-
The Beginning
The Edison company created the Kinetoscope, the first visual moving pictures. Public demonstrations began in 1893 and by 1894 they became a commercial success. Other things similar to the Kinetoscope existed, but weren't public because of Edison wanting to make money. -
The Bet
A bet was made and this helped to create film as we know it. Eadward Muybridge helped facilitate a bet that a horse's hooves at one point in time. -
Narrative Movies
In 1903, "The Great Train Robbery" became the first movie of its kind. It was a narrative movie with a plot which hadn't really been done before. Previously they had shorter times and didn't include rich stories like this 10 minute production did. -
Nickelodeons
Originally Vaudevilles, these theaters became the place to go for film viewing. The name originates from the fact that viewing only cost a nickel. By 1910, they hade 26 million viewers a week. -
The Lengthening of Films
During this time, movie production companies started to take risks. The first and major one was the increase in run time films would create. Movies being created ended up surpassing an hour like Dante's Inferno and Oliver Twist. -
The Rise of Film
In America, several products had been made but they weren't the big creators. Russia, Europe, and Scandinavia were the largest film production countries. Because of World War I, movies became something to escape to around the world and the industry increased. -
Hollywood
As Edison started to control more and more, companies and film makers would move to California and specifically Hollywood. It had good scenery and weather which provided good work conditions. And it was close to Mexico so if Edison's "goons" were out to get you, then you could flee for a period of time for safety reasons. -
Music in Film
Music and sounds being added to movies helped out the industry quite a bit. The first movie with music was The Jazz Singer in which it used different discs for different parts of the film. That method proved to not be efficient and they ended up adding the music on the outer edges of the discs. -
Cinema's Golden Age
By the early 30's, cinema had become fully scored and mostly all color. Because of all the hype and products, this became the Golden Age of Hollywood. During this era, film was pretty much the main source of media. Also around this time, larger theaters and viewing arrangements were being made which further helped the Golden Age. -
The Rival
As television started to rise in popularity extremely quickly, the film industry had to adapt. The Cinerama experience with larger screen being projected were created and louder music helped to immerse viewers. Although, it is expensive and became not as efficient as they had hoped. -
Post Classical Era
The revival of films similar to the Golden Age began in the 1970's. This era became known as the Post-Classical Era and theaters had more people than as of recent. Also, during the late 70's, VCR came out which ended up ending this resurgence and creating more home viewing. Movies like Star Wars and Jaws came out during this period which still remain as top movies is most people's eyes today. -
"Modern" Era
From 1990 to around today very slight modifications have been made. Foreign films are now wildly accepted among film critics and music has advanced to help highlight all aspects of movies. Technology has advanced in theaters with sharper images and in the later years even 3D is possible. DvDs (other than online viewing) are the main form of home viewing and overall, the film industry seems to be strong and will be for quite a while.