1. First film made by the lumiere brothers?

The exit from the lumiere factory/Sortie des usines lumiere a lyon (1895)

 

2. What is the phantom ride?

Camera shot from the front of a train so called this because it looks as though there is a ghost floating along the track

 

3. What was ground breaking about the sick kitten and the life of an American fireman

The sick kitten used a close up of the kitten to show it in more detail to the audience.

 

4. Which nations film industry did does cousins say was his favourite?

Denmark

Part 1

1895-1918

The Lumiere Brothers first film was called ” La Sortie De L’usine Lumiere a Lyon” AKA “The Exit From The Lumiere Factory In Lyon” It was first screened to the public on the 28th December 1895

The Phantom rides were a popular genre of film in Britain and the US towards the end of the nineteenth century. It was filmed by putting a camera at the front of a vehicle and since the vehicle wasn’t in shot it looked like an invisible force was pushing the camera – hence the name “Phantom Ride”.

“The life Of An American Fireman”(1903, George s Flemming)  was important because it was the first film to use continuity editing. This was evident when the film would cut between shots inside and outside the house, showing the story at the same time from a different view.

“The Sick Kitten”(1903, George Albert Smith) Was significant because it was the first use of a close-up in cinema history.

The fist film star in film history was Florence Lawrence she was most famous during the early 20th Century and was the first actor to be publicly named.

“Birth of of a nation” (1915, D.W Griffith) was a controversial film because it showed many racist themes – especially showing that the KKK were heroic / “the good guys”

Cousin describes the Danish film industry to be the best in the world because of their ability to construct narratives.

“Haxan” (Benjamin Christensen 1922) A remarkable Danish film that Cousin was very impressed by

 

 

 

1) The first film made by the Lumiere Brothers was called ‘Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory’ Which was a film, showing off exactly what the films name says. But, the first film that was publicly shown in a film theater that they made, was called ‘Arrival Of a Train At La Ciotat’.

2) A Phantom Ride is when a camera is put on front of a train or a car while it’s moving. It gives off the effect of a phantom flying through the sky, which is where it gets its name from.

3) The Sick Kitten was ground breaking because it was the first use of a close in film, when the film zooms in on the kitten eating. While the Life Of An American Fireman was ground breaking, because it was the first use of continuity editing. However, this was only true for the seconded version of the film. As the first version of the film, showed off the same sv version of the film. As the first version of the film, showed off the same scene twice, but from different angles. While the second version shows off one scene, from different angles as the story progress’. Which is continuity editing.

4) Florance Lawrance was the first film star. She became famous, after she was the first publicly named film star. Audiences’ were shocked, when she was believed to be dead, but then going on to appear in another film. She died in 1938.

5) DW Griffen Directed A Birth of A Nation. The film showed off examples of some of the best film work of the time, however, the subject matter of the film was based around racism and lynching people of color. It also re-started the KKK movement.

6) Cousin’s said that The Danish had the best film industry in 1910.

7) Cousin said that : Urban Gad – The Abyss, was an incredible film. This was due to the naturalistic movement of the actress in the film. As well as that, He said that: Benjamin Christiansen – Haxan, was a reachable film, sue to its story telling.

Birth of Cinema:

1.) Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory (1895)

2.) Films that have the camera moving forwards by strapping them to a vehicle.

3.) The use of editing in the film without something showing that there was a change in shot.

4.) Florence Laurence

The Hollywood Dream:

1.) D. W. Griffith

2.) The Danish film industry

3.) Christianson , Haxan. Urban Gad, The Abyss.

1) What was the name of the first film made by the Lumiere Brothers and when was this?
Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory – 1895

2) What is the ‘Phantom Ride’?
An early genre of film, which shows a vehicle moving forwards by attaching a camera to the front of it.

3) What was ground-breaking about the silent films ‘The Sick Kitten’ and ‘The Life of an American Fireman’?
‘The Sick Kitten’ featured the first close-up shot, and ‘The Life of an American Fireman’ was the first film to cut to a different location – first it showed the outside of a burning building and then it cut to inside.

4) What the name of the first ‘film star’ in Hollywood?
Florence Lawrence

5) Who directed ‘Birth of a Nation’ and why is this film now considered to be controversial?
DW Griffiths – the film represents black people as unintelligent and the KKK as heroic, and it caused the rebirth of the KKK in America.

6) Which nation’s film industry does Cousins describe as ‘the best in the world’ in the 1910s and why?
Denmark, because they had an innovative way of constructing narratives.

7) Give an example of two films and two directors from this place and time cited by Cousins as remarkable.
Haxan (dir. Benjamin Christensen, 1922) and The Abyss (dir. Urban Gad, 1910).

Exit from the factory – 22 March 1895

Films showing progress of transport, usually by strapping a camera to the front of a vehicle moving forward. Where only the track and scenery can be scene

‘The sick kitten’ (1903) includes the first close-up to show the kitten eating the food and ‘Life of an American Fireman’ (1903) includes the earliest example of continuity editing, notably during the final scenes of the rescue of the woman and her child

Florence Lawrence (January 2, 1886 – December 28, 1938) was the first film actor to be named publicly

Directed by D. W. Griffith, (1915) controversial because considered propaganda due to the message that black people couldn’t become part of the American society as equals to the white and re sparked the KKK movement

Considered the Danish film industry the best in the world because it took film seriously

Directors such as Benjamin Christensen, Urban Gad and films: Häxan, The Abyss were considered ‘remarkable’ by Cousin’s

1.) What and when was the first film created by Lumiere Brothers?

The first film created by Lumiere Brothers was “Workers Leaving The Lumière Factory in Lyon” also known as “Employees Leaving the Lumière Factory and Exiting the Factory”. It was filmed in 1895 and it is a French short, black and white documentary film directed and produced by Louis Lumiere.

2.) What is a Phantom Ride?

Phantom rides, also known as panoramas, were a genre of film popular in Britain and the US in the 19th Century. It’s when the position of the camera showed only the track and scenery and the movement appeared to be coming from an invisible force.

3.) What was ground-breaking about the films “The Sick Kitten” and “Life of an American Fireman”?

In The Sick Kitten, the editing technique used in “Grandma’s Reading Glasses” of switching from a medium shot to a point-of-view close up was used; but without the circular black mask to differentiate it. Life of an American Fireman was the earliest example of Cross-Cutting, an unusual editing technique where you alternate one sequence with another.

4.) What was the name of the first film star in Hollywood?

Florence Lawrence (January 2, 1886 – December 28, 1938) was a Canadian-American stage performer and film actress.

 

1. Workers leaving the Lumiere Factory in Lyon in 1895 what was 45 seconds long and was directed by Louis Lumiere.
2. Phantom Rides was applied because the position of the camera meant that only the track and scenery could be seen and the movement appeared to be coming from an invisible force.
3. The Sick Kitten was significant because director George Albert Smith editing technique with the mid shot to the close up. While Edwin S. Porter’s Life of an fireman is significant through his continuous narrative over seven scenes in a total of nine shots.
4. Florence Lawrence is referred to as the first movie film star.
5. Birth of a Nation 1915 was directed by D. W. Griffith and is controversial in today’s world through its depiction of African-Americans and how the KKK is idolized in the film as heroes.
6. The Danish film industry is what Cousin sees as the best film industry in the 1910’s.
7. Haxan by Benjamin Christensen, The Phantom Carriage by Victor Sjostrom are two films and directors who he sees as remarkable.

In Citizen Kane the director popularized the style of using the camera to convey the characters status in a scene. An example of this when Kane is walking towards the massive window showing him getting further away and demonstrating to the audience his growing disconnect with everyone around him.

Another example of the director using cinematography to improve the scenes is with the use of set design. For example at the end when the camera is flying thought Kane’s boxed assets its constructed in a way to look like an entire city. Whereas if the shot was just a straight still.

Overall the main way the directors convey the story-line of Citizen Kane is  through the actors port-rials of the characters with the main example being Kane’s angry outburst where he destroys all the items in his second wife room. The actor Orson Well’s use of physicality when he throws the lamp post over the wardrobe demonstrates his destructive anger at that instant.

 

 

German expressionism came about after WW1 and during the rise of Hitler, Germany was eager to be the best when it came to intellectual and artistic production. They were always competing with America. Hollywood was beginning to use technological advancements in their movies which the German film industry couldn’t compete with. So, they developed a new movement which was full of symbolism’s and this was the birth of expressionism.

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (Robert Wiene) was released in 1920 is a German silent horror film, which tells the story of Dr Caligari and his silent Cesare,  Caligari stores Cesare in a  cabinet and shows it off at the Holstenwall Carnival. Based upon an unsolved murder of a girl at a carnival, the film sees Caligari ordering Cesare to murder various individuals during the night.

The film is greatly influenced by German Expressionism, the set design in particular reflecting this through unusual and twisted backgrounds, painted in very contrasting colours. The Mise en scene is incredible in this film for the 1920’s, as you can see there are lots of angular shadows and shapes in this particular scene. the use of light and dark in this scene gives the audience an idea of a much larger scale than the set itself.

Another example of light in this film is In the scene where Cesare was going to kidnap Jane, he is shown as a total black shadow on the wall. That scene really disclosures Cesare’s sinister feelings and intentions and the use of light or lack of light allows this feeling.