A Brief History Of Film

Once photography had become an established art form during the 19th century, a drive emerged to capture moving image also. Lenses gradually became better and the first ever film is credited to Eadweard Muybridge, who discovered that upon treating a series of photographs of a horse cantering like a flipbook, the illusion that the horse was moving was created. Filming itself came into being when a camera was created that could take photos rapidly using a reel that rolled through it. Subsequently, it was brought to light that if someone was shown 16 individual photos a second, their brain would interpret them as movement. This was later upped to 24 photos to second, a frame rate used universally today.

The galloping horse, named Sallie Gardner, was animated during 2006.

Despite its small beginnings consisting of individuals experimenting with a camera, films became massively popular, and as there was money to be made, people the world over began a race of not only one-upmanship but to find a way to show it to an audience. What started as purpose-built theaters were supplanted worldwide by cinemas which showed a different film every week. Not only were reels massively expensive, they had to be delivered to cinemas due to the weight of miles of film. As a result of this, if you made a film you had to earn enough back through ticket sales to make the cost of the film itself viable.

By the late 1920s, television had been invented, caused by a desire to have the cinema in one’s home. This presented a challenge to cinemas the world over in that they had to persuade people to keep coming back, and so they strove to make the experience better than staying at home. While this can be considered an ongoing process, some of cinema’s most profound attempts at attracting an audience include changing the aspect ratio of the screen to produce a larger picture, improving sound systems, introducing 3D films and, most recently, receiving films digitally to ensure they can view them before television companies.

As cinemas themselves advanced, so too did their very lifeblood – films. Directors of the early 1900s breathed life into what we now consider everyday shots and edits, essential to story telling and engaging with the audience. Below are a series of firsts for the world of film.

The Sick Kitten (George Albert Smith, 1903) utilised the first ever close up to ensure the audience could clearly see the kitten taking its medicine.

The Horse That Bolted (Charles Pathe, 1907) introduced parallel editing to the world. Cuts are made between a horse eating and a delivery man taking a parcel to its recipients to demonstrate that they are happening at the same time.

The Life Of An American Fireman (Edwin S. Porter, 1903) boasts the first example of continuity editing in a series of shots that show a fireman rescuing a woman from a burning building.

Now that it had the foundations on which to grow, film could only get bigger and better. Filmmakers began moving to Los Angeles during the early 1900s to get away from the strict rules imposed by Thomas Edison’s Motion Picture Patents Company. The MPCC was not only reluctant to release feature length films but made it difficult for independent filmmakers to debut due to its contract with Kodak, distributors of raw film. Consequently, Hollywood was created by immigrant Jewish entrepeneurs and became a hopeful place for many, with the ideal conditions in which to shoot films, whether these were Westerns or romantic classics.

Advances in backlighting made it possible to soften the shadows of actors and add a glowing, halo effect to their hair, as seen here on Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)

Whilst Hollywood gravitated towards glitz and glamour, others sought to prioritise realism over romance. Nanook Of The North (Robert Flaherty, 1922) was the first feature length documentary and followed the daily life of Nanook, a native Inuit, and his family. Director King Vidor tried to achieve something similar with his film The Crowd (1928), which depicted an everyman character in despair without romanticising it.

This wealth of ideas as well as techniques allowed for the variety and sometimes inspiration that we see in films today.

 

Auteur Or Not

What is an auteur?

The auteur theory arose in France during the 1940s and refers to the director being the major creative force within a film, meaning they make it their own in every way. A good example of an auteur would be Tim Burton, as a gothic style and juxtaposition are central ideas that he has emphasised in all his films. In this post, however, I want to look at one individual in particular to decide whether or not they conform with the theory also.

About Ridley Scott

Born in 1937, Scott is an English director and producer who was encouraged by his family to develop his artistic talents, so got involved at an early age. He attended West Hartlepool College of Art and then London’s Royal College of Art where he helped found the film department. His first directing job was on an episode of popular BBC police series Z Cars (1962), but he felt the financial rewards did not match his efforts and subsequently entered advertising production with his younger brother to form Ridley Scott Associates. Under their cooperation, they created some of the best loved adverts on British television, perhaps the most famous being their Hovis bread ads. His feature film career, however, took off when he received Best First Work during Cannes 1977 for his debut The Duellists, and from there he went on to create Alien (1979) to pay homage to the science fiction genre he was inspired by. Other famous Ridley works include Bladerunner (1982), Gladiator (2000) and Black Hawk Down (2001).

Is Ridley Scott An Auteur?

It is often argued that an auteur has their own distinctive style in terms of how they utilise different aspects of cinematography, and in Ridley’s case this also extends to how he selects actors and then casts their characters. He has a tendency to choose those that have a strong background in theatre and have graduated drama school, as well as being known for strong female leads such as Sigourney Weaver in Alien (1979), Jessica Chastain in The Martian (2015) and Noomi Rapace in Prometheus (2012). He enables actors to perform to the best of their ability by using a two-camera set up, creating believability and fluidity, which in turn has earned him the nickname of an actors’ director.

Sigourney Weaver as Ripley in Alien and co-star Jones the cat.

As far as cinematography is concerned, Ridley is famous for stunning visuals which are first born in his imagination and then translated onto paper in his own personal storyboards. This means that many of his scenes are just as he initially envisioned they would be. He begins most of his films with an info card sequence, created the “director’s cut” through his new version of Bladerunner and uses a light blue tint to contrast black silhouettes to emphasise the importance of different characters. His main characters show a trend in that they are often on a mission in a foreign land that quickly turns hostile and forces them to adapt to the situation.

Scott’s own storyboards for the chestbuster scene in Alien (1979)

In conclusion, I believe Scott is an auteur due to the creative control he has over his films and the stamp that he leaves on them, whether he achieves this by becoming personally involved in the casting process or how he establishes grand, sweeping landscapes.

 

 

 

 

Reel Life

My First Film

Though I wasn’t even three at the time of its release, the first film I ever saw in a cinema was Pooh’s Heffalump Movie with my mum and grandma. I’m sure that even then I must’ve been keenly aware of sound design and mise-en-scene.

 

Film That Has Stayed With Me Emotionally

Based on a true story, Into The Wild (2007) follows top student Christopher McCandless on his journey into the Alaskan wilderness after abandoning all his possessions and leaving home. Instead of dedicating his new life to adventure, he strives to find himself as a person now that he is free from a world obsessed with materialism. He does only what he needs to survive, depending on nature and surrounded by it constantly, be that sleeping in an overgrown school bus (which you can visit in person) or foraging for his meals.

This film struck a chord with me personally due to its philosophy. All of Christopher’s family tell him not to go to Alaska, that he’s insane for even considering it, but he goes anyway because he knows there are answers that worldly belongings are keeping him from. He knows he desperately needs to live without the restraints of technology and the judgement of his peers in an increasingly competitive society. I have never stayed in the wilderness, and yet the fact that I’m not out there experiencing all that life has to offer has stayed with me since, not unlike the thought-provoking, harrowing experience that is the film itself.

 

Obscure But Wonderful Film

The Villainess (2017), or Ak-Neyo, revolves around Sook-hee, an unparalleled assassin, who gladly accepts the offer of South Korea’s Intelligence Agency when they promise her freedom after a service of ten years as a sleeper agent. Once released, she attempts to live a normal life, but comes to realise that this is an impossible task when killing is all she knows. With the reappearance of figures from her past and thus the discovery of dark secrets, it seems imminent that she will return to her old ways.

Despite having received a four minute standing at 2017’s Cannes Film Festival, this dynamically staged revenge-thriller is not one that I have ever heard people talking about, yet only its intersection of espionage is comparable to Hollywood productions. Rather, you need delve little deeper than its opening sequence and already, The Villainess breaks cinematography norms and makes you feel right in the heart of the copious gore. Several of the action sequences, most vividly the very first minutes of the film, utilise a point of view perspective that we would commonly associate with a games console, not the silver screen. Here there were many places where director Jung Byung-gil could have fallen flat, but the slickness of the choreography and the mesmeric single-takes he deploys made for an action showcase that has placed The Villainess firmly amongst my favourite films.

Hello World!

My name is Viv and this blog will, over the course of the next two years, develop into an archive for all my work towards my A Level in Film Studies. This includes recommendations, research, planning and coursework. I hope you enjoy joining me on my journey!

 

Roy Scheider in Jaws during the iconic dolly-zoom scene, an unprecedented piece of camerawork that Spielberg spent days trying to perfect.