The History of film

The Beginning…

Pre 1920s Film The zoetrope was invented in 1834 in England by William Horner. He called it the 'Daedalum' or 'the wheel of the devil’. It didn't become popular until the 1860s, when it was patented by makers in both England and America. The American developer, William F. Lincoln, named his toy the 'zoetrope', which means 'wheel of life'. A zoetrope is a cylinder with vertical slits cut into the sides. A reel of pictures fits the inside of it. As the cylinder is spun, the images appear to move when viewed through the slits. The zoetrope , alongside the ‘thaumatrope’ and other similar invertions were the first kind of motion picture.

1920

The silent era Silent films are films without any synchronized sound. The earliest silent film was produced in 1819 and were popular until the fist ‘sound’ film was produced in 1927. Although being silent, a showing of a silent movie would usually have an orchestra or a pianist playing alongside the film.

1930

1930-1940 The Golden Age Of Hollywood The 1930s was the beginning of many technical discoveries such as colour film, synchronized sound and the rising of the ‘Talkies’ New genres emerged during this era like ,gangster films , horrors ,westerns , comedies. during the 30s the depression was being strongly felt which reduce the amount of people attending theatre. Flowers and Trees(1932) Walt Disney's first animated Technicolor talkie. Howard Hughes’ Hells angels 1930 early talkie

1940

Wartime film Basic technological problems had been overcome by this period (sound,colour) making way for this like lighting special effects and cinematography making films more modern and watch able. During this era the film industry helped with the war effort by producing many wartime favourites and collaborating with the Office Of War Information to produce important propaganda.

1950

The 50s This period was home to the invention and mass production of the Television and more than 4000 outdoor cinemas being constructed in the US. 10.5 million US homes had a TV set in 1950 . The 1950s saw the uprising of anti hero actors and characters such as James Dean and Marlon Brando replacing older actors from the 40s and early 50s. Attack of the crab monsters -1957 Roger Corman (the 'B-movie King')

1960

THE 1960s The nineteen sixties was an era of change for a lot of the western world eg. The moon landing , the death of Marilyn Monroe assassination of John F Kennedy, the first heart transplant ,the invention of the micro chip and many more things including the invention of broadcasting colour television Around this time was also the invention of the multiplex by Stanley H. Durwood cinema mall which had two screens and a total of 700 seats between them. Then came the four plex then the six pleax and so on. 20th centaury fox was in debt after the disastrously expensive film ‘Cleopatra’ but was then put back on its feet by the hits ‘the longest day’ and ‘the sound of music’

1970

1970 This era brought us the home video debuting with sony’s ‘Betamax’ which played video but could also record live television for up to an hour. Also during the 70s films such as Jaws , Rocky and Star Wars hit the screens. With directors like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas making an appearance.

1980

THE EIGHTIES Films in the 80s became less original but easier and more enjoyable to watch. This era also brought us cable TV and smaller more accessible Home Video system which meant big mainstream films could be sold on to the public more easily.

1990

The Nineties This era saw the birth of the DVD (digital video discs) in 1997 and also CGI used in films such as Toy Story (1995) Famous releases of the 90s include Saving private Ryan Braveheart Apollo 13 Independence day Jurassic Park Forrest Gump Deep impact Titanic The 90s was also the era the company Dreamworks began.

2000

The Naughties

Edwin S. Porter The famous shot of a bandit shooting at the camera Edwin Stanton Porter April 21st 1870 – April 30th 1941 Edwin S. Porter is most famous for his innovative film ‘The Great Train Robbery’ (1903). This film was mostly black and white aside from a few hand painted frames to add a small amount of colour to things like explosions or peoples clothes. The film was shot on one reel using 20 different shots and lasted for a duration of 12 minutes. Porter was also the first to use the groundbreaking ‘cross cuts’ which could show simultaneous action in different places. Porter also created the ‘dissolve’ transition which allowed two clips to make a smooth transit between each other. Porter was also renowned for his short film ‘dreams of a rarebit fiend’ which was a 6 minute animation that was the first to use all the basic techniques tat would become the basic template for other films. The famous shot of a bandit shooting at the camera Edwin S. Porter set the basic technical template for many films to follow. Other directors often rediscovered and claimed some of Porters ideas and their own in later films.

Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) Orson Welles is today one of classic Hollywood's most acclaimed cinematic visionaries and was once nominated for Academy Awards in four separate categories for one film. When Orson Welles started a film project called Citizen Kane (1941), he had no idea that his very first feature film would eventually become one of the most, if not the most, influential films ever created. The most unique aspect of Citizen Kane is the use of black and white film, and the occasional use of 1940’s visual effects to create an atmosphere for the film, both black and white and color. the use of matte paintings, cross-fades, contrast, lighting, and visually interesting shots create a feel unlike other movies of the time. Even a lot of modern movies overuse special effects instead of only where they are most needed and will contribute to the film more.

George Lucas born May 14, 1944 Today, Lucas is one of the American film industry's most financially successful Independent directors/producers, with an estimated net worth of $3.25 billion as of 2010 George Lucas is most famous for his infamous Star Wars films (starting in 1977) which special effects and cinematography were at least 10 years before their time. Lucas’ other films include American Graffiti (1973) and working alongside Steven Spielberg to make the Indiana Jones quadriligy

Tim Burton (born August 25, 1958) Tim Burton has directed many dark and eccentric films including . Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . Sweeny Todd . Edward scissor hands . Nightmare Before Christmas Tim Burton was raised in Burbank, California. He spent most of his childhood as a recluse, drawing cartoons and watching old movies