D.W. Griffith, Pioneer of Early Cinema
D. W. Griffith remains one of the most celebrated pioneers of the film industry. “The renowned filmmaker directed the productions of various films, most of which were focused on controversial topics in day-to-day life” (11). For instance, he explored aspects of racial and religious stereotyping and vividly participated in films outlining the ethnic polarization in America. Through him, the American film industry was able to be converted into a tool against discrimination and polarization. On stylistic dynamics, his contributions to the film industry are immense. He is argued to be the father of the language of film. Specifically, Griffith is believed to have reinvented aspects of video editing and shot …show more content…
Griffith is the cross cutting technique. Through this technique, Griffith understood the likelihood of scenes to lose consistency and fall apart. This led him to display a series of images on screen that are meant to be taken in a temporal manner simultaneously. He would adopt the clean cut and use it in a variety of quick cutting situations. His view was that a transition between scenes would likely take away from the story. This would in turn take the viewer out of what they were watching. This new cross cutting technique brought his work a harmony of form and a real texture to what he was creating on screen. He equally looked to create a real atmosphere through actions in cut scenes. Even more intriguing he believed in relationships between shots when cutting from one shot to another. He played with alterity, following movement from one location to an entirely different one. In commitment to develop this he followed eye lines of different characters. In silent cinema this was especially useful. The audience knew where to look next all from where the characters glanced. That glance would then be the queue for a cut. He also experimented with the overlap cut. This is a technique used to cut to something that was previously seen in a shot. This could be used to portray importance of a specific object to the audience. This could also be used to show a character looking back at past …show more content…
Griffith used the medium shot for much of the one to one interaction between characters. He helped make it the standard among filmmakers. “In inventing this dynamic, Griffith noted that medium shots bring the audience closer to the characters” (12). Finally, his contribution to the aspect of shot composition is noted in the use of close-ups. His use of the close-up in scenes with emotion helped the popularization of the technique and defined the meaning of using close-ups in filmmaking. “Griffith called the close-ups “inserts” as their frequent shifting point of view offered a means of expression comparable to the use of spoken word in the theater” (13). The close-up was Griffith’s way to give the audience exactly what he wanted to show them. It was and still is the most powerful way to hint at something and/or get a strong emotional response from the acting in the film.
To this end, it is clear that the contributions of Griffith to the film industry are indispensable. His works and inventions remain central to modern filmmaking. His focus on shots has inspired development of better transitions. He has taught today’s filmmaking generation when would be the most affective time to actually make a transition/cut. The creations of suspense and emotional appeal in different works also stem from his principles of image transitions. Moreover, the focus on thematic
D. W. Griffith remains one of the most celebrated pioneers of the film industry. “The renowned filmmaker directed the productions of various films, most of which were focused on controversial topics in day-to-day life” (11). For instance, he explored aspects of racial and religious stereotyping and vividly participated in films outlining the ethnic polarization in America. Through him, the American film industry was able to be converted into a tool against discrimination and polarization. On stylistic dynamics, his contributions to the film industry are immense. He is argued to be the father of the language of film. Specifically, Griffith is believed to have reinvented aspects of video editing and shot …show more content…
Griffith is the cross cutting technique. Through this technique, Griffith understood the likelihood of scenes to lose consistency and fall apart. This led him to display a series of images on screen that are meant to be taken in a temporal manner simultaneously. He would adopt the clean cut and use it in a variety of quick cutting situations. His view was that a transition between scenes would likely take away from the story. This would in turn take the viewer out of what they were watching. This new cross cutting technique brought his work a harmony of form and a real texture to what he was creating on screen. He equally looked to create a real atmosphere through actions in cut scenes. Even more intriguing he believed in relationships between shots when cutting from one shot to another. He played with alterity, following movement from one location to an entirely different one. In commitment to develop this he followed eye lines of different characters. In silent cinema this was especially useful. The audience knew where to look next all from where the characters glanced. That glance would then be the queue for a cut. He also experimented with the overlap cut. This is a technique used to cut to something that was previously seen in a shot. This could be used to portray importance of a specific object to the audience. This could also be used to show a character looking back at past …show more content…
Griffith used the medium shot for much of the one to one interaction between characters. He helped make it the standard among filmmakers. “In inventing this dynamic, Griffith noted that medium shots bring the audience closer to the characters” (12). Finally, his contribution to the aspect of shot composition is noted in the use of close-ups. His use of the close-up in scenes with emotion helped the popularization of the technique and defined the meaning of using close-ups in filmmaking. “Griffith called the close-ups “inserts” as their frequent shifting point of view offered a means of expression comparable to the use of spoken word in the theater” (13). The close-up was Griffith’s way to give the audience exactly what he wanted to show them. It was and still is the most powerful way to hint at something and/or get a strong emotional response from the acting in the film.
To this end, it is clear that the contributions of Griffith to the film industry are indispensable. His works and inventions remain central to modern filmmaking. His focus on shots has inspired development of better transitions. He has taught today’s filmmaking generation when would be the most affective time to actually make a transition/cut. The creations of suspense and emotional appeal in different works also stem from his principles of image transitions. Moreover, the focus on thematic