1. History of Film Beginnings to 1941

2. First Photographs of Motion *1877 and 1878 by Eadweard Muybridge, a British photographer working in California who photographed a running horse by setting up a row of cameras with strings attached to their shutters. When the horse ran by, it broke each string, tripping the shutters.running horse

3. Thomas Edison Company displayed the first commercial motion picture machine, the kinetoscope, at the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893 An individual would look through a peephole in a cabinet and watch the film

4. Lumiere Brothers Held first public screening of projected motion pictures on Dec., 28, 1895, in a Paris cafefirst public screening

5. Early Motion Pictures Re-created news events and dramatized folk tales No soundtrack but sometimes accompanied by live music, lectures, off-screen actors speaking dialogue, and later printed titles Dominated by Edison’s company

6. Edwin S. Porter Leader in shifting film production from current events toward storytelling Porter’s The Great Train Robbery portrayed a train robbery and the pursuit and capture of the robbersThe Great Train Robbery Only 11 minutes long but a huge hit

7. The Nickelodeon Theater Thousands opened in American cities beginning 1905 Small stores became Nickelodeons by adding a screen and folding chairs Admission $.05 Attracted new audience for movies & laid the foundation for the movie industry

9. The Birth of Hollywood Filmmakers drawn to Southern California because the climate is suitable for year-round shooting (average low 57; high 75; 15” rain annually) and the availability of varied scenery

10. After World War I ended in 1918, American movies became dominant worldwideWorld War I

11. DW Griffith – most influential film director of Hollywood’s early years

12. Set the “Hollywood Standard” for film making Brought wider appreciation to movies as art and attracted more educated and wealthier audiences 1 st to shoot scenes from different angles and distances and edit the shots together into 1 scene 1 st to include action from multiple locations within 1 film Invented the close-up shot The Birth of a Nation = his most famous film The Birth of a Nation

13. Movies Become Big Business “Star System” – publicizing performers became the most effective means of promoting movies and attracting audiences

14. Vertical Integration Movie studios owned production facilities, distribution channels, and movie theaters, giving them control of all elements of movie making Allowed them to make LOTS of movies but in familiar, repeatable genres (specific types) ex: Western, Screwball Comedy, Musical, Gangster Picture, Horror

15. The Movies Talk The Jazz Singer (1927) = first popular movie with sound (sound recorded on a record mechanically synched with the film; by 1929, sound recorded directly on the film strip using electronic signals) The Jazz Singer Disney’s Steamboat Willie (1928) = first animated short film to use synchronized soundSteamboat Willie Some stars were able to transition to sound, but others weren’t

16. Movies in the 1930’s Hits in all major genres Hollywood’s prewar period ended with 2 celebrated films:

17. Gone With the Wind (1939) American Civil War drama and rocky love story of Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler Starring Vivian Leigh as Scarlett and Clark Gable as Rhett Butler Famous line spoken by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler (to Vivian Leigh’s Scarlett): “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

18. Citizen Kane Citizen Kane (1941) Story of a powerful American newspaper publisher Produced, directed, and starring Orson Welles, who experimented with startling camera angles and dramatic lighting, resulting in brilliant photography that helped make Citizen Kane one of the most honored films in American film history