6 Moving Images: Making Movies, Understanding Mediasuccession of still images. As the versatility and quality of still photography
progressed through the nineteenth century, it started to become clear that
the phenomenon of photography and visual principles of animation toys
could merge to lead to a new medium of expression.
By the end of the century, motion pictures had been invented. Th e
process took many steps and involved a variety of creators, including Eadward
Muybridge of Britain, W. K. L. Dickson working in the American Edison
studios, and the Lumière Brothers in France (all discussed in Chapter 2).
Th e fi rst movies were made up of a single shot that lasted approximately a
minute. Some are quite interesting to watch, others rather dull. However, it
took the development of the idea of editing—or cutting together diff erent
shots to create a sequence of shots on fi lm—to transform it to the medium
that we know as the cinema. It is generally when shots work in juxtaposition
that we can develop a complete perception of the full creative potential of
motion pictures.
What we are talking about here is motion picture language (also sometimes
called fi lm language, screen language, or fi lm grammar). What does this
mean? Motion picture language is the way in which visuals on the screen
convey information and express ideas and emotions without words. We use
this term to describe the communication through sequences of images on
the screen along with the sound that accompanies them.
When you pick up a camera and begin to shoot footage, you are already
making decisions that aff ect how you are communicating to the viewer. YouFigure 1-4 A man looking at the moving images of the praxinoscope
invented by Emile Reynaud in 1877.Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).