1. moving pictures short range apparent motion
(formerly “persistence of vision”)
The way film came about -- For a long long time, people have wanted to make pictures. And for a long time they have wanted them to move. I don’t know why. But thanks to this great human desire, we have film technology.
Early on, people recognized something called “apparent motion” -- that if you put 2 pictures of the same thing next to each other, and flash them one after the other (fix this description), it would appear to be in motion.
See experiment
What this meant for moving images is illustrated by the flipbook -- if you flash a series of images that are closely related, will give illusion of motion.
flipbook

2. victorian toys thaumatrope zoetrope
This led to a bunch of experiments and games -- tarumatrope, zooetrope, etc.
Thing to notice with the zoetrope is that when you don’t have the interval of black, just looks like mush. Important for development motion picture technology because the interval is black is what makes the illusion of motion possible -- allows your eye to isolate the frame. So instead of a blur you see one image flashed quickly after another almost identical image. (hold that thought because it relates to the shutter on a projector)
zoetrope

3. Photography - wet plate process1850's
Tin Type
At the same time, people were trying to capture images that were more realistic than painting or drawing.
In the late 1830’s the development of a science of chemistry meant that inventors in England and France were able to use the properties of SILVER NITRATE to create images with light.
calotypes, daguerrotypes. Couldn’t reproduce things in motion photographically because of long development time.
Ambrotype

4. Eadweard Muybridge 1872
Forefathers of cinema -- interested in scientistic questions. Eadward Muybridge in California invented a special high-speed shutter and a system of multiple cameras with strings that the horse would trip while galloping. To settle a bet about whether a horse’s feet come off the ground when galloping. Explain how he did it.
Considered a forefather of film even though he did it with multiple cameras.

5. Edison’s Kinetograph (1891)
first movie cameras
Edison’s Kinetograph (1891)
Black Maria, edison (invented electric lightbulb) -- kinetograph patent filed in 1891 (35mm)
France -- Lumiere brothers, already involved in photography business (check barnouw for details on both of these)
After this show “pioneers of cinema clip
Differences between lumiere and edison cameras --
How did they look in general, compared to today?
Lumieres’ Cinematographe (1895)
L'arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat 19

6. qualities of early film
black and white
silent
grainy
flicker
short
square
available light
Brainstorm how it looks different from today before putting up answers

7. how film projectors work

8. resolution

9. aspect ratio Width divided by height -- expressed as a ratio
2nd 2 are widescreen formats. Designed to compete with TV.
What is enabled by each?
Need to explain anamorphic as squeezed then unsqueezed?

10. some aspect ratios

11. “letterboxing”
What happens when you try to play a widescreen film on 4:3 TV -- hopefully letterboxing. With hidef (16 x 9 or 1.77:1)

12. “pan and scan” From Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, MGM, 1954.
An example of this is seen in the film Jaws, with the sight of the shark being seen approaching for several seconds more in the widescreen version than in the pan-and-scan version.

13. frame rate flip book = 10 fps early film cameras = 16 fps
modern cameras = 24 fps
video = 30 fps (NTSC)
Flicker effect of slower transport speeds. Why we call movies “flicks”.