic success: Adolph Zukor