Film

The Invention of Film

It is difficult to define the invention of film as there is no definition of where it starts, it may have started in early, basic animation. The oldest surviving film is called 'Roundhay Garden Scene' -it was recorded by Louis Le Prince (movie pioneer) in 1888, the movie lasts just 2.11 seconds with 12 frames per second. Le Prince is credited by many as the 'Father of Cinematography' due to his film inventions. Le Prince vanished in 1890 (a recently found photo suggests that he may have drowned)

The Early Years of Film

The Motion Picture developed into more advanced forms towards the 1910s (notably to using film instead of paper). Georges Méliés is widely known for creating some of the world's first colour film (painted by hand) and was the first to use special effects in his films. The way films were shot started to change, also- instead of having the camera in one fixed position, it would be moved closer to show people's expressions, to show a character's point of view or to allow characters to behave in a more realistic way. Film obviously broke off into different genres, some drama, but mainly comedy- the purpose of film was to entertain, and to make people laugh was much easier to achieve on silent film. Charlie Chaplin is well known for his early comedy credits as well as Buster Keaton, and later, the comedy double act of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardey. Many people became known for being in particular geres of film, and it was in comedy that drama and romance could branch from. With these different types of film, different production companies were created to cash in, Pathé being the first major film company, followed by Hollywood companies which would eventually rule film.

Hollywood and Germany

Hollywood is a place in America, it is unlikely that anyone should not know of it. France and Italy had been the major players in film production until America produced Hollywood: the American film industry, now known as the major City in LA where all major American films are produced. It was now America who would make all the world's greatest movie productions. Germany began to rise also; with a growing power the film industry was greatly funded, movies were considered as canvases for artists, they now had contemporary shapes and visuals,- like in the expressionistic: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Horror had a new meaning when Dracula adaptation: Nosferatu was made, and so did sci-fi with the arrival of Metropolis. Studios were no longer built with glass roofs and now had floodlights to allow longer working days and controllable lighting conditions. Cameras also developed into much more complex designs, capable of recording in much better quality. Microphones were introduced into cinema and audiences could watch movies with sound thanks to speakers which were used up to the 1970s when surround sound was introduced.

Popular Themes

Around the early 1900s adventure novels were very popular, the time wen film was pretty primitive. Romances and comedies became increasingly popular in the film industry as they were relatively cheap to produce. Towards the 1930s there was the introduction of fantasy and action adventure; 1925 saw the film adaptation of the Lost World, leading to the adaptation of King Kong in 1933 and Godzilla later. 1931- saw Boris Karloff in the role of Frankenstein's monster, sparking a craze of science fiction horror films- such as the B-movies created by Hammer Horror. 1939 had the Wizard of Oz- a musical filmed part in sepia and part in Technicolor. 1939 also saw the start of WWII, the funding for films from the government was obviously lowered but many production companieshad enough to keep producing movies, Chaplin and his company produced 'the Great Dictator' -the movie which saw his first non-silent role and urged America to war, was the most successful commercially. After the war, film became really popular- it was now in colour and had recorded sound. Hitchcock rose to fame around this time, he had spent much time in Germany before the war and learned their technique before returning to England and then to Hollywood; he was best known for his creative experimental films like Rear Window or Rope (among others) which were all based in one room, Rope also included homosexual characters, something looked on harshly by Americans at the time. The 50s and 60s saw his most memorable films, Psycho being the most popular- many of these movies were iconic because of particular scenes like the shower scene, the crop duster scene, or his many cameos- for instance in Frenzy (above)

Musicals became increasingly popular, the Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and the contemporary Hard Day's Night all became widely known. The James Bond films became successful in 1962 with Dr. No, the franchise is so successful that there have been over 23 Bond movies to date. Sci-fi overtook the Western famously in the 1960s (as depicted in 1992's Toy Story) -movies like the Good the Bad and the Ugly were all over cinemas and on TV. Lost in Space and the Forbiden Planet saw exciting futuristic settings whereas Planet of the Apes saw a bleak, post apocalyptic landscape. TV shows like Dr. Who and Star Trek made it onto the big screens due to their TV popularity.

The 70s had Stanley Kubric, after Dr. Strangelove in the 60s, and with Hitchcock's declining health -he was the man who created controversial films like Clockwork Orange and the Shining. Crime films became more popular too, the Godfather series and French Connection had Italian gangsters and American style cops. Sci-fi would make a return with Star Wars, which would become a major movie fanchise; Speilberg released Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind and eventually created ET (highest grossing film of the 80s) and the Indianna Jones franchise with Lucasfilm. TV had Monty Python creating 4 best selling movies. From before the war right to the modern day, traditional musicals and Disney movies still remain popular, the 70s had Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory- which had Gene Wilder in the main role, a psychodelich musical adaptation of the book.

The 80s had very nostalgic movies like the Goonies and Ghostbusters, movie franchises from earlier periods kept going- Star Wars and James Bond were still popular. Ridley Scott (after the success of Alien) produced Blade Runner, another instant success and also the first major film with surround sound. Horror was often combined with comedy, much to the success of Child's Play, Gremlins and Beetlejuice. War films kept going since WWII, first with movies about that war and eventually with movies of Vietnam war related material, like Platoon and Taxi Driver. The late 80s had the Back to the Future series, which was very creative in it's attempt to show how much things change over time- with 4 time periods depicted in the film and one alternate time zone.

The 90s had a new age for sci-fi, the Matrix, Independance Day and Jurassic Park proving this with convincing animation and puppetry. Romances continued to be popular, as were the wacky comedies brought to fame in the 80s. Mob and Cop dramas were still very popular but very different in the 90s, Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas were increasingly successful. Forest Gump and the Green Mile (both starring Tom Hanks) were popular and effective tragedies of their time, following on from the Elephant Man in the 80s. The 90s had a major breakthrough for PIXAR, with their first major fully computer animated movie: Toy Story, more important than this- PIXAR could engage audiences of all ages in their movies, something not seen before.

With the introduction of the 2000s, sci-fi and wacky comedy was on their way out- even James Bond had a major re-styling in 2006 with less gadgets and gimmics. Lord of the Rings was a major breakthrough in the world of filmmaking, it had all three movies recorded at once in the space of about a year and included major computer animation advancemens in the way it was shot; once the franchise ended, it had accumilated numerous accolades and 11 Academy awards. The franchise was picked up in a three part prequel series: the Hobbit starting in 2012, it had more advances in cinematography than any other film yet by recording live action with 3D cameras (rather than digitally added 3D) in 48fps making it the most visually realistic movie ever. Franchises were reinvented in the 00s -Star Treck, Pirates of the Carribean (based on a ride at Disneyworld), the Harry Potter series, Batman, Twilight, Iron Man, the list goes on. Movies became much more faster paced too, to add drama. Horrors would have limited camera movement and cuts to create a sombre and unnerving atmosphere, seen in low budget movies like Paranormal Activity which was made to look like it had been filmed with security cameras. It is unlikely that any movie now is produced without special effects, some more than others- it is expected of movies to be worth their price as B movies and short films are rarely seen in cinemas now; some companies still produce these, Disney's PIXAR famously shows short films before all of their films.

The Influence of Film