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A BRIEF HISTORY AND OVERVIEW Film as.... Film as... 1. Science A scientific/medical experiment (and extension of still photography; DaVinci’s camera obscura,

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Presentation on theme: "A BRIEF HISTORY AND OVERVIEW Film as.... Film as... 1. Science A scientific/medical experiment (and extension of still photography; DaVinci’s camera obscura,"— Presentation transcript:

1 A BRIEF HISTORY AND OVERVIEW Film as...

2 Film as... 1. Science A scientific/medical experiment (and extension of still photography; DaVinci’s camera obscura, c. 1500; Louis Daguerre/daguerrotypes, c. 1840)

3 How a camera obscura works (Leonardo DaVinci and beyond) Film as... 1. Science

4 Daguerreotype of Edgar Allan Poe 1848

5 Civil War photography by Matthew Brady

6 Film as... 1. Science Persistence of vision (Roget, etc., 1820s)  Exercises:  Look at the light, and then close your eyes...  Try to “pan” across the room...

7 Peter Mark Roget’s essay on persistence of vision (1824, England)

8 Film as... 1. Science Persistence of Vision devices: Thaumatrope, Zoetrope, Magic Lantern shows (1830s)

9 Thaumatrope (from the Greek “wonder turning”) –Dr. John Paris (1825) –spinning disk with complementary drawings on the two sides (e.g., horse + rider = horse with rider; bird + cage = bird in cage)

10 Thaumatrope in action found at (http://youtube.com/watch?v=dol1xOW_Qzk)http://youtube.com/watch?v=dol1xOW_Qzk

11 Zoetrope (from the Greek “wheel of life”) -William George Horner(1834, England)—a revolving drum with hand-drawn stills viewed through slits

12 Magic Lantern -Appeared in early forms as early as late 1600’s -Popular in mid-1800’s, with moving pictures via “dissolving views”

13 Magic Lantern Animations

14 Film as... 1. Science Eadweard Muybridge, Cal. Gov. Stanford, $25,000 & a running horse (1877)

15 Eadweard Muybridge

16 Film as... 2. Information vs. 3. Art 2.Information  Documentation  News VS. 3.Art  Self-expression  Creativity  Filmmaker as auteur  “European”

17 Film as... 2. Information vs. 3. Art From the very beginning, filmmakers differentiated themselves: Information/Documentation vs. Art/Self-expression Lumiere Bros. vs. Georges Melies [realism] [formalism/expressionism]

18 Louis & Auguste Lumiere Below: Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1895)

19 Let’s watch a few Lumiere films from the late 1800’s

20 Georges Melies Below: A Trip to the Moon (1902)

21 Let’s watch a portion of Georges Melies’ A Trip to the Moon (1902); oddly, it is taken from the introduction to the extravaganza film, Around the World in Eighty Days (1956, D: Michael Anderson, P: Michael Todd)

22 Definitions of Realism vs. Formalist/Expressionism (Dennis Giles) Realism:  Broad def. - - the reality outside the camera should be shown with as little distortion as possible; a neutral style that doesn't draw attention to itself  Narrow def. - - in doing the above, you use certain film techniques that minimize interference; deep focus shots, long takes (plan sequence) are used... as little decoupage as possible Formalism/Expressionism:  Broad def. - - you don't try to reproduce the reality of the world, but construct a new reality on film  Narrow def. – you do the above by distorting the image itself, so that the film image is unlike anything one would see in the real world; use of special lenses, filters, lighting, angles, etc. (Digital effects?)

23 Film as... 4. Commerce A very American concept--America entertains the world! Thomas Edison, William Dickson & the Kinetoscope, the Black Maria (1890s), Nickelodeons

24 Thomas Alva Edison Below: William K. L. Dickson

25 Kinetoscope parlors

26 The Black Maria

27 Nickelodeons

28 Film as... 4. Commerce The U.S. Studio System: Movie moguls  A homogenous group

29 MGM--The major studio 1920-50's; had "More Stars Than There Are in Heaven" (many star vehicles produced); Prestige at any cost!

30 Film as... 4. Commerce The U.S. Studio System: Production/Distribution/Exhibition (Vertical integration)

31 Film as... 4. Commerce The U.S. Studio System: Production/Distribution/Exhibition (Vertical integration) PRODUCTION DISTRIBUTION EXHIBITION

32 Film as... 4. Commerce Competition with other media, other forms of entertainment—e.g.,  Sound  AC  Drive-ins  3D  Widescreen technologies  William Castle gimmicks  Color  Special effects  3D revival  4D

33 Film as... 5. A Social Force National cinemas (e.g., Soviet Montage; Francophone African cinema)  Assumption that national control or support is necessary due to power of the moving image Propaganda (e.g., Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will)  Direct assumption that films can change minds

34 Film as... 5. A Social Force A moral influence... Examples of evidence:  Payne Fund studies—set of 1930s studies that examined content and effects of movies on national morals (possible impact on the young)  Censorship/self-censorship—Hays Office & Production Code (1922-45), MPAA ratings (since 1966)  Blacklisting--an assumption that off-screen activities have an influence on on-screen material (e.g., Fatty Arbuckle, Robert Downey, Jr., “Hollywood Ten” during McCarthy era, Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave)

35 Fatty Arbuckle  1921—the Virginia Rappe case  1922—establishment of the Hay Office

36 end


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