early cinema and narration

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Lesson 1Early cinema and Narration

Subject:understanding cinemafilm studies

Faculty Name:Amol Jadhav

Deviprasad Goenka Management College of Media Studies (dgmcms.org.in)

India’s premier M-school


+Introduction

The word Cinema is derived as a shortened form of cinematograph or cinematography. (an art of visualization through camera that captures moving images)

Early filmmaking owes a lot to photography techniques developed by Louis Daguerre (1787- 1851) and Joseph Niepce (1765- 1833) in France.

Edward Muybridge, an English photographer captured a horse in motion in 1879 which can be marked as one of the earliest attempts of motion pictures in the world.


+Cinema is born

World’s first movie was made by Louisand Augustus Lumiere in France and itwas screened at Café La Grande, Parison 28th December 1892.

Lumiere brothers captured the events which occurred around and projected the reality on screen.

They developed an equipment which was built on the principles of still photography but could capture moving images. It was called Cinematograph.

Arrival of train in a station, a naughty boy with a gardener and workers coming out of a factory are some of the noted works and earlier movies made by Lumiere Bros.


+Cinematograph

Cinematograph by Lumiere Brothers was a wooden box

that had a feed in and feed out for

Film and a lens. It had a built in light

bulb that gave an illumination on lens.

As the grid was moved, the film rolled

Thus giving us an experience of

Moving image which were shot

and stored on that film.


+Lumiere Brothers Films

Train arrives in station Factory workers

Naughty Boy and the Gardner


+Georges Melies

Georges Melies, a famous magician from France introduces art of story and editing tocinema.

His works are considered as the prolificexamples of visual effects.

He was a writer, actor, designer anddirector for number of movies.

His works dealt with stories (narratives) and had characters with significant costumes and make up, which was considered as a unique trait in the early years of cinema. He also introduced independent production studios where major part of production and post production was done.


+Magic and stories

Gerogs Melies, an ardent theatre practitioner believed in the power of the movie narratives and hence it reflected in almost all his movies.

The merry frolics of satan, The voyage to moon, The tales of Cindrella are those notable where Melies combined the art of story telling and visual effects.

His visual effects have enhanced the experience of movies for audience generating a response of wonder- something hasn’t been imagined. This is how, Melies believed, cinema can make our dreams come true.


+Georges Melies

Merry Frolics of Satan

(colored frames,

explosion visual effects)

Cindrella and Fairyland(visual effects)

A trip to Moon (story and visual effects)


+Cinema and Narration

Early movies made by Lumiere brothers were associated with realistic representation through movies and Georges Melies can be considered as a figure who introduced narrative fiction in terms of short stories to movies.

Melies used the technique of shock and humor in his stories. His movies would have visual effects, make up- costumes and comedy that paved the way for entertainment.

Lumiere Bros. dealt with verite (truth) whereas Melies inspired through fantasy.

This is how early cinema exploited and successfully practiced the two important and mutually opposite techniques of narration.


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Further Reading:

Oxford History of World Cinema

(Ed. Geoffery Nowell- Smith)

Tales of Cinema (Ganesh Matkari)


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early cinema and narration

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