The Technology of Motion Pictures

   

    Throughout human history, we have seen how people are constantly coming up with new ideas and technologies that have changed and continue to change the world forever. One of the biggest inventions of the 19th century was the photograph and the camera. Up until this point, the only way to document history was by being at the scene and reporting what happened second-hand accounts of events, and portraits and paintings. Because of this, we have no visual proof of what happened at some of the most important events in world history. That changed when the first photograph was taken in 1826. Now people were able to document history in a visual medium. Photogrpahs became a way for people to express themselves creatively. Portaits, architecture, and Civil War battles were some of the images documented by the camera. While the camera was an extremely important invention, it had its limitations. The cameras were so heavy that it was almost impossible to move around. It took a lot of time to take even one photo. While photography was a massive technological advancement, only so much could be learned from a photo. The ability of a photograph to educate and entertain audiences was limited to the still image. Eventaully it became easier to take photos when investors came up with the zoetrope, "a simple toy that made it possible for a series of pictures to be viewed in rapid succession, creating the illusion of motion." The creation of the zoetrope led to photos being taken at an exceptionally quicker rate than before. Photographer Eadweard Muybridge took the zoetrope and like most great inventors expanded upon it. Muybridge set up several cameras to film a horse running a race track. Mubridge took these photos and put them in a zoopraxiscope. This zoopraxiscope caused the still images to change at such a rapid pace that it appeared the horse was actually moving. So in 1888 a running horse changed the world forever and motion pictures were born. 

    "Motion pictures, also called film, cinema or movies, are a series of images, recorded on strips of film, that create the illusion of continuous motion ." This defines what motion pictures are. After Muybridge's horse running video became public inventors became fascinated with advancing this new medium. Thomas Edison created the Kinetogrpah, the first camera to use celluiod film which had been developed by George Eastman. This new camera inspired The Lumiére brothers Louis Nicholas and Louis Jean who invented the Cinématographe, a camera used to record, develop, and project films. The Cinématographe became the first affective film camera. The brothers were responsible for making the first film ever Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory (1895). In the film we see workers leaving the brothers factory. This film is important because it showed it was possible to tell a story through "moving images" and it focused on the struggles of everyday people, which films throughout history have done. 

    

    Over the next several decades creators were trying to understand what do with this groundbreaking new medium. Films were very short and did not have much of a story, opting instead to please audiences who were just so surprised to see images moving. This was known as the "Cinema of Attraction" era. As time moved on artists began to experiment with film to try to make something more then just moving images. The first feature length film was released in 1906 called The Story of the Kelly Gang.  People began to edit films, runtimes were longer, there was a focus on how a shot looked, and special effects were added to wow an audience in a different ways. In 1926 the first film to feature talking was released The Jazz Singer. This led to one of the most important aspects of motion pictures, meaning. Art is a big way our wold changes. It creates commonality, introduced us to other cultures, and changes our perceptions for how we see the world. Film is an educational tool. If we did not have filmmakers who were willing to push the boundaries of what the medium could accomplish, I do not think the world would be as understanding and technologically advanced as it is today. Because of this people around the world have the ability to watch films from different countries. We learn about other society's cultures and America has the ability to educate people about our culture. FIlm changed how people communicate. Two people who have nothing in common can start talking on a bench about The  Lord of the Rings and feel like they have been friends for years. Film communicates social and political ideas they want the audience to hear. The Suicide Squad can be viewed as a mindlessly fun superhero film, or you can look deeper into the message that the director is trying to portray about the danger of the government creating weapons to control people and covering it up so we do not hear about it. Another way the technology of film communicates is through visual rhetoric. What this means is that every shot of a film is trying to communicate something to the viewer. The way the cinematographer chooses to compose a shot, the colors used, and how the scene is edited are ways directors communicate through visual rhetoric.

    

    Motion pictures are one of the most important technological advancements ever. Without motion pictures there would be no television, sports, video games, and internet . However, it would be disingenuous to not point out a few of the negatives that arose with this medium. The film business, like any other business, is trying to make money. The studio system arose in the 1900's to consolidate the new technologies and create new ways to make money. This led to a monopoly as it gave certain people the power to choose who was allowed to make films. Women and African Americans were almost universally excluded from picture making. Films made in America were made by white men for white men. There was almost no way to get different people's perspectives. One of the major problems with motion pictures that arose in the studio system and still is somewhat prominent today was censorship. Hollywood was facing pressure from the government to monitor what was being put into films to avoid content that was deemed offensive or explicit like in The Birth of a Nation. The studios created The Hays Code which were self-imposed rules that films had to follow in order the get released. Language, graphic violence, and sexual content was banned from being shown. Censorship stimied creativity. It forced people into a box that made them compromise what they wanted to make in order to get the film released. Just like in any other aspect of live when someone gets involved to try to stop you from expressing yourself creativity falters. If motion pictures are supposed to be a tool for education, that is hard for them to do if they have to fit into specific guidelines. Today studios are so obsessed with finding the next billion dollar franchise that it seems like films that are exquisitely made and have something to say about the world are either made for no money or not made at all. If we want this artform to continue to prosper we need the studios to financially support new creators and new ideas. The invention of motion pictures is one of the most important technologies ever. They created new forms of communication and entertainment. Without motion pictures the world would be a very different place.