People And Events Changhing The Field Of Filmmaking

Film is an important medium of our lives in the 21st century yet many of us aren't aware of the historical names who shaped today. Film started in the 19th century when the first ever camera was produced and from that day on there has been an ongoing growth in the industry. The most important aspect of film is the editor’s role as they can transform footage to create wonders and in this essay I will be looking at different filmmakers and editors through their impacts on film. The silent film era lasted roughly from 1895-1930 where the films of history were made without synchronized sound (no spoken dialogue).

One of the first contributors to this early stage of film was Alfred Hitchcock known as “the master of suspense” and most influential person to the cinema industry. Many say he has changed the way we look at films through his contributions such as the movie Psycho (1960) where scenes were edited in a way that had never been seen before, Hitchcock thought of shots that did not reveal too much and the killers identity therefore the murder that took place in a shower consists of 54 cuts within a 45 seconds. “Murder was now going to be an acceptable part of entertainment” was a phrase stated by many after viewing the movie, nobody had witnessed such a gruesome editing style before as shots were usually well thought out and slow paced.

Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (L’arrivée d’un train en gare de La Ciotat) is the first ever moving documentary image to be shown to an audience on big screen. The 50 second silent film consists of a train pulling into a station with no apparent or intentional camera movement, only a single shot, however the impact it had onto the audience at the time of the viewing exceptional as they were so overwhelmed by the image of a train moving directly towards them that they all arised from their seats running and screaming in horror. The angle of the shot which consisted of long shot, medium shot, close-up, and forced perspective made the train increase in size as it came closer to the camera, which influenced filmmakers to use their cameras in the same way to achieve the shots.

“The First Ever Science Fiction Film, Trip to the Moon (1902)” was created by the Lumiere brothers with set design, consisting of painted backgrounds, animation, and in-camera effects. It can be said to be one of the first animation like films in the early era. However the lumenier brothers are not only known for their productions but their name in history of the early motion-picture camera and projector called the Cinématographe which they invented. I believe it is the most important step in film as we wouldn't be discussing the silent era or debating the impacts of filmmakers and editors in the cinema industry if it wasn't for the lumiere brothers who brang this whole new medium to our world.

A time came in history were the rules of film were beginning to crack as the new wave hit the surface between the mid 1950s where a group of french film critics decided to produce films going against almost every rule of filming that was ever made, “a cinematic revolution”. Despite the hard conditions of the time as the world war 11 had ended the french filmmakers dived fiercely into the industry to bring back the missing work of almost a decade, continuing to contribute towards cinema heritage. They had a whole new visual and narrative style than the eyes were used to seeing making one of the most important movements of cinema industry. Jump cuts, which were said to breakup the flow of the movie were used and hand held unsteady cameras were the new trend of shots, the 30 degree rule was also violated. However like every revolution this also came to an end near the 1970s where filmmakers moved on to making different styles of movies and the excitement of the new wave died out with the coming of new technology in the industry. Soviet montage also known as the russian revolution was the discovery of how to combine and contrast images to get ideas across, and how the rhythm and pace of editing, and the use of music, could stir emotions. Unlike continuity editing which is an essential for filmmakers it was completely different, making the viewer think about your ideas instead of the flow of the footage. An example would be cutting from shots of a tired person to the alarm clock then a snail moving slow and back to the tired person, this way the viewer will have to think about the link of the shots making them understand that the person is tired due to waking up early and they feel like a snail. The soviet montage is still used in films today such as the three-man showdown in The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

The coming of MTV in the 1980s impacted not only the world of TV but the industry of music and our culture. It was the first and only channel at the time to broadcast 24 hours of music videos and most ironically the first video played on the network was "Video Killed The Radio Star". With the arrival of MTV the pace of editing became quicker where shots were now fast flowing with non linear cuts emphasising the plot of stories. It caused the violation of the continuity rule examples of MTV editing could also be found in the silent era as they both seeked a similar concept of filmmaking. After MTV was the new trend filmmakers and editors across the world started making their work and shots much shorter than in the past this way productions were dynamic and exciting.

The arrival of technology was another factor that affected film and editing in the 1980s, as home video recording cameras hit the market. The luxury to record onto memory cards and internal storages without using chemicals saved time and money on production making recording accessible to aspiring filmmakers. The fact that the new cameras were now easy to carry around on sholuders instead of being stable caused another wave on the way a shot can be established. This whole new way of using technology to create moving images lead to the arise of video rental stores, the rental market took of making sales of $1 billion a year, and I believe this is what truly made the biggest change to the industry as now people around the globe had access to equipment in order to film and watch their catchings making film show not only drama but a vast different mediums.