• What was the name of the first film made by Lumiere Brother of the Cinema and when was this?

-Sortie des Usines Lumière à Lyon (1895)

• What is the “Phantom ride”?

-Phantom ride was filming technique used where a camera would be on the front of a train or vehicle giving the look of a flying fast moving shot

• What was ground-breaking about the silent films “The Sick Kitten” and “Life of an American Fireman”?
• The sick Kitten used the close up shot for one the the first times in cinema history and life of an American fireman was notable for its synthesis of numerous innovations in film technique that had occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Specifically, Porter builds a continuous narrative over seven scenes, rendered in a total of nine shots.

• What was the first film star in Hollywood?
• Florence Lawrence, a Canadian-American stage performer and film actress. She is often referred to as “The First Movie Star,” and was the first film actor to be named publicly.

• Who directed Birth of a nation and why is this film now considered to be controversial?
• D.W. Griffith and it is controversial as the film is credited as one the events that sparked the reformation of the ku klux klan.

Episode 2:

• Who were buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd and why where they so important to the success of Hollywood in the silent era.
• These people where some of Hollywood’s first film stars, all melded music with silent film and comedy to create a distinct type of cinema that got all these men famous, Chaplin was interested In performance whereas Keaton while also the same was very often doing dangerous stunts in his films.
• Name a film (with date) staring each of the above.
• Charlie Chaplin : The great dictator (1940)
• Harold Lloyd : Safety last (1923)
• Buster Keaton : The General (1926)
• Who were the Italian and French equivalents of Charlie Chaplin?
• Italian: Toto
• French: Jacques Tati

Key Films and Directors in Hollywood in 1920s powerpouin (1)

innovative use of mise en scene-

Throughout the film the mise en scene is very strange, instead of regular set designs with real looking houses/surroundings the set design is very exaggerated and distorted, this is innovative as it tried to make not only the characters get a message off to the viewer but the set itself too.

However making a realistic looking set at this time would’ve been challenging for the production team so this was a more innovative way to get around the problem of creating a set, in a way that makes it easier for the production team and benefits the audience.

innovative use of cinematography-

Cinematography at this time was quite limited as they did not have a camera that could be used in a mobile fashion. The camera had to stay still while recording which put restraints of shots they could achieve, so this high angle shot would’ve been very innovative for the time.

innovative uses of editing-

As film at this time was still physical, editing was very very limited, however the wasn’t absolutely none. For starters as it was a silent film the text cards had to be added in, giving speech from characters or information about the film so far.

Secondly, they where able to use a type of fade effect. Where the iris of the camera would close slowly or open slowly to have the look that it was fading into or out of black around a character or object.

However the iris of the camera could not completely close but instead would close to a very small opening, so to get a complete fade out they would drop a small piece of material to cover the final opening giving the view of a fade out.

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use of steadicam in the shining-

A major part of the filming process of the shining was the use of the steadicam mounts created by Garrett Brown. This allowed the cameraman’s movement to not affect the level or position of the camera meaning a steady shot almost anywhere, not just limited to using tracks etc.

Kubrik, the films director, got the creator to operate the steadicam during filming as to make sure it was used correctly as it was a brand new invention.

notable uses in the shining-

In one scene in the shining we follow behind Danny riding a tricycle around the the hotel hallways, the use of the steadicam in this scene helps massively to create tension within the audience, and help to emerse them within the film. This is done by, firstly, the steadicam itself not making any noise which focuses the audience on the loud noise of the wheels on Dannys tricycle, this eerie noise of the wheels unsettles the audience and builds tension and secondly, helps to emerse the viewer in the film by having zero other noises then the tricycle. For example noises that could have possibly been made by the operator of the steadicam was removed by using a wheelchair to push the operator along to film, the use of this wheelchair also allowed the steadicam to be at a lower level which is why we are able to have the along the floor shot behind Danny, which itself also helps to build tension and  emerse the viewer because as we are following behind Danny, we don’t know what is coming next or what will be around a corner, which will engage the audience as they will want to see what is coming next.

symmetry in the shining-

The use off symmetry within the shining is extremely prominent. Symmetry is used frequently through the course of the film, to effect the viewer in a way that aids the scene.

The first way the use of symmetry will effect the audiuacne is an immediate attention grab, anything centred in a shot will draw the attention of the viewer to it straight away and give them a sense that whatever object or person is being centered is important and should we payed attention to.

An example of this is the twins in the halls in the shining hotel.

Already, twin girls in matching close silent and starring would be an eerie or spooky sight for an audience, however when symmetry is added the audience no longer see this as a small eerie thought an they might have if for example the girls where features in the background of another shot. They become the entire focus of the viewer and all thoughts are on them, and as naturally auidiances try to guess hat will happen next, which in a scene like this combined with the tone and dark imagery of the film leads to some uneasy thoughts about what could happen to these girls, or what they might do.

Location/set design –

Blade runner is set in Los Angeles in the dystopian year of 2019, the setting is made to feel dark, mysterious and scary. This is done in a few ways.

Firstly, the skyscrapers in the city do a good job of giving a daunting vibe to the film by making everyone feel small, in comparison to the massive structures all the characters look small which makes the audience feel as if they are less powerful, which in turn makes the film more suspenseful as the characters face off against the antagonists.

Also, the constant clouds of smoke pouring out buildings adds an eerie atmosphere to the whole film, in multiple scenes of the film the smoke is used to aid the scene by means of adding suspense or camera work for example.

lighting-

The lighting in blade runner is not just there for the aiding of scenes and audience enjoyment, but it also serves a more metaphoric purpose.

Everything about blade runner is dark, the story, the characters, the place, there are very few highly lit shots however these are done with neon lights that are scattered about the city. The contrast of the neon lights against the dark smokey setting, suddenly bright then suddenly dark makes the city feel scary to the audiance and gives the film and unpredictable nature.

Lighting is also used in the film to portray character, for example in the scene where we see Deckard’s apartment.

In this scene Deckard’s apartment is poorly lit and we have very little detail in what we can see, similar to how Deckard has been closed up and not showing too much of himself as a person or the way he feels. However, later on while he is with his girlfriend Racheal, not only does the character of Deckard open up from the cold or emotionless person he showed at the beginning of the film, but the lighting also opens up and we more more details of this apartment allowing the audience to learn more about him.

costume-

Costume design is probably one of the most iconic parts of blade runner to many viewers, the costumes combine the attire of the 1930s and 40s with a futuristic look that fits the setting of the film brilliantly.

Costume is used in blade runner, more so in the female characters, to make them unforgettable. For example Racheal’s rather wide shoulders in her costume. The first time you see the character, immediately this part of her costume is noticed by everyone in the audience, this focuses the attention of the audience on her even more and helps to solidify her as an important character in the minds of the viewers.

The same can be said for the character of Pris, her extensive makeup/face-paint immediately catches the viewers attention and makes her a memorable character, and also her clothes may not be as outgoing as her hair/makeup the all black gives a mysterious touch to her appearance along with her odd personality ands mannerisms.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1osVTlRjreExRVZS_2TIIw4dfjmtJqJ_N

In this shot a Steadicam follows Danny around the corridors on his bike. While also being a symmetrical shot as Kubrick is known for doing it also adds to the story by creating tension and an erie atmosphere. This is done by a combination of the music used and Danny seeming almost worried about something behind him or around him, which with the camera following him it almost puts the viewer in the perspective of the thing Danny is scared of or running from.