MOVIE

Reading one:

History of the Movie Industry

Movies began in the late 1890's with motion toys. Flipping through a series of
still pictures quickly gave the impression of movement. In 1872, Edward
Muybridge set up twelve cameras along a racetrack. As the horse passed each
one, a picture was taken. Together, the pictures appeared to show the horse
running.
George Eastman and William Walker invented movie film in 1885. In
1903, The Great Train Robbery by Edwin Porter was one of the first movie films
to be made. Around 1905, nickel theaters became very popular. They showed
movies at a low cost and made them a part of American culture. After WWI,
Hollywood became the center of the American movie industry.
Movies became the favorite means of entertainment in the 1920's. Hollywood
was the party scene for the movie 'stars.' Warner Brothers Pictures, Paramount,
RKO, Metro Goldwin Mayer, and 20th Century Fox all began as movie studios in
Hollywood during this time. Directors received great attention for their creative
work in making films. 'Stars' were born.
The 1930's was the Golden Age of the film industry because sound was added
to the silent films. Many different types of films appeared, such as musicals,
comedies, westerns, documentaries and horror movies. In the 1940's, color film
appeared and new technology for sound effects. During WWII, Hollywood made
many pictures, including documentaries, propaganda and educational films.
Movie attendance reached an all-time high in 1946.
The 1950's brought in the television set. Movie theater attendance declined
because people could watch entertainment on their TV. In 1963, many fewer
movies were produced due to the advent of television. Movie companies
branched out in their production, making series for TV, music records and
movies just for TV. Filmmakers lowered the cost of tickets to one dollar to
attract more viewers. However, by 1970, the film industry was in a great
decline. National companies bought out some struggling film companies.
In the 1970's, the content of movies changed to reflect the culture.
Restrictions on language and violence were not so harsh. Alternative films were
produced. They were those with different types of themes than before.
Hollywood experienced a new birth. The films contained lots of action and
special effects. Movies like Jaws and Star Wars took in more money than any
movies in history.
The studios gained more profits by putting films on video cassettes because
many homes had players. Again, movie attendance declined. Most of the movies
of the 1980's were not memorable and were very similar to each other, with
similar plots and simple effects. By the end of the decade, moviemakers decided
that special effects were the most profitable way to operate. They did not look
to movies with new concepts or ideas. Movies like Batman, Return of the
Jedi and Terminator were big hits.
Special effects forced filmmakers' costs to rise. International companies
bought many movie studios, including Columbia and 20 th Century Fox. In the
1990's, economic decline produced less money for the studios. However, more
people attended movies because of the new multi-theater complexes around the
country. Revenues were still down, but CD-ROMs were invented. They led the
way to the DVD.
In the 2000's, IMAX theaters arrived, as well as many new devices on which
to view movies, such as smartphones, tablets and computers. These new
technologies have increased revenue for the moviemakers.
1. Summary: this reading is show us about how was the movie industry born
2. Vocabulary:
- nickel (n): kền, ni-ken
- propaganda (n): sự tuyên truyền
- restriction (n): sự hạn chế, sự giới hạn
- harsh (a): gay gắt, khắt khe
- memorable (a): đáng ghi nhớ, không quên được
- plot (n): cốt truyện
- profitable (a): có lợi, thuận lợi
- revenue (n): tổng thu nhập

Reading two:
3D movie tool

Integrated viewing
Avatar, the movie which has made more money than any other, inspired
many people to explore the possibilities of 3D storytelling. The problem is
the cost, but research at the University of Abertay Dundee may lead to
cheaper versions of the kind of technology used in making Avatar. Matt Bett,
a lecturer in Games Engineering at Abertay, began looking at new games
motion-controllers. The research was inspired, says Bett, by wanting to see
if the equipment could ‘do anything that gives the user a tool for something
beyond your movement into the computer game. It started from that and
from seeing Avatar, getting an understanding of some techniques they used
to make the film. Then exploring how we could do something similar.’ For
Avatar, James Cameron and his team developed a system called Simul-cam
which made it possible for the director to see the actors (in their motion-
capture suits) instantly in the virtual scene, without having to spend days
making computer-generated images integrating it all.

Camera in virtual space

The motion-controller can give a very good picture of its position and
orientation in a virtual space. ‘What we are doing,’ explains Bett, ‘is using
that information in order to position a virtual camera in virtual space using a
real controller in real space, so the controller in your hand turns into a hand-
held camcorder.’ The team has adapted the technology to do something
similar to the Avatar team. ‘Imagine yourself standing there in the gaming
world,’ says Bett, ‘as you turn right round, and what you see on the screen
would be what you see on the viewfinder of a hand-held camcorder. You get
a tool, which is similar to these multimillion-dollar technologies used for big
production films that are in the cinemas right now.’

Film
Currently it would be possible to use this tool to edit the replays of a game,
zoom into the space and to create a movie of a player’s game moves. But
Bett wants to take the research further. ‘We’ve got some other logical ways
this can go, related to film-making, rather than it being just a game-playing
tool. With films there is a lot more we can do, some pretty exciting stuff that
people wouldn’t believe was possible to do at home.

1. Summary: this article is about some interesting developments in home

movie making
2. Vocabulary:
- integrate (n): hội nhập
- movement (n): hoạt động, hành động
- instantly: ngay lập tức
- virtual (a): ảo
- orientation (n): sự định hướng
- camcorder (n): máy quay xách tay
- view-finder (n): kính ngắm