1.5_MovieHistory

Objective:

As a TGV
40/4M student,

you must
create a
PowerPoint or
Pages Movie
history project

Movie History

AS a TGV4M student you must:

  Pick a Movie history topic
  Research your topic

(Use Internet, Digital Overdrive, books, video, etc)
  Create a WEB graphic organizer to develop sub-topics

(including an Introduction & conclusion)
  Research your topic according to your sub topics
  Create a PowerPoint slide show that follows your WEB (quote

sources, add relevant pictures, information, etc Do not
plagiarize)
  Record (copy) your sources & create a Source (last) page!
  Present your project to the class

Example: Studio System

800 films in

1920 **

Emergence of Pre- 1940’s Star System:
Sound* Hollywood
Douglas Fairbanks
SUB TOPICS: Get
Buster Keaton
Charlie Chaplin

help if you don’t
know

First 2 Feature Films Famous Directors

DW Griffiths 1) Eric Von Stroheim

Birth of a Nation (1915)

Intolerance (1916)

*Classification may be required

*Sound helps establish
GENRES

(plots become more
complicated)

1st Musical 2nd SUSPENSE/Drama 3rd HORROR
- Jazz Singer (1927) -Blackmail (1929) -Frankenstein (1931)

**Studio System

  Explain how the system became established
  How did the system benefit movie production?
  What happened with the license to film?
  What were some of the negative effects?

Why is Movie history important?

 It gives us cultural perspective
 It gives us critical insight into the development

of camera technology, story-telling, editing,
SPFX, movie business, audience expectations,
etc
 To be a good videographer, film student or
editor, you should know a little about film
traditions, the evolution of film genres, past
popular stories, technical innovations, etc
 It is full of fascinating stories

Movie History

Now for a concise Overview
(pay attention– you want to
Pick your topic!)

Plays and dances had elements common to films- scripts, sets, lighting,
costumes, production, direction, actors, audiences, storyboards, and
scores. They preceded film by thousands of years

Introduction

  Silent Era (1900’s the birth of cinema)
*Noted for Star system: famous actor/directors

  Sound Era (1930-1960)
*The evolution of genres & Studio system evolves

  Post Classical Era produces Auteur Style directors (1970- 1980)
*Noted for directors’ personal visions & creative insights – sex, drugs,
“taboo__” eg “West Side Story”

  Blockbuster/Sequel Era (1980-1990)

  Independent Film Era (1995-present)

Silent Era 1900’s the birth of cinema

  1895 - Lumiere brothers create the “Cinematographe” which
used a projector to show “Workers Leaving the factory” birth
of cinema

  1896 – Thomas Edison projects 1st film in North America

  1902 - “A Trip to the Moon” George Melies uses stop motion
and other SPFX that were advanced for his time

  1909 – 9000 movie cinemas (show 10-12 minute films) and
many film genres emerge

  1912 – Universal Studios: Hollywood dominates with DW
Griffith, Cecile B DeMille, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks,
Mary Pickford

Silent Era

1895 - Auguste and Louis Lumière

 It all began in 1895 when the Lumiere brothers shot
“Workers leaving the Lumiere factory”

 Unfortunately: They thought that “Film was an
invention without a future,” and gave it up for colour
still photograph

Silent Era

1896 – Thomas Edison

  Thomas Edison hires WKL Dickson (below)
to create the first movie camera

  W K L Dickson creates the
Kinetograph and Kinetoscope to
watch a movie using Kodak film
(1893)

35 mm filmstrip
of the Edison

production Butterfly
Dance (ca. 1894–95),

featuring Annabelle
Whitford Moore,

Visit link to see this Interior view of
Film:
Kinetoscope
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumi%C3%A8re
with peephole
viewer at top of
cabinet NOTE:
Only 1 person can
watch this!

Silent Era

Only One person at a time can view the Kinetoscope!

 In 1888 Roundhay Garden
Scene (2 sec) first movie

 The first movie projector
invented by C F Jenkins &
R W Paul in 1894

 In 1895 the Lumiere brothers
projected 12 short films in
Paris (including the
“Workers…”)

Silent Era

Cinematographe

 Note Lumiere could
record, develop
and show his film on
this one machine!

Silent Era

1896 - At Edison’s “Black Maria”

French Movies (after Lumiere’s)

Silent Era

  By 1898 Georges Méliès was
the largest producer of
fiction films in France, and
from this point onwards his
output was almost entirely
films featuring trick effects,
which were very successful in
all markets.

  The special popularity of his
longer films, which were
several minutes long from
1899 onwards (while most
other films were still only a
minute long), led other
makers to start producing
longer films.

Silent Era

1905 - Edwin S Porter

  In 1905, Edwin Porter made How Jones Lost His Roll, The Whole
Dam Family and the Dam Dog.

  Both of these films had inter-titles which were formed by the
letters moving into place from a random scattering to form the
words of the titles.

  This was done by exposing the film one frame at a time, and
moving the letters a little bit towards their final position between
each exposure. This is what has come to be called “single frame
animation”

Silent Era

Like George Melies…

  Edwin Porter continued the idea of “Continuity” -that one
scene led to the next

  He also put cross-dissolve transitions from 1 scene to the next.
  1905 “Great Train Robbery” The one-reel film, with a running

time of twelve minutes, was assembled in twenty separate
shots, along with a startling close-up of a bandit firing at the
camera.
  A shot in production, defined by the beginning and end of a
capturing process, is equivalent to a clip in editing, defined as
the continuous footage between two edits

Silent Era

1912 - Hollywood

DW Griffith
  1915 “Birth of a Nation” uses 12 different

Reverse-Angle cuts (Action/Reaction)
  1916 Uses Cross-cutting between parallel

action in “Intolerance.”
  Was considered the leader in creating film as

art for his editing techniques, action and
story-telling (content- themes)

Sound Era (1930-1960)

The evolution of genres & Studio system evolves

  Experimentation with sound film technology, both for
recording and playback, was virtually constant throughout
the silent era, but the twin problems of accurate
synchronization and sufficient amplification had been
difficult to overcome (Eyman, 1997).

  During late 1927, Warners released The Jazz Singer, which
was mostly silent but contained what is generally regarded
as the first synchronized dialogue (and singing) in a feature
film

Sound Era

  1927 “Jazz Singer” first feature film with sound signals the end of the
Silent Era

  1937 “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” first feature length (1hr
plus) animated film

  1930/40’s- Golden era where genres (horror, action, etc) are
perfected (“Frankenstein” 1931 “King Kong” 1933)

  1941 – “Citizen Kane” Orson Welles creates non-linear story-telling,
layered sounds, low angle shots, etc, that is considered greatest film
of all time

  1950’s – Emergence of FIM THEORY – and innovative European films

  70/80’s – “Star Wars” SPFX prompts sequels, blockbusters, videotape

  90’s-now – Better Sound, Digital Cameras/Editing explode higher
resolution formats and Independent films- give rise to improved
video BETA & VHS formats

Sound Era

1927 - The Jazz Singer

 As conversion of
movie theatres to
sound was still in its
early stages, the film
actually arrived at
many of those
secondary venues in
a silent version

 In 1927 it was a huge
success (like Avatar
today)

Sound Era

1920’s

  Many full-length films were produced during the decade of the
1920s.

  The transition to sound-on-film technology occurred mid-decade
with the talkies developed in 1926-1927, following experimental
techniques begun in the late 1910s.

  With sound, the concept of the musical appeared immediately,
as in The Jazz Singer of 1927, because silent films had been
accompanied by music for years when projected in theaters.

  Also, in 1927, the International Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences was formed. Later, "International" was removed
from the name. Today,
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is most
famous for its annual presentation of The Academy Awards, also
known as the Oscars

Sound Era

Impact of Sound

 Many major silent
filmmakers and actors
were unable to adjust
and found their careers
severely curtailed or
even ended.

 Sound films emphasized
and benefited different
genres more so than
silents did.

 The Musical was born

Sound Era

1929

 In Blackmail, Alfred Hitchcock
both benefited from, and
pushed further, technical
advances in microphones and
cameras, and capabilities for
editing and post-synchronizing
sound (rather than recording all
sound directly at the time of
filming).

Sound Era

1930’s Genres established

  1931 Universal releases Gothic horror Frankenstein and
Dracula

  Merian C Cooper monster film King Kong
  Gangster movies Little Caesar & Public Enemy
  Animation hits Snow White & the Seven Dwarves
  1939- Gone with the Wind & Wizard of Oz

Sound Era

1940’s

  Disney: Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi
  1942: Yankee Doodle Dandee (James Cagney) &

Casablanca (Humphrey Bogart)
  Citizen Kane (Orson Welles)
  It’s a Wonderful Life
  49th Parallel, Went the Day Well?, The Way Ahead all War

propaganda films

Sound Era

1950’s

  Due to the THREAT of TELEVISION studios sought to get audiences
back in cinemas through improved technology (cinemascope,

cinerama-146 degrees, wide-screen format, 3-D)

  BIG Budget productions: The 10 Commandments (56) Ben Hur (59)
20.000 Leagues Under the Sea (54)

  The emergence of SCIENCE FICTION genre (The War of the Worlds,
The Day the Earth stood Still, Them! (56))

  Alfred Hitchcock at the peak of his craft (Dial M for Murder, Rear
Window (56), Vertigo (58))

  FILM THEORY is popularized by published magazines with a new
grammar taken from earlier works of Griffith/Porter/Melies

Sound Era

Mid Century Theorists

  In 1951 Andre Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze &
Jospeh-Marie Lo Duca found “Cahiers du Cinema.”

  Many of the authors become directors with the
guidance of Bazin.

  Above contributors include Jean-Luc Godard &
Francois Truffaut

  Many 1950’s directors influenced by the magazine
start the French New Wave period of films (dismissing
Hollywood conventions for Russian and early theorists,
eg Marxists).

From: Digital Overdrive, Chapter 11, p 146

FILM GRAMMAR

Sound Era

Film Theory’s evolution:

  1911- Riciotto Canudo (Italian) published “The Birth of the
Seventh Art” which proposed that film merged the tangible
arts (sets/props) with performing arts (dance/music) to create
a new art form (film or cinema).

  1920’s – Kuleshov used Marxist film theory & montage (shot of
face- then soup, face-then coffin) to evoke audience
emotions

  1925 – Eisenstein (Russian) used montage/editing to create
“The Battleship Potemkin” which was considered an art film.

  1954 – Truffaut (French New Wave) promotes Auteur theory
(which champions that movies should reflect personal vision of
director)

Sound Era

Film Theory explained

  Formalism: Action/Reaction with seamless flow (How well does the film elements
(shots, music) communicate ideas (not themes))

  Marxist Film Narrative: a MONTAGE of conflicting scenes- ACTION>Clashing shot
of something different> Disjointed flow

  Genre Film Theory: categorizes film by setting, mood, format (Western, Crime,
Science Fiction)

  Apparatus Theory (1970’s): Film reflects society’s dominant ideologies (ways of
thinking)

  Structuralist Film Theory: Film use conventions or codes to convey meaning: how
the shots are put together (Montage)>money>face>money creates a message
– that a person desires money. DW Griffith and Alfred Hitchkock

Sound Era

1960’s

  The decade is known for being prominent in historical drama,
psychological horror, and comedy, as well as the sub-genres of
spy film, sword and sandal, and spaghetti westerns, all peaking
during this decade.

  Historical > The Guns of Navarone (‘61), Lawrence of Arabia
(‘62) & Cleopatra (‘63)

  Psychological Horror: Psycho
  Comedy: The Pink Panther
  Spy film: Bond movies with high tech gadgets
  Spaghetti Westerns: A Few Dollars More

Film Terms:

  MONTAGE: Editing a large # of shots with no intention of
creating a continuous reality

  Narrative: telling a certain story in a particular way

  Film Noir: Filmed with Shadows, darkness, protagonist often
has meaningless victory or dies

  Mis en Scene: how the elements and components in the film
(eg sets, lights, framing) are put together on the film set
(during filming)

Post Classical Auteur Era (1970- 1980)

*personal visions & creative insights – sex, drugs, taboo*

  In cinema all over the world, the seventies brought about vigor
in adventurous, cool and realistic complex narratives with rich
cinematography and elaborate scores

  With young filmmakers taking greater risks and restrictions
regarding language and sexuality lifting, Hollywood produced
some of its most critically acclaimed and financially successful
films since its supposed "golden era."

  A deeply unsettling look at alienation and city life, Taxi Driver
earned international praise, first at the Cannes Film Festival and
then at the Academy Awards

  Mid-70’s blockbusters (large budget/$$ making film) Jaws and
Star Wars appear

Blockbuster Cinema & Sequels Era

(1980’s)

  Big budget (multi-million $) movies like Star Wars, Jaws, Raiders of
the Lost Ark, and Superman produce franchises or Sequels (part 2
of the story)

  Post-apocalyptic Science Fiction like MadMax 2, Blade Runner,
Escape from New York, become popular

  Fantasy: Conan the Barbarian, Dragonslayer & Excalibur,
  Drama: On Golden Pond, The Color Purple, Out of Africa
  Comedies: Ghostbusters (& it’s sequels) outsold all Indiana Jones

films. Spoofs like Airplane! Mock previous disaster films
  Teen Comedies: Animal House, Porky’s, Police Academy
  ACTION: Rocky and Rambo series (sequels)

Independent Films Era (1990’s)

  Thousands of films made
  Rise of the Independent film maker & Independent Film studios

(Miramax, New Line, Lion’s Gate (Canadian))
  CGI- (computer generated imagery) widely used in Terminator

2, Jurassic Park & Forrest Gump, Twister.
  Disney renaissance (The Little Mermaid, Lion King)
  Titanic ($1.9 billion)
  HOME VIDEO almost doubles profits

2000’s

 Film genres not known for their popular appeal
in North America became increasingly
attractive to filmgoers: films in foreign
languages like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,
The Passion of the Christ and
Letters from Iwo Jima

 Documentary films like An Inconvenient Truth,
March of the Penguins, Super Size Me, and
Fahrenheit 9/11, became very successful.

Sources

Wikipedia: General source of great info
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_film
  http://www.haroldlloyd.com/
  Digital Overdrive Chapter 11
  http://www.imdb.com/genre

*Original Powerpoint by James Baldwin (Modified by J. Cripps 2011)