Film

Straubhaar & LaRose

History

• 1877: Photographer Eadweard Muybridge performs studies of motion using coordinated still photographs.

• 1888: Thomas Edison invents the motion picture camera in New Jersey.

• 1895: The Lumiere Brothers develop a projection system and premier films in France.

History

• 1902: George Melies produces A Trip to the Moon.

• 1903: Edwin S. Porter produces The Great Train Robbery.

• 1915: Early filmmakers relocated to Hollywood because of taxes levied from the Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC).

• 1915: D.W. Griffith directs Birth of a Nation.

History

• 1927: The first “talkie” film, The Jazz Singer, is released.

• 1930: Introduction of the “Hays Code” censoring movie content.

• 1946: Box office peaks with 90 million in weekly attendance at the movies.

• 1948: Major studios must give up their theater chains.

History

• 1950s: Television competes with film, reducing box office take.

• 1968: The Hays Code is abandoned and the MPAA rating system (G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17) is introduced.

• 1975: Home Box Office (HBO) provides an aftermarket venue for feature films.

• 1977: George Lucas releases Star Wars, innovating visual effects and setting the standard for the “blockbuster” film.

History

• 1977: VHS proliferates as another aftermarket venue for feature films.

• 1995: Toy Story (Lesseter) is released as the first computer-generated film.

• 1997: Titanic (Cameron) becomes the highest grossing box office draw of all time.

• 1997: The DVD is introduced.

Technology

• Motion pictures depend upon the perceptual characteristic known as persistence of vision in which light registers on the retina for an instant after its source is gone.

• There were many early toys, novelties, and attractions that made use of persistence of vision, such as the thaumatrope, zoetrope, mutascope, and kinetoscope.

Technology

• The Edison and Lumiere cameras made use of a strip of film that could be spooled up, exposed to light, processed, and later projected. (The Lumiere camera doubled as a projector.)

• The following slides depict the internal mechanism of the Lumiere camera.

TechnologyInside the camera, we can see the gate through which the film passes when it is exposed .

TechnologyThis is a view behind the lens of the camera, revealing the shutter (the black semicircle) that alternately permits light to strike the surface of the film when it is held steady in the gate of the camera.

Technology

• Early films were rarely (if ever) presented in total silence. Some films were accompanied by orchestras that would play film deliberately selected to correspond to the imagery.

• The first sound film (“talkie”) was The Jazz Singer (1927) because it included singing that was recorded on a phonograph and synchronized to the lip movements of the actor.

Technology

• Modern films make use of many layers of sound that are mixed together and inscribed either directly on the film as a photosensitive “optical track” or on a digital CD recording that is synchronized with the projection.

Technology

• Home theaters have become increasingly commonplace and sophisticated. High definition television provides the increased fidelity, and aspect ratio (screen dimensions) necessary to imitate the movie theater experience. Just as important, surround sound audio immerses the listener in the home-theater environment.

Special Effects

• One of the earliest films to make use of special effects was A Trip to the Moon (Melies, 1902). Using painted backgrounds and stop-motion effects, Melies explored the earliest forms of cinematic trickery.

• The most advanced special effects today are accomplished through computers using 3-D modeling software.

Industry

• The major film studios include:– Columbia– Fox– MGM– Paramount– Universal– Warner Brothers– Buena Vista (Disney)– TriStar (Sony)

Industry

• Beyond the major studios, many independent film companies produce films as well. Some of these find exhibition at festivals like Sundance and distribution through companies like Miramax. The Independent Film Channel (IFC) is a cable channel dedicated to independent cinema.

Industry

• Film is an extremely collaborative medium and, in most cases, requires a strict division of labor. Some of the jobs on a film set include the following (see next slide):

Industry

• Screenwriter: Writes the screenplay or “blueprint” that the film will be based on.

• Producer: Finances the production.• Director: Coordinates the production.• Assistant Director: Works closely with actors.• Director of Photography: Supervises the

lighting and cinematography.• Camera Operator: Operates the camera.

Industry

• Assistant Camera Operator: Loads film, focuses the lens.

• Gaffer: Head electrician responsible for supplying power and lighting equipment.

• Grip: Responsible for handling lights.• Sound Mixer: Responsible for recording sound.• Boom Operator: Responsible for positioning the

microphone.• Marker: Responsible for operating the clap-slate

which synchronizes picture and sound.

Industry

• Script Supervisor: Watches for continuity errors in the production process.

• Editor: Arranges the sound and picture captured during production into the final film.

• Assistant Editor: Logs footage and arranges scene assemblage.