Film Lit- Silent Film

Georges Méliès

Dec 8, 1861

Méliès brought a great change to film. He wanted to tell stories through film, not just show a pointless clip. He introduced techniques such as the fade out, dissolve, double exposures, and special effects. In his lifetime, he wroted, directed, designed scenery for, and acted in about 500 films.

Edwin S. Porter

Apr 21, 1870

Edwin Porter worked in Edison's studio as a jack-of-all trades cameraman. Like Méliès, he was interested in films that had plot and he too invented different film techniques. Porter's techniques were involved with camera shots such as close-ups and pans.

First Motion Picture

Aug 20, 1872

Leland Standford made a bet that a horse at full stride lifts all four hooves off the ground. Cameras rapidly took multiple images, creating first motion picture.

DW Griffith

Jan 22, 1875

DW Griffith was a director known for his Civil War movies, battle scenes, and the amount of time spent on screen tests and rehearsals. However, he was also a very controversial director as well. His famous film "Birth of a Nation" glamorized the KKK and was historically inaccurate. His portrayals of African Americans (which were always played by white people in makeup; "blackface") were incredibly racist, often showing them acting like animals.

Mack Sennett

Jan 17, 1880

Mack Sennett was a director that apprenticed under DW Griffith as a bit actor. He is credited as being the father of slapstick in films, and was especially fond of using groups of cops and other keepers of social order for the purporse of comedy.

Zoetrope

Aug 20, 1880

(year is approximate) The zoetrope is invented by Jean Louis Meissonier. It converted images into silhouettes in order to create a moving picture.

Cecil B. DeMille

Aug 12, 1881

Cecil B. DeMille, whose career lasted form 1914 to 1958, was a very popular director in his time; he was a household name. He produced a number of blockbuster hits, and had a very distinct art style that could easily be identified. However, in his later years, his films were over-done and politically biased.

Douglas Fairbanks

May 23, 1883

Douglas Fairbanks is probably best known for his role as Zorro in his self produced film "The Mark of Zorro." He usually starred in "swashbuckler" roles in action and adventure movies. He partnered with Griffith, Chaplin, and Pickford to form United Artists. He later married America's sweetheart, Mary Pickford.

Flexible Film

Mar 20, 1884

Sometime in 1884, George Eastman invented flexible film. It had a flexible film base covered with a photographic emulsion. This invention aided in the creation of the kinetoscope.

Harry Langdon

Jun 15, 1884

Harry Langdon was a silent film star from 1924 to 1945. His baby face caused him to be described as an "overgrown baby," and his characters often reflected this. He was also known for playing clown-like characters. In an attempt to become more famous, he broke ties with a popular director. His plan backfired and it quickly became his downfall.

Charlie Chaplin

Apr 16, 1889

Charlie Chaplin was an incredibly famous silent film actor, known for playing the "tramp" character frequently. This earned him the nickname The Tramp. He was improvisational and more expressive than most slapstick actors. He also had a strong belief that comedy was based on humorous suffering (aka, the more you get hurt, the funnier it is). Any injuries he may have gotten were entirely his fault; he directed most of his own movies.

Kinetoscope

Jun 3, 1891

(Another approximate date) Thomas Edison (who originally thought film was a waste of time, a trend doomed to failure) and William Dickson worked together to invent the kinetoscope. An infinite loop of film would be played for a single patron at a time.

Mary Pickford

Apr 8, 1892

Mary Pickford was known as America's sweetheart in her youth. She tended to play roles that were half her age, usually as a strong tomboy with a feminine beauty. She became a very successful actress and owned her own studio.

Harold Lloyd

Apr 20, 1893

Harold Lloyd was a big silent film star from 1913 to 1947. His humor was based on humiliation and embarrassment and sight gags. His character was referred to as "Willie Work," a hyperactive character lacking personality. In exchange for acting like a goofball and humiliating himself, he would be paid $1.5 million regularly/film.

First Crude Projector

Apr 12, 1895

Thomas Armat realized the that the camera's process of holding still images while photographing could be repeated in a projection mechanism. The first crude projector was working in 1895

Buster Keaton

Oct 4, 1895

Buster Keaton was a silent film star from 1917-1966. He was well known for his exaggerated physical humor and deadpan expressions and serious characters.

Vitascope Opens

Apr 23, 1896

The Vitascope, one of the first projectors, first opened at Koster and Bial’s Music Hall in New York City on April 23, 1896. Though the invention actually belonged to Thomas Armat, he allowed Edison to take credit. Being such a big name, when Edison took credit, he greatly promoted the invention.

Mutoscope

Jul 27, 1896

William Dickson patented the mutoscope in 1896. Having worked with Edison in the creation of the kinetoscope, he knew how to bypass the patent by having the mechanism work in a different way. His peep shows worked more like a flipbook.