The history of cinema

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1. The history of cinema

Moving image have always been popular. In China for example, there were “shadow plays” 5.000 years ago. These used firelight o project images of puppets onto screens. So projection is very old idea. But cinema only became possible when this old Asian idea met a new European one photography.

The two came together in the middle of the 19th century . That's when photos were photos were first used in “magic lanterns”. Before then, these early projectors had used glass slides. The pictures on these slides were painted by hand and very expensive. In comparison , photos were cheap and easy to produce.

So- by 1850 projection and photography had come together. But the result still wasn't “cinema”. How could it be when pictures didn't move? The solution to that problem came in several stages.

The first, in 1877, came via English inventor Eadweard Muybridge. He discovered a way to take photos very quickly, one after the other.

Eleven years later, an American called George Eastman produced the first celluloid film on a roll.

By 1890, it was possible to take up to 40 photos per second.

Next, in 1893, came another invention - Thomas Edison's “Kinetoscope”. The kinetoscope projected mowing pictures, but it had three problems. (a) It was noisy. (b) The pictures it produced were very low-quality. (c) Only one person could watch a kinetoscope at a time.

Before cinema could be born, one last invention was necessary - a quiet machine able to project high-quality pictures onto a large screen. And the men who produced that were two French brothers from the city of Lyons.

`The Lumiere Cinematograph' allowed large audiences to watch `moving pictures'. Its debut took place on 28 December 1895 in a Paris cafe. That day the Lumieres showed several short films. They were all documentaries and one of them was called Arrival of Train at Station. Afterwards, Auguste Lumiere talked to reporters about his invention. `It can be exploited for a certain time', he said, `but apart from that it has no commercial value at all.'

Well, he was completely wrong. In less than a year, cinemas had started to open in Europe and America. The public's appetite for films was instant and enormous - which meant that more had to be made. By 1905 movie-making wasn't just an interesting idea - it was a successful new industry. And by 1915 it was an industry with a capital - Hollywood, USA.

Hollywood was established in 1912. That's when a group of New York film producers decided to open a new studio in California. Why California? Because the climate was good, labour was cheap and there were lots of beautiful locations nearby.

As a result of their decision, Hollywood soon attracted film actors and technicians from all over the country. While World War One was fought in Europe, and for several years after, these cinema pioneers made thousands of black and white films - comedies, tragedies, fatasies, romances and historical dramas. This was `the silent era' - the era of Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, Clara Bow, Douglas Fairbanks and Buster Keaton. It was called `silent' because there was no recorded sound. Instead, the actors ` dialogue appeared on cards shown every 15 or 20 seconds. At the time it seemed perfectly normal. That's simply how films were.

In fact, even as late as 1924, director D.W. Griffith declared `there will never be speaking pictures'. But Griffith, like Auguste Lumiere 29 years before, was wrong. A revolution was coming, and its name was…

Recorder sound ended the silent era in 1927. That's when Al Jolson both spoke and sang in The Jazz Singer. (His first words were `Wait a minute, wait a minute, folks. You ain't heard nothing yet!') The impact on cinema-goers was enormous. They loved The Jazz Singer and demanded more and more talking pictures. The studios quickly obliged and by 1930, audiences were up from 57 million a week (1926) to 110 million a week. Only 31 years after the Lumieres' first film-show, modern movies had arrived.

In 1932 Technicolor arrived. Coming only five years after the sound revolution it made cinema more popular than ever. So popular, in fact, that the next 20 years are often called Hollywood's `golden age'. In the`30s and `40s, millions queued every week to see films produced by the top studios. These included Paramount, RKO, Warner Brothers and - most successful of all - Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Run by Louis B Mayer, MGM's motto was `more stars than there are in heaven'. This referred to the `family' of films stars who had contracts with the studio. (In those days actors only worked for one company.) During the `30s and `40s, MGM's family included The Marx Brothers, Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Spencer Tracy, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly.

It was an impressive list, but only one of several. All the other `dream factories' had stables of top box-office names, too. In fact, competition was an important part of Hollywood's success. The reason was simple. Each studio wanted to make bigger, better films than its rivals. After 1948, though, movie tycoons like Louis B Mayer began to face another kind of competition. And this time it wasn't from inside the cinema industry - it was from outside.

America's TV revolution began in the years following World War Two. At first Hollywood didn't worry. After all - what was there to worry about? John Logie Bairds invention only produced small, black and white pictures. It was a gimmick. It wouldn't last. But as more and more people bought sets, cinema queues began to get shorter. And not just 5 % or 10% shorter. By the early `50s, weekly audiences had been cut in half to 50 million. Clearly the movie industry had a serious problem on its hands.

Studio bosses tried to solve the problem in several different ways. These included:

CINEMASCOPE - This technique made it possible to show films on a wider screen than ever before. Several action-packed CinemaScope films were made. The first, a Biblical epic, was called The Robe.

3D - To watch 3d or `three-dimensional' films, audiences had to wear special glasses. These gave images on the screen extra height,width and depth. The idea was used in several `50s horror films, but never really caught on.

CINERAMA - Three projectors were needed to show Cinerama films. Each one filled a third of a huge, curved screen. Again the idea didn't catch on - this time because it was too expensive.

SMELL-O-VISION - Another Hollywood scheme for winning back TV audiences was Smell-O-Vision. This was an electronic system which sent the smell of roses, gunsmoke, coffee, etc. (whatever was showing on the screen) over movie-goers during a film.

70MM FILMS - Before the `50s, movie cameras and projectors used film produced a much bigger, clearer image. 70mm is still used for some films today.

Basically, then, the Hollywood studios competed with television by making movies bigger, better and more realistic. Some of their ideas succeeded - others failed. But what really saved the cinema industry wasn't a technical development at all - it was another ` 50s invention…teenagers.

Movies and youth culture discovered each other in the mid-`50s with two key films - Rebel Without a Cause (1955), starring early pop idol Bill Haley. For Hollywood it was a turning point. Before then, the average cinemagoer had been over 30. Suddenly, all that began to change. And it's a change that's continued ever since. Today 75% of all box-office tickets are sold to people between the ages of 15 and 25.

These days, cinema and television live side-by-side. The movie industry didn't collapse (as some people predicted) in the `50s and `60s. But cinema-audience figures are still low compared to 50 years ago. In Britain, for example, most people only see one or two films per year. In Europe it's three or four and in America six or seven. Because of this, modern movie making has become very different from how it was in Louis B Mayer's time. For example:

Hollywood has more competition from international film-makers now than ever before;

Enormous `picture palaces' with one screen are being replaced by `multi-screen' cinemas;

There are still large studios, but the old `studio system' (with groups of stars working for one company) has disappeared;

Modern films have three lives instead of one. First, they appear in the cinema, then on video, and finally they're shown on TV.

сinematography america ukrainе

2. Ukrainian cinema

After the invention of Lumiere Brothers had been introduced in Moscow and Petersburg in May,1896, the “moving photography” or motion pictures came to Ukraine. Ukraine was the first Russian province to see this new art form. The first showing was in Odessa from where it soon spread to other cities and towns.

The great public interest aroused by this new attraction and the great profits which could be made out of the distribution of films evoked the commercial interest of many bussines enterprises and cinema came to be used for gaining personal profits. A number of film studios were not slow to appear in several cities in Ukraine - Odessa, Dnipropetrovs'k, Kharkiv. A gold rush begun. It was a whirlpool which sucked in many shrewd businessmen.

Speaking of the first stage of Ukrainian cine-art, it is worthwhile recalling talented Kharkiv photographer and inventor Alfred Fedets'kyi, who improved the movie camera. By October 1896, he had already completed the first ukrainian film “Cossacks' Trick Riding”, “Popular Merrymaking on Connaya Square in Kharkiv” and others. At that time he also working on the problems of making colour movies.

One of the pioneers of Ukrainian cine-art was Danilo Sakhnenko, an amateur cameramen and a remarkably gifted youth. A peasant's son from Dnipropetrovsk region , still illiterate, he left his village and went to look for work in a big town. With time he displayed great talent and know-how in mastering elaborate cinema equipment.

The French firm, Pathe Films, supplied Russia with movie cameras and projectors. Danilo Sakhnenko was the first person to take apart and re-assemble a movie camera. Moreover, he introduced a number of innovations.

Ukrainian cine-art can boast of many talented directors, movie stars and cameramen. One of them is name of Olexandr Dovzhenko. In 1926 he began to work as a film director at the Odessa Feature Film Studio. In 1927, he created the film “Zvenuhora” which is considered to mark the beginning of Ukrainian national cinematography. Dovzhenko's grearest contributon was the atmosphere of true poetry, deep love for Ukraine and a profound knowledge and feeling of its culture and nature expressed in the film. Dovzhenko's expressionist film “Arsenal” (1929) is devoted to the revolutionary events in Kyiv in 1918. The film brought Dovzhenko general acclaim. A number of scenes from this film have become classics. Starting with this film, Dovzhenko made films only after his own screenplays.

Worldwide fame came to Dovzhenko after his film “Earth” (1930). An international jury in 1958 ranked his “Earth” among 12 best films in world cinematography. The film dealing with the collectivization drive in Ukraine is a masterpiece. Dovzhenko did not aim at showing particular episodes of the struggle which took place in the village. He gave general poetical and philosophical evaluation of the social processes. “Earth” was released when sound came to films. The live word changed the principles of plot construction, acting, cutting and composition of a shot. Dovzhenko greeted the new possibilities now open to the cinema. He was one of the of the first among Soviet major filmmakers to direct full-length sound feature films. Still, Dovzhenko was severely criticized as a Ukrainian nationalist for this film and for the next film “Ivan” (1932), about the building of the Dnieper Dam. He was forced to move to Moscom where he lived as if in exile untile his death. In Moscow he made “Aerograd” (1935) about the Far East and spent over four years on the film “Schors” (1939) which became a landmark in Dovzhenko's work. It depicts the struggle of the Bolshevik army against the Ukrainian forces defending Ukraine's statehood.

During the Second World War Dovzhenko made documentary film - “Battle for Our Soviete Ukraine”. In 1948 he made his last film “Life in bloom”, devoted to Ivan Michurin, the great Russian reformer of nature, the man who had brought to life the dream about blossoming gardens. Colour too was an innovation in this film.

After Dovzhenko's death his wife Yuliya Solntseva, who was also a film director, made some films using his scripts.

In the early years Uktrainian filmmakers turned to literary works for their film scenarios. These were the first attempts to screen the works of fiction. As a rule, only separate episodes from srories and novels were used. This may be seen in such films as Eugene Onegin based on the novel in verse by O. Pushkin and “The Power of Darkness” from Leo Tolstoy. Borrowing certain themes can be seen in the screened works by M. Gogol, Ivan Nechui-Levyts'kyi, Mykola Nekrasov, Olexandr Ostrovs'kyi and Ivan Kotlyarevs'kyi.

Towards the turn of the twentieth century, film studios were set up in Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk. But it was the Odessa and the Kyiv studios that eventually became the centres of film production in Ukraine and united the best film directors and actors.

3. Film Festivals and Awards

Nowadays there are a lot of film festivals: the Cannes festival, the Berlin festival, the Venice festival and etc. All of the films at the festivals are assessed by jury of international celebrities. festivals provide opportnities for actors especially for starlates, reveal both masterpieces and duds. Put an emphasis on independent and innovative film making and guarantee distribution for non-mainstream and non- Hollywood films. Festivals are annual events. All of them have their own awards and places where they are held.

The Cannes festival is a French film festival which was founded in 1938. this festival soon became one of the top festivals. Its award is olive-branch (olie-branch is a symbol of peace).The Berlin festival is a German film festival is one of the three major festivls in Europe. Its prize is Golden Bear. The Venice festival is the world's oldest film festival (1932). Its award is Golden Lion.

The Oscars are awarded every year by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. These statuettes are awarded to actors, film directors, screenwriters and so on for outstanding contributions to the film industry. The Oscars were first awarded in 1927. The first winners were chosen by five judges. Nowadays all of the members of the Academy vote. The ceremony is attended by most Hollywood stars, although some famous stars, such as Woody Allen, refuse to go, even if they win an award. The oldest winner of an Oscar was 80-year- old Jessica Tandy for her performance in the film “Driving Miss Daisy” in 1990. The youngest was Shirley Temple when she was only five years old. The statuette is of soldier standing on a reel of film. Nobody is really sure why it is called an Oscar, although some people say that it is because when the first statuette was made, a secretary said, “It reminds me of Uncle Oscar!” Oscar is one of the top ceremony of awards. Its award is a gold-plated figurine which is awarded annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the best film work in various categories, e.g. Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress. In 1928 Frances Marion said about it: “the statuette is a perfect symbol of the movie business - a powerful athletic body clutching a gleaming sword, with half of his haed, the art that holds his brain, completely sliced off”.

Why are we so interested in watching people receiving awards? America has the Emmy Awards (for TV), the Grammy Awards (for music) and of course, the Oscars (for film). Not to outdone, Britain has the BAFTAs (film and TV), the BRITs (music) and now there is also the Mercury Music Prize and the MTV Music awards. Then there is famous Cannes Film Festival with its main award, the Palm d'Or. It seems that prize giving has spread across the planet like an infectious disease.

It all started with the Oscars. The Academy Awards were first handed out on the 16th of May1929. At that time, the awards weren't called Oscars. The gold statuette got its name in 1931 because the director of the Academy thought that it looked like her uncle Oscar.

In those days, 250 people paid $10 each to watch the ceremony. However, it probably wasn't that exciting because the audience already knew the winner's names. These days, no one knows who has won until the famous envelop is opened.

Few stars would ever consider selling their awards but occasionally, Oscars do come up for sale. In December, 1996, top director Steven Spielberg bought an Oscar which was originally presented to Clark Gable in 1934. Spielberg bought the Oscar at an auction and gave it back to the Academy as a present. No one knows exactly how much he paid for the Oscar but he was desperate to stop private collectors from buying it. According to Spielberg, “It's hard for people outside the film industry to understand the respect that an Oscar carries for those of us who make movies. We're supposed to be cynical people, but everyone I talked to was offended at the idea that this statuette might end up on the mantelpiece of someone who hadn't earned it.”

Winning an Oscar can be bad for your love life. Some male stars have huge egos and if their partner wins an Oscar, they become incredibly jealous. Legend has it that many Hollywood relationships have broken up because of Oscar jealousy. There is a long list, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh and more recently, (as rumour has it) Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson.

Every famous actress wants to look great at an awards ceremony. Surprisingly, ninety per cent of the stars at the Oscars borrow their diamonds from Harry Winston, a well-known Hollywood jeweler. Oscar nominees like Sharon Stone and Susan Sarandon went to his shop to borrow diamond necklaces, sapphire broaches and ruby earrings. Winston lent $20 million worth of jewellery in all. “We've never lost a thing,” he said. Although Sharon stone once failed to return a necklace on time.

Award winners are reminded to keep their speeches short and asked not to get too carried away. When Braveheart won 5 Oscars in 1996, Mel Gibson started his acceptance speech with the words “I don't write speeches.” Then he gave the audience a long lecture about why Scotland should be an independent country.

List of resources

1) Cinemaland: History. Film Production. Film Directors. - Kyiv.: “Znanya”, 2007. - 159 p.

2)http://digitalcinema-marc.blogspot.com/2007/10/something-interesting.html

3)http://www.softcinema.net/form.htm

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