film history

1. Task 1
Dennis kaantharasan

2. Task 1a
– Early cinema and the lumiere brothers: early cinema had
no editing, looked at actual events, had no narrative, and
used a continuous shot. Using stills from the film, write an
analysis of one of the lumiere films which illustrates these
features.

3. The first movie ever made in
history 1896 by "The Lumière
brothers"
– This is a very famous film, the first ever moving imagine
production. The film was first displayed at grand café in
Paris on December 28 1895. It showed workers leaving the
lumiere factory. The movie is called ‘arrival of a train at LA
Ciotat’.

4. No editing
– This film of the Lumière brothers had no editing what so
ever. It is very old and if we were to watch it now we will
get board of it and wont like it. But back then it was very
interesting and fascinating because it was the first film and
no human has see it yet and the audience was to
interested in the movie the got scared when they saw the
train because they thought it was real. After the first film
there ended up being a lot of early editing like fade in &
fade out, overlapping dissolves and stop motion
photography.

5. Actual events
– The film is an over all 45 second long film which first
started of as a train from 1895 arriving to the train station.
Then the train stopped and had passengers leaving train
and getting on to the train. This short film was the first film
and had no editing what so ever and its was a very
interesting film for the early viewers.

6. No narrative
– The film had no narrative at all and could not hear the
people that were in the film speaking, shouting etc. there
was no sound but when it was played in the theatre there
was a man playing the piano

7. The jump shot
– Georges Melies was one of the audiences that was there,
but he wanted to buy camera and try this by himself. When
he did it he recorded a bus then his camera jammed and
when it stared working again their was a hares, so the
jump cut was invited and by accident.

8. Task 1b
– Pioneers of film editing technique and style: Using stills
from the film, analyse the surreal (special effects) editing
and in camera editing in Melies’ (1902) “A Trip to The
Moon”.

9. A Trip to the Moon (1902)
– This is a very famous film because it was one of the first
films to have loads of editing techniques. There was never
once where the camera was moved. The movie was shot
by Edwin S. porter. It was first shown at koster & bails. The
film was an internationally popular success on its release,
and was extensively pirated by other studios, especially in
the United States. Its unusual length, lavish production
values, innovative special effects, and emphasis on
storytelling were markedly influential on other film-makers
and ultimately on the development of narrative film as a
whole.

10. Editing
– Few minutes into the film there was a group of people on
the right hand side holding some sort of trophies look-a-
like object. Then once they all lift it up in the air at the
same time it changes in too a stool; with a quick flash.
– When the rocket hits the moon, they used the jump shot
top create the effect that they rocket hit the moons eye.

11. Actual events
– At a meeting of the Astronomic Club, its president,
Professor Barbenfouillis, proposes a trip to the Moon. After
addressing some dissent, five other brave astronomers—
Nostradamus, Alcofrisbas, Omega, Micromegas, and
Parafaragaramus—agree to the plan. They build a space
capsule in the shape of a bullet, and a huge cannon to
shoot it into space. The astronomers embark and their
capsule is fired from the cannon with the help of
"marines", most of whom are played by a bevy of young
women in sailors' outfits. The Man in the Moon watches
the capsule as it approaches, and it hits him in the eye.

12. Narrative
– In the film there was no narrative there was just a piano
playing in the theatre with its drop effects when every time
something tragic happens.

13. Task 1c
– Pioneers: Using stills from the film, analyse the continuity
editing and workbench cutting (Moviola) in Porter’s (1903)
“The Great Train Robbery”.

14. The Great Train Robbery
– The Great Train Robbery was the robbery of substantial
sums of money from a Royal Mail train heading between
Glasgow and London in the early hours of Thursday 8
August 1963 at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn near
Mentmore in Buckinghamshire, England.

15. Editing
– In this film there was several scene to scene editing. Even
though this is very common and normal it was something
quite special back then.

16. Narrative
– In this film there was narrative as far as I know there was
just a classic piano playing.
– The piano was playing at a speed where the movement of
the actors matched the sound/music.