What are artifacts important to film historians?
the cameras, projectors, sound recording devices, technology etc.
What are the four traditional approaches to film history?
the aesthetic, technological, economic, and social
What does the aesthetic approach evaluate?
individual movies and directors using criteria that assess their artistic significance and influence
What does the technological approach evaluate?
cuts across artists, studios, movements, and genres to focus on the interaction of technology with aesthetic modes of production, and economic factors
What does the economic approach evaluate?
how and why the studio system was founded, how it adapted to changing conditions and how and why different studios took different approaches to producing different movies and how these movies have been distributed and what effect it had on film history
What does the social approach evaluate?
audience composition, marketing and critical writing and reviewing in the media
What is series photography?
records the phases of an action
What is the revolver photographique?
invented by Janssen in 1874, it is a cylinder-shaped camera that creates exposures automatically, at short intervals on segments of a revolving plate. (later version called fusel photographicque)
What was an early projector called?
the magic lantern and a zoopraxiscope (used to show images from revolver photographique)
What was the first motion-picture camera?
Kinetograph (viewed through Kinetoscope). Invented by Thomas Edison
What was the first movie studio?
Thomas Edison's "The Black Maria"
What distinguishes the "silent era" 1908-1927?
Edwin s. porter and d.w. griffith's development in narrative form. classical "hollywood style" (studio-based style)
What distinguished German Expressionism (1919-1931)?
distorted, exaggerated settings; compositions of unnatural spaces; the use of oblique angles and nonparallel lines. ended when Hitler rose to power
Types of French Avant-Garde Films (1918-1930)?
(1) short dadaist and surrealist films (anti conventional) (2) short, naturalistic psychological studies (3) feature-length films that also emphasize pure visual form
What prompted the Soviet Montage Movement (1924-1930)?
Lenin encouraged the film industry (propaganda films) after the bolshevik revolution
What distinguished the Classical Hollywood Style in Its Golden Age (1927-1947)?
Sound came in 1927. employees of studios not treated as artists - strict contracts. Created the MPPDA
What was the MPPDA?
Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. Produced the "Motion Picture Production Code" censorship. Replaced by ratings in 1968
What distinguished Italian Neorealism (1942-1951)?
After Mussolini's downfall Italians started art movements that depicted realism. High value in narrative films on ordinary, poor people. Actual location shooting (not in studios)
What distinguished French New Wave Movement (1959-1964)?
films were self-reflective, focusing attention on them as movies and diverting our attention away from their narratives
What distinguished England and Free Cinema Movement?
rejected prevailing cinematic conventions, focused on ordinary people. many documentary films
What distinguished the Dogme 95 Movement of Denmark?
avant-garde, naturalistic. Dogme 95 Manifesto "the vow of chastity"
What did das neue kino (the new german cinema movement) do?
acknowledged nazi germany history, inspired more german films
What distinguished Japan and Postwar Filmmaking?
Influenced by Hollywood and french new wave. Had the japanese fatalistic attitude toward life and death.
What was so significant about new hollywood?
independent filmmakers replaced studios - increased audience members - ratings less harsh
