MIL NOVEMBER 18, 2019
INTRODUCTION TO FILM STUDIES
Evolution of films
 Film started with Dark room – Pin hole
CAMERA OBSCURA:
one of the prerequisites of cinema, known for hundreds
of years
consists of a box/room with a tiny hole in one side.
Light from an external scene travels through the pinhole
and strikes a surface inside where it is reproduced
upside-down but with color and perspective perceived
In the 16th century spectacles were staged for
audiences sitting inside camera obscuras
This happens because light travels in straight lines, a
property known as the rectilinear propagation of light:
Tendency of Electromagnetic waves (light) to travel in a
straight line.
 when light travels from a straight line it create
images
Mid 17th Century (after the camera obscura)
Magic Lantern or Lanterna Magica
 very expensive
 first seen on carnivals
 “magic lanternist”
 one of the most influential device
 creates optical illusion
It is one of the most popular form of entertainment,
and was the inspiration of most devices that came after
it.
-Simple slide projector that uses images painted on
glass or photographed on glass
-There were various ways in which these images could
be moved
-Magic lanterns were used in storytelling and education
-glass slides were hand painted at that time
-it was not limited to still objects, the device has
different tricks on making it move
-there were discovered slides of Alice and Wonderland,
which proved how popular it was at the time
-Like a modern slide projector, its main feature was a
lens that projected images from transparencies onto a
screen, with a simple light source (such as a candle)
19th Century
Optical toys and Illusion
1825 Thaumatrope by Ayrton Paris
A disk with a picture on each side is attached to two
pieces of string. When the strings are twirled quickly
between the fingers the two pictures appear to blend
into one due to the persistence of vision
1832 Fantascope or Spindle Viewer by Belgian inventor
Joseph Plateau
Phenakistoscope: comes in the form of a spinning
cardboard disc attached vertically to a handle. Small
rectangular apertures are spaced evenly around the rim
of the disc. The user would spin the disc and look
through the moving slits at the images reflected in a
mirror. The scanning of the slits across the reflected
images keeps them from simply blurring together so
that the user can see a rapid succession of images that
appear to be a single moving picture
1834 Daedalum or Wheel or Life by British inventor
William George Horner.
-renamed the Zoetrope in 1867 by American William
Lincoln
-a hollow, rotating drum/cylinder with a crank, with a
strip of sequential photographs, drawings, paintings or
illustrations on the interior surface and regularly spaced
narrow slits through which a spectator observed the
'moving' drawings.
1839 the birth of Still Photography
 Forom holes to camera lens
 Modern day pinhole: aperture (edit the
exposure and manipulate the sunlight)
 Without light the image won’t exist
Nicéphore Niépce (supposedly the father of
photography) 1820s captured the first photograph that
took atleast 7-8hrs to produce
Daguerreotypes
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French painter and inventor Louis-Jacques-Mande
Daguerre
A method of capturing still images on silvered, copper-
metal plates (EXPENSIVE)
-Daguerreotype a method of capturing still images on
silvered, copper-metal plates) by French painter and
inventor Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre
 People do not smile (formal/elite)
 complicated
- It was the first commercially-available, mass-market
means of taking photographs.
- polish a sheet of silver-plated copper to a mirror finish
(treat it with fumes that made its surface light sensitive)
- expose it for as long as was judged to be necessary,
which could be as little as a few seconds for brightly
sunlit subjects or much longer with less intense lighting
1841 Calotype or Talbotype by Henry Fox Talbot
 open for the mass (CHEAPER)
 uses paper
 Sepia color
 Negative Printing
- a process for printing negative photographs on high-
quality paper
- calotypes are negatives that are later printed as
positives on paper to enable duplication
- Other competitors are ambrotype: ghostly
positive glass image (GLASS) that was then
backed with black paper to produce a complete
photograph
- Tintype (CHEAPEST and most famous) which
was durable (being printed on a plate of metal)
and thus popular during the Civil War for
soldiers in the field
1877 Praxinoscope by Charles Emile Reynaud
 the inspiration of music box
Improvement of the zoetrope, praxinoscope is not
limited to narrow viewing slits.
-eventually it was improved again and was projected on
screen
1879 most significant time in film making: Edward
Muybridge’s The Horse in Motion
Story:
Working for Mr. Leland Stanford the governor of
California who like horse riding (paa ng kabayo)
-settled a bet for the Gov Leland Stanford in California,
a businessman & race-horse owner about gallop of a
horse “4 hooves”.
 important to the history of film – the
start/invention of motion pictures ( a series of
photograph that creates motion
-set-up 24 or 12 cameras (debatable) in a racetrack with
trip wires to capture the horse’s legs, proved the 4
hooves rise above ground
-became popular when he projected his photos in
zoopraxiscope
1882 Étienne-Jules Marey (Scientist, Physiologist &
Chronophotographer)
- Chrono photography (1 shot – 12 frames
relevance: FPS (frames per second)
- Photographic rifle/guan (movement of birds
and the start of “shoot and shot”
 takes pictures of organs (fav: motion of bir &
anatomy: motion of human
-also worked with motion pictures, started practicing
with heart and blood movement then to animals and
people.
- -most significant in his work is photographic
rifle or chronophotography, shots of
movement. 12 images per second
- -Marey was interested in anatomy and body
movement or science, compared to Muybridge
who is a professional photographer
- -his work may have influence the term
“shooting” in movie making, due to the shots in
his photography
1888-89 Georage Eastman
The birth of Kodak Cameras & celluloid
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The first portable camera and the device that changed
the film industry.
-used sensitized paper roll photographic film instead of
metal or glass plates
-accompanied by a convenient small box camera/still
camera that used the roll film he called Kodak
-and improved to a celluloid: synthetic plastic material
coated with gelatin
1890s the birth of Cinema
-one of the prerequisites of cinema, known for
hundreds of years
 1888 first movie but not recognized: Louis Le
Prince “Traffic crossing the Leeds bridge”
 he was killed
-inspired by Edison's and Dickson's work, they created
their own combo movie camera and projector - a more
portable, hand-held and lightweight device
-Lumiere's films were factual shorts or mini-
documentaries, termed actualities, documented every-
day life. First film, Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory
***motion pictures then became popular, kinetoscope
parlors, etc were transformed to nickelodeon theaters
were made = nickel:cost, odeon:Greek for theatre

-consists of a box/room with a tiny hole in one side. Transformation to story telling
Light from an external scene travels through the pinhole
From everyday lives, to different story elements
and strikes a surface inside where it is reproduced
upside-down but with color and perspective perceived Inspired by Lumiere brothers, film makers started
working on film with a story line, including drama,
-In the 16th century spectacles were staged for
action, thriller, romance, science fiction, etc.
audiences sitting inside camera obscuras
-Georges Melies 1902 a trip to the moon
Thomas Alva Edison (inventor)
-Edwin S. Porter the great train robbery
 funded the creation of the device

William Kennedy Laurie Dickson (engr)

1893 Kinetoscope (hole or silipan) & Kinetograph

(device)

-West Orange, New Jersey, borrowed from the earlier

work of Muybridge, Marey, Le Prince and Eastman.

-Their goal was to construct a device for recording

movement on film, and another device for viewing the
film.

-kinetoscope was a peephole device or viewing box that

ran the film around a series of rollers

-Kinetograph a crude, motor-powered camera that

could photograph motion pictures, the world’s 1st
motion-picture film camera

 popular among men (porno materials) and kids

 cost for nickle

1895 Lumiere Brothers (idol si Thomas Edison)

Louis and Auguste Lumiere’s Cinematographe

Workers leaving the Lumiere Factory (first movie

known and recognize)
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GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903) - doesn’t use green screen and doubles
- Studies the vision of the director for a particular
- 1st film with story
text and film.
- Director: Edwin Porter
- everything adheres the director
- Give rise to genre
AUTEUR THEORY – argues that a film is a reflection of
Genre is a French term for “kind” or “sort”
the director artistic vision.
As per to cinematic senses, it is used in classifying films
AUTEUR DIRECTOR:
by means of categories such western drama, horror,
etc. STANLEY KUBRICK – very perfectionist & DOP (Director
of photography)
 Philippines has a shallow genre (it did not
develop) - Known for: symmetrical shots, bathroom takes,
 Hollywood has complex genre (it develops over long takes, tracking shots, musical irony and the
time) gaze.
- Psychological-thriller director
GENRE THEORY by MILLER 1984 - WORKS: The Shining, Clockwork orange, Eyes
wide shut, 2001 space odyssey and full metal
GENRE ARE TOO BROAD - depending on the complexity jacket.
and diversity of a society (Miller, 1984) - Style:
NOT ALL GENRE ARE NAMED – most genre are grouped Symmetrical shots
according to universal theme. Bathroom psychological appeal: deep
thought
GENRE ARE NOT JUST THEMES – a theme is a specific Gaze doesn’t mean anything but will
topic that is attached to a film. make you think
GENRE ARE OVER LAPPING – it is difficult to make THE SHINING:
distinction between genres, it overlaps and there are
mixed genre. (ex. ROM-COM) Jack Nicholson – Jack Torrance

IT DOES NOT ADHERE TOA SPECIFIC SYSTEM OR Shalley Duvall – Wendy Torrance
CONDITION – it cannot be defined clearly, it is Danny Lloyd – Danny Torrance
problematic because it belongs to the people that
classifies and sets the purpose for it. ALFRED HITCHCOCK – “Master of suspense”

GENRES ARE PROBEMATIC - Known for: Complexities of everyday life

- Theme: family complications/ mothers, FEMME
- subjective FATALE, Demise
- hard to define - Works: Psycho, Rear window, vertigo, birds,
- it overlaps shadow of doubt, easy virtue, etc.
- hybrids are created
- hybrids and sub genres flourish PSYCHO:
- it becomes borderless
Came from 4 books
- more genres will be formed
- it is universal Holy Grail of Bathroom shots

GENRE – Studies film based on the text and all elements
within the film including the director’s vision. A
COLLABORATIVE WORK.
AUTEUR (DIRECTOR) – a film independence and the
ownership of the director
QUENTIN TARANTINO – violent context, crime and
actions
- Known for: violent awakenings, driving
shots, foot shots and violent content in
general
 MIL NOVEMBER 18, 2019
- Works: Pulp fiction, Kill Bill, reservoir dogs, - 1974 godfather
inglourious basterds. - Russian Roulette
- Style/Popular:
MARTIN SCORSESE – director
Driving shots – journey of a person
- fav actors: Robert de Niro & Leonardo DiCaprio
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLY WOOD - Wolf of wallstreet, Means streets, Taxi Driver

Charles Manson murder (movies taught violence)

Leonardo DiCaprio – Rick Dalton Natalie Portman

Brad Pitt – Cliff Booth

Margot Robbie – Sharon Tate Jodie Foster

INFLUENCIAL DIRECTORS AND ACTORS

ROMAN POLANSKI – not famous

- Born in Germany
- His parents died in Nazi camp
- He was abused
- Husband of Sharon Tate
o Was murdered when she was 8
months pregnant, the baby was
killed first.
o Biggest/most famous murder in
Hollywood
o Charles Mason Cult’s Murder
(one of the biggest mass
suicide) Jonestown – Ted Bundy
(Killer) Necrophilia
- Pray for rosemary’s baby (where the concept of
tyanak came from0

FRANCIS FORD COPOLLA – Godfather (Most famous

mafia film/biggest gangster movie)

- worked with A-list actors

o Marlon Brando – sex symbol (portrays
sex roles w/out sex)
He refused Oscars award
He is known for method acting (Loose
yourself just to portray a role)

ALFREDDO JAMES “AL” PACINO– “scar face”

- second godfather
- famous for speeches

ROBERT DE NIRO – wants the role of godfather

- from mafia/gangster to comedy

- 1973 Mean street X (by Scorsese)
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BLOCK BUSTER INDUSTRY Viber

1900’S – Silent film era Linked in

1940’S – Studio era Pinterest

1950’S – television era Snapchat

1970’S – blockbuster era Whats up

BLOCK BUSTER ERA – highly popular work of

entertainment or financially successful movie
MARKETING A MOVIE – HARRY POTTER’S FAME
Started by Steven Spielberg’s Jaws
1. NAME
The marketing campaign of Jaws from books and 2. BOOKS
movies 3. WANDS
4. CLOTHING
JAWS – started as a book
5. SOUVENIRS
- Earliest marketing (thru disseminating) 6. MOVIE MEMORABILIA
7. CANDIES
DECREASING VIEWERSHIP – call for help from 8. THEME PARK
marketing and movie business

1. TV SETS, PHONES and TABLETS – decreasing

interest of the new generation in watching in
cinemas.
2. ONLINE STREAMING – 42% of Americans
millennials watch and/or prefer to stream
movies online using different device.
3. HOME VIDEOS – home video purchases are
down to 35% and is continuing to fluctuate
(pirated movies in the PH)
4. PROFITING IN MOVIES – it always depends on
the budget of the movie, how much did it cost
to make it? (Movie in the PH – Commercial
films)
5. MARKETING MOVIES RIGHT – always be visible
to the public, especially to the catered
audience. Make use of bundles or partnership
and tie-ins.
Facebook
Messenger
FB messenger
CAPTAIN MARVELS (2018) – highest grossing movie
(this time)
o 421 M
GONE WITH THE WINDS (1939) – highest grossing
o greater than 390 M
- most romantic movie of all time
- black and white
EXORCIST (1973) – the only horror film that is in the top
10
Movie business does not end in the cinema, it goes on
outside and inside the house of the viewers
No budget. No problem – movies can boom even with
limited or small budget
- BLAIR WITCH – movie that release fake news
o where paranormal activity came from

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