george melies

blog question: What were Melies' contributions to cinema? Why is his work so significant?


George Melies's A Trip to the Moon was the first creation of science fiction and invented special effects. There was a time when filmmakers hadn't yet thought of using camera tricks to create illusions. George not only was a film pioneer artistically, but also in terms of industry. He built the first movie studio in Europe, which was made completely out of glass walls and ceilings on his own property outside of Paris. He was also the first filmmaker to use production sketches and storyboards, and would help paint the sets and create props for his film. Artistically, he was the first filmmaker to experiment with double exposure, split screen, dissolve, superimposition, and reverse shots. A Trip to the Moon was internationally famous, from France to the U.S.. To this day, it is considered one of the world's first blockbusters.

smashing pumpkins tonight tonight

blog question: What is this music video about? Why did the band and the filmmakers choose these images? Why are they significant? What do you think they are paying homage to or emulating?

The video is about the "The Trip to the Moon" silent film by French director Georges Melies in 1902. The band and the filmmakers chose these image to emphasize how the night can be mysterious, similar to the silent film.There they are attacked by moon aliens and discover that by hitting them with their umbrellas they blow up. Eventually they escape and fall out of the sky into the sea where Poseidon helps them out and safely return to land. I'm not quite sure why the band and its filmmakers decided to go in this direction for the music video. I think they are paying respect to one of the most famous directors of our time by incorporating his movie into their music video.

Alice Guy-Blache

blog question: What are Alice's contributions to cinema history? Why are her accomplishments so incredible during this time period? What makes her such a significant figure?


Alice Guy-Blache was the first woman director. Many people do not know this. She out lasted the french and american filmmakers. Because she was the only female director, up until 1912 she was the only female director that produced a constant body of story film in the world. Back then, females were placed in the box of being a house keeper and mom. So for her to come over as an independent woman, is remarkable. Not only did she start the Solax Studios, she owned everything about it. She did things no other director has done before. She was the first to use superimposition and directed synchronized sound films for four years, creating about 150 of them

the first motion film

blog question: Who was Louis Le Prince? What was his contribution to cinema? After reading about him, what surprises you about reading this article?


"The Father of Cinematography", Louis Le Prince was according to new research, the first person to make a movie. He moved to England after studying chemistry and physics in France and established the Leeds Technical School or Art where he specialized in tinting and firing of photographic images. In 1886, he created a 16-lens camera. The Le Prince Single-lens Cine Camera is believed to be the equipment used to film the famous Roundhay Garden and Leeds Bridge scenes, proved to be one of the most ground-breaking inventions of early cinema. What surprised be about him was that he majored in chemistry and physics, but became apart of film. This proves that what you study in college, doesn't mean you have to become it.

the Phantasmagoria

blog question: What was the Phantasmagoria? After reading this article, write a reflection on what elements of the Phantasmagoria became adopted into the development of movies

Phantasmagoria was a type of spooky theater that used a mobile magic lantern that projected images of skeletons and demons to scare audiences. It was first created by the French in the late 18th century before spreading throughout Europe in the early 19th century. It's basic purpose was to produce through simple techniques, an illusion. The technology is still credited with anticipating some of the fundamental elements of filmmaking such as the zoom, dissolve, the tracking-shot, and superimposition.

early films

blog question: What qualities do these early films share? Why do you think the filmmakers shot these? How do they differ from modern movies?

These early films all have people in them; either a man and/or woman are shown, or there is a group of men and women. I think filmmakers shot these to show how different crows of people would react on camera. They wanted to show the audience that there are different ways to film people and their actions. Compared to these films, modern movies have a plot line; beginning, middle, and end. These films however show one action at time without really a plot or purpose.

chronography

blog question: After reading this article and viewing the images that Marey captured, write a reflection on what you think Marey's motion studies contributed to the development of the motion picture. What makes his work so interesting?

I guess marey's images of motion gave the bases or the idea that when one takes many photos of an object in motion you can capture that motion. That idea alone helped think of ways to perfect capturing motion and think of other uses to put it to. I personally like his work with catching the flight of different birds, it quite beautiful and fascinating. I also like his camera alone, the idea of shaping it as a gun is amazing and quite new to me.

innovations in photography

blog question: Why do you think we wouldn't have filmmaking without the invention of photography? Pick three of these innovations on this list and explain their historical importance and why you think it led to the invention of motion pictures.

I think we wouldn't have filmmaking if it wasn't for photography because a film is a moving image. Without the invention of photography there would be no films or film making cause films are potion pictures. The answer is in the name pictures in motion, without that there is nothing. The couldn't just jump to films there needed to be some starting ground and to build from there. The Camera Obscura obviously because that is where it all began, the initial idea. The idea of capturing a moment, a place, that was the base. Following that would be Photochemistry, being able to capture said moment with a solid copy for the future. Finally, Flexible Roll Film, that made it possible to capture multiple motion with pictures easily, thus motion pictures/films.

slating shots

blog question: What is the purpose of slating? Why is it so important? What are three tips from this video that you've learned? How do you plan on implementing them?

The purpose of slating is so that the editor can easily find what scene they are looking for. An important tip to identify if the clip isn't containing audio by holding your hand in between the slate so the editor doesn't go searching for a lost audio file. Another tip would be avoiding using the letters 'i' and 'o' since it's easy to mistake those for a number 1 or 0. Relating to that, it would also be helpful to use words that can't be mistaken for starting with other letters when reading off the slate take. I plan on using the given tips and tricks when shooting to make things go as smoothly as possible.

PSA pitch

blog question: What topic did you choose to make your PSA about? Why did you choose this topic? Who is your audience? What is your tagline? What are 3 ways that you plan on making your PSA visual?

For the PSA project, my group and I decided on making ours about bringing awareness to seeking help for mental illnesses. We chose this topic because mental illness isn't something that should be shamed and receiving help for it shouldn't be looked down upon. Our audience is anyone who feels they need the help or know someone who might. Our tagline is 'break the silence'. We plan on using a hand to cover the mouth of someone trying to talk about how they feel but being prevented from it, using a dark room to represent how they are trapped in this dark state of mind, and emotion to show they want it to change.

how to write a video script

blog question: What are the four parts of an effective video script? What do each of these parts do for your final video?

 The four parts of an effective script is the hook, the introduction, the body of the video, and the call to action. The hook is where you say what your video is about, in attempt to grab the viewer attention. The introduction you say who you are and give any additional information related to your video or video purpose. The body of the video is the content of the video the viewer clicked to see. The call to action is where you tell the viewer what you want them to do.

the ad council

blog question: What does the Ad Council do? What is its mission? Do you recognize any of their campaigns growing up? Which ones? Why do you feel they were effective?

The Ad council is a big producer of public service advertising.The mission is to recognize public issues and offer a solution. I recognize the smokey the bear advertisements as well as advertisements warning against drunk driving and driving while texting. Some where effective, others where a little too much on the entertainment side and they diminish the message.

script writing for a video

blog question: In your own words describe what the purpose of a video script is. How should a proper video script be laid out? What are two key important factors to keep in mind when creating a video script?

A video script is like the blueprints to a film. You wouldn't want to build a building complex without the base structure given by the blueprints This applies to film making as well. If a director or producer doesn't have a video script, how can they start filming the movie? They don't know the setting, dialogue, or audio that need to be included in the film. A proper video script needs to have two columns: one for audio and video. Under the video column needs to include detailed descriptions of what is going on in that scene. The audio column needs to contain the sound that corresponds to that scene. This also includes the narrator, if there is one. It is very important to be specific when making a video script; you want to have detailed descriptions of what is happening in the video and audio column. Additionally, if you plan to have frequent music transitions and/or sound effects representing separate scenes, you want to add this column. The more detailed you are, the less stress you will have.