Moving Images, Understanding Media

Chapter 2 Inventions and Origins 65

Silent fi lms also incorporated the voice before the widespread projection

of sound fi lms: some early fi lms were paired with narration, and in Japan this

was viewed as one of the most important parts of the moviegoing experience.

In fact, the benshi, or fi lm narrator, was an important profession in the

Japanese fi lm industry.

Just as there were optical eff ects in the early cinema, there were also

sound eff ects. In some venues, individual performers created a wide variety

of noises for projections. Th ere were also sound eff ect machines, such as the

Allefex or Kinematophone, that were developed by 1908. By this time, it was

clear to fi lmmakers and distributors that sound could function as an integral

and expressive creative component of motion pictures.

Exploring New Horizons

Motion pictures came about through technical achievements and business

ventures, and those two reasons for the existence of movies have aff ected

every aspect of their development. Th e creation of fi lms quickly established

itself as a rather costly, labor-intensive practice, and in America the business

groups who held the rights to manufacture moviemaking tools and control

distribution asserted strong control over their use and practice. Th is dynamic

has remained at the core of the story of motion pictures. Th roughout the

history of moviemaking, it is necessary to inquire: who controls this process?

Who is making movies? How are they allowed to make them? Why are they

making them?

When discussing the fi rst decades of motion pictures, many of the

fi lmmakers and technicians who were involved in its growth describe feeling

like explorers, searching uncharted territory and making amazing discoveries.

Th ey were developing new ways in which to tell stories, enact dreams, visit

remote corners of the earth, record life as it passed, and exchange ideas and

information. Upon this screen where images were suddenly fl ashing and

transforming before viewers, there existed a new and compelling refl ection

of our own sense of perception, the image-driven aspect of our own minds,

home to observed events, visions, dreams, and memory.

It’s a Wrap!

In Chapter 2, you investigated the evolution of motion picture technology

and the communicative discoveries of early fi lmmakers. In the work of

this unit, you will explore the basics of cinematic narrative using visual

sequences to articulate your thoughts, stories, and emotions. Like the

early fi lmmakers, you will also have sound as an expressive resource as you

transmit ideas visually.

VIEWFINDER

“As an editor, you must

relate strongly to the

characters. You have

to. The question of who

do you cut to, when,

why, and how, is not a

technical question. It’s

really a matter of taste

and making the scene

play... Because there are

thousands and thousands

of options and decisions to

be made every second.”

–Dede Allen–

Editor of numerous classic

fi lms including Bonnie

and Clyde (1967),

Dog Day Aft ernoon (1975),

Th e Breakfast Club (1985), and

Wo n d e r B o y s (2000)

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