Read about Edison, Lumiere Brothers, Melies, and Porter at EarlyCinema.com.
Watch at least 3 films from Edison, Lumiere Brothers, and Melies on your own. Go to the Internet Archive, select "Moving Images" from the drop down menu and search for each director. Be sure to use your screening sheets for each film you watch.
Edison kinetoscope record of a sneeze, January 7 1984:
ReplyDeleteThere is enough space to focus on the sneezing man, it focuses on the upper part of his body, from chest up and gives him a bit of head room, but not enough to keep his hands fully in view at all times. A close up with a stationary camera view.
I identify with the camera lens, because it is good to focus on just the part of the body that is effected by the sneeze, it limits distrations and makes clear on what to focus on. The director wants the focus to be on the snezze caused by the man. To imagine is what caused the man to sneeze. The director left out what the man does after the sneeze. The use of the camera makes you focus on the man sneezing, and makes you feel he is sneezing at you.
Jack and the Bean stalk:
There is a lot of space in this film. The camera gives enough space so you can see the characters and the scenary at the same time and easily. There are no close ups at all, just stationary shots that are from a distance. This is probably so the audience can see the scenary better and to make the effects easier to edit.
I identify with the camera lens, because I see why it was shot the way it was. Due to its time period, to enjoy the scenary and to make it easier to edit,it and add effects. The director wants you to see the effects and be amazed at it. He wants you to see what Jack is doing and the adventure he took when he went up the beanstalk. Not much is left to the imagination, becuase most of it is spectacle (which is very impressive) and lets the audience view it all and not have to imagine much. What is imaginable though is the height of the beanstalk. The director did not leave out much, except that the man the fairy first encountered is not shown after Jack gives the cow, I wonder what happened to him and why the fairy visited him. The use of the camera did not really create meaning, but to show off spectacle mostly. What the camera showed moved the story along and gave information to add emotion and explain things to the audience.
Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat:
In this video, there is enough space to show the train arrive and see the crowd waiting to get on. This is a landscape, stationary shot of the train.
I identify with the camera lens, becuase I see the train coming at me. The director wants you see this everyday task, which is what makes this amazing, becuase no one has ever seen this before, this probably had people think that the train was coming directly at them. Some things left to the imagination are why are the people getting on the train, what time it is, how many stops are there left, how many people are there, how lare the trian is. The director leaves out a view of the whole train, probably because it would not all fit on the screen, so they presumed that the best place to record would be the middle where the sea of people are. The use of the camera does not add much meaning, because it is just a recording of an everyday task and it is a simple shot, not much of a meaning.
Stephen Valeri
ReplyDeleteEdison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze (Thomas Edison, 1894):
In this brief seven-second film a man sneezes while the camera remains static at eye level. Nothing beyond or besides the man can be seen, the camera focused solely on the subject of this extremely terse reel so as not to distract the viewer. After sneezing the man seems to make eye contact with the camera and this, coupled with the camera's position and the composition of the shot, engenders a sensation that makes the viewer feel as if they are sitting directly across from the sneezing man.
Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (Lumiere Brothers, 1895)
By using a three-quarter view (as opposed to a side view which would have been comparatively ineffectual for such a purpose or a frontal view which surely would have been impossible at the time) and an optical viewpoint, the sensation that the train is coming towards the viewer is created. When watching the film, the viewer feels as if they are a bystander waiting for the train, identifying with the people off to the right of the screen. The fact that the camera is not mobile, for example, following the train before and until it arrived at the station supports the viewer's sensation of being a passenger waiting for the train, letting the focus of the film lay upon the effect of the train's arrival rather than the train itself.
A Trip to the Moon (George Melies, 1902):
Since the idea of multiple camera positions in a scene wasn't developed until later, the film presents all of the action matter-of-factly, centering on the action and serving to capture as much as possible at once, allowing the viewer an objective viewpoint. The camera does not follow characters but shows them come in from the side as they take part in the action happening on-screen. Along with the simplistic sets and props this makes the film feel very similar to a play. As a result, the illusions are all the more outstanding as it's not as obvious that Melies has played with the camera to pull off a trick.
The Unappreciated Joke (Thomas Edison,1903):
ReplyDeleteThe film's presentation of cinematic space is small and cramped. The characters were sitting on bench so close together they could barely move while possibly waiting train. There wasn't any landscapes or close-ups. The camera remained static throughout the film. I identify with the camera lens while watching the two men laughing I'm instantly reminded of times like these I've had with my friends. The director is compelling me to see that even while doing something as trivial as waiting on a bench you can still enjoy yourself especially around the right people. What is left to the imagination is why the woman is offended by the joke and because the film was made around the time of the Women's Rights Movement I can imagine it's sexist joke. The director leaves out of the film what the joke was. The director's use of the camera help create meaning by filming from an angle that the viewer can observe the characters.
The Man With His Head in the Cabinet (Georges Melies, around 1900):
The film's presentation of cinematic space is large enough to see the kitchen in it's entirety. There aren't any close-ups and there isn't much landscape. The camera was static during the film. While I didn't identify with the camera lens I was still entertained by the film. The director is compelling the viewer to be shocked by the illusion and enjoy it at the same time. What is left to the imagination is how the head was obtained. What is all together left out by the director is where the rest of the man's body is. The director's use of the camera helps create the film's meaning by having the camera angled as it was to keep up the film's illusion that intrigues the viewer.
(The rest is on my sheet handed in)
For some reason, when I submitted it the first time it told me there was an error and my response was completely erased. I'll try to write it all again.
ReplyDelete"Workers Leaving the Factory" (Lumiere Brothers, 1895)
"Workers Leaving the Factory" is a film that depicts a large group of workers exiting the factory at the end of the work day. The film consists of one unbroken shot of the workers piling out on foot and bicycle, as well as a dog running from the cacophony. The camera remains static, though there is some shaking. The shot is wide enough to fully depict the group of workers (as many as thousands) running from the factory.
"A Terrible Night" (Georges Melies, 1896)
In this film, a man is disturbed when a large bug invades his bed and disrupts his slumber. The camera remains static throughout the film in an unbroken shot. What is not shown in this film is less noticable than what is: the bug is depicted in a primitive (though groundbreaking) special effect. The bug crawls its way around the man's bed as he swats at it.
"Fun in Camp" (Edison, 1899)
In this film, a group of men are depicted playing with bears at a camping ground. Though the camera remains stationary throughout, there are a number of cuts as bears start to appear in the shot; as time goes on, the men are depicted riding and pulling the bears in tow. What is not said in the film is why there are so many bears and what the men are doing camping, though it appears that they are part of the military.