In 1878, Eadweard Muybridge made an extraordinary observation. After taking a series of photos of a horse at a quick speed, he recognized that when flipped through quickly, it looked as if a horse were running. This was the beginning of something revolutionary. This was the beginning of the motion picture. In the years after this discovery, the motion picture began to take flight. Muybridge projected images taken with his Zoöpraxiscope, Thomas Edison bought and built upon the Kinetoscope, and the Lumiére brothers created the Cinematographe. In just a few decades, the film industry exploded with new concepts and ideas being built upon constantly. From the first movies by Thomas Edison, to The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), the techniques,
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Porter was one of the first films to use continuous editing, as well as the practice of intercutting, tinting, toning, panning, and tilting. The Great Train Robbery was one of the first films to use the practice of continuous editing—the editing method in which cuts are seamless and a film has a natural progression. This is seen throughout the whole movie, from action to action, and even from scene to scene where intercutting is used. Intercutting, the method of cutting away to a different sequence, was used in this film to create a tension. The film cuts between the robbery that is taking place on the train, the man who was tied up in the office, and the town folk at the dance. Doing this makes the audience wonder and worry about what is happening to the other characters. Another way that The Great Train Robbery added exciting things was through toning and tinting. Toning, the process of dying a whole strip of film, was used in this film to create a western feel using a tan color. Tinting, the process of dying a particular section of a film cell, was also used in this film to call attention to gunshots, explosions, and a young girl’s red coat. The Great Train Robbery also was the first to use pans and tilts. Born out of necessity of just needing to follow the characters on screen, the filmmakers panned the camera across, and then tilted down to follow the characters as they moved down a hill and across a forest area. This was a simple idea, but
Porter was one of the first films to use continuous editing, as well as the practice of intercutting, tinting, toning, panning, and tilting. The Great Train Robbery was one of the first films to use the practice of continuous editing—the editing method in which cuts are seamless and a film has a natural progression. This is seen throughout the whole movie, from action to action, and even from scene to scene where intercutting is used. Intercutting, the method of cutting away to a different sequence, was used in this film to create a tension. The film cuts between the robbery that is taking place on the train, the man who was tied up in the office, and the town folk at the dance. Doing this makes the audience wonder and worry about what is happening to the other characters. Another way that The Great Train Robbery added exciting things was through toning and tinting. Toning, the process of dying a whole strip of film, was used in this film to create a western feel using a tan color. Tinting, the process of dying a particular section of a film cell, was also used in this film to call attention to gunshots, explosions, and a young girl’s red coat. The Great Train Robbery also was the first to use pans and tilts. Born out of necessity of just needing to follow the characters on screen, the filmmakers panned the camera across, and then tilted down to follow the characters as they moved down a hill and across a forest area. This was a simple idea, but