Film History

  • First "Motion Picture"

    First "Motion Picture"
    A bet was made between two men that a horse, while in a galop, has all four hoofs off the ground. A series of cameras were spaced out evenly to capture one photograph each. When played back they could see that a one point all four hoofs were of the ground, but this did not mater. It was the first idea for the concept of the motion picture.
  • Camera Creation

    Camera Creation
    Thomas Eddison and William Dickson create the first camera to capture and record movement. The Kintograph only produced small films that only one person could view at a time through a peephole.
  • Train Robbery

    Train Robbery
    The Great Train Robbery was the first ever silent film. It was created by Thomas Eddison. And it was just over 12 minutes long.
  • Takile

    Takile
    The silent film era ended when these came on the scene. Talkies finally captured sound in the movie, and not just added in music. With talkies, actors weren't needed to ever act and look weird on set.
  • Technicolor

    Technicolor
    Technicolor was first introduced in 1932. Before this if color was to be added to a film then someone would have to paint over each picture, which was a long a tedious job. On top of this the color did not look natural.
  • Film Noir

    Film Noir
    Post-WWII films were shot in a much darker tone. The films of this time often dealt with crime, corruption, greed and cruelty.
  • French New Wave

    French New Wave
    New Wave started in the ’50s and ’60s. It broke the conventional film rules and often left the audience confused by its lack of structure. Filmmakers used hand-held cameras, a non-linear timeline, improvised acting, and minimal editing, making it unlike anything out there at the time.
  • Over the Top

    Over the Top
    By this time movie makers were in a slump. In a way to compete with TV show produces, movie makers started creating films that were too "mature" for a TV audience. The new movies contained sex, violence and unconventional behavior.
  • Special Effects

    Special Effects
    These were no longer in what was considered "B-grade" movies. In fact, two of the greatest movies of the era, and arguably all-time were created using special effects. Jaws and Star Wars.
  • PG-13

    PG-13
    Rather than leaving out a large groum of people the MPAA finally created a new rating. This allowed for younger people who couldn't see the "X" films to still see an action movie.
  • Digitally Generated Character

    Digitally Generated Character
    Star Wars Episode I: The Phanthom Menace. Was the first film to have a complete digitally generated main character, Jar Jar Binks.
  • Black Panther

    Black Panther
    This was the first superhero movie with a predominantly black cast. And was also created by a black producer. It reminding the film industry that non-caucasian people could draw in a large crowd as well.