...Introduction In current world of moviemaking, films are often created to meet the formula that appeal to today’s audiences. Modern movies offer high action, incredible special effects, 3D, or 3D animation to capture the audience’s attention, but one Oscar winning film deviated from this traditional recipe, “The Artist”. French director Michel Hazanavicius brought back to life the bygone era of silent movies and broke the current Hollywood blueprint. A quote from the novel “The Chosen” seems appropriate when describing this film, “I've begun to realize that you can listen to silence and learn from it. It has a quality and a dimension all its own” (Potok, 1967). “The Artist” The year is 1927 and Hollywood is in its last few years of silent movie production. A new and exciting medium is starting to make its way into the theaters, the “talkies.” George Valentine (Jean Dujardin), a mixture of Rudolf Valentino, Errol Flynn, and Douglas Fairbanks, is the biggest superstar at the studio he works for and on the silent screen. Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) is the fledgling extra looking to find her way in Hollywood. Peppy, with her unforgettable smile and charm makes an impression on George who happens to be at odds with his wife in his personal life. There is obvious chemistry between the two that is sparked in a playful dance scene when George mimics the steps of Peppy, but doesn’t realize who it is because he can only see her legs. George and Peppy...
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...analyze the major changes of technology throughout the film industry’s history. As two college students majoring in computer and technological fields, we feel that it is imperative to understand how cameras and technology and evolved and their effects on the film industry. Although the growth of technology in the film industry may seem of concern to only film makers, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about the future of the cinematography and/or television. Innovations in film technology have undoubtedly shaped the film industry into what it is today. As two college students majoring in computer and technological fields, we feel that it is imperative to understand how cameras and technology have evolved, and their effects on film production. Utilizing what we have learned in class and multiple sources of research, we will critically analyze the major changes in film technology history. The world’s first films produced were black and white, but even to make a black and white film, several important inventions were required. These inventions needed to record video, store the recording, and produce enough lighting to be able to see the scene. In 1893, Thomas Edison introduced the Kinetograph and Kinetoscope to the public, which may have been the largest innovation in film technology (Movie History). The Kinetograph was the first motion picture camera, and was combined with the Kinetoscope which housed a lamp and film to record on. A viewer could look through the eyepiece...
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...filmed.” The film industry has long been an institution of American society for more than a century. It is big risk big reward type business. It has been the goal of studios and filmmakers to put buts in seats at cinemas all over the world. Over the decades new technologies have added more interest to viewers in the ultimate goal to have the best experience watching a film. In society the cinema was used as a catalyst to forget about what’s going on in daily lives of viewers and take the audience to another world or another time. It was the perfect getaway from troubles of the real world. The Beginning: The first developed film technology was the Kinetoscope projector. Inventor Thomas Edison developed the Kinetoscope. The Cinematograph developed by the Lumiere Brothers was an advancement on its predecessor the Kinetoscope. The Lumiere Brothers would send camera men all over to film various things done by people and they would show the film with their Cinematograph to an audience and from there the cinema was born. Around 1898 a man named George Melies used the technology given and established vast sets and camera tricks as a way to make films even more unique and special. Melies’ films would take the viewer to the moon or on an adventure across the seven seas. People would come to see his films because it was something different. Up to that point films were only a minute or two long but with the success of Melies longer films other producers began making longer films as well. ...
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...years. Earlier pictures didn’t have sounds they just had movements from Actors. These movies were called silent motion pictures. With the invention in technology the movies started talking and were called ‘Talkies’. Soon these movies became popular and were a major source of entertainment. There was a section of people who were apprehensive about the possibility that movies will overshadow the theatre or the art of stage acting. But all these fears proved to be untrue as theatre is still very popular amongst certain section of society. Theatre creates a direct emotional bonding with the audience. Over the decades movies have become a very popular source of entertainment. The medium of Movies has been used as a medium to depict stories and culture of the society. It has been responsible in shaping up the society and getting public co-operation for nation building. The Indian Film industry recently completed its 100 years of existence making it one of the oldest and largest movie industries in the world. The first Indian movie was Raja Harishchandra and it was released in 1913, directed by Dadasaheb Phalke. In that era it was considered derogatory for females to work in movies. In 1930’s a new era was started with the introduction of “studio system”. It’s most successful early film “Devdas” (1935) was the product of the studio system with P.C. Barua as the main lead. Prabhat Film Company, founded by V. G. Damle, S. Fatehlal, Shantaram, and two other men in 1929, also tasted success...
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...Nancy J. Nabong AC 103 : MWF / 1:00 – 2:00 PM I. THE ELEMENTS OF DRAMA 1. PLOT * Most important element of a story: Summary of a play’s story, concerned with what happens in the story * The order of events occurring in a play is referred to as the plot of the drama. It is the basic storyline that is narrated through a play. The entertainment one derives from a play depends largely on the sequence of events that occur in the story. The logical connection between the events and the characters, which enact the story form an integral part of the plot of drama. 2. CHARACTER * These are the people presented in the play that are involved in the perusing plot. Each character should have their own distinct personality, age, appearance, beliefs, socio economic background, and language. * The characters must be shaped to fit the needs of the plot and all parts the characterization must fit together. * Protagonist – the person who is attempting to resolve the problem. The conflict he faces, frequently involves a struggle with some force outside himself (external conflicts) as with an antagonist and or struggle within himself (internal conflict). 3. THOUGHT * What the play means as opposed to what happens (the plot). Sometimes the theme is clearly stated in the title. It may be stated through dialogue by a character acting as the playwright’s voice. Or it may be the theme is less obvious and emerges only after some study or thought. The...
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...Beginning and Evolution of film industry in sub-continent Introduction:- Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. The origin of the name comes from the fact that photographic film has historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for an individual motion picture, including picture, picture show, and most commonly, movie. Additional terms for the field in general include the big screen, the silver screen, the cinema and the movies. Films are produced by recording actual people and objects with cameras, or by creating them using animation techniques and/or special effects. They comprise a series of individual frames, but when these images are shown rapidly in succession, the illusion of motion is given to the viewer. Flickering between frames is not seen due to an effect known as persistence of vision, whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Film-A true art-form:- Film is considered by many to be an important art form; films entertain, educate, enlighten and inspire audiences. The visual elements of cinema need no translation, giving the motion picture a universal power of communication. Any film can become a worldwide attraction, especially with the addition of dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue. Films are also artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect...
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...History Main article: History of film A clip from the Charlie Chaplin silent film The Bond (1918) Preceding film in origin by thousands of years, early plays and dances had elements common to film: scripts, sets, costumes, production, direction, actors, audiences, storyboards, and scores. Much terminology later used in film theory and criticism apply, such as mise en scene (roughly, the entire visual picture at any one time). Owing to an absence of technology for doing so, moving visual and aural images were not recorded for replaying as in film. In the 1860s, mechanisms for producing two-dimensional drawings in motion were demonstrated with devices such as the zoetrope, mutoscope and praxinoscope. These machines were outgrowths of simple optical devices (such as magic lanterns) and would display sequences of still pictures at sufficient speed for the images on the pictures to appear to be moving, a phenomenon called persistence of vision. Naturally the images needed to be carefully designed to achieve the desired effect, and the underlying principle became the basis for the development of film animation. With the development of celluloid film for still photography, it became possible to directly capture objects in motion in real time. An 1878 experiment by English photographer Eadweard Muybridge in the United States using 24 cameras produced a series of stereoscopic images of a galloping horse, is arguably the first "motion picture", though it was not called by this name...
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...I. Introduction "Over-determined," a term used in film studies, simply means that any film is the cumulative product of certain industrial practices, political climates, ideas about artistic merit and available financial and technical resources. So when and how does the classical Hollywood studio system become stable? Two issues are greatly considered: the advent of sound and the business ideal of vertical integration. II. The Coming of Sound: Golden Age of Classical Hollywood The shift of the entire industry to sound films began during the late 1920s. As many film scholars will argue, film was never entirely "silent." Most movies were accompanied by some kind of music and even, at times, live narration. As with the invention of celluloid film and projection, the move to sound involved a great deal of technical trial and error, in addition to jostling for patents. In 1910, the richest studio, The Motion Pictures Patents Company, standardized the technological guts of filmmaking; their exclusive patents essentially locked others out of the market. Warner Bros. gambled that talkies would be popular with viewers, by offering the first bit of synchronized speech in The Jazz Singer. Studios now had a proof that "talkies" would make them money. But the financial investment this kind of filmmaking would require, from new camera equipment to new projection facilities, made the studios initially hesitant to invest. When vaudeville singing star Al Jolson introduced...
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...Emerging out of World War One was a very difficult time for the citizens of America, especially for the youth. After losing almost everything, including their lives, to the war, the frivolous ways of the “Flaming Youth” as they were often called, gave a welcome relief to devastation. Nothing seemed too irrational (Pendergast). A social revolution resulted, causing a massive shift in American culture. The culture of the “Victorian Era” is a sharp contrast to that of the “Roaring Twenties”; instead of the conservative ways of the Victorian Era, women wore loose hanging dresses and people led a life of smoking, drinking, and dancing until dawn. This all, however, masked the underlying sadness of the 1920s. As stated by the theme of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, “the wealthy of the 1920s...
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...The greatest of the silent clowns is Buster Keaton, not only because of what he did, but because of how he did it. Harold Lloyd made us laugh as much, Charlie Chaplin moved us more deeply, but no one had more courage than Buster. I define courage as Hemingway did: "Grace under pressure." In films that combined comedy with extraordinary physical risks, Buster Keaton played a brave spirit who took the universe on its own terms, and gave no quarter. I'm immersed in his career right now, viewing all of the silent features and many of the shorts with students at the University of Chicago. Having already written about Keaton's "The General" (1927) in this series, I thought to choose another title. "The Navigator," perhaps, or "Steamboat Bill, Jr.," or "Our Hospitality." But they are all of a piece; in an extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929, he worked without interruption on a series of films that make him, arguably, the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies. Most of these movies were long thought to be lost. "The General," with Buster as a train engineer in the Civil War, was always available, hailed as one of the supreme masterpieces of silent filmmaking. But other features and shorts existed in shabby, incomplete prints, if at all, and it was only in the 1960s that film historians began to assemble and restore Keaton's lifework. Now almost everything has been recovered, restored, and is available on DVDs and tapes that range from watchable to sparkling. It's said...
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...The fact that the music of films often has powerful effects on its audience is undisputed. Careful examination of the reasons behind these effects, however, has been largely ignored. We tend to compare previously unassociated dramatic pieces we hear to film music - but what piece cannot be compared to film music nowadays? Every pre-composed piece or spontaneous melodic fragment is potential fodder for a cinematic soundtrack. The real questions lie in how and why people have been compelled to combine drama with music throughout history. This essay attempts to clarify some of music's manifold roles in cinema and the reasons behind them by using as an example composer Bernard Herrmann's Citizen Kane soundtrack. In order to address these issues, a brief overview of the history of music in cinema is required. The root of music in film harks back to the Greek melodrams (the precursor in both literal language and event to the melodramas of today), a cross between a play and fledgling opera in which spoken word is accompanied by music.[1] As time passed, melodrams developed into opera, giving rise to types of performances known as number opera (those composed of a collection of closed pieces) and continuous opera (those including nonstop music), divisions that film soundtracks would later echo. Wagner's full-fledged support of program music at this time, as opposed to the absolute music that had previously reigned supreme, resulted in his novel invention of leitmotifs (first used...
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...Hollywood Revival While the generation of today is more focused on who wore what on the red carpet, some tend to forget the origins of modern fashion and how much of it has evolved from ideas that will soon be a 100 years old. Many actors nowadays neglect the common standard and look towards a unique style they can call their own, whereas many rely on commercial endorsement. Almost all the benchmarks followed by directors, actors and studios alike, come from, as most critics would agree, the golden age of Hollywood. Lasting from the 1920s-1960s, films produced between these years gave true recognition and uniqueness to US cinema. Also known as Classical Hollywood, these years provided the public with a sense of fashion like no other. We...
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...go on to inspire the motion picture industry. Some men who noticed the potential in cinema were the Warner Brothers. Albert, Jack, Harry and Sam Wonskolaser were born in Poland to Jewish parents and immigrated to the United States in 1888 while changing their last name to Warner. The brothers were fascinated with the nickelodeon business and purchased the Cascade Theater in 1905 (Warner & Jennings 1965). The theater turned out to be a wise purchase as it became very successful in terms of profit and even helped them buy other theaters (Bob Thomas, 1990). The success did not last long as the Thomas Edison´s Motion Picture Patents Company charged high fees for the showing of films in theaters (Warner & Jennings 1965). The patent caused the Warner bros to sell their theaters and focus solely on the making of films and distributing (Cass Warner Sperling, 2008). The company grew to become one of the biggest and most influential motion picture studios in the world. 2.2 Introduction to theme A leader possesses multiple attributes either when dealing with a multinational company or a small managing company however there is one characteristic which described...
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...Silent films later paved the way for talkies (movies with sound). The radio, chewing gum, the first parades were all created in the 1920s. Hundreds of prominent inventions were invented in just one era. People were motivated to transform art, science, music and literature. Jazz became popular because it was different, it brought people together, and the music spread throughout the country and later the world. The earliest style of jazz is called ragtime which started in the late 1800s in New Orleans. Ragtime has a core ingredient of jazz which is syncopation (an emphasis on the offbeats of the music). Ragtime later evolved into dixieland in the early 1900s. Dixieland involves not only syncopation, but also improvisation. Dixieland musicians mainly played trumpet, bass, clarinet, drums, tuba and piano. Later, dixieland music evolved...
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...the Impact of Images 187 Early Technology and the Evolution of Movies 192 The Rise of the Hollywood Studio System 195 The Studio System’s Golden Age 205 The Transformation of the Studio System 209 The Economics of the Movie Business 215 Popular Movies and Democracy In every generation, a film is made that changes the movie industry. In 1941, that film was Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane. Welles produced, directed, wrote, and starred in the movie at age twenty-five, playing a newspaper magnate from a young man to old age. While the movie was not a commercial success initially (powerful newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, whose life was the inspiration for the movie, tried to suppress it), it was critically praised for its acting, story, and directing. Citizen Kane’s dramatic camera angles, striking film noir–style lighting, nonlinear storytelling, montages, and long deep-focus shots were considered technically innovative for the era. Over time, Citizen Kane became revered as a masterpiece, and in 1997 the American Film Institute named it the Greatest American Movie of All Time. “Citizen Kane is more than a great movie; it is a gathering of all the lessons of the emerging era of sound,” film critic Roger Ebert wrote.1 CHAPTER 6 ○ MOVIES 185 (c) Bedford/St. Martin's bedfordstmartins.com 1-457-62096-0 / 978-1-457-62096-6 MOVIES A generation later, the space epic Star Wars (1977) changed the culture of the movie industry. Star Wars, produced, written, and directed...
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