Film has progressed from a two-second long shot of a horse, to the portrayal of god-like superpowers and stunning special effects.
The history of film began in the 1890s, when motion picture cameras were invented and film production companies started to be established. Because of the limits of technology, films of the 1890s were under a minute long and until 1927 motion pictures were produced without sound. The first eleven years of motion pictures saw film moving from a novelty to an established large-scale entertainment industry. The films became several minutes long consisting of several shots. The first rotating camera for taking panning shots was built in 1897. The first film studios were built in 1897. Special effects and film continuity were introduced, involving action moving from one sequence into another, began to be used. In 1900, continuity of action across successive shots was achieved and the close-up shot was introduced (that some claim D. W. Griffith invented). Most films of this period were what came to be called "chase films". Regular newsreels were exhibited from 1910 and soon became a popular way for finding out the news. Overall, from about 1910, American films had the largest share of the market in Australia and in all European countries except France. At the time, D. W. Griffith had the highest standing among American directors in the industry, because of the dramatic excitement he conveyed to the audience through his films. Best known for his films Birth of a Nation and Intolerance, Griffith led an era where movies were defined by their stars, in his case, “leading lady” Lillian Gish. In the 1940s, another director emerged to change the nature of film. His name was Orson Welles, and he made movies what they are today. Best known for his classic, critically acclaimed film “Citizen Kane,” Welles showed that movies could be more than their stars, and pioneered the noir technique, which is a subtle, dramatic, intelligent genre of movies which is still popular today. Although he wasn’t appreciated during his own day, Citizen Kane is now known as the best movie ever made, and his work is arguably the most influential of all directors.
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AuthorLuke Kelly is a senior at Wamogo Regional High School. He created his first blog when he found out it would be a graded assignment in his Journalism class, and he doesn't know why he bothered with an "about me" section. Archives
February 2016
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