Presentations, Playwrights' Fest, & Silent Film

This morning we will screen the student films that have been completed. Students who have not yet turned in a film project are very late at this point. It is difficult to move on with your work missing, but we must press on.

As you watch the student films, please complete the notes to hand in for credit at the end of class.

If you are interested in submitting a play (10-minute, one-act, two-act, adaptation, musical, etc.) for the playwrights' festival (occurring in April), please submit today or by Thursday at the latest. After this time, the option will be given to other grades.

After our screenings, please turn in your Feb. Break homework (see blog if you don't know about this). Please watch any of the film clips we didn't watch as a class from Silent Film Comedy and anything you might have missed with Charlie Chaplin.

HOMEWORK: Get caught up. Complete the article on D.W. Griffith.

Silent Film Comedy Highlights

The name "slapstick" comes from the bataccio — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in commedia dell'arte. Actors using the slapstick may hit each another repeatedly with great audible effect while causing very little actual physical damage. The term "slapstick" became synonymous with the style of silent film comedy most frequently found in the comedic silent films of Mack Sennett, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Hal Roach, and other comedic directors.

Later, the animated films from Warner Brothers Studio and Walt Disney will utilize many of the common gags found in comedic silent films. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tom & Jerry, and Donald Duck are just a few examples.

Slapstick is characterized by broad humor, absurd situations, comedic or farcical action such as chase scenes, and, of course, physical violence. Watch various clips below and note the actor/director where appropriate. Take notes on the film styles and view the films for ideas for your own stories, plays, and films.

Mack Sennett: Bangville Police (Keystone Cops feature)
Mack Sennett: comedian Billy Bevan (scene from Wandering Willies - 1926) and another clip with Vernon Dent & Billy Bevan
Mack Sennett: Black Oxfords (1924) with Vernon Dent & Sid Smith
Mack Sennett: comedian Harry Langdon (scene from Fiddlesticks - 1927)
Mack Sennett: comedian Harry Langdon (scene from Smile Please - 1924) & another scene (the skunk) from the same film.
Mabel Normand: The Extra Girl (clip, 1923)
Mabel's New Hero  Mabel Normand & Fatty Arbuckle
Fatty Arbuckle: Coney Island (1917)
Fatty Arbuckle & Buster Keaton: The Cook (1918) and the spaghetti scene from The Cook.
Buster Keaton: The Blacksmith (1922)
Harold Lloyd: from The Freshman (1925)
Harold Lloyd: from Safety Last (the clock scene) (1923)
Charley Chase: Accidental Accidents (Hal Roach directing)
Charley Chase: Fluttering Hearts (1927)
Ben Turpin: Seein' Things (1928), part one; Seein' Things (part two) Stan Laurel: Pie Eyed (1925) and finally: Charlie Chaplin Tribute (various clips).

Charlie Chaplin: The Rink

"All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman, and a pretty girl." -Sir Charles Chaplin

Sir Charles Chaplin (1889-1977)

• Born in London, UK to theatrical parents
• Chaplin’s childhood was one of extreme poverty and hardship
• Abandoned by an alcoholic father and left with a mentally unstable mother who was unable to support him, he struggled through life in the poor house and on the streets
• He learnt much of his timing and technique in the employment of impresario Fred Karno (1866-1941) whose troupe he left during an American tour in 1913
• Offered a contract by Keystone Films
• After 1914, he convinced Keystone producer Mack Sennett to allow him to direct his own films - often wrote, directed, acted and composed his own musical scores for his films
• In many silent shorts, he established the grammar and ground rules of screen comedy using his physical dexterity and pantomime skills to create expertly choreographed, visually humorous entertainment that mixed irreverence, romance, and pathos (feeling)
• Co-founder of United Artists in 1919
• Married Oona O’Neill (daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill)
• His left-wing sympathies caused him to emigrate to Switzerland during the 1950’s, McCarthy period
• He published his autobiography in 1964 and was knighted in 1975
• Chaplin died on Christmas day, 1977
• A writer Performer, director, composer and icon, he was a vital figure in the development of the screen comedy Films (incomplete list): Making a Living (1913) Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914) The Champion (1915) The Tramp (1915) The Pawnshop (1916) The Rink (1916) A Dog’s Life (1918) The Kid (1921) The Gold Rush (1925) City Lights (1931) Modern Times (1936) The Great Dictator (1940) Limelight (1952) A King in New York (1957) A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)

Take a look at some of Chaplin's films:

Table ballet sequence from "The Gold Rush"
The Rink (1916)
The Tramp (1915)
The Kid (1921) trailer
The Lion's Cage clip from the Circus (1928)
The Gold Rush (1925) sound and words added later
City Lights (1931)
Modern Times (1936)
The Great Dictator (1940)

Early Film History, Projects due! Charlie Chaplin

As stated Wednesday, please turn in your film documentaries. We'll view these as a class when we return from break, just before our test on early silent film.

Please submit a play script for the playwrights' festival (details posted Wednesday--see below!)

Finally, after our brainstorming activity, we will watch the film The Rink by Charlie Chaplin.

With any remaining time in the lab, you may get started on your homework.

Read Tim Dirks' Filmsite and answer the questions below. It is probably more interesting to actually READ the article, then answer questions (as opposed to hunting for answers). You will also learn more if you read and digest the article instead of just looking for answers. Start here. Use the arrows at the bottom of the webpage to go to the next section. Take notes on important information. You will be tested on this material at the end of our silent film unit.

1. We have discussed various film projecting machines. Name some other projecting machines and their date and inventor.
2. Name some other film production companies rivaling the Edison Company.
3. What innovations did the American Mutoscope & Biograph Company create for film?
4. Who was dubbed "The Father of Story Film"?
5. What is a "Nickelodeon"?
6. Choose one of the first feature length films in American cinema. Provide a brief description and details about the film.
7. Who was D.W. Griffith? How did he influence film? Name 3 of his films and their dates.
8. How did big business influence early film?
9. What was the MPPC? What companies belonged to this trust?
10. Name 3 independent film companies. Which ones are still around today?
11. Why did filmmakers and producers want to move west? Describe Hollywood before and after the arrival of the major film companies.
12. What was Kinemacolor?
13. What was the result of the anti-trust laws in regards to the MPPC?
14. Who was Carl Laemmle? What was the name of his company?
15. Who was dubbed "America's Sweetheart"?
16. What sort of plot or characters could be found in the early movie serials?
17. Who was Thomas Harper Ince? What kinds of pictures did he specialize in?
18. Who is considered the "King of Comedy"?
19. Which comedians got their start with Keystone?
20. Name 3 of Charlie Chaplin's early films.
21. Name the key actors, producers, and directors who created United Artists.
22. Who was Lois Weber? Name 3 of her films.
23. Who was Francis Marion? Name 3 films she wrote.
24. Name the 5 major studios before 1930. What advancements or innovations did they allow for in film of the time?
25. When was Walt Disney studios created? Where was it located?

HOMEWORK: Please complete the reading of this web article and answer the 25 questions for homework. Due: Feb. 28.

Film History: Odds & Ends; Film Documentary due!

Please complete your film documentaries and turn in as an MP4 file to me by the end of class. We will view these projects Friday.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Scripts for the Playwrights' Festival are due by the end of the week. If you are interested in seeing your work on stage, live, with real actors, sets, costumes, etc., and are willing to put in some time working with your script and cast, please submit a copy of your script to me by Friday.

The Creative Writing Department's production of Twilight Los Angeles, 1992 is occurring tonight at 7:00 in the Ensemble Theater. Please support your department by coming. If you do, I'll give you extra credit if you respond to the play production on the forum.

When you have completed your film project, please move on to the following task:

Read Tim Dirks' Filmsite and answer the questions below. It is probably more interesting to actually READ the article, then answer questions (as opposed to hunting for answers). You will also learn more if you read and digest the article instead of just looking for answers. Start here. Use the arrows at the bottom of the webpage to go to the next section. Take notes on important information. You will be tested on this material at the end of our silent film unit.

1. We have discussed various film projecting machines. Name some other projecting machines and their date and inventor.
2. Name some other film production companies rivaling the Edison Company.
3. What innovations did the American Mutoscope & Biograph Company create for film?
4. Who was dubbed "The Father of Story Film"?
5. What is a "Nickelodeon"?
6. Choose one of the first feature length films in American cinema. Provide a brief description and details about the film.
7. Who was D.W. Griffith? How did he influence film? Name 3 of his films and their dates.
8. How did big business influence early film?
9. What was the MPPC? What companies belonged to this trust?
10. Name 3 independent film companies. Which ones are still around today?
11. Why did filmmakers and producers want to move west? Describe Hollywood before and after the arrival of the major film companies.
12. What was Kinemacolor?
13. What was the result of the anti-trust laws in regards to the MPPC?
14. Who was Carl Laemmle? What was the name of his company?
15. Who was dubbed "America's Sweetheart"?
16. What sort of plot or characters could be found in the early movie serials?
17. Who was Thomas Harper Ince? What kinds of pictures did he specialize in?
18. Who is considered the "King of Comedy"?
19. Which comedians got their start with Keystone?
20. Name 3 of Charlie Chaplin's early films.
21. Name the key actors, producers, and directors who created United Artists.
22. Who was Lois Weber? Name 3 of her films.
23. Who was Francis Marion? Name 3 films she wrote.
24. Name the 5 major studios before 1930. What advancements or innovations did they allow for in film of the time?
25. When was Walt Disney studios created? Where was it located?

HOMEWORK: Please complete the reading of this web article and answer the 25 questions for homework. Additionally, please read the article handout on the Oscars, the Edison Monopoly, and the Hollywood Studio System. The Oscars are airing on Feb. 26 (Sunday). If you watch them and post a response to the forum, you will receive extra credit. Due: Feb. 28.

Geva Deadline!, Film Documentaries & Birt Acres & R.W. Paul

Today please complete your film documentaries on pioneer directors (due Wednesday, see posts below for instructions) and print out and prepare your script for Geva. If you've forgotten your file at home, please submit directly to Jean Ryon at: youngwriters@gevatheatre.org.

Birt Acres & R.W. Paul

Birt Acres was born in the USA in 1854, orphaned at the age of fourteen during the American civil war and was taken in by his aunt. Around 1872 Acres was sent to Paris to complete his education at the Sorbonne. Acres returned to the United States four years later to lead the life of a Frontiersman and it during a period of eight or nine years became quite wealthy. Around 1885 he moved to England where he married a Tazmanian girl. He set up a studio for the 'production of portraits by painting and photography', in the seaside resort of Devon. In 1894 Acres was introduced to electrical engineer, Robert W. Paul. At this time Paul was in the process of manufacturing copies of Edison’s Kinetoscope and was anxious to construct a camera with which to produce films to show on his machines.

The pair worked together and Acres used the camera to make the first successful film in Britain - Incident at Clovelly Cottage in 1895. It was at this point where the two entered into partnership with a ten year business agreement. This agreement lasted only six weeks before splitting. During their brief partnership, the two shot films. It is widely believed that Paul was angry because Acres had patented his own Kinetic camera in his own name - almost identical to the one they had developed together. The resulting projector became known as the Kinetic Lantern, Kineopticon and the Cinematoscope. 

As for Paul, he invented the Theatrograph projector and shot the first "news" films. Paul also made various “Actuality” films, made a short comedy - “The Soldier’s Courtship” and is responsible for the first Scrooge film. In 1898 Paul began construction on Britain’s first film studios in Muswell Hill, North London and during that summer produced over eighty short dramatic films. Paul’s production company peaked during 1900 and 1905 but he gradually became disenchanted with the business. He returned to his previous occupation, concentrating on electrical engineering.

Meanwhile, Acres gave the first public performance of his projector at the Royal Photographic Society in 1896 - five weeks before the screening of Lumière’s Cinématographe and Paul’s Theatograph. Acres formed his own company - the Northern Photographic Works which specialised in coating, perforating and processing film. In 1898 he unveiled the Birtac - the first 'sub-standard gauge' cine camera and projector, instead of normal 35mm film the camera used narrower width film - typically 17.5 mm. Unfortunately for Acres, within weeks, a rival 17.5 mm camera/projector was announced - the Biokam by the Warwick Trading Company. The Biokam benefitted from its cheapness - half the price of the Birtac, and heavy backing. Regardless of this, Birt Acres invented the first amateur cine camera and remained in the film business until his death in 1918.

R.W. Paul: Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee (1897)

Upside Down (1899) (watch camera tricks)

 Scrooge, or Marley's Ghost (1901) (the first Scrooge film).

The Magic Sword (1901)

The Delhi Durbar (1903)

Birt Acres: Rough Sea at Dover (1895)

Crude Set Drama (1896)

Arrest of a Pickpocket (date unknown, 1896+)

Cecil Hepworth & the Hepworth Manufacturing Co.

France and the U.S. were quick to jump on the possibilities of film projection. But quick on their heels was Britain. These three countries have a long and respected reputation when it comes to film making. They were there at the beginning.

Cecil Hepworth (1874 –1953):

How it Feels to Be Run Over (1900)
Explosion of a Motor Car (1900)
Alice in Wonderland (1903) by Cecil Hepworth
Rescued by Rover (1905)
That Fatal Sneeze (1907)

• Hepworth was an English film director, producer and screenwriter, he was among the founders of the British film industry and continued making films into the 1920s.
• His father was a famous magic lantern showman.
• He became involved in the early stages of British filmmaking, working for both Birt Acres and Charles Urban, and wrote the first British book on the subject in 1897.
• With his cousin Monty Wicks he set up the production company Hepworth and Co. — later renamed the Hepworth Manufacturing Compnay, then Hepworth Picture Plays.
• In 1899 they built a small film studio in Walton-on-Thames. The company produced about three films a week, sometimes with Hepworth directing.
• Rescued by Rover (1905) was a huge success at the box office, starring a collie in the title role. The film is now regarded as an important development in film grammar, with shots being effectively combined to emphasise the action. Hepworth was also one of the first to recognize the potential of film stars, both animal and human, with several recurring characters appearing in his films.
• The company continued making popular films into the 1920s.
• The company went public to fund a large studio development but lost money and closed.
• Tragically, all of Hepworth's original film negatives were melted down.

Turn in homework (see previous post). During second period please continue working on your film director documentary. This will be due next week.

Styles of Film, Film Project, & Melies & Porter

Melies and Porter both found a way to edit and arrange film to create a narrative story. With these two film directors we begin to expand the novelty and artistic quality of the medium.

If we were to reduce all films to a continuum, we would have realism on one end of the continuum and formalism on the other. The Lumiere Brothers, and many of Edison's films, are considered actualities and are little more than moving snapshots of real life in real settings shot on location in real places. Viewers were fascinated by these films partly because they had never seen a picture move, but also because the events the films captured were spontaneous and true. It don't get more real than this! The most real films are often considered to be documentaries--documents of real people, places, or events.

On the other side of the continuum is formalism. Formalist films are often avant-garde or metaphorical. Melies' films are perfect examples of this kind of film. Melies used trick photography, whimsical and fantastic subject matter that went beyond reality, and arranged his scenes deliberately for effect. While the camera stays at a safe viewing distance (long shot), the entire film is manipulated to create an effect on the viewer. When a director does these things (tricks like dissolves or stop motion or careful editing) he is beginning to lose the spontaneity of capturing real life, as all is "staged" and "un-real".

Today most films are considered the mid-range between realism and formalism. This mid-range is called classicism and most fiction films fall into this category.

During period one: please choose one of the directors posted below and begin working on your project. You will need:

1. To work alone or with one partner.
2. Choose a director on the list by signing up on the roving sheet I pass around
3. Research and take notes on the director.
4. Prepare photos, illustrations, or film clips to import into iMovie
5. Create a short VO (voice over) script detailing important information from your notes/research. Record this using the recording and microphone capabilities on iMovie. Your script is due to turn in at the end of the project.

During period 2: we will screen the following films:

THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903), Directed by Edwin S. Porter
DREAM OF A RAREBIT FIEND (1906), Directed by Edwin S. Porter
A TRIP TO THE MOON (1902), Directed by George Melies

and complete our viewing of Edweard Muybridge's films.

HOMEWORK: George Melies outlined a narrative story by numbering scenes he would need for a film. See the chapter on Melies (handout) for examples. Create your own pre-arranged scene break-down for a film of your own. You may wish, like Melies, to choose a favorite story or fairy tale, or create your own sci-fi or fantasy story. This prearranged scene outline is due next class as participation credit.

Film Pioneers Project

In groups of 1 or 2 please select one of the following pioneering filmmakers. Research this filmmaker, take notes in your notebook about what the artist did that was important to film history, provide basic biographical information, and briefly discuss the artist's work in general. You should write out a VO (Voice Over) script of no longer than 1 page for your narration.

You may select from: 

• Augustin Le Prince
• Thomas Edison
• W.K.L. Dickson
• The Lumiere Brothers
• Charles Pathe
• Birt Acres
• R.W. Paul
• George Melies
• Cecil Hepworth
• Edwin S. Porter
• Leon Gaumont
• Alice Guy-Blache
• Mack Sennett
• D. W. Griffith
• Oscar Micheaux

Your project should use still photography (I suggest using the internet and save some JPGs to your desktop)--(you may also use film when and if available) Photography should be imported into iMovie. Your short film should run no more than a minute. Use titles, play with editing and transition effects, and use a voice-over. Provide end and title credits with your name(s) displayed.

Early Film Invention

Today, during period one, please read about early film technology here. In your notes, please identify, describe (and/or draw a picture) and note the significance of the following technology. The side bar on the website's left hand side has the links for each device.

• Zoetrope
• Praxinoscope
• Kinetoscope
• Cinematographe
• Mutoscope
• Vitascope

Period 2: The following are important events, inventions, and their inventors that helped create the film industry. We played with many of these devices in class. You should be familiar with them.

Magic Lantern: Invented in the 17th century by Athanasius Kircher. The magic lantern projected pictures on a screen. It functioned like an overhead projector. Originally it used a candle as the light source.

Thaumatrope: Invented by Dr. John Ayrton Paris in 1824; utilized the theory of “persistence of vision”

Fantascope, Phenakistiscope (“spindle viewer”), Fanatoscope: invented by Belgian inventor Joseph Plateau. Daedalum (Horner 1834)/Zoetrope (Lincoln 1867)

Daguerreotype: Invented in 1839 by Louis-Jacques-Monde Daguerre. The process of capturing images on silvered, copper metal plates - the beginning of photography.

Celluloid: Invented in 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt. Strips of thin film which could be developed with pictures.

Praxinoscope: Invented in 1877 by Charles Emile Reynaud. A film projector. Here is one of his animated films: Emile Reynaud: pauvre pierre animation (1892)

Light Bulb: Invented by Thomas Edison in 1879. Actually the light bulb predates this date. Edison patented the incandescent light bulb filament.

One of the first pioneers of “film” was the artist/inventor Eadweard Muybridge: 1830 - 1904. He used several cameras to take a sequence of shots. Film was cut into strips and used in a praxinoscope. Muybridge invented his Zoopraxiscope, photos printed on a glass disc that rotated, to create the illusion of moving images. Here's what the first Zoopraxiscope clip looked like.

Edison Manufacturing Company (directed by Edwin S. Porter): Gordon Sisters Boxing (1900)
Uncle Josh in a Spooky Hotel
Uncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show (1903)
Faust (1900)
The Life of an American Fireman (1903)
Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906)

HOMEWORK: Please read: Melies & Edwin S. Porter in the handout given to you today. Take notes in your journal/notebook about relevant or interesting points in the article. Also, any questions you may have, please record and ask in class.