A train barreling straight for you, with no intentions to stop would certainly cause you to panic. An audience experienced this while watching the Lumière brothers Arriva of a Train at La Ciotat (1896) in France. These new moving images amazed audiences all over the world. Thanks to Thomas Edison, Georges Méliès and the Lumière brothers, the great pioneers of film history. Silent films used camera effects, music, lighting, staging of props and the actor’s body language as a medium to create a universal language that communicated to people intellectually and emotionally.
A collection of Thomas Edison, Georges Méliès and the Lumière brother’s short films in the movie The Great Primitives (1894-1950) showcased the beginnings of cinematography. …show more content…
Edison focused on capturing movement of the human body, he was known as a master exploitationist. In both Sandow (1894) and Edison Kinetoscope Record of a Sneeze, Edison used a black background that allowed him to hone in on the person’s movement. In order to capture the sneeze in, Edison Kinetoscope Record of a Sneeze, he moved the camera closer to the staged action. As a result Edison created the first medium close-up. Edison filmed his shorts in the “Black Maria”, which was his production studio. The lighting in the Black Maria came from a skylight in the roof. In this space Edison was able to create any staged action he wished. For example, he filmed The Barber Shop (1849) on a fake set in order to keep the audiences focus on the human movement in the scene. Edison’s films Annabelle the Dancer (1895) was shot in the Black Maria also. What made it unique to its audience is the fact that the film had been hand tinted different colors. Thomas Edison shot The Kiss (1896), the very first one screen kiss in film history. Edison also filmed The Kiss in the Black Maria; the two lovers sat in front a black background with the light and the focus on them. The public loved and hated it; this film raised many concerns that lead to cinema censorship.
The Lumière brothers also caused drama with the public after screening their film Arriva of a Train at La Ciotat (1896). It was he …show more content…
Unfortunately Méliès wasn’t a good businessman and between people bootlegging his films and his lavish films he went bankrupt. Sadly, in the end all of Méliès films were melted down for their silver and Thomas Edison profited off the illegal copies he made. Edison got a lot of help from Edwin S. Porter in the United States where cinema was growing more and more popular. The first motion picture theater opened up in LA in 1902. Porter produced The Great Train Robbery (1903), which like Méliès ‘s The Man on The Moon became extremely popular. Porter explored cinematic grammar in The Great Train Robbery; it was the start of a narrative film yet it lacked a main character. Porter’s simple bandit story line started the beloved Western genera. This film used a ground-braking technique of cross cutting scenes to create suspense. Surprisingly, during the bandit chases the camera pans down the hill to follow the action. Porter’s film pathed a path for new film editing and structuring, his films set a new standard for narrative films. Also from this movie a western hero Gilbert M. Anderson was born. After filming The Great Train Robbery Anderson, later known, as “Broncho Bill” became the world first cowboy hero, showing up in other western films. To top it all off, at the very last scene Porter got one last shock out of the audience with the bandit who shot straight into the
A collection of Thomas Edison, Georges Méliès and the Lumière brother’s short films in the movie The Great Primitives (1894-1950) showcased the beginnings of cinematography. …show more content…
Edison focused on capturing movement of the human body, he was known as a master exploitationist. In both Sandow (1894) and Edison Kinetoscope Record of a Sneeze, Edison used a black background that allowed him to hone in on the person’s movement. In order to capture the sneeze in, Edison Kinetoscope Record of a Sneeze, he moved the camera closer to the staged action. As a result Edison created the first medium close-up. Edison filmed his shorts in the “Black Maria”, which was his production studio. The lighting in the Black Maria came from a skylight in the roof. In this space Edison was able to create any staged action he wished. For example, he filmed The Barber Shop (1849) on a fake set in order to keep the audiences focus on the human movement in the scene. Edison’s films Annabelle the Dancer (1895) was shot in the Black Maria also. What made it unique to its audience is the fact that the film had been hand tinted different colors. Thomas Edison shot The Kiss (1896), the very first one screen kiss in film history. Edison also filmed The Kiss in the Black Maria; the two lovers sat in front a black background with the light and the focus on them. The public loved and hated it; this film raised many concerns that lead to cinema censorship.
The Lumière brothers also caused drama with the public after screening their film Arriva of a Train at La Ciotat (1896). It was he …show more content…
Unfortunately Méliès wasn’t a good businessman and between people bootlegging his films and his lavish films he went bankrupt. Sadly, in the end all of Méliès films were melted down for their silver and Thomas Edison profited off the illegal copies he made. Edison got a lot of help from Edwin S. Porter in the United States where cinema was growing more and more popular. The first motion picture theater opened up in LA in 1902. Porter produced The Great Train Robbery (1903), which like Méliès ‘s The Man on The Moon became extremely popular. Porter explored cinematic grammar in The Great Train Robbery; it was the start of a narrative film yet it lacked a main character. Porter’s simple bandit story line started the beloved Western genera. This film used a ground-braking technique of cross cutting scenes to create suspense. Surprisingly, during the bandit chases the camera pans down the hill to follow the action. Porter’s film pathed a path for new film editing and structuring, his films set a new standard for narrative films. Also from this movie a western hero Gilbert M. Anderson was born. After filming The Great Train Robbery Anderson, later known, as “Broncho Bill” became the world first cowboy hero, showing up in other western films. To top it all off, at the very last scene Porter got one last shock out of the audience with the bandit who shot straight into the