I started this Udemy course called Movies: The Art of Film in September 2024 as taught by professor of communication Dale Ingham. The course description is as follows:
The course is for students interested in expanding their understanding of cinema by providing them with a fluency in and understanding of film’s unique language. As a professor at five colleges and universities in the United States, I'm happy to provide you my experience of 28 years of teaching by offering you this training. You will never watch a movie in the same way, after taking this course; I promise.
After taking this course, students will . . .
Gain a basic overview of cinema conventions that can be utilized as a consumer of moving image material within our media culture.
Learn a vocabulary of technical and aesthetic terminology to assist them in conversing about film.
Be better able to enjoy the art of motion pictures, appreciate the ways that the moving visual medium portrays the world, and perceive more fully the meaning of one of the most powerful popular arts.
Obtain an understanding of film history and film production and how these areas might relate to film analysis.
Understand the communicative elements of cinema and have the ability to identify and articulate artistic elements of both form and content.
Appreciate movies in a way that most people don't.
Have a solid, strong launching pad to pursue an interest in making movies or digital filmmaking.
What you’ll learn…
The artistic elements of cinema and the creative elements a filmmaker uses in creating a movie.
The language of film, including what the different artistic terms mean.
How a filmmaker communicates theme or an artistic statement by using artistic elements of film.
How to appreciate movies from a whole different perspective that most people don't understand.
This blog will serve as a repository of my notes, as well as of my written reflections and links to interesting articles and videos I’ve seen online that relate to the corse material.
1 - A Tribute to Movies
This Udemy Course opened by linking to a short film done for AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Movies.
ARTIFACT 01 > The Edifice of Film. “A Ticket to Dream.” YouTube, 05 Sep 2010.
ARTIFACT 02 > Entertainment Madness. “A Ticket to Dream: A Tribute to the Movies.” YouTube, 23 Feb 2015.
ARTIFACT 03 > Samuel. “A Ticket to a Dream (another version).” YouTube, 28 Oct 2016.
2 - Part One: A Brief Introduction to Film Production
MissConnell’s presentation on film production describes the filmmaking process as follows:
Filmmaking (often referred to in an academic context as film production) is the process of making a film.
Filmmaking involves a number of discrete stages including an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a film release and exhibition. • Filmmaking takes place in many places around the world in a range of economic, social, and political contexts, and using a variety of technologies and cinematic techniques.
Typically, it involves a large number of people, and can take from a few months to several years to complete.
MissConnell also discusses the process of film development, where:
In this stage, the project's producer selects a story, which may come from a book, play, another film, a true story, original idea, etc. After identifying a theme or underlying message, the producer works with writers to prepare a visualize key points. Another way is to produce a scriptment once a synopsis is produced.
Next, a screenwriter writes a screenplay over a period of several months. The screenwriter may rewrite it several times to improve dramatization, clarity, structure, characters, dialogue, and overall style. However, producers often skip the previous steps and develop submitted screenplays which investors, studios, and other interested parties assess through a process called script coverage. A film distributor may be contacted at an early stage to assess the likely market and potential financial success of the film. Hollywood distributors adopt a hard-headed business approach and consider factors such as the film genre, the target audience, the historical success of similar films, the actors who might appear in the film, and potential directors. All these factors imply a certain appeal of the film to a possible audience and hence the number of "A.I.S." (or "Asses in Seats") during the theatrical release. Not all films make a profit from the theatrical release alone, so film companies take DVD sales and worldwide distribution rights into account.
The producer and screenwriter prepare a film pitch, or treatment, and present it to potential financiers. If the pitch is successful, the film receives a "green light", meaning someone offers financial backing: typically a major film studio, film council, or independent investor. The parties involved negotiate a deal and sign contracts. Once all parties have met and the deal has been set, the film may proceed into the pre-production period. By this stage, the film should have a clearly defined marketing strategy and target audience.
Here, we will briefly look at what’s going on during pre-production, production, and post-production. Specifically, these three concepts can be defined as:
Pre-production involves all the tasks related to get a film ready to shoot. Budgets are being developed, while the film is being cast; story-boarded; with film crews being hired and scheduled; locations being scouted and selected, as well as sets being built. Ultimately, pre-production simply refers to all of the things that are happening before cameras start to film.
ARTIFACT 04 > Crawford, Matt. “What is Pre-Production?”
Production means that the movie is being filmed. When a film is in production, one knows it is being shot.
Post-production refers to all of the things that happen after a film is shot. That is, the movie is being edited; music is being added or scored for the movie; sound effects, dubbing, CGI and other special effects are being added; as well as marketing and promotional materials being prepared for the film’s distribution.
MissConnell’s presentation on production describes pre-production as involving the following:
In pre-production, every step of actually creating the film is carefully designed and planned. The production company is created and a production office established. The production is storyboarded and visualized with the help of illustrators and concept artists. A production budget is drawn up to plan expenditures for the film. For major productions, insurance is procured to protect against accidents.
The producer hires a crew. The nature of the film, and the budget, determine the size and type of crew used during filmmaking. Many Hollywood blockbusters employ a cast and crew of hundreds, while a low-budget, independent film may be made by a skeleton crew of eight or nine (or fewer). These are typical crew positions:
The director is primarily responsible for the storytelling, creative decisions and acting of the film.
The unit production manager manages the production budget and production schedule. They also report, on behalf of the production office, to the studio executives or financiers of the film.
The assistant director (AD) manages the shooting schedule and logistics of the production, among other tasks. There are several types of AD, each with different responsibilities.
The casting director finds actors to fill the parts in the script. This normally requires that actors audition.
The location manager finds and manages film locations. Most pictures are shot in the controllable environment of a studio sound stage but occasionally, outdoor sequences call for filming on location.
The director of photography (DoP) is the cinematographer who supervises the photography of the entire film.
The director of audiography (DoA) is the audiographer who supervises the audiography of the entire film. For productions in the Western world this role is also known as eithersound designer or supervising sound editor.
The production sound mixer is the head of the sound department during the production stage of filmmaking. They record and mix the audio on set - dialogue, presence and sound effects in mono and ambience in stereo. They work with the boom operator, Director, DoA, DoP, and First AD.
The sound designer creates the aural conception of the film, working with the supervising sound editor. On some productions the sound designer plays the role of a director of audiography.
The composer creates new music for the film. (usually not until post-production).
The production designer creates the visual conception of the film, working with the art director.
The art director manages the art department, which makes production sets.
The costume designer creates the clothing for the characters in the film working closely with the actors, as well as other departments.
The make up and hair designer works closely with the costume designer in addition to create a certain look for a character.
The storyboard artist creates visual images to help the director and production designer communicate their ideas to the production team.
The choreographer creates and coordinates the movement and dance - typically for musicals. Some films also credit a fight choreographer.
MissConnell’s presentation on production describes production as involving the following:
In production, the video production/ film is created and shot. More crew will be recruited at this stage, such as the property master, script supervisor, assistant directors, stills photographer, picture editor, and sound editors. These are just the most common roles in filmmaking; the production office will be free to create any unique blend of roles to suit the various responsibilities possible during the production of a film.
A typical day's shooting begins with the crew arriving on the set/location by their call time. Actors usually have their own separate call times. Since set construction, dressing and lighting can take many hours or even days, they are often set up in advance. The grip, electric and production design crews are typically a step ahead of the camera and sound departments: for efficiency's sake, while a scene is being filmed, they are already preparing the next one.
While the crew prepare their equipment, the actors are wardrobed in their costumes and attend the hair and make-up departments. The actors rehearse the script and blocking with the director, and the camera and sound crews rehearse with them and make final tweaks. Finally, the action is shot in as many takes as the director wishes. Most American productions follow a specific procedure:
The assistant director (AD) calls "picture is up!" to inform everyone that a take is about to be recorded, and then "quiet, everyone!" Once everyone is ready to shoot, the AD calls "roll sound" (if the take involves sound), and the production sound mixer will start their equipment, record a verbal slate of the take's information, and announce "sound speed" when they are ready. The AD follows with "roll camera", answered by "speed!" by the camera operator once the camera is recording. The clapper, who is already in front of the camera with the clapperboard, calls "marker!" and slaps it shut. If the take involves extras or background action, the AD will cue them ("action background!"), and last is the director, telling the actors "action!". The AD may echo "action" louder on large sets.
A take is over when the director calls "cut!", and camera and sound stop recording. The script supervisor will note any continuity issues and the whole process repeats. Once satisfied, the crew moves onto the next camera angle or “setup,” until the whole scene is “covered.” When shooting is finished for the scene, the assistant director declares a “wrap” or “moving on,” and the crew will “strike,” or dismantle, the set for that scene.
At the end of the day, the director approves the next day's shooting schedule and a daily progress report is sent to the production office. This includes the report sheets from continuity, sound, and camera teams. Call sheets are distributed to the cast and crew to tell them when and where to turn up the next shooting day. Later on, the director, producer, other department heads, and, sometimes, the cast, may gather to watch that day or yesterday's footage, called dailies, and review their work.
With workdays often lasting 14 or 18 hours in remote locations, film production tends to create a team spirit. When the entire film is in the can, or in the completion of the production phase, it is customary for the production office to arrange a wrap party, to thank all the cast and crew for their
efforts.
Finally, MissConnell’s presentation describes the following elements as related to post-production, where:
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art. It is a term for all stages of production occurring after the actual end of shooting and/or recording the completed work.
Post-production is, in fact, many different processes grouped under one name. These typically include:
Video editing the picture of a television program using an edit decision list (EDL).
Writing, (re)recording, and editing the soundtrack.
Adding visual special effects - mainly computer-generated imagery (CGI) and digital copy from which release prints will be made (although this may be made obsolete by digital-cinema technologies).
Sound design, Sound effects, ADR, Foley and Music, culminating in a process known as sound re-recording or mixing withprofessional audio equipment.
Transfer of Color motion picture film to Video or DPX with a telecine and color grading (correction) in a color suite.
Typically, the post-production phase of creating a film takes longer than the actual shooting of the film, and can take several months to complete because it includes the complete editing, color correction and the addition of music and sound. The process of editing a movie is also seen as the second directing because through the post production it is possible to change the intention of the movie. Furthermore through the use of color correcting tools and the addition of music and sound, the atmosphere of the movie can be heavily influenced. For instance a blue-tinted movie is associated with a cold atmosphere and the choice of music and sound increases the effect of the shown scenes to the audience.
Post-production was named the one of the 'Dying Industries' by IBISWorld. The once exclusive service offered by high end post houses or boutique facilities have been eroded away by video editing software that operates on a on-linear editing system (NLE). However, traditional (analogue) post-production services are being surpassed buy digital, leading to sales of over $6 bilion annually.
The digital revolution has made the video editing workflow process immeasurably quicker, as practitioners moved from time-consuming (tape to tape) linear video editing online editing suites, to computer hardware and video editing software such as Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, Avid, Sony Vegas, Cinelerra, and Lightworks.
RESOURCES on Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production…
Pro-Global Business Solutions. “Guide for Understanding 3 Stages of Production.”
The Producer and Director are key contributors to the making of a film:
The Producer is responsible for handling the logistics related to the filmmaking process by managing and overseeing all phases of production; while
The Director is responsible for the look and sound of a movie, the “art” or it. According to the screenkills website, a director is the creative lead of the film, “They hold the creative vision throughout the whole process, from pre-production through to the final edit. They are employed by the executive producer or producer, who is ultimately in charge of a production.”
Hollywood has two important calendar dates that represent the two most important distribution periods for theatrical releases:
the summer months, and
the end of year holiday Christmas season.
The 1975 Steven Spielberg film Jaws began the tradition of the summer blockbuster, and studios today look towards the Memorial Day May long weekend and the July 4 long weekend as representing a time when a blockbuster might help push the studio across the rest of the year financially. Students in the summer are out of school with time on their hands, and escaping the heat of the summer by going to an air conditioned theatre are two reasons why people go at this time of year.
At Christmas the films studios hope will be award winning in the spring are released so that they are fresh in the minds of those who select and vote for the various award shows. Students are again on break and going to the theatre can be something an entire family does together.
Hollywood likes to attract repeat viewers by getting people to see a film at least twice in its theatrical run. Examples of films that have done this include Titanic (1997), The Dark Knight (2008), Joker (2019), Barbie (2023), Oppenheimer (2023), as well as Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). Ultimately, many people pay to see good stories - not necessarily stories with a happy ending.
3 - Discussion Question
Explain what role movies play in your life.
Movies have always played a part in my life. I can vaguely remember seeing two films in theatres as a child. The first was Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), a movie I saw with my parents when I was four years old that summer in our small town’s only movie theatre, Paradise Cinemas in Williams Lake, British Columbia. Even if my young mind didn’t comprehend everything that was happening on screen, I remember the feeling that the film gave me of adventure, exhilaration, fun, and spectacle. I definitely remember finding some parts of the movie to be a bit slow, such as the expository scenes between Dr. Jones (Harrison Ford) and the Army Intelligence agents; and especially the scene between Sallah (John Rhys-Davis), Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), and Dr. Jones discussing the adventure to come. It’s weird because every time I’ve ever watched the film since then, that same exasperation comes up with my young mind shouting - get on with the action!
ARTIFCAT 04 > Paradise Cinemas, 78 S 3rd Avenue, Williams Lake, BC, Canada.
The second film was Tootsie (1982). I don’t so much remember the film as I do the experience of being the theatre we were in, the Stanley Theatre on Granville Street in Vancouver, British Columbia. It felt monumental in scale for a boy of five or six years old. I remember how we sat in the balcony, on the centre right side and again, the experience felt larger than life, Dustin Hoffman’s female persona filling the screen, framed by these tall neoclassical arches carved into the wall, lined with intricate molding that curved into fluted ionic columns in this theatre that sat over 1,200 patrons. Unlike Raiders, Tootsie is a film I haven’t revisited countless times since its initial release - although upon remembering the experience here, it’s a film I think I will revisit soon.
ARTIFACT 05 > Interior of the Stanley Theatre, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
In 1989, I distinctly remember seeing several of that year’s blockbusters including the second sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade which was released on the Memorial Day May long weekend. Twelve year old me soaked it up - every fast paced chase, fist fight, and flirtation between Indy (Harrison Ford) and Dr Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody). A few weeks later, on June 9, 1989, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier opened. I remember seeing this on the big screen, most likely with my Mum, as my Dad was still living in Williams Lake by himself that summer, closing up his medical practice. Although I have vague recollections of seeing Trek films on the big screen before Final Frontier, this was the first Trek film that really stuck with me. It’s a film that’s often lambasted by both critics and fans, but I enjoyed the camaraderie between the main characters, and how they worked together to resolve the situation they found themselves in. The beautiful opening and closing scenes of the film as set in Yosemite also reminded me of the nature I grew up surrounded by in Williams Lake. Two weeks later, on June 23, the first contemporary telling of the dark knight known as Batman opened. I’d been watching the Adam West 1960s film which had been aimed at a younger audience and their families. This film would find itself being closer in design to the more mature approaches to the character and world of Batman as developed in the comic books and graphic novels of the 1980s which I had been devouring that summer. A month later, on July 14, the last Bond film featuring actor Timothy Dalton opened, and this was a film I remember seeing with my Mum in theatres. Bond was a series we shared together, as she had grown up watching it. Dalton’s grounded ruggedness appealed to me more than the Moore films had on VHS. It was gritty, based on a personal revenge plot that Bond pursues.
How do you view them, streaming?
Growing up, my family owned a few dozen movies on VHS. I remember when we went to purchase our first colour television with a VCR. The store gave us a copy of the 1980 film, Ordinary People, directed by Robert Redford, and starring Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, and Judd Hirsch. The film felt like just another silly drama, and it wasn’t one I watched as a kid. I remember recording a lot of films and shows I wanted to watch, like the NBC presentation of The Empire Strikes Back on television in 1987. It was a recording I returned to many times, one I wish I had kept on VHS so I could have populated my YouTube channel with clips from it. Later films that I recorded and watched relentlessly included Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Goonies (1985), as well as several films that were featured on ABC’s Disney Sunday Night Movie including I-Man (1986), The Richest Cat in the World(1986), and Flight of the Navigator (1986).
The first film that I purchased on VHS with my own money was Hamlet (1990), starring Mel Gibson. I never saw the film in theatres, but had seen it when my parents rented it, and later on television. The film was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, whose Romeo & Juliet had been something I had watched in high school and again, in University. I was particularly head over heels for Olivia Hussey as a teenager, and knowing Gibson from his Mad Max and Lethal Weapon outings, I always knew Mad Mel was made to play Shakespeare’s Danish Prince. And indeed, as I’d later learn, Zeffirelli cast Gibson with his past work in mind. Zeffirelli made his film to appeal to younger audiences, teenagers and youth in their twenties - in short, to people like me.
The first film I ever purchased on DVD was Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery(1997). I chose to purchase it for its extensive list of bonus features, which was something that appealed to me as my interest in watching movies grew. I hadn’t actually seen the film in theatres, but the building I lived in at the time with my parents had a small theatre with a 120 inch screen as one of its amenities, so I booked it late one night and watched it in a big comfy leather chair. I believe I purchased it in 1999, having already owned about 500 films on VHS. I was hooked by the film’s kinetic energy and skewering of the spy-film genre I had grown up watching. The image was sharp, and it sounded great, and the DVD itself had many behind-the-scenes featurettes, as well as a feature length commentary track by director Jay Roach and actor-writer Mike Myers. And it wasn’t a waste either, I remember the commentary about the filmmaking process to be enjoyable as well as insightful. Today, I own over 7000 film and television show titles on Bluray, DVD, and yes, even a few on VHS. I also own a lot through the Apple i-Tunes service - as I just don’t have that much more room for physical product at my place.
ARTIFACT 06 > Lee, Steven. “H-L: One of the 10 shelves I have in my house dedicated to holding my film collection.” Digital Photographic Image, 13 Jun 2015.
Do you go to the movie theater? Why?
In high school, I met a teacher who loved going to the movies. She regularly saw almost every new release film that came out, and from time to time she let me go along as a thank-you for volunteer work I did on campus. These outings eventually led to the days when I had graduated high school and began going to see movies on my own. I remember in the summer of 1997 seeing over 250 films in theatres - almost every new release. I had planned on doing full time studies but after not being able to get into anything I wanted, I spent the summer at the movies, dropping the money I’d saved up for tuition onto movie tickets, popcorn, and Coca-Cola. Somewhere in my house is an enveloped containing the fading stubs from the shows I saw that summer including: Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Face/Off, Contact, Air Force One, In The Company of Men, and The Full Monty. And during that Christmas season, a new theatre opened near where I lived, and they had midnight screenings: the perfect time to quietly sneak out to go to the shows. I remember seeing Jackie Brown several times in theatres that holiday season, as well as Boogie Nights, and LA Confidential as others crowded into see Titanic, a movie I only bothered seeing once in 1997.
Today, I still go to the movies regularly. It’s an experience that I’ve always been drawn to. Once I was asked why I went to see movies on Christmas Day, along with “…shouldn’t you go to Church?” And I replied saying that the Movie Theatre was my Church. This year alone, I’ve seen over 40 films in theatres, which isn’t that many, thanks to issues related to my physical health that kept me from going for several months this year. Ultimately, I’d love to see another 30-40 films in theatres by the year’s end (now if I can limit my consumption of junk food at the movies, things would be even better). Many of the films I’ve seen have been at weekday matinees, where I’ve been the only person in the theatre. It’s nice to be the only one in the theatre, surrounded by row upon row of empty seats. The introvert in me loves that but for the future of the industry I know that isn’t sustainable, as there have been evening shows I’ve attended, even on the weekends, when the turnout wasn’t the greatest - and I live in an area known as Hollywood North. Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada sees a lot of film and television production that rivals the amount of shows shot in Southern California, but still, cinemas aren’t always packed. The recent release of Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) was promising - the first weekday afternoon screening of the film on IMAX that I saw was packed, telling me that people will come if a title looks appealing. But many other screenings haven’t been as full… some of the best films I saw this years were at opening day screenings that were half full, such as: Civil War, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Abigail, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. I had forgotten to purchase a first day screening ticket for Joker: Folie à Deux, and was glad to see that the first few days of screenings were almost sold out, but beyond the opening screenings, that film bombed (even though I enjoyed it more than the it’s first outing).
ARTIFACT 07 > Lee, Steven. “Sugarcane.” Digital Photographic Collage, 01 Oct 2024.
Overall, I enjoy the communal experience of seeing films in theatres. For a time, between 2007 and 2015, I regularly organized movie nights for a small group of friends and former work colleagues where I’d buy a dozen tickets to the latest big screen adventure and send out a first come, first serve opportunity to my group of friends to join me and others at an outing. Sometimes, we’d meet at a nearby restaurant before or after the screening to enjoy a quick meal and catch-up. Organizing these showings was fun, but could be annoying sometimes when people didn’t show up as getting a refund for any unclaimed tickets could take awhile.
I love not just the experience of seeing a film’s story unfold on screen, but the experience of allowing that story to move me. The above collage in Artifact 04, is from the film called Sugarcane, a documentary feature film about the First Nations residential school that existed for decades in the city of my birth, Williams Lake. I honestly can’t remember sobbing more deeply during the course of an entire film. The trauma that so many connected with this school was overwhelming, especially since, by birth, I have First Nations blood. My lineage by birth is tied to the Williams Lake First Nations. And while I was not raised among them, I still feel an empathetic connection to them, and what so many experienced. There were times I sobbed ‘I’m sorry,’ over and over again, and other times when I said through tears, ‘It’s not your fault,’ as a survivor searched for the words to describe their experience.
Finally, I want to note how over the last year I’ve been using an app called Letterboxd to track my movie going experience. It allows me to keep a diary of films I’ve seen, and maintain lists related to films I’ve own and others that I’ve seen on streaming services and on television. I can give films a rating based on 1-5 stars, submit written reviews for films I’ve seen, and interact with other users on the platform. I’ve also tried to remember to enter ratings and update similar lists on iMDB, where I also have a pro membership. Being involved in these and other platforms allows me to keep in touch with a larger community of cinephiles. Ultimately, I hope the theatre going experience continues. I hope to have children someday and would love to share this experience with them. There’s nothing quite like it.
4 - Part Two: A Brief History of Cinema
Ingham notes that the cinema began by accident - with a bet. English Photographer Eadweard Muybridge would become known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion. He would be hired to settle a bet regarding when a horse trots and gallops, is there any movement in the gallop where all four hooves come off the ground at the same time? To answer this question, Muybridge developed a process wherein he setup cameras along a line of path where each camera would be triggered one by one as the horse passed by, triggering the shutter to take a shot. When developed and put together, like a flip book, revealed that all four hooves came off the ground during a horse’s trot. This compilation of photographs served as the basis for the birth of motion pictures.
ARTIFACT 08 > SFMOMA. “Slices of Time: Eadweard Muybridge’s Cinematic Legacy.” YouTube, 02 Aug 2017.
ARTIFACT 09 > Smarthistory. “Muybridge, The Attitudes of Animals in Motion.” YouTube, 28 Mar 2022.
At the beginning of the 20th Century, movies were often viewed in small, Nickelodeon theatres, using a peephole machine called a Kinetescope. For the price of a nickel, individuals could lean over looking through a small viewfinder and watch four or five 20-30 second film clips (for example - a couple kissing, a man getting shaved).
ARTIFACT 10 > CrashCourse. “Movies are Magic: Crash Course Film History #1.” YouTube, 13 Apr 2017.
ARTIFACT 11 > Therese Grisham. “Edison Kinetoscope Films.” YouTube, 12 Feb 2008.
The birth of cinema had three kinds of historical origins:
Scientific and Technological;
Artistic;
Economic.
1895 is generally considered as the beginning of cinema.
Sound and Colour
1927 - the first feature ‘talkie’ was made (The Jazz Singer);
The 1920s / 30s began the era of colour films, with 1935 being the year of the first Technicolor film (Becky Sharp / Snow White);
The 1950s saw films routinely exhibited in colour to the public.
ARTIFACT 12 > Cult Cinema Classics. “Becky Sharp (1935) Romance, War | Miriam Hopkins, Frances Dee | Full Movie | Subtitles.” YouTube, 25 Jun 2023.
Early Cinema Pioneers
Eadward Muybridge;
Thomas Edison;
Lumière (August and Louis Lumière, the Lumière Brothers);
Georges Melies;
Edwin S Porter (developed the story film);
Charlie Chaplin (slapstick comedy);
Buster Keaton (slapstick comedy).
Early cinema was generally one scene being shot and shown due to the limits of the technology, where the cameras were very heavy and cumbersome to move. As technology improved, more and more, photography became cinema. The development of film editing allowed for changes in point of view.
ARTIFACT 13 > CrashCourse. “Georges Melies - Master of Illusion: Crash Course Film History #4.” YouTube, 04 May 2017.
ARTIFACT 14 > Billi Brass Quintet. “Le Voyage dans la Lune (1902) - Georges Méliès - (HQ) - Music by David Short - Billi Brass Quintet.” YouTube, 09 Apr 2018.
ARTIFACT 15 > Old Films and Stuff. “”The Great Train Robbery” (1903) - 1080p HD.” YouTube, 14 Oct 2016.