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    Some basic film terms and Portion of a book about the early film industry

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    Some basic film terms and Portion of a book about the early film industry

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    65 views25 pages

    Film Notes 1

    Uploaded by

    qamin80
    Some basic film terms and Portion of a book about the early film industry

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    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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    y SHOT a) one uninterrupted run of the camera to expose a series of frames b) one uninterrupted image with a single static or mobile framing SCENE ‘a segment that takes place in one time and space, or that uses crosscutting (0 show two or more simultaneous actions SEQUENCE moderately large segment/scene involving one complete stretch of action CUT an instantaneous change/transition from one framing to another FRAME a single image on a strip of film FRAME/FRAMING the use of the edges of the frame to select and compose what will appear onscreen EDITING/MONTAGE selecting and joining camera takes, the sct of techniques that governs the relations among, shots ‘LONG TAKE a shot that continues for an unusually lengthy time before the transition to the next shot; average shot length is 6-7 sec. and along take _ is considerably longer than that J #X SUPERIMPOSITION the exposure of more than one image on the same strip of film OPTICAL PRINTING to make special effects. tifles. trick shots etc, ‘on an optical printer av CLOSE-UP a framing in which the scale of the object - shown is relatively large; commonly a person’s head seen from the neck up * EXTREME CLOSE-UP a framing in which the scale of the object shown is very large; commonly a small object or a part of the body e.g. eyes HEAD&SHOULDERS a shot in which the subject is pictured from the shoulders up x CHEST-UP SHOT a shot in which the subject is pictured from the chest-up HALF/MED SHOT a shot in which the subject is pictured from the waist up or down AMERICAN SHOT a shot in which the subject is pictured from the hip or thigh up & DISSOLVE a transition between two shots during which the first image slowly disappears and the second appears: the two briefly blend ina superimposition FADE-IN dark screen that gradually brightens as shot appears FADE-OUT shot gradually darkens to black screen: occasionally, fade-outs brighten to pure white or to a colour INSERT a) a brief shot not directly involved with the action; b) a shot inserted to explain the action c.g. a close-up of a letter etc REVERSE ANGLE a shot which is the exact opposite of the previous one; the camera turns 180 degrees COUNTER SHOT two or more shots edited together that alternate characters; typically in a conversation situation DEPTH OF FIELD the range of distances in front of the lens within which objects can be seen in sharp focus; it is a property of the camera lens Ac DEEP FOCUS the use of the camera lens and lighting that keeps both close and distant planes in sharp focus K DEEP SPACE a term for the way the filmmaker has staged the action on several different planes, regardless of whether or not all of these planes are in focus: it is a property of the mise-en-scene ITALIAN SHOT a shot in which the subject is pictured from the knees up FULL SHOT a head-to-toe shot fx LONG SHOT a framing in which the scale of the object shown is small; commonly, a strect scene ora room ete EXTREME LONG-SHOT in which the scale of the object shown is very small c.g, a landscape or cityscape PAN a camera movement with the camera moving on its axis to the right or left; the camera scans space horizontally SPACE PAN when panning movement does not follow characters or action but exposes empty space TILT the camera moves on its axis to scan space vertically DOLLY/TRAVELLING/ TRACKING in which the actual body of the camera moves through space, ‘dolly’ is also the name for a camera support with wheels ~ HANDHELD/STEADICAM use of the camera operator as camera support, cither holding it by hand or using a stcadicam, a stabilising, allows to become an extension of the jor's body to produce smooth images F.P.S “frames per second’ — denotes various camera speeds; for action to appear ‘normal’ speed-wise, the universal standard speed is 24 fps FAST MOTION action appears to take place faster than normal; the camera speed is set at under 24 fps SLOW MOTION action appears to take place slower than normal; the camera speed is set at over 24 fps IN-FOCUS when outlines of objects/figures in the scene are sharp and textures are distinct OUT-OF-FOCUS when outlines are not sharp and textures are not distinct UNDEREXPOSED when the image is too dark, making the subject hard to discern, either by accident or intention OVEREXPOSED when the image is too bright, either by accident or intention PLANES/GROUNDS the layers of space occupied by persons or objects FOREGROUND the plane/layer of space nearest to/in front of the camera ZOOM a ‘false’ camera movement in which the cainera itself does not move, the movement takes place inside the lens, the image may become smaller or larger, giving an impress- of moving into or out of the scene's space; creates an illusion of movement REFRAMING short panning or tilting movements to adjust for the figures’ movements, keeping them on screen or centred CRANE/BOOM SHOT a shot with a change in framing achieved by having the camera above the ground moving through the air in any direction BOOM the pole on which the microphone is suspended above the scene being filmed HIGH-ANGLE SHOT when the camera is placed higher than the subject, giving a sense of “looking down’ LOW-ANGLE SHOT when the camera is placed lower than the subject, giving a sense of ‘looking up’ OBLIQUE/DUTCH ANGLE in which the frame is not level: either the right or left side of the frame is lower than the other, causing objects to appear slanted; a ‘crooked’ framing ~ NORMAL ANGLE when the camera is level with the subject, whose own level may be high or low: a “straight-ahead” framing POINT-OF-VIEW (SUBJECTIVE) a shot taken with the camera placed approx- mately where the character's eyes would be, showing what he/she would sce BACKGROUND the plane furthest from the camera MIDGROUND the plane situated between the foreground and the background DIEGESIS the world of the film's story; this includes all the action depicted onscreen, as well as events that are presumed to have occurred, and actions and spaces not shown onscreen which are still part of the film’s story PERSISTENCE OF VISION the phenomenon by which an image lingers on the retina for a fraction of a second after the source has vanished; therefore a stream of images of short duration (such as projected frames of film) are seen as a continuous picture without flicker; it is the principle on which filmmaking is based ESTABLISHING SHOT * a shot usually close to the beginning of a scene and involving distant framing, that defines the place, time, and other important elemients of the action WIPE a transition between shots in which a line passes across the screen, eliminating the first shot as it goes and replacing it with the next one JUMP-CUT a cut that appears to be an interruption of a single shot; either the figures seem to change instantly against a constant back- ground, or the background changes instantly while the figures remain'constant CROSSCUTTING editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places, usually simultaneously all the elements placed in front of the camera to be photographed: the settings and props, lighting, costumes and make-up, and figure behavior ‘SYNCH’RONOUS SOUND. the co-ordination of picture and sound; sound that is temporally matched with the ‘movements occuring in the images, as when dialogue corresponds to lip move- ments THE INVENTION AND EARLY YEARS OF THE CINEMA, 1880s—1904 teenth century saw a vast proliferation of visual forms of popular ‘The industrial era offered ways of easily dupli aphs, and cheap fiction. ad working classes of many countries could visit elabor ste hackeropss with tire sional figures: depicting, fae ail events, Cireuses, “freak” shows, amusement parks, and onusie taimment, [i the United States, ing Large: neem tu bers of lantern slides, books of photogs The middle mous histor x provided other forms of itexpensive ent toured, ys we in the: thes Hime existed even in small towns. Theater productions from town to town, howeve Similarly, most people had to travel long distances to visit major dioramas or anuscment parks, In the dys before airplane travel, few could hope to see for themselves the exotic lands they glimpsed in stati view in their stereopticon viewers or in hooks of travel photographs. fori numerors dramatie troupes houses which at thi rand oper Hauling ent was expensive. The cinema was to offer a cheaper way of providing, visual chtertainment te the masses. Actors would be able tu whieh then could easily be shown to audiences around the world. Travelogues: would bring the sights of far-flung places, with movement, directly to spec- Lators’ hometowns. Movies would become the popular visital art form of the is of cord performances late Vietorian age. { SCTE INVENTION AND EARLY YEARS OF THE CINEMA, 18805-1904 spinning dise of jviews through a slot to percei iMlusion of movement. gures which the user the ‘The cinema was invented during the 1890s. It appeared in the wake of | the industrial revolution, as did the telephone (invented in 1876), the phon- | Jograph (1877), and the automobile (developed during the 1880s and 1890s). Like them, it was a technological device that beeame the basis of a large medium. industry. It was also a new form of entertainment and a new ar During the first decade of the cinema’s existence, inventors were working to improve the machines for making and showing films. Filmmakers also had to explore what sorts of i out how to present those images to audiences. ies they could record, and exhibitors had to figure TH INVENTION OF THE CINEMA, complicated medium, and before it could be invented, several et. ‘The cinema technological requirements had to be PRECONDITIONS FOR MOTION PICT URES A | is had to real re that the human eye will perceive motion if a ed before it in rapid succession — First, scien series of slightly different images is pla minimally around sixteen per second. During the nineteenth cent tists explored th ion. A number of optical loys were marketed that gave an illusion of movement by using a smal! number of drawings, each altered somewhat. In 1832, Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau and Austrian geometry profes non Stampler independently created the device that alled the Phenakistoscope (Fig. 1.1). The Zoetrope. invented in 1933, contained ies of drawings on a narrow strip of paper revolving drum (Fig. 1.2). The Zoctrope was widely sold alter 1867, along with other optical toys. Similar principles were later used in films, but in these toys, the same motion vas simply repeated over and over A second technological requirement for the cinema was the capacity to pid series of images on a surface. Since the seventecuth century. and educators had heen using “magic lanterns” to project glass had been no way to fash large numbers of images y. scien- came to he inside a project lantern slides, but the: Hlusion of motion. fast enough to create the A third prerequisite for the invention of the use pliotagraphy to make suece inema was the ability to ve pictures on a clear surface. Th exposure ixteen or more frames in a single time would have to be short enough to tal second. Such techniques came about slowly. miile ona glass plate in 1826 by Claude Niépee ime of eight hours. For years photography was done on glass or metal, without the tise of negatives, so only one copy of each took several minutes each, In 1839, Henry Fox Talbot introduced negatives: made on paper. At about this Same time, it becan ible to print photo- graphio images on glass lantern slides and project them. Not until 1878. however, did split-second exjiosure times hecome feasible. Phe first still photograph was hut it required an exposure nage was possible; expusures © pros Fourth, the cinema would require that photographs be printed on a base flexible enough to be passed through a camera rapidly. Strips or discs of glass could be used, but only a short series of images could be registered on them. In 1888, George Eastman devised a still camera that made photographs on rolls of sensitized paper. This camera, which he named the Kodak, sim- plified photography so that unskilled amateurs could take pictures. The next year Eastman introduced transparent celluloid roll film, creating a break- through in the move toward cinema. ‘The film was intended for still cameras, 1 inventors could use the same flexible material in designing machines to take and project motion pictures (though it was apparently about a year before the stock was improved enough to be practical). Fifth, and finally, experimenters needed to find a suitable intermittent mechanism for their cameras and projectors. A strip of film sliding continu- ously past the gate would create a blur unless the light source was quite dim. The film had to be repeatedly stopped for a split-second exposure and then covered with a shutter as the next frame moved into place. Fortunately, other inventions of the century also needed intermittent mechanisms to stop their ond. For example, the sewing machi md while movement many times per vented in 1846) held cloth s pierced it By the 1890s, existed, The question was, who would bring the necessary elements together ina way that could be successfully exploited on a wide basis? Lill several times per se the technical conditions necessary for the cinema MAJOR PRECURSORS OF MOTION PICTURES Some inventors made important contributions without themselves achieving noving photographic images. Among these men were several interested in analyzing motion. In 1878, photographer Eadweard Muybridge was asked by s-governor of California Leland Stanford to find a way of photographing running horses so as to facilitate the study of their gaits. Muybridge set up a row of twelve cameras, each m exposure in one-thousand Second. The photos {movement (Fig. 1.3). Muybridge later made a Tantern to proje 1g images of horses, but these were drawings copied from his photographs onto a revolving disc. Muybridge did not go on to invent motion pictures, but Meme a aja contribution to anatomical science through the thot notion studies in stil photographs that he made using his mulliple-camera In 1882, inspired by Muybridge’s work, French physiologist Etienne Jules Marey studied the flight of birds and other rapid animal movements by means of a photographic gun. Shaped like a rifle, it exposed twelve images around the edge of a circular glass plate that made a single revolution in one cond. In 1888, Marey built a box-type camera that used an intermittent si hanism to expose a series of photographs on a strip of paper film, at speeds of up to 120 frames per second. Marey was the first to combine flexible film stock and an intermittent mechanism in photographing motion. He was Fig. 1.2 Looking through the slots ina revolving Zoctwpey the ¥ 1 impression of movene GLTNE INVENTION AND FAIRLY YEARS OF THE CINEMA, 1ga0: fos ia io aa Te a In| Fig. 1.3 One of Muybridge’s earliest interested in motion studies, photographed on J 19, 1878. Iyzing movements rather than in reproducing them on a ne period, many sereen, but his work inspired other inventors. During this other scientists used various devices to record and analyze movement. A fascinating and isolated figure in the history of the invention of the cinema was Frenchman Emile Reynaud, In 1877, he had built an_optical # Lraxinoscope This was a spinning drum, rather Tike the put one in which viewers saw the moving images in a series of than through slots. Around 1882, he devised. a way of using misrors and a lantern to project a brief series of drawings on a screen. In 1889, Reynaud exhibited a much larger version of the Praxinoscope. From 1892 on, he regularly gave public 5 hand-painted frames (Vig. 1.4). These were the first public exhibitions of moving images, though the effect ow the screen was jerky and slow. The labor involved in the making of the bands meant that Reynaud’s films could not easily be reproduced, Strips of photographs were more practical, and in 1895 Reynaud started using a camera to make his Praxinoscope films. By 1900 he was out of business, however, due to competition from other, simpler motion- picture projection systems. In despair, he destroyed his machines, though copies have recently been recons d. Another Frenchman came close to inventing the cinema as early as 1888—six years before the first commercial showings of moving photographs. ‘That year, Augustin Le Prince, working in Englund, was able to make some brief films, shot at about sixteen frames per second, using Kodak’s cecent!: introduced paper roll film. To be projected, however, the frames needed to ‘ormances using long, broad strips of ructe: isparent strips licking exible celluloid, Le Prince ap- parently wa factory projector. 1n 1890, while traveling . he disappeared, along with his valise of patent appli that has never been solved. This hi a was never ally and had virtually no impact on the subsequent in- be printed on ar unable to devise a sat ions, in Frane came! creating: a iyste exploited comme ation of the ci AN INTERNATIONAL PROCESS OF INVENTION vis difficult to attribute the invention of the cinema toa sitigle source. There poment when the emerged. Rather, the technology of the bout through an accumulation of contributions. ‘These came primarily from the United States, Germany, England, and France. In 1888, Thomas Edison, already the successful inventor of the phon- aph and theveloctnte Tht bulb, deei ign 2s for making 1 showing moving photographs, Much of the work was done by his assistant, _L. Dickson. Since Fdison’s phonograph worked hy recording sound on ried fruitlessly to make rows of tiny photographs around In 1889, Edison went to Paris and sa: 1s of flexible film. Dickson then obta k and begait working on a new type of mach box (Fig. | iman film int and punched four holes on eithei mera was noone notion picture came Jed to de By 1891, the ) were ready to he strips (roughly 35. millimete gears could pull the film through the hese early decisions influenced the entire history of the THE INVENTION ¢ Fig. 1.4 Using long flexible hands of drawings, Reynaud's Praxinose projected cartoon figures onto ts upon whieh the scenery was printed. Fig. 1.5 The peephole device that ran the fil around a series of rolle putting a coin in a slot. toscope was a WTI INVENTION AND BAT YEARS OF THE CINEMA, 18005-1901 1.6 Edison’s studio was named ater the Idy wagons, or “Black Matias nbled. ‘The slanted portion of the roof opened to admit for filming, and the whole ding revolved on a track to catch the police p that it res optimal sunlight, Fig. 1.7 Amy Muller danced in the Black Maria on March 24, 1896. The black background and patch of sunlight from the opening in the roof were standard traits of Kinetoscope films. ‘Kmuazingly, an original Kineloscope film can be shown ona modern jor.) Initially, however, the film was exposed at about forty-six frames per second—much faster than the average speed later adopted for silent filmmaking ison and Dickson needed films for their machines before they could exploit them commercially. They built a small studio, called the “ Jison's New Jersey laboratory and wer ms lasted onl ” on the grounds of twent: pls from the acts of noted vaudeville and sports figures. sand acrobats’ performed (Fig. 1.7). Annie Oakley displayed her shooting al nda bodybuilder flexed his muscles. A few Kinetoscope shorts yere knockabout kits, forerunners of the story film. ison had exploited his phonograph by leasing it to special phonograph parlors, where the public paid a nickel to hear records through earphones. (Only in 1895 did phonographs become available for home use.) He did the same with the Kinetoscope. On April 14, 1894, the first Kinetoscope parlor opened in New York. Soon other parlors, both in the United States and abroad, exhibited the machines (Fig. 1.8). For about wo years the Kinetoscope was highly profitable, but it was ed when other inventors, inspired by Edi- son's new device, found ways to project films on. a screen. ly s ing and projecting films was invented by Max and Emil Skladanowsky. Their Bioscop held two strips of film, each 3% inches wide, runnigg side by side; frames of each were projected aller- nately..'The Skladanowsky brothers showed a fifteen-minute program at a large vaudeville theater in Berlin on November 1, 1895—nearly two months Another e: THE INVENTION OF THE CLYEMA 1g. 1.8 A typical entertainment yattor, with phonograph (note the da e famous Lumiére screening at the Grand Café. The Bioscop system was too cumbersome, however, and the Skludanowskys eventually adopted TS Francia Dou the standard 35mm, single~ + influential invento: eprcaa ives wie rope through 1897, but they did not establish a stable showing and making films production company. Z 1890s, posing with his Ci ‘The Lumiere brothers, Louis and Auguste, invented a before tl was small and portal rip film used by mor brothers toured E that helped make the cinema a mercially viable enterprise inter ally. Their family was the biggest European manufacturer of photographic! plates, In 1894, a local Kinetoscope exhibitor asked them to make films that would be cheaper than the ones sold by Edison, Soon they had designed an elegant little camera, inématographe, which used 35mm filma intermittent mechanism modeled on that of the sewing machine (Fig, 1.9). ‘The camera could serve as a printer when the positive copies were made. Then, mounted in front of a magic lantern, it formed part of the projector as well One important decision that the Lumieres made was to shoot their films aiher than the forty-six frames per second toed by Edison); this rate became the standard international average film speed for ahout twenty-five years. The first | The first film made with this sysiem was Horkers Leaving the Factaraapparently shot in March 1895 (Fig. 1.10). It was shown in public at a meeting of the Sadjété d'Encouragement a Industrie Nationale in Paris on March 22. Six further showings to scientific and com- mercial groups followed, including additional films shot by Loui He Oe c 7 film, Workers Leaving the Factory, On December 28, 1895, one of the most famous film screeiings in ee te mutile thei history took plaoe. The Tocation was a room in the Grand Café in Paris. In Thotographie factory, It enbeatied the those days, cafés were gathering spots where people sipped coffee, rea newspapers, and were entertained by singers and other performers. ‘That realistic n Fig. 1.10 The Lumitre brothers J essential appeal of the first films: rent of actual people * “TOF TIE INVENTION AND EARLY YEARS OF THE CINEMA, 18805-1904 Fig. 1.11 Birt Acres's Rough Sea at Dover, one of the first films projected on a screen in both England and the United States. It showed large waves crashing against a seawall, ‘evening, fashionable patrons paid a franc to see a twenty-five minute ping of ten films, about a minute each: Among the films shown were a cloge vir w of Auguste Lumidré and his wifé foeding their baby, a staged comic scene f a boy stepping on a hose to catise a puzzled gardener to squirt himself (late: named Arroseur arrosé, or “The Waterer Watered”), and a view of the Sea, ——aithoughthe first shows did moderate Business, within weeks the La- \ mires were offering twenty shows a day, with long lines of spectators waiting to get in. They moved quickly to:exploit this success, sending representaliyes all over the world to show and make more short films. ‘Av the same time that the Lumigre brothers were developing their sys- tem, a parallel process of invention was going on in England. The Edison Kinetoscope had premiered in London in October 1894, and the parlor that displayed the machines did so well that'it asked R, W. Paul, a maker of photographic equipment, to make some extra, machines for it. For reasons that are’still not clear, Edison had not patented-the Kinetoscope outside the United States, so Paul was {ree to sell copies to anyone who wanted, them, Since Edison would supply films-only to exhibitors who had leased hig own machines, Paul also had to invent a camera and make films to go with his duplicate Kinetosopes. i ‘ By March 1895, Paul arid-his partner, Birt Acres, had a functional camera, which they based partly on the one Marey had made seven years earlier for analyzing motion. Acrés shot thirteen films during the first half of the year, but the piartnership broke up. Paul went on improving the camera, aiming to serve the Kinetoscope market, while-Acres concentrated on creating a projector. On January 14, 1896, Acrés showed some of his films to the Royal Photographic Society. Aniong these was Rough Sea at Dover (Kig, 1.11), which would become one of the most popular very early films. Seeing such one-shot films of simple actions or landscapes today, we can’hardly grasp how impressive they were to audiences who had never seen moving photographic images. A contemporary review of Acres’s Royal Photographic Society program hints, however, at their appeal: 2 ‘The most succesaful effect, and one which called forth rounds of applause from the usually placid members of the “Royal,” was a reproduction of a number of breaking waves, which may be seen to roll in from the sea, curl over againat a jetty, amt break into clouds of snowy spray that seemed to start from the serecn.! Acres presented other demonstrations, but he did hot attempt to exploit his projector and films systematically. = Projected filma were soon: shown regularly in England, however. ‘The Lumiére brothers sent 9 representative who opened a successful run of the Cinématographe in London on February 20, 1896, about ¢ month after Acres’s first screening, Paul went on improving his camera and invented a projector, which he used in several theaters:to show copies of the films Acres fjud shot the yéar before. Unlike other inventors, Paul sold his machines rather than leasing them. By doing so, he not only speeded up the spread of the film industry in Great Britain but also supplied filmmakers and exhibitors abroad PENTION AND FARLY YEARS OF THE CINEMA, 1880<_ 1905, ctor were wil, employ By 1897, American Mut the most ar film i . That year the firm also begin showing films in penny arcades and other entertainment spots, using the Muto- scope. The simple card holder of the Mutoscope was less likely to break down than was the Kineloscope, and American Mutoscope soon dominated the peepshow side of film exhibition as well. (Some Mutoscopes remained in use for decades.) By 1897, the invention’of the cinema was largely completed. There were two principal means of exhibition: peepshow devices for individual viewers and projection systems for audiences, Typically, projectors used 35mm film with sprocket holes of similar shape and placement, so most films could be shovarion different brands of projector. But what kinds of Mims were being made? Who w: and making them? How and where were people seeing them? ARLY FILMMAKING AND EXHIBITION The cinema may have been an amazing novelty in the 1890s, but it came into heing within a larger and varied context of Vietorian-era leisure-time vities. During the late nineteenth century, many homes had optical toys like Zyctrope, Families often owned stereoscopes, hand-held viewers that ional effects by using rectangular cards with two pho- tographs printed side by side. Sets of cards depicted exotic locales or staged Many middle-class families also owned pianos, around which they «literacy led to the spread of cheap popular fiction. ion of travel ac the created three inn nartaliv gathered to sing. Incre ‘The newfound ability to print photographs led to the publi books that took the reader on vicarious tours of distant land: A great assortment of public entertainments was also available. All but the tiniest towns had theaters, and traveling shows crisscrossed the country. These might be dramatic troupes putting on plays, or lecturers using magic lantern slides to illustrate ,their talks, or even concerts using the newly invented phonograph to bring the sounds of big-city orchestras to a wide public. Vaudeville offered middle-class audiences a variety of acts on a single program, ranging from performing animals to plate-spinning jugglers to slap- stick comedians. Burlesque offered a similar potpourri of acts, though less family-oriented in their vulgar comedy and occasional nudity. People living in large cities also could go to amusement parks, like Coney Island in New York, which offered such attractions as roller coasters and elephant rides. ‘The new medium of film moved smoothly into this spectrum of popul: entertainment. As the early films that we have already mentioned suggest, most subjects were nonfiction, or “actualities.” These might be “scenics,” or short travelogues, offering views of distant lands. News events might be depicted in brief “topicals.” Radio and television journalism was still decades in the future, and even newspapers usually published drawings rather than photographs. ED EARLY FILMMAKING AND EXINNITION/IS In many cases, cinematographers coveré news events in the locations ~ where they occurred. Often, however, filmmakers re-created current events 1 the studio—both to save money and to make up for the fact that cameramen had not been on the scene. In 1898, for example, both American and Buro- pean producers used model ships in miniature landscapes lo ré-creale the sinking of the battleship “Maine” and other key occurrences relating to the Spanish-American War. Audiences probably did not actually believe that these faked scenes were records of real incidents. Instead, they accepted them as representations of those incidents, comparable to engravings in news ag ines. From the beginning, fiction films were also important. ‘Typically these were brief staged scenes. The Lumitres’ Arroseur arrosé, presented in their first program in 1895, showed a boy trickingéa gurdener by stepping on his hose, Such simple jokes formed a major genréof early filmmaking. Some of these fiction films were shot outdoors, but simple painted hackdrops were quickly adopted and remained common for decades. : Looking at very early films, we may find them so alien that we wonder what sort of appeal they held for audiences. With a little imagination, though, n see that people were probably interested. in films for much the same reasons that we are, Every type of carly film has some equivalent in cont porary media. The glimpses of news events, for example, may seem crude, yet they are comparable to the short clips shown on television news programs. Early scenies gave viewers glimpses of faraway lands, just as today travel lectures in colleges and churches utilize films, and televised documentaries show similar exotic views. Television variety shows offe somewhat comparable to early film programs. As we shall see, however, fiction films gradually became the most popular attuéftion in early theaters—a po- sition they have held ever since. Most films in this early period consisted of a single shol.,’The camera was sel up in one posilion, and the action unfolded during a continuous lake. 3 In some cases, filmmakers did make a series of shots of the same subject. The sesulling shots were then treated as a series of separate films. Exhibitors had thé option of buying the whole series of shots and running them together, thus approximating a multishot film. They might also, however, choose to buy ‘ only a few of the shots, combining them with other films or lantern slides to 1 create a unique program. During this early period, exhibitors had consider- able control over the shape of their programs—a control that would disappear fiom about 1899, a multiple shots. Quite a few of these early-exbibitors hil experience running laniem- : slide progeams ot other forms of public entertainment, Many strove for great vatiely, mixing scenics, topicals, and fiction films in a single program. The typical program had musical accompaniment. Inthe more modest presenta- tions, a pianist might, play; in vaudeville theaters, the house orchestra prro- vided music. In some cases, exhibitors ex synchronized with the actions on the screen. The exhibitor might lecture during part of the program, . the current events, and the brief stories : we ci a mix of acts that is producers began making longer films consisting of describing the exotic landseap 6 i Li THE INVENTION AND EARLY YEARS OF THE CINEMA, 18805-1904 = passipg across the screen. At the least, the exhibitor would itinounce ihe since early films had no credits at the beginning or intertitles to.explain the action, Some showmen mixed films with lantern slides or provided. musical interludes using a phonograph. During these early years, the audi response depended on the exhibitor’s skill in organizing and. pres program, . During the first decade of cinema, films were shown in many county around the world. But the making of filnis was concentrated largely in the three principal countries where the motion-picture camera had! originated: France, England, and the United States. THE GROWTH OF THE FRENCH FILM at INQUSTR Y 4 ‘The Lumiéres’ early screenings were successful, but the brothers believed that film would be a short-liyed fad. They moved quickly to exploit the Cinématographe. They initially avoided selling their machines, instead send- ing operators to:tour abroad, ‘showing films in rented theaters and cafés. ‘These operators also made one-shot sceni¢s of local points of interest. From 1896 on, the Ltimitre catalogue rapidly expanded to include hundieds of views of Spain, Egypt, Italy, Japan, and many other countries. Although the Lumiere brothers are usually remembered for their scentics and topicals, they ial did not wis. In T8VG. Wo. Ad movement into a view of Venice pi 7 Camera in a gondola, Promio and other filmmakers continued this practice, 2 + placing their cameras in boats:and on trains (Fig. 1.13). Traveling shots of ~~ this type (and soon panning movements as well) were associated mainly with scenics and topicals during this era. Because the Lumidres quickly began exhibiting their-films abroad, the first showings of projected motion pictures in many countries were put on hy their operators. Thus the history of the cinema in many nations begins with the arrival of the Cinématographe. This is apparent from the accompanying. chronology, which samples the earliest known public screenings in several countries. 3 30f course, the Lumigres and their rivals concentrated on‘the mor lucrative markets and avoided some smaller countries. No screenings arc known to-have taken place in Bolivia, for example, untit 1909, when J tripods: Halian entrepreneurs took films there. Ideological pressures kept the © Figs 1-13 Lamitre operator Eugene out of some markets. In 1900, Iran's royal family obtained a came Promo influenced muy filmmaker by prpjector in Europe and began, making home movies. A theater tht apenedt Mtoe inciaing. Tehran in 1905, however, was soon forced by religious leaders taiclowe, rgypte: Panorama des rives du Nil On the whole, though, the Lumié: ind_a few other firms made the ‘gypt: Panorama of the Banks of the cinema an international phenomenon. The Lumiéres further a 0% ani EARLY FILMMAKING AND EXHIBETION /15 THE SPREAD OF THE CINEMA AROUND THE WORLD: SOME REPRESENTATIVE EXAMPLES An unidentified operator shows films os part of ‘a aii: 15, Belghim. ‘2 vaudeville program in Shanghai, China, (In lumiérd program penis in Brussels, Belgium hy 1897, on Edeon reprosamcfive tous leo ‘A magician, Carl Hertz, shows R. W. Poul films Vistin-ond aneamet gonna thie] at the Empire Theatre in Johannesburg, South Fri ie i Ata rented hall in Mexico City, a highly success Africa, using a projector purchased from Paul. Ree ee he tage Lumiére program begins a run in Madrid, Spain, Ree ee ain ae A tumidre operator show fms in Si. Petersburg, ; Russio. dria, Egypt. Lumiére operators show films in a ses room in Watson's Hotel, Bombay, India. " Lumiére films are shown in a fashionable theater A Lumiére program opens in a fashionable dis- in Maracaibo, Venezuela. trict of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. . Under the supervision of a Lumiére sericea The first Lumiére screening in Czechoslovokia tive, a Japanese entrepreneur premieres the in takes place in the Casino in Karlovy Vary. 1. ématographe in a theater in Osaka. [Edison's Corl Heriz shows his 8. W. Paul program ol the cee wos showin, «seme lifer, alto’ bo ‘Melbourne Opera House, Australia. (The first Lu- miére program in Australia begins in Sydney on September 28.) ‘A Lumiare program premieres in Ruse, Bulgaria. ‘That samie year saw a setback for their firm, however. On May 4, 1897, during a film screening at the Charity Bazaar in Paris, a curtain was ignited by the ether being used to fuel the lamp afghe projector (which was not a Cinématographe). The resulting blaze was one of the worst tragedies in the history of the cinema, killing about 125 people, most of them from the upper class. As a result, the cinema lost some of its attraction for fashionable city dwellers. In France, for several. years, films were mainly exhibited in less lucrative traveling fairground shows (/étes forains). The Lumiéres continued producing films, but gradually more innovative rivals made their films seem old-fashioned. Their firm ceased production in 1905, though Louis and Au- guste remained innovators im Ihe area Of sul photography.” ; 0 ‘ollowing the initial success of the Lumiére Cinématographe in 1895, Pe other film production firms appeared in France. Among these was a small company started by aman who was perhaps the most important single film- maker of the cinema’s early years, Georges Méliés. (See Box.) ‘Two other firms that were to dominaté’the French film indystry were formed shortly after the invention of the cinema. Charles Pathé was a phon- ograph seller and exhibitor in the early 1890s. Ju 1895, he purchased same ane of R. W. Pi ae Freres, which initi most of ils mor n_phonographs. From 1901, however Pathé eae more on film production, and profits ‘soared. The firm expanded rapidly. In 1902, it built a gle -

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