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Film as . . .

Film as . . . . A Brief History and Overview. Film as . . . 1. Science. A scientific/medical experiment (and extension of still photography; DaVinci’s camera obscura, c. 1500; Louis Daguerre/daguerrotypes, c. 1840). Film as . . . 1. Science.

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Film as . . .

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  1. Film as . . . A Brief History and Overview

  2. Film as . . . 1. Science • A scientific/medical experiment (and extension of still photography; DaVinci’s camera obscura, c. 1500; Louis Daguerre/daguerrotypes, c. 1840)

  3. Film as . . . 1. Science How a camera obscuraworks (Leonardo DaVinci and beyond)

  4. Daguerreotype of Edgar Allan Poe 1848

  5. Civil War photography by Matthew Brady

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

  7. Peter Mark Roget’s essay on persistence of vision (1824, England)

  8. Film as . . . 1. Science • Persistence of Vision devices: Thaumatrope, Zoetrope, Magic Lantern shows (1830s)

  9. 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)

  10. Thaumatrope in action found at (http://youtube.com/watch?v=dol1xOW_Qzk)

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

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

  13. Magic Lantern Animations

  14. Film as . . . 1. Science • Eadweard Muybridge, Cal. Gov. Stanford, $25,000 & a running horse (1877)

  15. Eadweard Muybridge

  16. Film as . . . 2. Information vs. 3. Art 2. Information • Documentation • News VS. 3. Art • Self-expression • Creativity • Filmmaker as auteur • “European”

  17. Film as . . . 2. Information vs. 3. Art • From the very beginning, filmmakers differentiated themselves: • Information/Documentation vs. Art/Self-expression • Lumiere Bros. vs. Georges Melies <------------------------------------------------------> [realism] [formalism/expressionism]

  18. Louis & Auguste Lumiere • Below: Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1895)

  19. Let’s watch a few Lumiere films from the late 1800’s

  20. Georges Melies • Below: A Trip to the Moon (1902)

  21. Let’s 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)

  22. 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 itself • Narrow 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 film • Narrow 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?)

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

  24. Thomas Alva Edison • Below: William K. L. Dickson

  25. Kinetoscope parlors

  26. The Black Maria

  27. Nickelodeons

  28. Film as . . . 4. Commerce • The U.S. Studio System: Movie moguls • A homogenous group

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

  30. Film as . . . 4. Commerce • The U.S. Studio System: Production/Distribution/Exhibition (Vertical integration)

  31. Film as . . . 4. Commerce • The U.S. Studio System: Production/Distribution/Exhibition (Vertical integration) • PRODUCTION • DISTRIBUTION • EXHIBITION

  32. Film as . . . 4. Commerce • Competition with other media, other forms of entertainment—e.g., • Sound • AC • Drive-ins • 3D • Widescreen technologies • William Castle gimmicks • Color • Special effects • 3D revival • 4D

  33. Film as . . . 5. A Social Force • National 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 Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will) • Direct assumption that films can change minds

  34. Film as . . . 5. A Social Force • A moral influence. . . Examples of evidence: • Payne Fund studies—set of 1930s studies that examined content and effects of movies on national morals (possible impact on the young) • Censorship/self-censorship—Hays 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)

  35. Fatty Arbuckle 1921—the Virginia Rappe case 1922—establishment of the Hay Office

  36. end

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