A BRIEF HISTORY AND OVERVIEWFilm as . . .

Film as . . . 1. ScienceA scientific/medical experiment (and extension of still photography; DaVincis camera obscura, c. 1500; Louis Daguerre/daguerrotypes, c. 1840)

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

Daguerreotype ofEdgar Allan Poe 1848

Civil War photography by Matthew Brady

Film as . . . 1. SciencePersistence of vision (Roget, etc., 1820s)Exercises:Look at the light, and then close your eyes. . . Try to pan across the room. . .

Peter Mark Rogets essay on persistence of vision (1824, England)

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

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)

Thaumatrope in action found at

(http://youtube.com/watch?v=dol1xOW_Qzk)

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

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

Magic Lantern Animations

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

Eadweard Muybridge

Film as . . . 2. Information vs. 3. Art2.InformationDocumentationNewsVS.

3.ArtSelf-expressionCreativityFilmmaker as auteurEuropean

Film as . . . 2. Information vs. 3. ArtFrom the very beginning, filmmakers differentiated themselves:

Information/Documentation vs. Art/Self-expressionLumiere Bros. vs. Georges Melies [realism] [formalism/expressionism]

Louis & Auguste LumiereBelow: Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1895)

Lets watch a few Lumiere films from the late 1800s

Georges MeliesBelow: A Trip to the Moon (1902)

Lets 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)

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 itselfNarrow 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 filmNarrow 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?)

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

Thomas Alva EdisonBelow: William K. L. Dickson

Kinetoscope parlors

The Black Maria

Nickelodeons

Film as . . . 4. CommerceThe U.S. Studio System: Movie mogulsA homogenous group

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

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

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

PRODUCTION

DISTRIBUTION

EXHIBITION

Film as . . . 4. Commerce Competition with other media, other forms of entertainmente.g., SoundACDrive-ins3DWidescreen technologiesWilliam Castle gimmicksColorSpecial effects3D revival4D

Film as . . . 5. A Social ForceNational 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 Riefenstahls Triumph of the Will)Direct assumption that films can change minds

Film as . . . 5. A Social ForceA moral influence. . . Examples of evidence: Payne Fund studiesset of 1930s studies that examined content and effects of movies on national morals (possible impact on the young)

Censorship/self-censorshipHays 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)

Fatty Arbuckle1921the Virginia Rappe case1922establishment of the Hay Office

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