Issues in Film History - Essay Example

Issues in Film History Introduction Motion picture as well as the production of films have had a commendable development especially in the nineteenth century prior to which the entertainment industry barely existed. It should be noted that the whole concept of motion pictures was never a creation. Besides, it did not come about through any process similar to an evolution. Its occurrence was more like putting together a puzzle (Robinson, 1996 p. 3). Filmography, just as any other art of entertainment, depended on the existing infrastructure to sustain the production processes thus result in high quality and relevant films and motion pictures. The development of the Edison motion picture and its databases reveal just how the journey to the current sophistication in the production of motion pictures has been cumbersome especially in the film’s silent period (Johnson, 2002). This period was characterized by low rate production of poor quality films most of which were rudimentary short films used in theatres to entertain. From the analysis of such early film developers as Edwin S porter, it becomes evident the use of motion picture as a means of entertainment had previously been existent prior to the nineteenth century. Various films have showcased the progress that has been made in the film industry (Cook, 1991). Back then, producers used magic lanterns and other projection devices to relay their pictures on the walls for their audience. The absence of the modern day camera and editing computer software compelled most of the producers to rely on brief single shots of their scenes and rely entirely on the sequencing of the films to tell their stories through pictures. This production technique was tiring and discouraged the participation of numerous producers thus resulted in a less crowded industry unlike the modern day’s film industry. It is such a time that Edwin S porter produced a short film titled The Great Train Robbery in 1902. This was a masterpiece of the time and marked a land mark in the history of Hollywood. The story of the film followed a simple plot written for the understanding of the American of the time. Porter understood that besides the entertaining aspects of the films, they also communicated ideas to their audience and for his movie, therefore to gain relevance among the target audience; he wrote a simple familiar storyline one, which addressed familiar themes. Despite the progressive development of the motion picture as a means of entertainment, this aspect of the art has not changed. Arts communicate to their audience and the artists are therefore compelled to make artifacts that are of relevance to their target audience. Porter’s film followed a simple story line in which highway robbers hijacked a train wagon to steal from the passenger. The twelve minute film is to this day considered the greatest innovation of the time a milestone in film production. Back then, the only known means of transport was the train. It linked towns and states; the train was the only means of transport that delivered the reliability of the modern day planes. However, instances of hijack and other on voyage robberies were rampant, Porter’s film is motivated by the rampant robberies, and other uncertainties associated with the journey. As the industry develops through time, other producers of film retain the desire to stay relevant to their audience’s expectations and the only way of achieving this is by developing films that follow familiar themes. Others however stretch the imagination of their audience but they always provide a linkage between the current societies to the imagined setting in their films (Geuens, 2000). A number of factors which include the complexity of the story line and the available apparatus of production influences the timing of films. The Great Train Robbery lasted twelve minutes, this short timing of the film results from the rudimentary apparatus of production. The inadequate recording techniques and the unavailability of editing facilities compelled the director to limit his film to twelve minutes barely to retain the relevance he had tried to implement in the film. Edwin had discovered a number of production techniques most of which he employed in the production of this film. In this film, Porter uses a number of editing techniques, which had not previously been employed by any other film producer before. This marked the origin of analogue editing in which he cut the different aspects of the film and rearranged them in the sequence of his storyline. In addition to editing, Porter used employed camera movement in this film to develop different aspects of the story. Coupled with the on-site shooting, the film became the first of its kind at a time that the industry had few producers and very few films. The film thus had a great financial success and marked a new age in film production in the industry. It is ironic, therefore, when modern day film producers refer to this age as the film’s silent period yet some of the modern day production techniques were discovered at such times. Modern day films use numerous production techniques to gain their splendor and to communicate with the different age groups of their market. One such important aspect of film production that communicates is lighting. The modern day films have effective lighting techniques to communicate the different aspects of the movie. In this the producers manipulate the studio light to induce both the time of the day and further manipulate the shadows of the their casts to gain either dominance or submission and also to communicate other finer details of their films as the weather and climate. More importantly, is the understanding that cameras operate on light. Cameras use lights to capture images, this entails the basic operational technique behind the camera lenses. However, the modern day film makers have expanded the understanding of lighting to incorporate other more exciting features of production. Porter’s film just as expected employed the mere basic use to the natural light on scene (Crain, 2011). He merely used the natural to capture the images and did not employ any other secondary use to the light. The twelve minutes film took days to record but all the scenes reflect day time a feature of the film, which infers that the producer had no alternative to night production despite the many possible night scenes he could have incorporated. Towards the end of the film, Porter portrays a close up shot of the lead banding coming under fire as the gang escapes from the scene of robbery. This extensive manipulation of the camera movement is to this day a tool in film production used to communicate different aspects of the film to intended audience. Different camera angles communicate differently o the targeted audience. Just as the light, camera angles also communicate either dominance or submission of an actor at a scene (Steiff, 2005). Camera shots on the other hand communicates the details in the film as its seeks to fit in as much details in a single frame as possible. Among the most common shots include long shot which providers a broader view to the scene and includes a s much production elements in the scene as possible (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 2011). This shot is normally used to establish a scene since it sets the stage ready for other subsequent actions by revealing the different elements present in a scene. Close up and mid close up are two other shots that communicate more details than the long shot and the extreme ling shot. Close up shots reveal more actions to a scene and expose the finer details of the action. When Porter with his full understanding of the shots employ this specific shot to the end of the film, he does this deliberately to communicate the details of the scene to the audience. The modern day film producers draw their elaborate use of both camera angles and the different shots to communicate the different production aspects from this film produced at a time in the history of film production when the process was slow thus inferring the title film’s silent period (Franklin, 1997). Besides the two elements of production, modern day film producers use costumes to communicate in their films. This is a basic understanding to the production process that Porter explores effectively too. He dresses his bandits relevantly and in a manner, that earns them authenticity as actual bandits in real life. On the other hand, he also dresses his passengers and the telegraph operator appropriately and in accordance to the timing of the film. Produced in 1902, it is expected that the cats have a dress code relevant to the cloth production technique of the time. Costumes communicate such aspects of the story as the profession of the actor. From the first impression, it becomes evident who the bandits in the film are and who the passengers are. Additionally, costumes communicate time as different times of the day and the weather patterns attract different attire. The producer has an effective understanding of this production element and employs it effectively. Another important aspect of the costume that the producer employs is the use of color. Colors just like light communicate differently depending on the type of colors used to dress the cast. The producer dresses his cast in the most basic colors of black and white. This idea arises from the fact that the cameras of the time had not developed the colored production technique but relied on the black and white color technique. Modern day producers however dress their casts in different colors with an elaborate knowledge in color management specifically to communicate different messages to their target audience. The camera technology employs the multi-color technique thus enabling the use of color as an element of production and thus to communicate different ideas in the scenes of the current films. This enables producers to balance between color and light to achieve effective and seamless communication between scenes and shots. Effective balancing of color and costumes communicate such important aspects of the story as the economic status of the casts, the weather and the climatic conditions. These important aspects of the film contribute to the success of the film in communicating the intended message of the artist. In changing the shot sequencing, Porter used transition. In the lack of the modern day editing software, he thus relied on the analogue form of transition, which implied that he could not use other more decorative transition styles apart from the basic cut (Badaracco, 2003). Cut transition jumps from one scene straight into another, the modern day editing software enable developers to use different transition mechanisms to decorate their films thus achieve much interactivity and showcase the sophistication in their production skills. Transitions do not communicate much but merely add glamor to the production process making a film more intriguing. By extrapolation, the idea of transition originates from this early film too since once a producer jumbles up the sequencing if a film, transitions become mandatory and Porter introduced transitions to filming thus transitions. About ten years later a student of Porter D. W Griffith produced yet another block buster using some of the basic filming techniques he had learnt from Porter. The Birth of a Nation was a financial success in the year 1915 and had a wide audience before its extensive criticism and ban in a number of American cities following the racism outcry in the film. Unlike the Great Train Robbery, the Birth of a Nation runs for ninety minutes and employs a number of improved cinema features a part from the basic camera movements and the idea of a motion picture. However, just like any other film, it is inspired by the activities in the society and offers a representation of the activities through the eyes of the producer. Arts exist in the society, they thus draw their relevance from the activities in the society and are mere presentation of the activities through the eyes of the artist who in the context of filming is either the director or the script writer. This therefore makes films subject to human biases thus draw criticism in equal measure. The Birth if a nation was one such movie that was subject to human biases and drew many criticisms owing to its unrealistic portrayal of the African Americans in the story line. The media faces accusation for fostering some of the vices in the society to this day. These arise from the biased view of the film producers, how they package their ideas and present them to their viewers. This therefore is not unique to this early film but is just a mere representation of the entire media fraternity and the role it plays in facilitating the societal vices. The film depicts a great improvement from the Great Train Robbery in a number of filming aspects such as timing. The longer a film takes the more production elements it employs. Among the most evident improvements are the advanced editing effects and the general quality of the film. The film shows night scenes and the effectiveness of light balancing to portray the timings of the day. Additionally, the long duration of the film depicts the incorporation of more cast members and other production elements. The film also runs on a more elaborate story line adapted from the book, The clansmen, written by Thomas Dixon. However, the film differs from the book since it is a motional presentation of the book with the personal biases of the director. Bibliography Badaracco, J., 2003, Defining Moments: When Managers must choose between right and wrong. Harvard: Harvard University Press. Beebe, S.A., Beebe, S. J, & Redmond, M.V., 2011, Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others, (6th ed.) Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Cook, D. A.,1991. Instructors manual to accompany A history of narrative film, second edition. New York, Norton. Crain, W, 2011, Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc Dan, G., 2005, The Missing piece to the gang violence debate. Vancouver: Ottawa Citizen. Franklin, J., 1997, “Silent Cinema as Historical Mythmaker". In Myth America: A Historical Anthology, Volume II. New York: Brandywine Press. Geuens, P., 2000, Film production theory. Albany, NY: State Univ. of New York Press. Johnson, J., 2002, Who Needs Classical Music?: cultural choice and musical value. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Robinson, D., 1996, From peep show to palace: the birth of American film. New York [u.a.], Columbia Univ. Press. Steiff, J., 2005, The Complete Idiots Guide to Independent Filmmaking. New York: Alpha Books. Read More