The history of film dates as back as far as 1827. Before the invention of the motion picture cameras there were the 'Magic Laterns', an early form of image projector that was developed in the 17th century. The contraption worked by using a concave mirror in the back of a light source where the light source would direct light through a small rectangular sheet of glass, known as the "lantern side". The photographic or painted image was then projected into the lens which was adjusted so that the image would appear enlarged for the audience to view. In 1832, Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau and his sons introduced the 'Phenakistoscope', which proved to be a successful device. The Phenakistoscope was a device that was used to create the illusion of motion pictures by using a spinning disc that contained a series of pictures, and another spinning disc that allowed the picture to be viewed through various slots.This was made to seem like the pictures were moving when spun and viewed in a mirror.
In 1839 British inventor Henry Fox Talbot introduced the form
of ‘negatives’ to be produced on paper opposed to glass, and it became possible
for photographic images to be printed on glass slides that could be projected
using magic lanterns. In 1878 English photographer Eadweard Muybridge achieves
his aim to capture movement. Muybridge was approached by the ex-governer of
California in 1873 to settle a bet as to whether or not horses hooves actually
left the ground when they galloped. Muybridge attempted to settle the bet by
setting up a bank of twelve cameras with trip-wires that were connected to
their shutters. This allowed each, individual camera to take a picture whenever
the horse tripped its wire. He then went on to develop his own projector and
adapted Horner’s ‘Zoetrope’ in order for him to produce his ‘Zoopraxinoscope’. Inspired
by Muybridge’s work, French scientist Etienne Jules Murey began studying rapid
animal movements, such as the flight of birds. The results from his experiments
show a photographic gun that displayed 12 images on the edge of the circular
plate. The invention of the still camera that produces photographs on
sensitised paper was developed in 1888 by George Eastman, who sold the paper
under the name ‘Kodak’. He is also the founder of the Kodak company. In the
same year Thomas A.Edison and his assistant W.K.L Dickinson began designing
machines that were able to produce and show moving pictures. By 1891 Edison and Dickinson have created their ‘Kinteograph’ camera, along with a Kintescope
viewing box ready for demonstration and by 1893 the pair had built a studio in
order to produce films for their Kintescope.
Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas and Louis Jean, otherwise known as the Lumière Brothers were the first filmmakers in history. The brothers first film ‘Sortie de l'usine Lumière de Lyon’ was considered the first moving motion picture. The Lumière Brothers held their first private screening in 1895, and had their first public screening of films on December 28th 1895 at the Salon Indien du Grand Café in Paris. The public debut of their work included the screening of ten short films that the brothers created, with each short film running 17 meters long and ran for approximately 50 seconds. These films were 'La Sortie de l'Usine Lumière a Lyon', 'Le Jardinier l'Arroseur Arrosè', 'Le Dèbarquement du Congrès de Photographie a Lyon', 'La Voltige', 'La Peche aux poissons rouges', 'Les Forgerons', 'Repas de bèbè, 'Le Saut a la couverture', 'La Places des Cordeliers a Lyon' and 'La Mer (Baignade en mer). The Lumière Brothers then went on tour to promote and introduce their material with the cinematographe, where they visited Brussels, Bombay, London, Montreal, New York and Buenos Aires. In 1896 the Lumière Brothers sent one of their representatives to London and began running successful cinematographe films.
The Lathams also created their own camera and projector in the year of 1895. After showing one of their films to a reporter they opened a small theatre in May 1895. The projectors that the Lathams made were proved successful as they were built with a system to 'loop' the films and reduce th number of breaks and tears. The changes in process cinema was identified by French illusionist and film maker George Melies, who identifies four factors:
1. Current events and achievements
2. The creativity of the film makers who influenced the team of crafts people involved in the films
3. The technical developments that could be exploited
4. The capacity of a sufficient audience to appreciate results
In 1902, Méliés produced 'Voyage To The Moon' that was described as a 'fifteen minute fantasy'. The film used special effects and introduced colour to the screen through hand painting and tinting. In 1903, The American Mutoscope and the Biograph Company began making films in 35mm format instead of making films in 70mm format. This resulted in a large increase in sales, and in 1908 the company then went on to employ one of the most important silent film directors of all time, DW Griffith. The year 1903 was also the year of the release of 'The Great Train Robbery', which used a vast amount of photography technique and editing. Edwin S.Porter who worked for Edison created 'The Life Of An American Fireman', which introduced new storytelling techniques.
In 1905 John.P Harris and Harry Davis opened a five cents admission movie theatre which was named ‘Nickelodeon’ , and by 1908 the brand had expanded so that there were thousands of Nickelodeon shorefront cinemas across North America. The ‘Picture House’ cinema opened in London 1912 with a charity film performance in order to raise money for those that had been affected by the Titanic disaster, and has been showing films continuously since. In 1915 the success of the film ‘The Birth Of A Nation’ established the supremacy of feature length films, forcing the owners of five cent cinemas to increase the ticket price to ten cents or more. In the next ten years movie theatres were designed to appear more attractive, going through what was known as ‘the movie palace’ with air conditioning, stereophonic sound (1953) and the arrival of ‘the big screen’. These chains of cinemas were provided to give comfort and relaxation to the public. The ‘Big Five’ theatre chains during the 1920-1930’s period were ‘Paramount’, ‘Warner’, ‘Loews’, ‘Fox’ and ‘RKO’.
Ever since the 1960’s multiplex cinemas have become ‘the norm’, with The Elgin Theatre in Ottawa, the capital of Canada to be the first cinema to offer to film programmes on two separate screens in 1957. This was done when theatre owner Nat Taylor converted the dual screen theatre into one capable of showing two different films simultaneously. Taylor then went on to fund the ‘Cineplex Odeon Corporation’, an 18-screen Toronto Eaton Centre Cineplex, in Toronto, Canada, which was the world’s largest cinema at the time. Drive-in movie theatres that operated seasonally also became popular during the 1950’s-60’s. It was found that drive-in movie theatres were more popular in the United States than anywhere else, with around 400 remaining in the U.S today. Outdoor movie theatres that operated by a film being projected on to a temporary screen have a been found in various lecture rooms of colleges and universities. Films are also known shown on airliners and trains such as ‘Auto Train’.
Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas and Louis Jean, otherwise known as the Lumière Brothers were the first filmmakers in history. The brothers first film ‘Sortie de l'usine Lumière de Lyon’ was considered the first moving motion picture. The Lumière Brothers held their first private screening in 1895, and had their first public screening of films on December 28th 1895 at the Salon Indien du Grand Café in Paris. The public debut of their work included the screening of ten short films that the brothers created, with each short film running 17 meters long and ran for approximately 50 seconds. These films were 'La Sortie de l'Usine Lumière a Lyon', 'Le Jardinier l'Arroseur Arrosè', 'Le Dèbarquement du Congrès de Photographie a Lyon', 'La Voltige', 'La Peche aux poissons rouges', 'Les Forgerons', 'Repas de bèbè, 'Le Saut a la couverture', 'La Places des Cordeliers a Lyon' and 'La Mer (Baignade en mer). The Lumière Brothers then went on tour to promote and introduce their material with the cinematographe, where they visited Brussels, Bombay, London, Montreal, New York and Buenos Aires. In 1896 the Lumière Brothers sent one of their representatives to London and began running successful cinematographe films.
The Lathams also created their own camera and projector in the year of 1895. After showing one of their films to a reporter they opened a small theatre in May 1895. The projectors that the Lathams made were proved successful as they were built with a system to 'loop' the films and reduce th number of breaks and tears. The changes in process cinema was identified by French illusionist and film maker George Melies, who identifies four factors:
1. Current events and achievements
2. The creativity of the film makers who influenced the team of crafts people involved in the films
3. The technical developments that could be exploited
4. The capacity of a sufficient audience to appreciate results
In 1902, Méliés produced 'Voyage To The Moon' that was described as a 'fifteen minute fantasy'. The film used special effects and introduced colour to the screen through hand painting and tinting. In 1903, The American Mutoscope and the Biograph Company began making films in 35mm format instead of making films in 70mm format. This resulted in a large increase in sales, and in 1908 the company then went on to employ one of the most important silent film directors of all time, DW Griffith. The year 1903 was also the year of the release of 'The Great Train Robbery', which used a vast amount of photography technique and editing. Edwin S.Porter who worked for Edison created 'The Life Of An American Fireman', which introduced new storytelling techniques.
In 1905 John.P Harris and Harry Davis opened a five cents admission movie theatre which was named ‘Nickelodeon’ , and by 1908 the brand had expanded so that there were thousands of Nickelodeon shorefront cinemas across North America. The ‘Picture House’ cinema opened in London 1912 with a charity film performance in order to raise money for those that had been affected by the Titanic disaster, and has been showing films continuously since. In 1915 the success of the film ‘The Birth Of A Nation’ established the supremacy of feature length films, forcing the owners of five cent cinemas to increase the ticket price to ten cents or more. In the next ten years movie theatres were designed to appear more attractive, going through what was known as ‘the movie palace’ with air conditioning, stereophonic sound (1953) and the arrival of ‘the big screen’. These chains of cinemas were provided to give comfort and relaxation to the public. The ‘Big Five’ theatre chains during the 1920-1930’s period were ‘Paramount’, ‘Warner’, ‘Loews’, ‘Fox’ and ‘RKO’.
Adult Movie Theatres” were also introduced in the 1970’s ,
but the introduction of low cost VHS video system for home televisions has decommissioned many porno cinemas
as well as many 'second-run' theatres. In the 1980’s people were able to pay to
watch films at home a few months after they had been released, through cable
television, streaming media, pay per view and video on demand (VOD). This lead
to the fall of the ‘Dollar Cinema’, and the industry was desperate to win its
audience back, by building larger auditoriums and installing more cinema
screens, upgrading the sound systems and providing higher quality
refreshments.
3D Films were introduced in the late 1920's where the audience were given or borrowed a pair of polarised glasses to wear throughout the length of the film. Originally 3D films were shown in amusement parks before being used particularly for animated films that belonged to either Disney or Pixar. The first IMAX cinema was opened in Ontario Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. An IMAX cinema that is attached to the National Media Museum in Bradford, West Yorkshire (United Kingdom) allows visitors to observe the IMAX projection booth and watch large format films being loaded and projected.
3D Films were introduced in the late 1920's where the audience were given or borrowed a pair of polarised glasses to wear throughout the length of the film. Originally 3D films were shown in amusement parks before being used particularly for animated films that belonged to either Disney or Pixar. The first IMAX cinema was opened in Ontario Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. An IMAX cinema that is attached to the National Media Museum in Bradford, West Yorkshire (United Kingdom) allows visitors to observe the IMAX projection booth and watch large format films being loaded and projected.
Ever since the 1960’s multiplex cinemas have become ‘the norm’, with The Elgin Theatre in Ottawa, the capital of Canada to be the first cinema to offer to film programmes on two separate screens in 1957. This was done when theatre owner Nat Taylor converted the dual screen theatre into one capable of showing two different films simultaneously. Taylor then went on to fund the ‘Cineplex Odeon Corporation’, an 18-screen Toronto Eaton Centre Cineplex, in Toronto, Canada, which was the world’s largest cinema at the time. Drive-in movie theatres that operated seasonally also became popular during the 1950’s-60’s. It was found that drive-in movie theatres were more popular in the United States than anywhere else, with around 400 remaining in the U.S today. Outdoor movie theatres that operated by a film being projected on to a temporary screen have a been found in various lecture rooms of colleges and universities. Films are also known shown on airliners and trains such as ‘Auto Train’.
Some excellent, detailed analysis of three trailers here. Very impressive. Perhaps you could consider the target audience of each film though? Are they exactly the same or subtly different? What about the different production companies involved? The budgets are also very different - what affect does this have on the finished product? What difference does it make to have famous actors as opposed to unknown actors in the parts? Great stuff here though!
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