Film Studies: Resources, Text, 100 Films of All Time; Pioneers of Cinema: Invention

#1. List your top 10 favorite films of all time.
#2. Name your favorite genres of film. (i,e. what do you prefer to watch?) Why?

After taking a moment to share your list with at least one other student, THEN:

The TOP Films of All Time - A Personal Response by YOU!

For our class, this website by film historian Tim Dirks, will provide you with a lot of excellent information. We will be using the link throughout our course as a reliable source of information.
Please go to the link (on the right side of this post): Film History.

Other Resources:

• IMDB.com (this is the international movie data base, and can be very helpful to you in this course).
• Metacritic (a website where you can find all sorts of film reviews for models regarding how to write a film review--and for your own enjoyment)
• The Internet Script database. This site publishes many contemporary film scripts. It will be important to check your film script formatting and go here to read scripts. There is a link to this page to your right of this post.
• Youtube.com Many of the clips we will be watching in this class come from sites like youtube.com. You are probably already familiar with this website.

Today, I'd like you to spend some time reviewing the top 100 films of all time in the lab. Please read Dirk's information, take a look through the list and note the following (perhaps in 3 columns or sections):

A. Which films on this list have you personally seen? (jot down a few titles in your journal)
B. Which films on this list have you heard about, but never had the chance to see? (jot down a few titles)
C. If a movie looks interesting to you, please jot down its title in your journal.

Then in a short personal response of about 300-500 words, talk about your experience with film. How knowledgeable are you about the topic? What films have become important or traditions for you or your family? Explain what the magic or cinema means to you? Reflect on what you learned today and write about your reaction to that. Or anything relevant about a personal response about film.300-500 words--go.

DISCUSSION: During the last 5 minutes of class today, please get into groups of 3-4. No one in your group should be someone you sit directly next to. You will likely have to move and meet new people. Discuss your list with your group members. You may also spend any time remaining in class discussing films you love or hate. Why do you love or hate the film? Discuss.

LAB WORK (after you complete your film response): In the meantime, please complete your response article and research early film technology. Please read about early film technology here. In your notes, please identify, or describe (and/or draw a picture) 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

FURTHER NOTES: These are some of the important events, inventions, and inventors that helped create the film industry. You should be familiar with them. Please take notes and study them for an upcoming test on this material (probably for next week).

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. This clip shows examples of Reynaud's animations. Recently, a filmmaker collected Reynaud's praxinoscope animations and created a digital film of what Reynaud might have been envisioning. Here is one of his animated films: Emile Reynaud: pauvre pierre animation (1892)

Light Bulb: Invented the long-lasting light bulb and secured the patent in 1879. Actually the light bulb predates this date. Edison patented the incandescent light bulb filament. 

The Photographic Gun: Often hailed as the "inventor of cinema" Etienne-Jules Marey invented his chronophotography or series photography, similar to Muybridge's attempts, which allowed for the taking of several photographs on the same "plate" in 1882.

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. We'll discuss Muybridge further next class.

HOMEWORK: Please read "The Birth of Film" and annotate the article for our discussion next class.