1895-1928: The Birth of Cinema
- The first film made by the Lumiere brothers was Employees leaving the Lumiere factory, (1895).
- The ‘Phantom Ride’ was where a tracking shot was created by filming from the front of a moving train, creating an effect a moving ghost.
- The ground breaking thing about the films ‘The Sick Kitten’ and the ‘Life of an American fireman’ is that cutting was used as an editing technique without the fear of breaking up continuity. The sick kitten uses an effective closeup.
- Florence Lawrence was the first film star in Hollywood.
- The hub of film production is thought to have moved from the East Coast to the west coast due to the good weather, and east coast films and technology being patented.
- The Danish film industry was described as best in the world due to its morphing of film into an art of light.
- Kristian Levring – HAXAN, Dreyer – The Passion of Joan Arc.
- D.W Griffiths Directed Birth of a Nation. Racism and the negative depiction of Black characters makes the film controversial, however critics still hold it up high on its ground breaking cut.
- American Comedy Directors:
Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin were comedy directors.
Keaton’s famous works include ‘Sherlock Jr’, where editing is used to change setting. ‘The General’ was a film where Keaton played a Train driver during the American Civil War, the pacing of the film notably helps with its comedic value.
Ellie Suleman takes from Keaton, by keeping the shot in pan and making grumpiness a comedic theme.
Charlie Chaplin’s comedy focused more on body movement. ‘City Lights’ is a film where he displays his skill on using his body & character. ‘The Kid’ recreated the childhood Chaplin grew up in, showing how he was able to target complex themes through comedy.
Nicholas Roeg mimics Chaplin’s use of manuerisms, focusing on people’s fidgetting & expressions.
Harold Lloyd was an actor and his scenes involved stunts & action for comedy. ‘Safety Last’ was a film where Lloyd appears to climb a large building and swing across blocks by rope.
Yasujiro Ozu was inspired most by Lloyd, as his films contained stunts and visually funny humour.