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History Of Film
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The First Projector
In France, the Lumiere Brothers created the first projector. The first projector, otherwise known as the cinematographe, was used to show the Brothers' short films. Ten of their short films were shown in the first theater using the cinematographe. -
The First Movie
Produced by Edwin Porter, "The Great Train Robbery" is considered the first movie. This 12 minute Western Narrative contained 14 scenes and a plot. It's considered the first movie because of the plot and story. -
Nickelodeons
Nickelodeons were theaters that showed feature films for a nickel. During the 1910's Nickelodeons averaged about 26 million viewers a week. This meant they made around 1.3 million dollars a week. -
The Talkies
"The Jazz Singer" was the first film produced to have sound. Sound revolutionized movies. After the 1920's, almost every film was a talkie, or a film with sound. -
Color
"The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone With the Wind" were the first to films to have color. Technicolor is the brand that adds color to films. Technicolor was the first brand to add color while keeping the film clear and realistic. -
Record Theater Attendance
During this time films became more modern. There was now sound, color, better lighting, and even some special effects. Films were getting better and so were the profits. This was the most profitable year due to the high record breaking theater attendance. -
The Rise of Drive-In Theaters
As films began to become more popular among young adults, drive-in theaters became increasingly popular. Around 4,000 drive-in theaters were built in the 1950's. Drive- in theaters are an outdoor theater where viewers often watch the movie from their car. Drive-in theaters were a fun place for young adults to hang out. -
The First Multiplex
Stanely H. Durwood constructed the first multiplex at Ward Parkway Center in Kansas City. A multiplex is a building that contains various screens to show different films at the same time. The original multiplex had 2 theaters next to each other with a total of 700 seats. Throughout the 1960's the multiplex grew, with an end total of 6 combined theaters. -
The First Blockbuster
Jaws, the first blockbuster, started an era of box office successes. Star Wars and Alien were a few other massive successes during the 1970's. Jaws released in the summer, promoting other movies to release during the summer. -
The Rise of Special Effects
Special effects became very popular during the 1980's. Often used to help depict violence and action, special effects were used in many science fiction, action, and horror films. Due to the high prices of special effects, many big name companies took financial control of a production. -
Textured CGI
"Jurassic Park" had unbelievable dinosaur skin. Before "Jurassic Park" CGI had no texture. Now CGI was 3D, textured and extremely realistic. -
Digital
Digital movies changed everything. Digital quickly became the better option because it was cheaper, faster, and easy to reproduce. The transition from film to digital occurred quickly in the 2000's. Since most people had a home entertainment system, digital made it easier to reproduce and distribute movies.
