Year 11 Term 1: History of Film

A new school year has begun, and so has a new year of film studies. We started our first film class in the DP by watching a presentation about the history of cinema from the early 1900's. We learned how much film has evolved over the course of a century and what technologies and innovations defined films we see today. While watching the presentation, we each learned some new things. The 5 main points which I found the most interesting are mostly in the form of technological innovations within the films themselves.

To start off, of course the most interesting thing I found out about was the earliest form of film, or back then was known as a motion picture. I learned that the earliest form of film was known as a "motion peep show" created by Thomas Edison and W. K.  Dickson. It worked by moving pictures through a light, and was only view-able by a single individual at a time. The other name for this device is the "Kinetoscope".

The kinetoscope, image taken from Reflexions ULg

The next point I found interesting was when the Technicolor company was formed in the late 1910's, which offered some groundbreaking new innovations in colour technology in films. Later on, they would be the first company to offer a full spectrum of colour in films. I ended up researching more about the history of Technicolor individually, which I will discuss in the future.

The Technicolor Process 4 three-strip camera, the first capable of
recording a full range of colour instead of the usual red and green at the time.
Image taken from www.the-culture-counter.com.

Next, in the 1920's, sound started appearing in films. However, back then, sounds were not directly "attached" to the video, and had to be synchronised manually. One such film was Steamboat Willie, a short created by Walt Disney featuring Mickey Mouse. This short ran for about 7-8 minutes, and is notable for debuting the Mickey Mouse character to the public.

Jumping to the 1970's, Dolby Stereo was introduced, producing sound with the effect of being all around the viewer(s), allowing them to have a sense of positioning of the source of the sound. While Dolby Stereo wasn't the first form of stereo, it was important because it was backwards compatible with traditional theatre speakers.

And finally, the film Casper was produced in 1995. This film is notable for having a fully CGI (computer generated imagery) character play in the main role. The film was directed by Brad Silberling.

Christina Ricci as Kat, the protagonist of the film,
and Casper, voiced by Malachi Pearson.
Image taken from Buzzfeed.com.

These are the 5 things I found the most interesting in the history of film, because it makes us wonder how films will continue to evolve through technological innovations. While it seems that films now are as lifelike as ever, with full and accurate colour, surround sound, HD video formats and realistic CGI, they can and probably will continue to improve in the future. My guess is that films may start getting into VR (virtual reality) technology, putting the viewer inside the film in a 3D environment, creating full immersion. While it sounds crazy now, it may become the norm in a decade or so. Personally, I found the history of film to be an interesting and exciting topic. It really is fascinating seeing how films started out as short moving pictures to becoming immersive, expansive stories that can really take the viewer into another world.