The Film History Paper

More details about the short Film History Paper.
* You should write about that we have viewed in class. We have looked at films going back to the first public showing in Paris in 1895-96.
* Use the journal format we have discussed.
* Consider how you might include referenced to the time frame from the previous post. A quick check with any kind of timeline will give you references to other historical and cultural events to provide context for the film you choose.
* Put the film into a time frame by noting when it was made or seen if these are different dates.
* Note which sequence of developments (technology of cultural/historic) you locate the film within.

* 3-5 Pages

Early Cinema Timeline
History of Cinema Timeline

Writing Assignments

Your writing assignments for this course constitute 40% of your grade.
There are two of them and each one asks you to consider films in different contexts or settings.

Film History: In this paper you will be asked to consider a film or a genre of films in relation to the history of film. When did it appear and where? You could use significant dates in the development of film technology as ways to locate the films you are considering in a time frame. What is important is that you are able to represent your understanding of the sequence of the developments in film history.

Roughly broken down, You could consider film history as having these two threads ;

The Development of Technology
Motion Studies 1880's
Viewing devices- Kinetoscope, Mutascope, Zoetrope, 1880-1890's
Public Theatrical Presentation/Projection France, America 1895-96
Development of Sound 1929-32
The Studio System
Color
Emerging forms of communication Telegraph, Radio Television
Portable Film Equipment 1950's-60's
Video-1970's

Other Cultural Developments
Modernism, 1850-1930  The acknowledgement of the Observer
Manufacturing and standardization of work.- 1860's 
Wars since 1895
Increased understanding in the cognitive sciences.
Democratization of Education and the Arts.1890's
Speed, The need to examine time as a factor of efficiency.1890's
Cultural trend toward skeptical inquiry in arts and literature. 1890's
The development of new business models.1890's
Political upheaval. 1890's

Making Connections Although in this course we have focused on the film itself as it represents the maker's idea or ideas as well as an emerging technology, the opportunity exists for you to make connections between areas of interest that you may have already explored in other courses.

 

Modern Film Analysis

This is  a 5-8 Page Analysis of a contemporary film.

This film will require you to refer to your film viewing journal in order to help you engage in an analysis of a film. For this I would also expect you to employ the Bordwell text and some of the formal elements that are addressed in the different chapters. 

  Pay particular attention to PART FIVE chapter 11 for some     sample analysis of films and film making. 

Ethan Berry

Maintaining your Viewing Journal

A BRIEF GUIDE TO MAINTAINING YOUR VIEWING JOURNAL

So that you are not pressed to write a lot of entries in your Viewing Journal at the end of the course, I suggest that you pay attention to it weekly. You can follow the template I have provided for any film that you watch and trust that you will be current. We will take time in our next class to work on your journals.
Here an example of how you might list a film.
The Great Train Robbery
Edwin S. Porter 1903, 12 minutes
Written by Edwin S. Porter
Actor(s); Gilbert Anderson as escaping passenger. (later known as Bronco Billy)
Made in 1903
Western/narrative
Synopsis- A tragic narrative in 14 scenes. Bandits Hold up a train by forcing a telegraph operator to make the train stop at the station. They board the train at gunpoint when it stops. The bandits split up. One group robs the passengers, killing one who tries to escape The other group gains control of the engine and they all escape leaving the passenger cars behind. Meanwhile, The telegraph operator is untied and runs to warn the other townsfolk who are at a dance hall. The robbers leave the train outside of town and take the loot to their waiting horses. A chase ensues. Towns people and bandits ride through the trees shooting at each other.   Thinking they have eluded the posse, the bandits stop and begin dividing the loot. They are confronted and killed by the posse. The final shot shows the head bandit in medium closeup aiming a gun at the camera and audience. He fires one shot directly at the audience. The film ends.
Edwin S. Porter was employed by Edison to build cameras, make projectors. In 1897 he traveled in the West Indies and South America projecting Edison Films.
Very early use of cuts only editing for continuity. Also the employment of double exposure or matte shots for several scenes.
Shot in Milltown New Jersey for the Edison Film company. This film was noted in 1904 as "the most popular film that has ever been made". It is one of many films that Edwin S. Porter made for Edison and other companies.

In addition, since we now often view films in DVD or web formats, It should be noted what format the film was originally produced in. For instance 35mm or 16mm color or black and white. If you see it in a movie theater make note of whether you saw it as analog or digital. Some films start out as video and are converted to film for projection. Some films go the other way. You can find this out at the theater or on IMDB.
Good viewing.

Suggested Format for Film Viewing Journal

Film Journal Template

Film Title;

Director;

Writer;

Actor(s)

Date;

Genre;

Synopsis or summary;

Distinctive Charactaristic;

Context;

This format will generate the kind of information that you can use to to more research on a film of film maker, compare films of similar styles or time periods, or make distinctions between certain films which may be similar to each other in other ways.

I can also help you establish a pattern for viewing that may contribute to the success of your research paper for this course.

Course Description

History of Film

Ethan Berry, Instructor

This course is an introductory course in the history of cinema covering the development of the form from the 19^th century until the present. This course will address the development of the technologies and the evolution of cultural awareness which constitute the cinematic experience. Weekly lectures and film screening will be followed by discussion. Student will be expected to write responses to selected the film presentations. 

The Text for this course is, Film Art: An Introduction, by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, 7th Edition,McGraw Hill, NY., 2001-2008, 
This book can be found on Amazon for about $16 in paperback.

Actress Mary Pickford 1916