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.

100 Best Movies Response & The Birth of Film

Last class, you spent some time reviewing the top 100 movies of all time. Please read Tim Dirk's information on the AMC Film History website. Last class you took a look through the list, and noted the following:

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

After reading through your list, make some personal observations.

How "literate" are you when it comes to "best" or top films of all time? Does there seem to be a pattern or genre bias in this list? How does our own culture, socio-economic status, gender, or age affect the way we approach films? Were you surprised to see these films on this list? If you were to write this list, what movies would you put on it that were not included (feel free to indicate your top ten favorites of all time)?

After answering the questions above, write a response to the forum during period one.

After your post, please take a look at these websites (during period one):

• 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.
• Youtube.com Many of the clips we will be watching in this class come from sites like youtube.com.

Period 2: The Birth of Film:

Early film was little more than the thrill of capturing "real life." Finally, 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. These "actualities" are little more than moving snapshots. Note there is no plot or character development--just real life.

Watch these films from the late 1890's and early 1900's. As you watch, take notes 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?

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.

Edison Kinetoscope films: (1894-1896)
The Kiss, Serpentine Dances, Sandow the Strong Man, Comic Boxing, Cock Fighting, The Barber Shop, Feeding the Chickens, Seminary Girls 

The Lumiere Bros. (Documentary)

• Lion, London Zoological Gardens (Lumiere Bros) (1895)
• Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (Lumiere Bros) (1895)
• The Sprinkler Sprinkled (Lumiere Bros) (1895)
• Le Squelette Joyeux (the happy skeleton) (1895) 
• Arab Cortege (Lumiere Bros) (1896)
• Various actualities (documentaries)

Other Kinetoscope films:

• Statue of Liberty (1898)
• The inauguration of President McKinley (1901)
• Skyscrapers of New York (1903) 
• Moscow Clad in Snow (1906) 
• Vancouver (1907)

Please take a look at this film as a model for your own project (details to follow next class): The History of Early Film.

Homework: Please complete your viewing of these films and read the article "The Beginning of Film." Take notes of what you found interesting/important or confusing. Put ?, comment, etc. on index card to hand in Friday, Feb. 3.