Chapter 2: Inventions and Origins

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning Vocabulary Photography Camera Obscura Magic Lantern Pinhole Camera Phenakistoscope / Zoetrope Heliography Daguerreotype Praxinoscope Emulsion Zoopraxiscope Lens Short-range Apparent Motion © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning Vocabulary Shutter Kinetoscope Sprocket Holes Cinematograph Negative Superimposition Base Matte Film Roll Cross-cutting Kinetograph Trim Bins © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning Vocabulary Non-linear Editing Insert Shot Moviola Cutaway Shot flat-bed editing machine Kuleshov Effect Establishing Shot Eyelines Chronophone Reverse shot © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning Objectives Investigate the origins and basic optical principles of motion pictures. Evaluate the effectiveness of visual communication in a variety of moving images. Produce a short motion picture in a collaborative group using visual storytelling. © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning Note Taking Key Vocabulary Key Terms / Previous Vocabulary © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Projecting and Playing with Light Photography Capturing and transferring light to a preserved state Magic Lantern Image projection device that functioned through the use of a light source, such as a candle, a lens and transparent slides Used the 17th – 19th century in Europe and Asia

Projecting and Playing with Light Phenakistoscope (Stroboscope) Invented by Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau Optical toy consisting of a flat disc with images along it edge. The viewer stands in front of a mirror, spins the device, and looks through the holes to see the images performing a simple movement, such as juggling. EXAMPLE: http://www.bekkahwalker.net/MediaArcheology/disks.html © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Projecting and Playing with Light Zoetrope Originally developed in China centuries earlier, William Horner of Europe was given the credit in 1834 This cylinder spins on a base and the viewer looks through holes in its sides to see the moving image of the illustrated band below the slits on the cylinder’s interior

Projecting and Playing with Light Praxinoscope Motion picture device invented by Frenchman Emile Reynaud in 1877 Like the Zoetrope but uses rotating mirrors instead of slits

Projecting and Playing with Light Zoopraxiscope Eadweard Muybridge, 1879: first projected moving images A device that combined elements of the zoetrope and the magic lantern. 14 seconds

Projecting and Playing with Light Short Range Apparent Motion An illusion that allows viewer to perceive still images as moving ones. Used in animation and film. (24 fps) Muybridge 1878 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB2JoM4r8fg#t=25

Cinema of the United States – Zoopraxiscope Eadweard Muybridge (1878) Cinema of the United States – Zoopraxiscope 2:11 minutes

Photography Camera Obscura Ibn al-Haytham of Persia, 11th century Latin: Dark Room. In this enclosed space, light is admitted through a small hole and falls on an opposite wall where the image facing the hole is projected upside down.

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning Photography Pinhole Camera Ibn al-Haytham of Persia, 11th century A box with a hole in one side which acts as a lens to focus the entering light and display image on the box’s back surface, like with camera obscura. © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Camera Obscura & Pinhole Camera 6:43 minutes

Photography Heliography (“sun writing”) First permanent photograph, Niépce 1820’s Process of using a coat of bitumen and lavender oil solution on a stone, metal or glass plate, placing the plate in a camera obscura and exposing it to light for many hours. The plate was then dipped in a lavender oil bath to develop the image. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSyD5-ye1b0#t=28

Heliograph Process 1:08 minutes

Photography: Camera & Film Daguerreotype Louis Daguerre, 1837 Emulsion A mixture of two or more liquids that are normally nonmixable or unblendable Lens A piece or a series of pieces of transparent material, usually glass, that receive and refract light to form an image at a distance behind the lens. Shutter A mechanism that opens and closes to allow light to pass through the lens into the camera and onto the recording surface (such as celluloid film). In motion pictures, the shutter typically opens and closes twenty-four times per second. © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Photography: Camera & Film Sprocket Holes Sprocket holes are the little square holes which run along the top and bottom of a 35mm film. Negative Invented by Fox Talbert In photography, a negative is an image, usually on a strip or sheet of transparent plastic film, in which the lightest areas of the photographed subject appear darkest and the darkest areas appear lightest. Although a different process of creation is used, a film negative has it’s colors inverted also. Base Flexible, sturdy substance typically made of cellulose acetate or polyester, used in the film roll Film roll George Eastman, 1888 Photographic film is a transparent, supple, thin strip material, such as celluloid or polyester, which is coated with a light-sensitive emulsion. The emulsion reacts to light, and when the film is developed it create a negative image that then be reproduced as a paper photograph, motion picture, or other type of viewable copy. With a piece of undeveloped film, the dull side is the emulsion, the shiny side is the base. © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning Photography in Motion Edison Studios & W.K.L. Dickson Kinetograph (1891) Motion picture camera that would record footage Kinetoscope (1891) Viewing apparatus through which a single person could watch a motion picture on a small screen. © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Early Motion Pictures Cinematograph Lumière Brothers Studios Motion picture camera, projector and developer created by the Louis and Auguste Lumière Lumière Brothers Studios First film: Sprinkling the Sprinkler, Arrival of a Train… First silent comedy: "L'arroseur arrose" (1895)

First Silent Comedy: "L'arroseur arrose“ (1895) :44 seconds

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning Early Motion Pictures Georges Méliès Developed and utilized superimposition, matte shots, dissolves, and simple camera movement G.A. Smith Grandma’s Reading Glass (1900) Used close-ups and developed basic POV shots Courtesy Star Film/Photofest © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Further Steps in Narrative Sequences Building Sequences Edwin S. Porter Life of an American Fireman The Great Train Robbery Landmark film: Exploding safe Fight atop a moving train Innocent passenger killed Alice Guy Blaché Use of close-up to build narrative Cross-cutting Used to establish relationships between events, usually simultaneously occurring events Courtesy Photofest © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Editing: Tools and Standard Steps Splicer Trim bin Used to store pieces of film while editing Non-linear Editing Non-destructive editing Viewing systems Moviola (Flat-bed editing machine) First movie editing machine Allows viewing while editing Steps in process Assembly / Rough cut Fine Cut and Final Cut © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Editing: Key Developments Eyeline Invisible line between the eye of a character and what is being seen by that character, including looks between characters Reverse shot A shot taken at the opposite angle of the shot just before it Commonly used in dialogue and action sequences Insert shot A shot of some detail of a scene inserted during editing © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Editing: Key Developments Cutaway shot A shot that cuts away from the main action Used to indicate passage of time, build suspense, show reactions or provide outside information Kuleshov effect Meaning created between shots that is not apparent when they are viewed separately Establishing shot A shot that clearly identifies the location of a scene, usually shown as the first shot of a sequence after a change in location © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning “Silent” Films? Musical accompaniment Piano or organ Small ensembles or orchestras Sound effects Narrators, such as the Benshi The Benshi were Japanese performers who provided narration for both Japanese and Western silent films Sync sound, such as chronophone Chronophone created in 1902 to sync sound to “silent” films © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

The Great Train Robbery (11:52) 1903 Silent Film Landmark film: Exploding safe, Fight atop a moving train, Innocent passenger killed

Writing Assignment: Character Development In non-dialogue sequences or films, characters become alive and understandable to us through their actions and gestures. For this exercise, you will compose character sketches that will be based on the direct physical presence of actors essential for silent films. Next, you will write short, simple scenes that explore physical interactions of each character with their world. © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

PART ONE Writing Assignment: Character Sketches Create three (3) characters Describe the following: (Face, Body and Waking Up) Face How would you describe the eyes? Are there any typical movements or attributes of the character’s face? How is their head usually held? !!!!!!PROOFREAD!!!!!! © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

PART ONE Writing Assignment: Character Sketches Create three (3) characters Describe the following: (Face, Body and Waking Up) Body How does the character’s body move? Is there a particular walk? Typical gestures? Shoulders, elbows, knees and feet are all sources of expressive movement and distillation of character. !!!!!!PROOFREAD!!!!!! © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

PART ONE Writing Assignment: Character Sketches Create three (3) characters Describe the following: (Face, Body and Waking Up) Waking Up Imagine your characters getting up in the morning. Write brief (4 – 6 sentences) paragraphs about each of the character’s first actions of the day. The paragraphs must each begin with the character’s name and use the verb “wants” in the first or second sentence. !!!!!!PROOFREAD!!!!!! © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

PART ONE Writing Assignment: Character Sketches Having problems getting started? Go people watching! Watch your friends, your family and / or strangers and take notes about their face and body. You can make-up their “waking-up” if necessary. © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

PART TWO Writing Assignment: Solo Scenes Now you are going to write a “solo scene” for each one of your characters. The character must be alone or in a situation in which there is no interaction with any other character. Use this writing to explore details of the character and establish physical interactions with the world that surround the character. EXPLAIN THOROUGHLY! DO NOT ASSUME YOUR READER WILL KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT! © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Writing Assignment: Solo Scenes Place, Action Scene Where do you see your character all alone? If one place is quickly obvious to you, write a short description of that place. If not, brainstorm a list of possibilities, writing down any places in which you can imagine this character. Then, select one of the spots and write a brief description (What does it look, sound, smell, feel, taste like?) of that place. !!!!!!PROOFREAD!!!!!! © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Writing Assignment: Solo Scenes Place, Action Scene Describe at least one action that the character can perform. These can be everyday tasks, chores, or activities. Note the details (as many as possible) of any action. !!!!!!PROOFREAD!!!!!! Scene Write a solo scene for the character. Make all descriptions physical – avoid any writing about thoughts of the character. The viewer should be able to get a sense of what is going on WITHOUT the use of dialogue. Only write what you can see! © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning Summary In Chapter 2, you investigated the initial developments of motion picture technology and the communicative discoveries of early filmmakers. You studied devices such as the magic lantern, Kinetoscope, and cinematograph as well as the communicative advances of such filmmakers as Georges Méliès, G.A. Smith, Alice Guy Blaché, and Edwin S. Porter. In the work of this unit, you are exploring the basics of cinematic narrative using visual sequences to articulate your thoughts, stories, and emotions. Like the early filmmakers, you can use sound as an expressive resource as you transmit ideas visually. © 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning