1. THE FOUNDATIONS OF MODERN FILM 1908-1919

2. Rapid change in Film  Length of films expanding from 1 reel shorts (12-15 min) to feature films with multiple reels.  Size of movie theaters grew- 1 st large movie palace built in 1912  Actors became stars  Charlie Chaplin  U.S. becomes the dominant center of filmmaking  Especially in Hollywood; cheap land and sunshine  Largely due to WW1

3. D.W. Griffith  Elevated film to a sophisticated art form  Generally regarded as the single most important figure in American film  Acted for Edison and Biograph  Directed his first film for Biograph in 1908 and by the end of the year was doing all of their directing.  By the time he began work on The Birth of a Nation in 1915, he had directed approximately 450 films.  Most 1-reel, but some 2 and 4 reel

4. D.W. Griffith  Explored a wide variety of effects:  Close-ups  Panoramas  Moving camera  Crosscutting

5. Types of cuts  Cut: the connection between two shots.  3 Principal types:  Narrative cut: vision is focused on different objects or people in a continuous scene.  2 nd type joins different times (flashback or forward) or places.  Crosscut: moves quickly back and forth between two or more related events.

6. D.W. Griffith cont….  By using crosscutting, Griffith was able to build tension and to show simultaneous action in a way that is not possible on stage.  Worked with a permanent set of actors  Used extensive rehearsal time with actors- unprecedented for his time.  Created a new style of acting suitable for film.  Had a strong music background and worked closely on the composition of original scores for his films.

7. Developments in Film  Organ became the most common movie theater instrument.  The size of musical ensembles in movie theaters tended to expand  Compilation scores became common using 19 th century classics  Cue sheets and music anthologies provided help for theater musicians  Original scores created for films

8. Musical Accompaniment  Wurlitzer began producing organs designed for movie theaters  Additions made so the organ could make sound effects like a car horn, telephone or gunshot  Size of theaters increased and became more ornate.  Ensembles increased as well.  By the end of the decade, some theaters had full orchestra ensembles of over 50 musicians.

9. Compilation Scores  3 Types of music for silent films: 1. Adaptations of classical works 2. Arrangements of well-known patriotic, religious, or popular tunes 3. Newly composed material  Musical scores based largely on borrowed material are considered to be compilation scores.  Pg. 67

10. Cue Sheets and Anthologies  Filmmakers became increasingly concerned with the relationship between music and drama  Began to recognize the need for music to reflect the action.  This led to two things: 1. Creation of guides to help theater music directors select appropriate music 2. Composition of new scores for individual films.

11. Cue Sheet  Sheet telling stage musicians what songs were to be played where.  Accompanied a specific film  First appeared in 1909

12. Anthologies  Books of original music written to accompany general moods, settings, or characters.  Example: Agitated music, sad music, happy music, wedding music etc.  Rather than picking random Theater pianists could select passages from an anthology to fit the needs of the film.

13. Original Music Scores  Between 1910 and 1914, over 100 scores can be documented.  Camille Saint-Sa ëns wrote one of the first completely original film scores for a Paris film.  He was one of France’s most prestigous composers at the time.