History of Film

The French physiologist Étienne-Jules Marey was the first person to take a
series of photos with one instrument in 1882. He
invented the chronophotographic gun this was a
camera that was shaped like a gun it recorded 12
photos a second which was very impressive at the
time. It was used to study the movements of birds.
After being taken the images where printed onto a
rotating glass plate later paper roll film.
In 1887 in Newark, New Jersey a man names
Hanibal Goodwin created an idea where he used
celluloid as a base for photographs. George
Eastman started manufracturing celluload roll film
in 1889 in New York. This celluloid film was very
flexible and durable recording medium.
After the film was created it opened a new
possibility for a motion picture camera to be
invented. This device was created by French inventor Louis Le Price in the late
1880s. He shot films in Leeds, England, in 1888 and the following year he
started using the new celluloid film. He then disappeared while traveling in
France. His contribution to cinema remained unknown for decades. Instead it
was William Kennedy, Laurie Dickson working in the laboratories of the Edison
Company, who created what was widely regarded as the first motion picture
camera.
Thomas Alva Edison invented the phonograph in 1877, this
became the most popular home entertainment device of
the century. Edison commissioned Dickson a laboratory
assistant to invent motion picture camera in 1888.
Dickson’s camera, the
kinetograph, imprinted 15
metres of celluloid film at
the rate of 40 frames per
second. This device could only be seen by one
person at a time through a peep hole, it was
later developed to be projected.
The first to show moving pictures to a paying audience were the Lumiere
Brothers in December 1895 in Paris. The films were very short, with no
synchronised dialogue. By 1914 there were lots of new film industries around
the world. The films became a lot better by having a narrative. More and more
people began to pay to see movies the industry grew, and people put more
and more money into their productions, cinemas and large studies were built.
In these films the Lumiere
brothers showed everyday
scenarios such as a baby’s
breakfast, horse trick riders,
arrival of a train at a station and
lots more, and these films where
very basic and didn’t have a
narrative. They were shown in
the grand café, Paris to 33
spectators.

Once these films where shown George

Melies saw further possibilities, he
required a camera and started building
different sets, writing scripts and casting
actors to film stories. He also discovered
the basic camera tricks: stop motion,
dissolve, fade-out, superimposition, and
double exposure. From 1899 to 1912 he
created over 400 films one of them
being a trip to the moon in 1902 which
had lots illusion and good effects which
helped the industry grow to what it is
now. It never occurred to him to use close ups or long shots of the characters
he always had the camera in a still position. The commercial growth of the
industry forced him out of business in 1913, and he died in poverty.
By 1906 colour was added to black and white productions through tinting,
toning and stencilling. The early technicolour in 1915 was very expensive so
colour was not widely used until 1932 when they had the three-colour process.
What’s changed?
In films now there are much shorter shots. In 1930 the average length of a shot
was 12 seconds; the average length today is only 2.5 seconds. This may be due
to attention spans as it is normal to lose concentration easily. Moreover, each
new shot requires the audience to focus again so it keeps them engaged.
There is also lots more action in films now filmmakers create lots of suspense
and tension so your adrenaline is pumping to match what you are seeing on
screen, this makes you much more intrigued and will keep you watching it to
see what will happen.
Also, there has been a big change in lighting as there is much more technology
in the lighting they use and the effects they can do. Movies today are shot will
much less light then older films. Bright lights have stayed the same but dark
lights have gotten much lighter, filmmakers use this to control where the
audience looks and what they see. It also helps the realism of it and can help to
create a better atmosphere to suit the production.
You can now watch movies on smartphones, tablets, and computers and steam
them platforms such as Netflix. This is a big change in the industry as you can
now watch movies anywhere making them a lot more accessible.
Citizen Kane

How cinema changed because of

Citizen Kane, lots of movies pay
homage to the film by copying
scene or shots creates in the film.
It was one of the first films to
have a non-linear narrative which
was ground-breaking and had
never really been done before.
The film also used lighting very
well, in most Hollywood films
before light was very important
and needed to light up the character and make them visible. In Citizen Kane
they used light to create meaning, this influenced lots of productions after it
had been done. Also, he used deep focus very well as in most films shallow
focus was mainly used (where the character is in focus and the background is
not). This was very important in the film as the mise-en-scene was just as
important as the characters. There was also camera placement, in most classic
films the camera angles were mostly an invisible spectator, in the film he
offered you impossible viewpoints by placing the camera below the floor. He
also used wide shots and long continuous takes instead of back and forward
close ups, instead of cutting in between shots he moved the camera in one
continuous take, you see this all the time in films but without Citizen Kane no
one would be doing it.
Fight Club

Fight club changed film forever, it was very popular due to its twist ending as it
shocked a lot of the viewers and kept the film relevant for years. When it
premiered it didn't get a very good response but gained lots of recognition
later. Another important thing they included was the realistic sound effects,
before this fight scenes included very fake and non-realistic sound effects
making it more Tom and Jerry style. In fight club they made sure there sounds
where realistic by testing out different ways finding the perfect sound, this
made the fight scenes seem a lot more real and gruesome.
George Méliès
When the first movies, made by the Lumière brothers, were shown in Paris in
1895, Méliès a professional magician and manager-director of the Théâtre
Robert-Houdin was among the spectators. The scenes where only things
captured in real life, Méliès looked into it further and thought of more
possibilities, he got a camera, made a studio in Paris, wrote scripts, designed
ingenious sets, and used actors to film stories. He discovered the basic camera
tricks: stop motion, slow motion, dissolve, fade-out, superimposition, and
double exposure.
Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock, born August 13, 1899, London, England—died April 29, 1980,
Bel Air, California, U.S.), He was a Film director and helped develop the film
scene by films such as Physco and the birds. His use of sound was very
important and helped to build suspense, this had been done but Hitchcock did
this much better by synchronising the sound. He had visual storytelling as he
started off as a silent film maker so was always trying to include things that
helped the audience understand the characters and storyline which he kept
throughout his time in film. This also links to his great mise-en-scene he uses
this to create suspense, curiosity and to help the audience understand the
characters. He also had very interesting script writing which normally included
a psychological character which make the film much more exciting and
interesting. He made sure the actors where up to scratch, he was very
particular and didn’t let them have much input at all, so they had to do
everything exactly how he wanted, he is also known for using the same actors
frequently. Camera movement was also very important as Hitchcock thought
the camera should have human qualities, he used this by panning around
rooms and showing close ups of different objects. This helps the audience
understand certain plots also makes the audience feel like they are involved
and make them want to work out what is happens. Moreover, he used
contrasting situations, he did this to help build suspense. When the audience
are focusing on one situation that is building suspense, he often throws in
another non-related situation to throw the audience off. This works very well
and helps to throw the audience off and create suspense.
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