Sign In
Not register? Register Now!
Essay Available:
Pages:
5 pages/β‰ˆ1375 words
Sources:
Check Instructions
Style:
APA
Subject:
History
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
Document:
MS Word
Date:
Total cost:
$ 18
Topic:

First Decades of Film Industry

Essay Instructions:

5 points. In a 5-page essay (1,250 words not counting footnotes or bibliography), discuss what you consider to have been the most influential or important developments in moving pictures from their beginnings in the mid-1890s, to the appearance of talking pictures just before the Wall Street crash in the fall of 1929. You may discuss any aspect you wish, as long as you bring in information learned in this course to demonstrate your knowledge of early film. While this is not a research paper, essays that rely on generalities without relaying specific information will not receive good marks.
The essay is due by Sunday midnight, Sep. 19. Submissions received after this date will incur a deduction for lateness. The final cut-off for late submissions is Thursday midnight, Sep. 23. No submissions will be accepted after this time.
Thomas Edison, first moving pictures: https://drew(dot)kanopy(dot)com/video/edison-invention-movies. Start at 7:20.
Lumiere Brothers first picture shows: https://drew(dot)kanopy(dot)com/video/lumieres-first-picture-shows. The first 4 minutes describe the Cinematographe's design and functioning; start at 4:30 for the clips.
Terms: Eadweard Muybridge and stop-motion photography (zoopraxiscope, 1880); Thomas A. Edison, W.K.L. Dickson and the kinetoscope (1889-1892); the Lumiere Brothers and the Cinematographe (1896).
History of the Motion Picture, Encyclopedia Brittanica
David A. Cook and Robert Sklar, March 2016. This short informative article will give you the basics on the invention and development of moving pictures from the 1880s to the turn of the century. Note the following:
- It was an international movement, and inventors in one country used and improved the inventions of others in other countries.
- It was a business venture from the start-- from the first viewing parlors to the arrival of the first projection theaters.
- The earliest films were actualities, vaudeville acts, and sports sequences: narrative film, that is films that told a story, started appearing around the turn of the century.
Click https://www(dot)britannica(dot)com/art/history-of-the-motion-picture#ref507910 link to open resource.
Charles Musser, "Nationalism and the Beginnings of Cinema: The Lumière Cinématographe in the US, 1896-1897" (1999)
Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, vol. 19, iss. 2 (June 1999). Access through ProQuest: This article discusses the challenge posed by the first successful film projection technology, the Lumière brothers Cinématographe to Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope (peepshow) and Vitascope, Start reading at "Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism Chez Edison."
Click http://search(dot)proquest(dot)com(dot)ezproxy(dot)drew(dot)edu/docview/2047183/fulltext/3564185C54AC4492PQ/14?accountid=10558 link to open resource.
What is the progression in what we call "film" from 1880 to 1900?
Early on, western filmmakers developed two styles that have carried forward to the present (with many many adaptations and evolutions); the first is social realism, and the gangster films we will watch are very linked to this style; the second is the fantastical, imaginary film, exemplified by George Melies's early A Trip to the Moon (1903). Many horror films borrow from the fantastical style.
Over the weekend (for Tuesday's class): Read the Library of Congress (LOC) entry on Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery (1903), and watch the film: https://www(dot)loc(dot)gov/item/00694220. How does Porter use editing to manipulate time, and what camera techniques does he use to generate tension and excitement? Then read about and watch George Melies's A Trip to the Moon (1902). Explore other early films available from the LOC Selections From the National Film Registry: https://www(dot)loc(dot)gov/collections/selections-from-the-national-film-registry/. What did Porter say about Melies? What did both of these early films accomplish?
The Great Train Robbery (1903)-- Library of Congress copy
Edwin Porter's Great Train Robbery is the first "outlaw" film and is noteworthy for its use of crosscutting to tell the story from multiple perspectives and to enhance continuity of action. This copy of the film is historically correct and includes a transcription from the Edison Film catalog.
Here is the copy on the Edison documentary available through Kanopy Video: https://drew(dot)kanopy(dot)com/video/edison-invention-movies. Start at 2:44:17 for the commentary; 2:47:37 for the film.
Click https://www(dot)loc(dot)gov/item/00694220 link to open resource.
For Thursday, Sep. 9: Read the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) entry on D.S. Griffith's Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912), an early gangster film, and then watch the film. Take notes on the film's setting, especially the street scenes. Can you interpret the setting where Griffith's based his film? https://www(dot)moma(dot)org/learn/moma_learning/david-wark-griffith-the-musketeers-of-pig-alley-1912/.
https://www(dot)imdb(dot)com/list/ls097653464/
https://en(dot)wikipedia(dot)org/wiki/Sound_film#Consequences

Essay Sample Content Preview:

First Decades of Film
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Name and Number
Professor’s Name
Assignment Due Date
First Decades of Film
The enthralling movie industry that we know today had its beginnings in the early nineteenth century. This period witnessed advancements in technology that had never been seen before. Photography was invented, and shortly after, the illusion of motion was created by combining different still images. Also, there were individuals studying animal and human locomotion. However, the history presented in this paper begins in the late nineteenth century when silent films first emerged. These silent films were made possible by the invention of the kinetoscope and the art of cinematography. However, it is crucial to note that the history of cinema is complex, and as such, some of the important innovations and developments during this period have been left out. Nonetheless, with the information provided in this paper, one should get a general and specific idea of the most significant developments in the movie industry.
In 1891, Thomas Edison and his assistant invented the kinetoscope (Musser, 1999). In a few years, some changes and advancements led to the creation of the motion picture projector. The kinetoscope was built as a cabinet with a window through which individuals could experience the illusion of a moving image. Like the motion picture projector, the kinetoscope relied on a sequence of images called the celluloid film strip (Crosland, 1918). Once Edison's Kinetoscope gained popularity, his company began installing the machines in amusement parks, hotel lobbies, and penny arcades.
Edison did not secure an international patent for the kinetoscope. As a result, copies began emerging everywhere in Europe. Within a short period, the kinetoscope was the newest form of entertainment (Crosland, 1918). In addition to this, it became a very successful venture for mechanics and inventors who saw an opportunity to make more money by projecting the moving images on a larger screen. Auguste and Louis Lumiere achieved the most success in France after they patented the Cinematographe (Musser, 1999). Unlike the kinetoscope, the Cinematographe was lightweight, therefore enabling filmmakers to take films outdoors. In December 1895, the Lumiere brothers screened their first film, Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory (Lumiere, 1898).
At first, filmmakers such as the Lumiere brothers questioned the future of motion pictures because they depicted everyday life. However, there was an unending demand for their product. Hence, the Lumiere brothers traveled all over Europe and the rest of the world, showing the half-hour screenings they had made (Musser, 1999). At this time, cinema was still in competition with the period's contemporary forms of entertainment, which included circuses, magic shows, vaudeville acts, and theater troupes. Yet, within a short period, cinema quickly supplanted these additional forms of entertainment to become the main attraction. For instance, immediately after the Lumiere brothers held their first commercial screening, other film companies throughout Europe offered movie picture entertainment in vaudeville theaters and music halls (Musser, 19...
Updated on
Get the Whole Paper!
Not exactly what you need?
Do you need a custom essay? Order right now:
Order

πŸ‘€ Other Visitors are Viewing These APA Essay Samples: