British & European Invasion: Acres, Paul, Hepworth, Pathe, Zecca, & others

Please use the first 15 minutes of today's class (until about 7:50) to work on your arranged scene/storyboard project (this is due today!); if you have finished this, please read and take notes on the chapter handout (see homework).

While Melies in France and Porter in America were important, they were not the only early filmmakers and directors working to explore this new art form. Let's take a look at some other pioneers in the film industry.

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. He set up a studio in the seaside resort of Devon for the production of painted portraits and photography. In 1894 Acres was introduced to an 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 a 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,  and a short comedy - “The Soldier’s Courtship.” He is, also, curiously, 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 specialized 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 heavy backing and cheapness - half the price of the Birtac. 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)

Birt Acres: Rough Sea at Dover (1895)

Rip Van Winkle (1895)

Cecil Hepworth

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), Cecil B. Hepworth; a sequel: The Dog Outwits the Kidnapper (1908)
That Fatal Sneeze (1907), Cecil B. Hepworth 

• 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 Company, 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 emphasize 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.

Blue Films: 

Blue films were erotic films meant to titillate the imagination and excite the viewer.  While these films were extremely lame and unerotic for us (we have broken the taboo of nudity, for example, in films) early blue films would later expand, particularly in the 1970s with home video capabilities (VHS and Betamax). We'll come back to that later in the course if we have time. For now, here are a few early examples.

• After the Ball (Melies; 1897)
• Lillian's Corset (1905)

Pathe Freres Company

Charles Pathé (1863-1957), French motion-picture magnate, who, in the early 20th century, was the first to create a system for mass-producing motion pictures. It is thanks to The Pathe Frere Co. that films were shared and distributed around the world. Now, a film made in New York could be seen as far away as Japan. This is the start of a worldwide cinema (and a lucrative business venture...) Check out information about Pathe and some of his company's films:

Aladdin & the Magic Lamp (1907)
The Policeman's Little Run (1907) directed by Ferdinand Zecca
Slippery Jim (1910) directed by Ferdinand Zecca
Onesime Horloger (Onesime, Clock-Maker) (1912)

• Pathé began his career as an importer and merchant of the phonograph in France.
• He extended the business to include projectors and films, creating the company Pathé Frères in 1896.
• By 1901 he concentrated on film production, together with French director and producer Ferdinand Zecca.
• Pathé made films rapidly and reinvested the profits back into the business to improve the technical quality of his films.
• By 1905 the company was employing numerous production teams of scriptwriters, set builders, cameramen, directors, and actors, making short films in an assembly-line process.
• Pathe Company opened in New York in 1904 as a subsidiary of Pathe Freres (Bros.) in France and boasted a catalog of 12,000 titles.
• In 1909, Pathe was asked to join Edison in forming the Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC) to try to shut out smaller studios.
• In 1911, Pathe Weekly was issued. This is the first newsreel.
• WWI took its toll on the company. Pathe ceased production in the US in 1914.
• In 1915, the Pathe Freres temporarily moved its headquarters to New York and changed its name to Pathe Exchange, Inc.
• In 1923, Pathe Exchange sold for 26 million Francs and came under the control of Merrill Lynch.
• In 1926, Joe Kennedy (father of John F. Kennedy) becomes president of the company and a film director.
• In 1930, Pathe Exchange merges with PDC, K-A-O, and DeMille to become RKO

EARLY FILMS & INVENTION:

Hollywood has never been that original compared to early filmmakers. Here are a few films that keep getting made over and over again. Other films of the early 20th century:

• Joan D'Arc (1900) George Melies, compare to The Messenger (trailer, 1999) and the film.
• Frankenstein (Edison) (1910), compare to Frankenstein (trailer, 1931), and the newest flop Victor Frankenstein (trailer, 2015)
• A Trip to Mars (Edison) (1910), compare to The Martian (trailer, 2015)
• Wizard of Oz (1910), compare to The Wizard of Oz (1939), and Oz, The Great & Wonderful (2013)
• James Searle Dawley: Rescued From an Eagle's Nest (1907, Frodo & Sam were not the first little guys to get rescued!); compare to Return of the King (2011)

Italian Cinema:

• Milano Films: Odissea (Italian cinema, 1911)
• Milano Films: Dante's Inferno (Italian cinema, 1911--the oldest surviving feature-length epic)

• Oldest surviving color film (1902)

HOMEWORK: If you missed some of these links or films, please view what we didn't complete during class. Take notes on key films/directors and look at these early examples. Please read the chapter on D.W. Griffith, The Edison Monopoly Decision, and Hollywood and take notes.

Sign up for one of these actors/directors/producers and begin to research them:
Lon Chaney, Sr.; Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.; Janet Gaynor; Lillian Gish; Clara Bow; Lois Weber, Claudette Colbert; Jean Harlow; Mary Pickford; Carole Lombard; Conrad Veidt; Harold Lloyd; Rudolph Valentino; John Barrymore; Gloria Swanson; Greta Garbo; Mae Marsh; Cecil B. DeMille; Carl Laemmle; Oscar Micheaux; Evelyn Preer; Thomas Ince; King Vidor; Erich Von Stroheim 

Early American, British, and French Filmmakers; The Storyboard Arranged Scene Project

 Edwin S. Porter:

• THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903), Directed by Edwin S. Porter
• The Life of an American Fireman (Edwin S. Porter, 1903)
• Uncle Tom's Cabin (Edwin S. Porter, 1903, with real live negroes!--the first African Americans in a feature film, albeit, main characters are still in blackface!) What is blackface? Here's a bit of history (see link!)
• Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (Edwin S. Porter, 1906)

Crash Course Film History #4 & Crash Course Film History #5 Edwin S. Porter

The arranged scene & Storyboarding:

George Melies outlined a narrative story by numbering scenes he would need for a film. See the chapter you read on Melies (handout) for examples. This arrangement served as a creative outline for most early filmmakers. Much of the plot, acting, and filming was completely improv, but directors had a general idea of the film they wanted to make. Now it's your turn.

1. 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 or like Porter base your story on an event taken from News headlines, or from your own imagination.

2. Create a short film with between 6 - 12 distinct scenes. You should give a very short description of each scene that includes the following information:

A. Where does the action/filming take place? (setting)
B. What is the central action or event in the scene? (action/conflict)
C. What characters are involved in the action? (characters)
D. How does one action lead to a reaction (cause and effect, or i.e., PLOT) and/or resolution? And... 

E. What type of shot would you use for the scene: Close-up, Medium shot, Long Shot, Tracking Shot, Pan, (extreme close up or long shot?)

3. Use the Storyboard templates to plan your story. A. Draw a sketch/picture of the scene you describe in part B.

B. Create a slugline for each scene in the space under the picture that includes: a) setting, b). names of characters involved and a short 1-sentence summary of the scene (Cinderella meets her fairy godmother, or Snow White chokes on an apple, etc.) Number each scene (#1-#12), and indicate what kind of shot you would use: XCU, CU, MS, Full, LS, or XLS. You can add the angle if you know it (PAN, TILT, TRACK, LOW, HIGH, or BIRD'S EYE).

*Make sure your shots and angles, characters/setting/action correctly adhere to your drawing. This project is due Friday (see homework).

While Melies in France and Porter in America were important, they were not the only early film makers and directors working to explore this new art form. Let's take a look at some other pioneers in the film industry.

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. He set up a studio in the seaside resort of Devon for the production of painted portraits and photography. In 1894 Acres was introduced to an 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 a 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,  and a short comedy - “The Soldier’s Courtship.” He is, also, curiously, 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 specialized 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 heavy backing and cheapness - half the price of the Birtac. 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)

Birt Acres: Rough Sea at Dover (1895)

Rip Van Winkle (1895)

Cecil Hepworth

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), Cecil B. Hepworth; a sequel: The Dog Outwits the Kidnapper (1908)
That Fatal Sneeze (1907), Cecil B. Hepworth 

• 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 Company, 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.

Blue Films: 

Blue films were erotic films meant to titillate the imagination and excite the viewer.  While these films were extremely lame and unerotic for us (we have broken the taboo of nudity, for example, in films) early blue films would later expand, particularly in the 1970s with home video capabilities (VHS and Betamax). We'll come back to that later in the course if we have time. For now, here's a few early examples.

• After the Ball (Melies; 1897)
• Lillian's Corset (1905)

HOMEWORK: If you missed some of these links or films, please view what we didn't complete during class. Take notes on key films/directors and look at these early examples. Complete your storyboard project started in class today.

Early Film Makers: Muybridge, Le Prince, Edison, Dickson, Lumiere, Melies, Porter

Edweard Muybridge (1830-1904):

Our first pioneer of the art of film is the photographer Edweard Muybridge. Muybridge was a photographer who became famous when former California Governor Leland Stanford contacted him to help settle a bet over whether all four hooves of a running horse left the ground. Muybridge began experimenting with an array of 12 cameras photographing a galloping horse in a sequence of shots. Between 1878 and 1884, Muybridge perfected his method, proving that horses do have all four hooves off the ground at some point during their running stride. Muybridge worked at the University of Pennsylvania between 1883 and 1886, producing thousands of photographs of humans and animals in motion. He published several books featuring his motion photographs and toured Europe and North America, presenting his photographic methods using a projection device he'd developed, the Zoopraxiscope.

Some other interesting bits about Muybridge: During a break from his photographic research, his wife, Flora, had an affair with Major Harry Larkyns, a drama critic. Believing that Larkyns had fathered the couple's recently born son, Muybridge tracked him down, shot, and killed him. At his trial for murder in 1875, several witnesses testified that Muybridge's personality had changed after he received a head injury in which he lost his ability to taste and smell. The jury didn't buy the insanity defense, but acquitted Muybridge on the grounds of "justifiable homicide." Muybridge died in 1904. His contributions to art and photography spurred the works of other film inventors, many of which we will study today.

Please watch the following two films, the first a documentary: Photographs of Motion

and the second, a series of Muybridge's photographs, sped up to show motion (persistence of vision!)

So what's the oldest film ever made? Interesting story:

The oldest surviving film in existence at this point is Louis Le Prince's Roundhay Garden Scene (1888). This sequence was recorded on an 1885 Eastman Kodak paper base photographic film through Le Prince's single-lens combi-camera-projector. It moved at 12 frames per second.

Le Prince's life was also interesting and there's a mystery (and some say conspiracy) attached to his death. Le Prince was never able to perform a planned public demonstration in the United States of his films because he mysteriously vanished from a train on 16 September 1890 --His body and luggage (including his film camera) were never found. Le Prince's disappearance allowed Thomas Edison to take credit for the invention of motion pictures in America, but now Le Prince has been heralded as 'The Father of Cinematography.'

Edison Kinetoscope films: (1894-1896)
Titles in this clip include: The Kiss, Serpentine Dances, Sandow the Strong Man, Comic Boxing, Cock  Fighting, The Barber Shop, Feeding the Chickens, Seminary Girls & Boxing Cats (the first cat film meme!)

Many of Edison's early films were shot by W.K.L. Dickson. Thomas Edison invented the idea of the Kinetoscope but it was Dickson who designed it between 1889-1892. His film studio was called the Black Maria. The first kinetoscope exhibition occurred in New York, NY in 1894.

Other Kinetoscope films:

• Statue of Liberty (1898)
• The inauguration of President McKinley (1901)
• Scenes in New York City (1903) (sound added)
• Skyscrapers of New York (1906) (Mutoscope)
• Moscow Clad in Snow (1906)

At the same time, in France, the Lumiere Bros. were also working on the invention of film, particularly, a camera that could also project a film for the benefit of an audience. Learn more about The Lumiere Bros. (Documentary, 10 minutes).

• Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (Lumiere Bros) (1895)
• Lion, London Zoological Gardens (Lumiere Bros) (1895)
• The Sprinkler Sprinkled (Lumiere Bros) (1895)
• Le Squelette Joyeux (the happy skeleton) (1895) 
• Various actualities (documentaries)

Crash Course Film History #2

Styles of Film:

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. Early audiences 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.

George Melies and Edwin S. 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.

George Melies outlined a narrative story by numbering scenes he would need for a film. You can see an example of this in your handout chapter on George Melies.

As you watch these films, please record the title, name of the director, and a 1-3 sentence description of its premise.

• A TRIP TO THE MOON (1902), Directed by George Melies (The Astronomer's Dream - 1898); (The Impossible Voyage, 1904); and (The Conquest of the Pole, 1912)
• THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903), Directed by Edwin S. Porter
• The Life of an American Fireman (Edwin S. Porter, 1903)
• Uncle Tom's Cabin (Edwin S. Porter, 1903, with real live negroes!--the first African Americans in a feature film, albeit, main characters are still in blackface!) What is blackface? Here's a bit of history (see link!)
• Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (Edwin S. Porter, 1906)

Crash Course Film History #4 & Crash Course Film History #5 Edwin S. Porter

HOMEWORK: Please read the article handout on The Great Train Robbery & George Melies and the Arranged Scene.

The Academy Awards; Film Reviews/Criticism; The Birth of Film

Period 1:

Let's take 5 minutes this morning to respond to the 2020 Academy Awards. In the COMMENT section of this blog below, please respond to the following:

• how many of the films that won an Academy Award this year did you personally see?
• Of the films you saw, would you agree or disagree with the Academy's choice of winners based on the field of nominations? If you agree, why--is this film representative of the best art of 2019? If you disagree, why & which film(s) should have been nominated or won the prize?
• What conclusions can you draw from the list about what Hollywood likes/doesn't like in the film industry? 
• After having read the chapter on the Academy Awards (see previous homework!) do you have any questions?

Use your handout or see the link for winners: The 2020 Academy Awards (you might find it helpful to cross-reference 2019 with the awards from 2018 or 2017.) What trends are you noticing?

After our commentary, we will read some of the Joker reviews and discuss film criticism.

Around 8:00, let's move into the birth of film.

The Birth of Film

Early film was little more than the thrill of capturing "real life." Thes were little more than "moving snapshots". Through technology, photographers were able to depict reality in a way never before possible. This had many uses. For one, it allowed people to witness strange or exotic locations, cultures, or people. Now someone who lived in New York City didn't have to spend a month on a steamer boat to visit far-away-lands. Presidents could be seen without having to campaign in your home town. Life could be seen as it "really" was. These slices of life are documentaries in the strictest sense. They document history, people, reality and life. They are  "actualities"-- little more than moving snapshots. Note there is no plot or character development--just real life.

But before there could be a "birth of film", there were some important discoveries and inventions that made these early films possible. Today we'll introduce some of them.

Let's play with some early film toys and inventions.

You should be familiar with them. Please take notes and study them for our upcoming test on this material.

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”: Persistence of vision is the optical illusion where multiple images blend into a single image in the human mind. Without it, we would not be entertained by film as it wouldn't appear to "move"--hence, no "movies".

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. 

Light Bulb: Edison 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 (specifically). 

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.The Films

To sum up and add some depth, take a look at Crash Course #1: Movies Are Magic. (9 min.)

Watch these early films from the late 1890's and early 1900's. As you watch, take notes in your journal/notebook about the director(s) and the titles and content of the film. Summarize in a few words or a sentence or two what each film is about. At the end of the collection, answer the following:

• What do you notice about the films? 
• What subject matter do they deal with? 
• What do you notice about the shots and camera work in these films?

Edweard Muybridge (1830-1904):

Our first pioneer of the art of film is the photographer Edweard Muybridge. Muybridge was a photographer who became famous when former California Governor Leland Stanford contacted him to help settle a bet over whether all four hooves of a running horse left the ground. Muybridge began experimenting with an array of 12 cameras photographing a galloping horse in a sequence of shots. Between 1878 and 1884, Muybridge perfected his method, proving that horses do have all four hooves off the ground at some point during their running stride. Muybridge worked at the University of Pennsylvania between 1883 and 1886, producing thousands of photographs of humans and animals in motion. He published several books featuring his motion photographs and toured Europe and North America, presenting his photographic methods using a projection device he'd developed, the Zoopraxiscope.

Some other interesting bits about Muybridge: During a break from his photographic research, his wife, Flora, had an affair with Major Harry Larkyns, a drama critic. Believing that Larkyns had fathered the couple's recently born son, Muybridge tracked him down, shot, and killed him. At his trial for murder in 1875, several witnesses testified that Muybridge's personality had changed after he received a head injury in which he lost his ability to taste and smell. The jury didn't buy the insanity defense, but acquitted Muybridge on the grounds of "justifiable homicide." Muybridge died in 1904. His contributions to art and photography spurred the works of other film inventors, many of which we will study today.

Please watch the following two films, the first a documentary: Photographs of Motion

and the second, a series of Muybridge's photographs, sped up to show motion (persistence of vision!)

So what's the oldest film ever made? Interesting story:

The oldest surviving film in existence at this point is Louis Le Prince's Roundhay Garden Scene (1888). This sequence was recorded on an 1885 Eastman Kodak paper base photographic film through Le Prince's single-lens combi-camera-projector. It moved at 12 frames per second.

Le Prince's life was also interesting and there's a mystery (and some say conspiracy) attached to his death. Le Prince was never able to perform a planned public demonstration in the United States of his films because he mysteriously vanished from a train on 16 September 1890 --His body and luggage (including his film camera) were never found. Le Prince's disappearance allowed Thomas Edison to take credit for the invention of motion pictures in America, but now Le Prince has been heralded as 'The Father of Cinematography.'

Edison Kinetoscope films: (1894-1896)
Titles in this clip include: The Kiss, Serpentine Dances, Sandow the Strong Man, Comic Boxing, Cock  Fighting, The Barber Shop, Feeding the Chickens, Seminary Girls & Boxing Cats (the first cat film meme!)

Many of Edison's early films were shot by W.K.L. Dickson. Thomas Edison invented the idea of the Kinetoscope but it was Dickson who designed it between 1889-1892. His film studio was called the Black Maria. The first kinetoscope exhibition occurred in New York, NY in 1894.

Other Kinetoscope films:

• Carmencita (1894)
• Statue of Liberty (1898)
• The inauguration of President McKinley (1901)
• Scenes in New York City (1903) (sound added)
• Skyscrapers of New York (1906) (Mutoscope)
• Moscow Clad in Snow (1906)

At the same time, in France, the Lumiere Bros. were also working on the invention of film, particularly, a camera that could also project a film for the benefit of an audience. Learn more about The Lumiere Bros. (Documentary, 10 minutes).

• Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (Lumiere Bros) (1895)
• Lion, London Zoological Gardens (Lumiere Bros) (1895)
• The Sprinkler Sprinkled (Lumiere Bros) (1895)
• Le Squelette Joyeux (the happy skeleton) (1895) 
• Various actualities (documentaries)

HOMEWORK: None. If you missed viewing any of these linked films, please do so and take notes on the group or collection of films and their creator. Otherwise, have a nice Feb. break!

Snow Day Makeup; Joker (Conclusion); The Academy Awards

Please turn in your answers to the chapter today.

After watching Joker (2019), let's discuss the film.

After our opinions, let's take a look at some critical reviews of the film by film critics. What we don't finish in class, please finish with your reading of the chapter handout on "The Academy Awards".

The 2020 Academy Awards

HOMEWORK: Please read the chapter on "The Academy Awards" if we did not complete it in class; read "The Birth of Film" chapter as well for Thursday.  

Joker: Day 3; Discussion & The Academy Awards

Please turn in your answers to the chapter today.

After watching Joker (2019), let's discuss the film.

After our opinions, let's take a look at some critical reviews of the film by film critics. What we don't finish in class, please finish with your reading of the chapter handout on "The Academy Awards".

HOMEWORK: Please read the chapter on "The Academy Awards".  If you can, watch some of the Oscars on Feb. 9, this Sunday. 

Joker: Day 2

This morning, please take the first 5-10 minutes to complete the film idea worksheet. Turn this in as participation credit today. If you did not drop off your list of 100 films of all time packet, please do so (late). 

As you continue to watch the film Joker, please take notes on the film analysis sheet provided. We will complete the film next class and discuss it. Notes are due at the end of the screening. Remember: you do not receive credit for disrupting, being distracted with your Chromebooks, or sleeping during the film viewing. 

HOMEWORK: None.

Film Studies (Intro); 100 Films Survey; Joker Script & Screening

Introduction (of sorts): 20 min.

This course is designed to provide you with a wide foundation of Film History and Film Studies, while also giving you experience writing film scripts and film reviews/critiques (as such found in the field of Journalism). By its end, you will understand the art of film hopefully more than you do now, and will gain a better appreciation for the art of filmmaking.

Some of you may like this course of study so much you will take film courses in college, major in film studies, or become professional filmmakers. Others will at least benefit from knowing (and appreciating) the art of film.

This course (as Playwriting) will mostly be found online. Deadlines and assignments (with instructions) will be posted on the blog as needed. Please check the blog daily (even when absent) so you do not fall behind. Written assignments and copies of scripts/terms/materials for this course can be found on our Google Classroom site.

To start this morning, please note the following resources that you will be able to access throughout the course.

Handouts (Film vocabulary/terms; resources; sample script)

• Film Glossary
• IMDB.COM
• IMSDB.COM
• Film Script Format

WRITING TASK: Today, please look at the top 100+ Films of All Time to see which films you have seen. It will serve as a basis for our course.

A. For each film you have personally seen, circle or highlight the title of the film.
B. Count the # of films you have seen personally.
C. In the COMMENT section below make a reflective statement about the top 100 films of all time you have actually seen. 

• How many of the films have you seen?
• How much of a film buff are you? How often do you watch films? Do you like watching films? Why or why not? 
• Would you consider these films to be representative of the best films ever made? Why or why not? What films or filmmakers have been left off? 
• What can you conclude about your experience as a student studying film?

2. Keep the handy handouts throughout this course. You can find extra copies in our Google classroom. We will be using these terms and the vocabulary will help you analyze and criticize films we watch. We'll start using this today!

Around 8:00, let's dive into our film experience. Let's take a look at the script and film Joker. Here's some stats. This course gets very historical and detailed. It's important that:

A. You take notes on the films we watch or screen.
B. You come to class on time and consistently (if you miss a film, you will need to make it up on your own time)
C. And as much as I hate to say this, please watch the films. Putting your head down, falling asleep, disrupting class by talking during a film screening, or reading/interacting with your internet while screening a film will cause you to lose participation during class.

PREMISE: In Gotham City, mentally troubled comedian Arthur Fleck is disregarded and mistreated by society. He then embarks on a downward spiral of revolution and bloody crime. This path brings him face-to-face with his alter-ego: the Joker.

Director:

 Todd Phillips (known for producing A Star is Born, 2018; Wardogs, 2016; The Hangover, parts 1, 2, 3; Starsky & Hutch, 2004)

Writers:

 Todd Phillips, Scott Silver (The Finest Hours, 2016; The Fighter, 2010; 8 Mile (2002)

Stars:

 Joaquin Phoenix (Joker/Arthur Fleck), Robert De Niro (Murray Franklin), Zazie Beetz (Sophie), Francis Conroy (Penny Fleck), Brett Cullen (Thomas Wayne)

We'll read the first few pages of the script today. Please complete the reading of the script for homework (see below).

As we watch the film, please note the following (or see the film analysis handout):

• Title
• Director
• Producer or studio producing the film
• Actors & their roles
• Setting
• Relevant film artists (special effects, music, cinematography, editing, writer, etc.)
• Premise
• Opening shot/establishing shot (how does the film begin?)
• Inciting incident (what causes the protagonist to get involved in the story?)
• Conflicts/complications/crisis (rising action)
• Dark moment/turning point (what scene indicates the lowest end for the protagonist(s)?)
• Enlightenment (what scene allows the protagonist to face the challenge of meeting his/her adversary or antagonist?)
• Climax
• Resolution (how does the film end?)

Hand in your notes at the end of the screening for participation. Students will NOT get full participation if they fall asleep, do not watch the film, disrupt class, are absent/tardy, etc.)

HOMEWORK: Please read Chapter 1: Viewing Films and answer the questions on the packet for Friday. Complete your reading of the script Joker (2019). If you did not post your comment today during class, please do so. A late penalty applies.