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The Lumiere Brothers Premiere Wide-Format Screening
The Lumiere Brothers debuted their Cinematograph film at the Paris World's Fair in 1900. The 400 square meter screen was visible to an audience of 25,000 guests, and held the record for the widest format yet developed for over 100 years. 15 films were screened in the 25-minute time frame The Lumiere Brothers had. Most films were only a minute or two long at the time. -
The Star System
In 1910 Carl Laemmle introduced the star system. Before 1910, actors and actresses were left anonymous for fear that they would become famous and require higher pay. Laemmle saw this differently, he believed if the actors and actresses became famous the public would pay more to see their films. He hired Florence Lawrence, who is believed to be the first US motion picture "movie star." -
The First Color Cartoon
The producer John Randolph Bray debuted the cartoon Thomas Cat. It was the first cartoon that was in color. It was created using a 2-color process called the Brewster Natural Color Process. This color process is often referred to as a unsuccessful precursor to Technicolor. They used color film, making it genuinely the first short-film in color. -
First Voice-Over
Alfred Hitchcock released his second thriller called "Murder!" In this thriller the actor's thoughts were heard in voice-over. This is the first time this was ever accomplished. The voice-over segment was especially difficult to shoot, as an orchestra had to be hidden below the set because it was impossible to dub the soundtrack afterwards. -
Chroma-Key Process
The first movie to use the Chroma-Key process came out this year. The Chroma-Key process is also referred to as the 'Blue Screen'. This process works as a green screen would, to layer a different background behind the subject. The movie was named "The Thief of Bagdad," and was awarded for Best Special Effects, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography. -
The First Hollywood Film
"King Solomon's Mines" was the first Hollywood film. It was also the first MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) film to be made without a studio musical score or soundtrack. The cost of this film totaled in $3.5 million, and required monumental effort. The african tribesmen were not american actors dressed up, they were genuine african tribesmen enlisted in the movie. -
First Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame was established in 1958. The first star was not placed on the Walk of Fame until 1960. This star was awarded to actress Joanne Woodward. This was the start to the tradition of 5-point pink stars between Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. -
The IMAX
The IMAX widescreen format premiered in 1970. It was showcased in the Fuji Pavilion at the EXPO in Osaka, Japan. The first film shown was "Tiger Child" and lasted 17 minutes. -
First Female Leader
Sherry Lansing became the first female head of a major studio in 1980. At 36 years old, she became president of 20th Century Fox. She was only production head for 3 years, but in those 3 years she counted 3 of her movies as successes. -
The First Digital Ink-and-Paint System
Disney and Pixar used CAPS. CAPS is the first digital ink-and-paint system. This is a system where color is added to the film with computerized ink and paint, rather than using acetate cels or traditional paint. -
The Use of DVR
Although TiVo released digital video recorders, it wasn't until the 2000's that they were used as a commonplace. More technological advancements were made to perfect the recorder. This allowed for fast-forwarding. -
Online Streaming
Many video stores that carried DVD movies filed for bankruptcy protection in this year. Online movie streaming sites such as "Netflix" came out and threatened video stores. Most of these stores have since been closed.
