The Foundations of Modern Film

1. The Foundations of Modern Film 1908-1919

2. Rapid change in Film • Length of films expanding from 1 reel shorts (12-15 min) to feature films with multiple reels. • Size of movie theaters grew- 1st large movie palace built in 1912 • Actors became stars • Charlie Chaplin • U.S. becomes the dominant center of filmmaking • Especially in Hollywood; cheap land and sunshine • Largely due to WW1

3. D.W. Griffith • Elevated film to a sophisticated art form • Generally regarded as the single most important figure in American film • Acted for Edison and Biograph • Directed his first film for Biograph in 1908 and by the end of the year was doing all of their directing. • By the time he began work on The Birth of a Nation in 1915, he had directed approximately 450 films. • Most 1-reel, but some 2 and 4 reel

4. D.W. Griffith • Explored a wide variety of effects: • Close-ups • Panoramas • Moving camera • Crosscutting

5. Types of cuts • Cut: the connection between two shots. • 3 Principal types: • Narrative cut: vision is focused on different objects or people in a continuous scene. • 2nd type joins different times (flashback or forward) or places. • Crosscut: moves quickly back and forth between two or more related events.

6. D.W. Griffith cont…. • By using crosscutting, Griffith was able to build tension and to show simultaneous action in a way that is not possible on stage. • Worked with a permanent set of actors • Used extensive rehearsal time with actors-unprecedented for his time. • Created a new style of acting suitable for film. • Had a strong music background and worked closely on the composition of original scores for his films.

7. Developments in Film • Organ became the most common movie theater instrument. • The size of musical ensembles in movie theaters tended to expand • Compilation scores became common using 19th century classics • Cue sheets and music anthologies provided help for theater musicians • Original scores created for films

8. Musical Accompaniment • Wurlitzer began producing organs designed for movie theaters • Additions made so the organ could make sound effects like a car horn, telephone or gunshot • Size of theaters increased and became more ornate. • Ensembles increased as well. • By the end of the decade, some theaters had full orchestra ensembles of over 50 musicians.

9. Compilation Scores • 3 Types of music for silent films: • Adaptations of classical works • Arrangements of well-known patriotic, religious, or popular tunes • Newly composed material • Musical scores based largely on borrowed material are considered to be compilation scores. • Pg. 67

10. Cue Sheets and Anthologies • Filmmakers became increasingly concerned with the relationship between music and drama • Began to recognize the need for music to reflect the action. • This led to two things: • Creation of guides to help theater music directors select appropriate music • Composition of new scores for individual films.

11. Cue Sheet • Sheet telling stage musicians what songs were to be played where. • Accompanied a specific film • First appeared in 1909

12. Anthologies • Books of original music written to accompany general moods, settings, or characters. • Example: Agitated music, sad music, happy music, wedding music etc. • Rather than picking random Theater pianists could select passages from an anthology to fit the needs of the film.

13. Original Music Scores • Between 1910 and 1914, over 100 scores can be documented. • Camille Saint-Saëns wrote one of the first completely original film scores for a Paris film. • He was one of France’s most prestigous composers at the time.