as media foundation portfolio

1. HISTORY

2. PRE-1800’S
▸Puppetry is one of the earliest references to film in history. It is estimated to have been
entertaining people for 30,000 years, including during the Egyptian times. In its day puppetry
was performed to hundreds of people at a time, making it one of the most popular types of
entertainment. A large, thin white fabric was used as a backdrop/screen. A light source was
used to portray the puppet on to the screen in the form of a shadow. As an audience this will
appear like a moving figure on the screen, similar to a movie.
▸In the 17th century scientist Athanasius Kircher created the concept of projecting hand
drawn images using what would be called a ‘magic lantern’. A magic lantern uses one light
source, such as a candle, and projects the hand drawn images on a reflective surface via
lens on the wall. One magic lantern is configured of seven different parts: lamp - primary light
source, originally a candle however now electricity is used; a reflector - reflects light from the
lamp towards the condensing lens; condensing lens - focuses light on to the projection; lens
tube - magnifies the lit up slides; body - the outer shell that stores all of the previous
components; base - elevates the magic lantern and prevents table burns from occurring;
smokestack - ventilates the smoke from inside the magic lantern from the lamp. One of the
best magic lantern presentations was by Etienne Phantasmagoria and was called
Phantasmagoria. Premiering in 1798, the presentation included dissolves and was
considered one of the first horror flicks. From this he developed a lot of fame and travelled
around Europe showing off his presentation.

3. THE 1800’S
▸The demand for magic lanterns increased and people eventually wanted to be able to
use magic lanterns in their homes. A number of different image projection devices came
to light with the purpose of enjoying the features of a magic lantern from home. These
devices, Motion Toys, were small and quite different from the standard magic lantern. All
of these devices originated from scientific experiments. One of these experiments was
called the persistence of vision, which looked in to the eye’s capacity to retain an image,
even after its source had been removed. This idea caused for multiple efforts to build
mechanisms that could create a single moving image from separate still images. An
example of this was Thaumatrope by John Ayrton in Paris, 1862. It was a round card
attached to string, one side had a picture of a horse and the other had a picture of a man
in the horse riding position. As the card spun, the man appeared to be riding the horse.
▸The first ever movie to exist was created by Eadweard Muybridge in 1872. He placed
twelve cameras on a race horse track, spread a piece of thread across the track, and
attached the thread to the camera’s shutter. As the horse ran across the track, the
threads were broken by its legs and it caused for the cameras to take pictures in a
sequence. It ended with twelve photos of the horses footsteps. His invention,
Zoopraxiscope, had the ability to quickly project these images, creating what is known as
motion photography and the first movie to ever exist.

4. THE 1800’S CONTINUED…
▸George Eastman and William H. Walker created the first real of film
in 1885. Film was sensitised paper created with gelatine emulsion,
later replaced by celluloid.
▸The kintegraph was a machine that captured a collection of images,
similarly to a camera. It differed from a camera because it
automatically took a picture of the moving image every half a
second. This complication of images were then placed in the
kintescope. This device contained a motor and shutter mechanism
that ran a loop of film past an electric light source. A viewer would
then look through a small window to see the moving image.
▸After the invention of the kintegraph and kintescope was created, a
lightweight hand started mechanism called the Cinematographe was
created. It was able to take pictures and project large images quickly
when linked up with projecting equipment.

5. THE 1900’S
▸At the very start of the 1900’s the use of editing, backdrops, and more were
being discovered and more commonly used.
▸Editing allowed for movies to become clearer and more story like. The
importance of editing was never looked in to during the 1800’s as the
development of movie making itself was still new and being explored. When
editing, directors would be given the choice of either perfecting their material by
altering the camera angle/shot or to just re-record the whole scene! The very
first special effects and techniques were used because of this editing.
▸A main difference between film today and film in the early stages is how
directors chose to approach continuity. Back in the 1900’s an event would be
replayed over and over again however in different angles each time. Although it
sounds bizarre to us today, back in those times it was thought to be quite
comical.
▸From 1905, during the Nickelodeon era, an inexpensive way of viewing movies
was formed. The 5 cent movie theatre improved the general appeal for movies
by making them more available and more affordable.

6. THE 1920’S
▸This decade was when the film industry started to properly develop. Studios
and ‘film stars’ came to light. During the mid-1920’s around 800 films were
made annually in the Hollywood area.
▸Hollywood was appealing to directors because of the cheap property costs
and sunny, warm climate. Hollywood is where the studio originated from.
Studios were very big buildings containing laboratories, research
departments (for costumes, etc.) and acres of outdoor land dedicated to
outdoor sets including miniature cities!
▸Studios were separated in to three different areas. The Big Five (Warner
Bros., 20th Century Fox…) had the most detailed sets for film production,
owned their own studios and were the most successful. The Little Three
(Universal, Columbia…) were named this because they lacked one key
feature, owning their own theatres. Poverty Row (Disney, Monogram
Pictures…) existed in the more neglected areas of Hollywood. The major
studios, i.e. The Big Five, built luxury ‘picture palaces’ (with 3000 seats)
made specially for orchestras to perform with projected films.

7. THE 1920’S CONTINUED…
▸During the 1920’s directors received more and more recognition
due to the fact of them using their own personal stylistic
signatures. They started to make movies with their own styles and
this is another reason as to why so many films were being
produced.
▸Pre-1920’s actors/actresses weren’t given as much attention as
they are today. Being a ‘star’ was both the best and worst times to
be one. Publicity campaigns, primarily used by the studios to
advertise their films, made sure that the ‘stars’ had every single
part of their life completely monitored. They were told where they
should eat, how they should dress, what they should be seen
doing, and where they could go to do activities. Because of these
rules they took on a large amount of stress and it resulted in a lot
of people ending their contracts with the studios.

8. THE 1930’S
▸Sound came to films in this decade. Talkies (films with a
soundtrack) and some of the most popular documentaries
came about in these times.
▸Most of the early talkies were quite successful at the box office,
yet most of them were poor quality. Mainly they were dialogued
play adaptations performed by inexperienced actors and with a
stationary camera or microphone.
▸The 1930’s also formed some new film genres, for example
gangster, historical, comedies, westerns and horrors.
▸Documentaries and other non-fiction genres were revived in
this decade. As World War 2 was upcoming there were plenty
of opportunity for directors to make documentaries.

9. THE 1940’S
▸The early 1940’s was a terrible time for the film, mainly due to
war activity. Between 1943 and 1946 the film industry bounced
back due to there being less technical challenges and
technology advancements (i.e. special affects, sound
recordings, use of colour, etc.). These advancements made
film more modern and appealing to an audience. At the end of
the war period the film industry took its highest profits with a
record high theatre attendance.

10. THE 1950’S
▸Post World War II the majority of films produced showed men and women
as conventional, however the younger generation were demanding new and
exciting portrayals of rebellion. A variation of anti-hero characters were
introduced as Hollywood replied to the demands of this younger audience.
▸Rock n’ roll was brought in to film during the 50’s. Films such as Rock
Around The Clock (1956) was the first film to be dedicated only to rock n’
roll. With the teenage population being more defiant than ever before,
parents were becoming fearful of what their children were developing in to.
Despite this Hollywood identified that rock n’ roll oriented films were very
successful in the box office and continued to make similar films.
▸During this decade an increase in the appeal of television caused for a
major decline in film attendance. Film studios were beginning to lose money
and therefore had to move more in to television. Studios began to produce
more TV films as a pose to feature films.

11. THE 1960’S
▸The decrease in film attendance followed through in to the 60’s. This continued due to
the small amount of profits being made with films because of the television
domination. Film companies followed the trend and went on to other forms of
entertainment such as records, publishing, TV movies, and the production of
television series.
▸The average film ticket cost was lowered to only $1 in America in a hope to appeal to
the audiences and boost the industry. This caused for the average film budget to be
just over $1.5 million. Unfortunately it didn’t work, and by the end of the decade the
film industry was depressed and troubled. The industry was at an all time low and
some studios tried to hang on by making money on studio tours, selling movie
artefacts or creating theme parks as Disney did with Disney World in Florida. The
financial struggles meant studios had to be taken over by national companies, and the
traditional Hollywood era was over.
▸Production costs in Hollywood were very high and the size of studios were decreasing
so most studios decreased their internal production and increased their film making
outside of America. Britain was one of the most commonly utilised country for foreign
film making because it was economically advantageous and allowed for big budget
films to be made.

12. THE 1970’S
▸The rebirth of Hollywood was primarily based on the traditional film genres from its
successful past. On average, most film studios would only heavily invest in a handful of
films hoping that one or two would succeed and return a substantial profit. This is still
seen in film production today, where only a few films will majorly succeed at the box
office - covering the costs of all the other films and still being able to make a substantial
profit! At this time it was becoming more and more difficult to be able to predict what will
become a blockbuster hit/success. Jaws and Star Wars were definitely not expected to
succeed, however they became the highest grossing films in history at their time (both
returning more than $100 million).
▸The 70’s gave Hollywood more opportunity to do more things. By moving their opening
nights to Fridays and Saturdays, Hollywood opened up their films to more people. Also
Hollywood started advertising its new films on TV because Jaws successfully made
$700,000 just from TV marketing.
▸VHS video players, laser disc players and film releases on video cassette tapes/discs
increased profits massively for the studios. Despite this boost to the film industry, there
was an unfortunate downside; the general public could now watch films from the
comfort of their own homes and as a result theatre attendance decreased rapidly.

13. THE 1980’S
▸Instead of new trends being made, film in the 80’s developed upon the
strengths made in the 1970’s. Overall no memorable films were made in this
decade. It is known as the decade to have produced high concept films in of
which had a plot that could be summarised in a maximum of 25 words. From
an audience’s point of view this made is appealing and understandable.
▸Producer Don Simpson’s produced films that were action packed, loud,
flashy, and simplistic. These films kept audiences coming back to the
theatres and wanting more. It became apparent to the film industry that an
audience just wanted to be entertained and not to have to think too much.
▸80’s films became very formulaic because it was proven to work. More
special effects were being used more often. Although this all sounds
positive, the film industry wasn’t doing so well. All of these new effects, etc.
meant that the cost of production was increasing, however to engage and
appeal to an audience the price of a ticket was becoming cheaper.

14. THE 1980’S
▸With these poor predications for the industry Hollywood conducted a lot more
research and went in to production with a positive mindset. Most big blockbuster films
were released at important times of year such as Christmas or summer to get more
of an audience. Although releasing a film at this time of year took a lot of money to
produce, as I have said more people are going to be able to watch and therefore
there is a guaranteed pay off. Most of the 80’s blockbuster didn’t rely on special
effects, for example ET focused on a well constructed plot and cast.
▸A “turkey” was a title given to a film when it was not a success. It became obvious to
the industry that not all films are going to be instantly successful. A lot of films were
costly with their production, yet didn't return much at the box office. Examples of
these films included Annie, which obviously later became a huge success! On the
other hand, there are the films that did become instant successes. Films like Batman
are included in this category, especially as sequel films have been made from this
coming in to today.
▸Film budgets increased immensely due to growing use of special effects and the
major names of actors. In order to reduce costs, more and more films were being
filmed outside of America.

15. THE 1990’S
▸The very start of the 1990’s wasn’t a great time for the film industry due to the economic
recession. This lowered the box office’s income drastically. The only aspect of film taking
in money was the introduction of the multi-screen cinema complexes.
▸The average film budget in the 1990’s was around $54 million, and this was mainly due
to special effects and having the big name actors/actresses in the cast.
▸Pressure on the directors and studios increased as it became more and more important
to create big blockbuster movie hits in order to cover costs.
▸Video cassettes were still a very popular choice for viewing films. Rentals and purchases
of video tapes were a lot larger than the sales of cinema tickets. In 1990, Kodak
introduced the photo CD player. In 1992, the second edition of the Oxford English
Dictionary was made in to a CD Rom. By 1997 the first DVDs had emerged in to the
stores. They featured a sharper image quality and were much more durable than what
was available before. At this point the videotape would not last much longer.
▸Independent films branched away from the Hollywood mainstream in the mid 90’s.
These films were made without major stars and awards were presented for visionary,
innovative films and actors/actresses that were just starting off their careers.

16. THE 2000’S
▸The new millennium was a turning point within the history of
film. In this decade came the IMAX theatres, the blue ray disc,
HD discs, iPods, Cell Phones. The iPods and cell phones were
able to play films and offered much more portability and
convenience than what you could ever get with a DVD.
▸Not much more has changed since this time in the world of film
in comparison to today. The only major difference from today is
the use of online platforms, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime,
to watch films on.