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Period: to
Cinematography
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The Rotating Camera
Before 1897, all cameras were stationary. Robert W. Paul soon invented a camera that sat on a swival. This created the first rotating camera, made for panning shots. -
Film Studios
Georges Melies was a French film maker famous for creating some of the longest films for his time, ranging from five to twenty minutes. In 1897, he opened the world's first film studio. It had a glass roof, and three glass walls. This allowed the sunlight to enter, but other factors like sounds and wind was taken out. -
Double Exposure
Bristish cinematographer George A. Smith pioneered the "film trick" technique of double exposure. This was never seen before, and everyone was amazed at what could happen. What George did was take a film shot, drapped in black, and exposed it over another film strip. -
The Close-Up
George A Smith is at it again - he was the first to introduce the "close up". In modern terms, all previous films were generally shot in wide shot, or from a distance. George was the first to film someone from the shoulders up, close the the face. AKA, a close-up. -
Reverse Motion
George A Smith, pioneer of the double exposure technique, also created the first motion picture with "reverse motion". This effect is achieve when someone is doing something, and then playing it in the opposite way. -
"A Trip to the Moon"
This marked the start of the imaginative films. This silent movie by Georges Melies had a running time of about 16 minutes at 14fps. It was also one of the first films that didn't relate to every day life or history. It was the first of a new genre: sci-fi and fantasy. -
The Featured Film
Never before had this been done - the very first "featured film". Until now, people would go in and watch a series of short films that lasted anywhere from 30 seconds to 20 minutes, depending on the time it was made in history. However, in 1906, an Austrailian production called "The Story of the Kelly Gang" lasted over an hour - never heard of before. -
The Animated Featured Film
El Apostol was the first full length featured film that was animated, or "cartoon". It was made with a series of cut-outs to create puppet like things. This piece of artwork, however, is now considered lost. -
The Jazz Singer
This was the first film of it's era, which still continues today - talking movies. Also known as "Talkies", these movies were the first to produce a soundtrack, along with singing and dialogue. Audiences were stunned by this. -
The Age of Color
Still image photography was entering into color images, something that had never been seen before, It was growing in popularity, and quickly cought the attention of filmmakers. Directors Voctor Fleming and George Cukor created the timeless classic "Gone With The Wind", the first ever movie that was entirely in color.
