Edwin S.Porter Edwin S. Porter contributed the following editing styles and techniques to film. He used a dissolve between every shot just and he frequently had the same action repeated across the dissolves. According to Filmrefrence.com “Edison Company’s new Vitascope projector in Indiana and California, and Porter worked with them as a projectionist in Los Angeles and Indianapolis. Later that year he went to work for Raff & Gammon in New York but left after the Edison Company broke with Raff & Gammon. He then toured with entertainers through the Caribbean as an exhibitor of motion pictures, and in early 1897 he helped build the projector at the Eden Musée”(Filmrefrence.com.2014). Porter had 2 big movies he worked on does 2 where (life of an American fire man) and (the great train robbery). On The great train robbery Porter used cross-cutting editing method to show simultaneous action in different places. And the great train robbery had a running time of twelve minutes, with twenty separate shots and ten different indoor and outdoor locations. In the movie Life of an American Fireman Porter presents the same narratives where the fireman rescues a woman from a burning building as seen first from inside the building and then from camera setup outside the building. This duplication of event was a deviant use of editing, although other early films feature this kind of overlapping action. Porter also used parallel editing styles in the great train robber. D.W. Griffith D.W. Griffith contributed the following editing styles and techniques to film. Griffith used crosscutting techniques and combined it with shorter and more rapid shots, Griffith also used parallel editing to enhance the suspens... ... middle of paper ... ...ctive means of producing the disappearance of a Lady”(EarlyCinema.com.2014). Reference List • D.W. Griffith - About D.W. Griffith | American Masters | PBS. 2014. D.W. Griffith - About D.W. Griffith | American Masters | PBS. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/d-w-griffith/about-d-w-griffith/621/. [Accessed 10 February 2014]. • EarlyCinema.com. 2014. EarlyCinema.com. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.earlycinema.com/pioneers/melies_bio.html. [Accessed 11 February 2014]. • The development of editing - Editing - actor, film, voice, cinema, scene, story. 2014. The development of editing - Editing - actor, film, voice, cinema, scene, story. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/Editing-THE-DEVELOPMENT-OF-EDITING.html#ixzz2sNiIEQqt. [Accessed 10 February 2014].
Braudy, Leo and Marshall Cohen, eds. Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings, Fifth Edition. New York: Oxford UP, 1999.
Film making has gone through quite the substantial change since it’s initial coining just before the turn of the 19th century, and one would tend argue that the largest amount of this change has come quite recently or more so in the latter part of film’s history as a whole. One of the more prominent changes having taken place being the role of women in film. Once upon a time having a very set role in the industry, such as editing for example. To mention briefly the likes of Dede Allen, Verna Fields, Thelma Schoonmaker and so forth. Our female counterparts now occupy virtually every aspect of the film making industry that males do; and in many instances excel past us. Quite clearly this change has taken place behind the lens, but has it taken
Jacobs, Lewis. “Refinements in Technique.” The Rise of the American Film. New York: Teachers College Press, 1974. 433-452. Print.
actor and best film editing. The elements in this film such as music, sound, picture, and visual
The start of special effects in film is largely attributed to Georges Méliès and his process of removing a section of a moving picture to place another moving part within.
During the “Roaring Twenties,” the film production was focused on silent films. However, films became bigger, longer, and with more quality. Their production was divided into parts: writing, makeup,
This essay will outline an introduction to the premature years of motion pictures and developments that helped shape cinema as we know it today. This paper will explore the roles of the early pioneers and the extent to which their contributions shaped cinema. In particular, it will look at how E.S Porter and D.W Griffith improved on the early years of cinema as result of influences from Louis and Auguste Lumiere and George Melies.
D. W. Griffith is widely recognized as a pioneer and father of early filmmaking, though in reality he was just a creature of circumstance. In 1907, Griffith departed his theatrical career as failed playwright and somewhat accomplished stage actor to work for the Biograph Company with his first role as the Father in Rescued from an Eagle’s Nest. Griffith entered the American film industry at crucial moment that would shape and define his career. During this time Edison Company was waging a war to monopolize the American film industry through lawsuits against other American companies using versions of Edison’s patented Kinescope without paying royalties. These lawsuits ravaged and prevented the industries growth as film’s popularity was increasing in the United States. In 1907, to meet the growing popularity of nickelodeons (early movie theaters that would charge a nickel for admission and show case 3-4 short films), 1,200 films were released in the United States, of those only ...
John Gibbs and Douglas Pye (2005) Style and meaning : studies in the detailed analysis of film. Engalnd: Manchester University Press, pp 42-52.
Ondaatje, M. (2004). The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
The 1920’s and 1930’s was considered the golden age for movie production. In the 1920’s the production code started censoring the film makers. This stated that any movie written had to pass a certain criteria examples included: if containing sex, violence, and killing. Early silent movies were often accompanied by live piano or organ music. Films were black and white. According to A Short Stories of the Movies, D.W Griffith, never had the intention to make movies, accidentally writing and reporting for a Louisville newspaper led him to become a movie producer, and writer. He is known as the inventor of Hollywood for using close-up shots, which tightly frames an object; today is known as “zooming”. He also used cross-cutting, in order to make
Arrival of a Train at La Ciota, produced by the Lumiere brothers, used actors that may of well of been ‘real people '. Today, we may even categorize this acting style of that of an ‘extra’. The Great Train Robbery employed individual artists to portray characters in the film. For the first time we see the beginning of the hollywood studio system including a featured star Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy ' Anderson. In sum, the Porter flick showcased thirteen dramatic actors that played multiple different roles. In addition, the actors did not receive acting credits portraying an insight into one major difference during this time. The precedence of film before actor. As we know, this precedence quickly reversed as the movie star is now the driving attraction and the change was noticeable as early as Griffith’s Broken Blossoms. Distinctive to the film, Griffith administers a acting style that is as essential if not more to the film as the storyline is. The film would not be the same without Lillian Gish, which is in direct contrast to the other two films where the actors could be easily interchangeable. Different from today’s films, Gish and Barthelmess acting style were similar to that of stage acting with enormous and purposeful expressions. Specifically, Battling Burrows played by Donald Crisp exercises a large, almost non sensical acting style which is undeniably a result
In my own opinion I agree with the above statement completely. Editing will deal with all aspects related to the rhythm, such as the smooth transition from one image to another. What’s even more impressive for the early filmmakers is the limited use of technology available. This often restricted them to creating short films that were only filmed with one shot and limited by the amount of film in the camera. The only thing necessary to amuse the audience at the beginning of the ‘motion’ picture era was movement within the shot. Usually there was no real story or editing required, and thus it was hard to create a connection with the actors on screen and create a gripping film. Still though the developments and techniques by film pioneers from across the world enabled some of the earlie...
Offering the unique ability to visually and audibly convey a story, films remain a cornerstone in modern society. Combined with a viewer’s desire to escape the everyday parameters of life, and the excitement of enthralling themselves deep into another world, many people enjoy what films stand to offer. With the rising popularity of films across the world, the amount of film makers increases every day. Many technological innovations mark the advancement of film making, but the essential process remains the same. Pre-production accounts for everything taken place before any shooting occurs, followed by the actual production of the film, post-production will then consist of piecing the film together, and finally the film must reach an audience. Each step of this process contributes to the final product, and does so in a unique right. The process of film making will now start chronologically, stemming from the idea of the story, producing that story into a film, editing that footage together, and finally delivering that story to its viewers.
But even though Griffith was no longer making films, he had done his part. He had successfully expanded the audience for cinema, introduced the feature film to America, and created one of the first blockbusters ever. The techniques he used to make his films so great such as the wide shot, close up, and quick cut are still key components of modern films. It is Griffith's legacy that makes him " “single most important individual in the development of film as an art” (Drew).