Arranged Silent Film Project

Today, after viewing The Great Train Robbery, please complete the following tasks:

1. Gather in your film group (see post below).
2. Come up with an idea for an arranged silent film.
3. Create a treatment for the film. You treatment should include up to 10 scenes--please no more than that.
4. Write a short description for the scenes (see post below for information)
5. Plan and decide who you might need as an actor, where you are going to shoot, when you are going to shoot, etc. Talk with your partner to make choices.
6. Print out a copy of the arranged script by the end of class today. You should print out a second or third copy for yourself and/or your actors, etc.

This project is due (in completion) by February 15. You will have some time in class devoted to editing and preparing the film. If you have already started, please use a class period today to edit and arrange your film.

If you get done early, or you have completed the steps above (as much as you possibly can in class), please read the post below on Birt Acres, R.W. Paul, and Cecil Hepworth and the Hepworth Manufacturing Company. Take notes on these guys and watch their films.

Also: the following are student "actuality" films. Take a gander.







HOMEWORK: Begin shooting your arranged silent film.

The British Are Coming: Acres, Paul, 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.

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 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,  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)

The Delhi Durbar (1903)

Birt Acres: Rough Sea at Dover (1895)

Crude Set Drama (1896)

Arrest of a Pickpocket (date unknown, 1896+)

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)
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 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.

Edwin S. Porter & George Melies: The Pre-Arranged Scene

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.

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

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

After screening the films, please complete the following:
George Melies outlined a narrative story by numbering scenes he would need for a film. See the chapter 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.

1. Work alone or with one partner.
2. 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.
3. Create a short film with up to 10 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?
B. What is the central action or event in the scene?
C. What characters are involved in the action?
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?)

HOMEWORK: This prearranged scene outline is due next class. If you do not complete the treatment in class, please complete as homework for participation credit.

First Film Project: Actualities; Early Film Invention

Please turn in your index cards for the "Beginning of Film." Today, join 3-5 other students and upload your actualities into iMovie, if you can. Create a title for each individual film with your name on it as the director. Work together to edit and prepare the film. If you'd like, add a music track. Help each other and ask questions about the basics of iMovie. Create an MP4 of your film files and I will come around by the end of period one to collect these files.

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: Join us next door to learn about early film inventions. The following are important events, inventions, and their inventors that helped create the film industry. You should be familiar with them. Please take notes. You will be tested on this material as the course continues.

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 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.

The Birth of Film

We will be covering a broad time line throughout this course, starting with the origin of film and moving on then to the present. For an idea of where we're starting today and where we're going by the end of the course, please take a few minutes this morning to watch this film: The History of Film.

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. They are  "actualities"-- little more than moving snapshots. Note there is no plot or character development--just real life.

Watch these early 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?

This observation should be written and turned in as participation credit today.

The 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.

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

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. The first kinetoscope exhibition occurred in New York, NY in 1894.

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)

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 about The Lumiere Bros. (Documentary) here.

• 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) 
• Arab Cortege (Lumiere Bros) (1896)
• Various actualities (documentaries)

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 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 Jan. 30.

In addition to reading, please record a 20-30 second "actuality" with your cell phone or digital recording device. Your actuality should simply record someone real doing something typical. Use the material from today's class to give you ideas of the kinds of subject matter and situations you can use. Bring your digital file to next class for editing.

Welcome to Film Studies!

Welcome to Film Studies!

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). You can find the course syllabus on my teacher website. 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.

To start, after you have completed your final exam, please read this article and complete the following task(s) on an index card to turn in for participation credit:

Film Studies Commentary by David Bordwell

#1. Essential question: What's the difference between the way a film reviewer (journalist), a film historian, a film scholar, and a film fan evaluate a film?
#2. List your top 10 favorite films of all time.
#3. Name your favorite genres of film. (i,e. what do you prefer to watch?) Why?

Please read the article above, and answer the questions just above in complete sentences by the end of class (required - due today). We will then have a discussion about film.

After our discussion in your JOURNAL/NOTEBOOK for film studies:

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 films of all time. Please read Dirk's information, take a look through the list and note the following (perhaps in 3 columns):

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.

At 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.

HOMEWORK: None.

Final Exam

Please complete your final exam and the post assessment test for this course. We are now completed with playwriting for this year. Please turn in your realist scripts, if you have not already done so.

Also: I will spend some time with musicals (I promised I'd do so, but we'll pick this up in the film studies section of the course--particularly during the 1930's and again next year during Writing X Cultures).

I wanted to end with some light comedy, but given both tests, anything I start now would be impossible to finish for a week.

So, I'd like to jump into film studies immediately. See post above for details!

HOMEWORK: None. If you are submitting a Black History poem, please get the draft to me by tomorrow, Jan. 18. This is an EXTRA CREDIT assignment for this marking period.