WEEK1: Note of the history of film, animation and VFX

My understanding of the history of film, animation and VFX

The development of VFX technology or other new media technologies for example VR and AR cannot completely replace the charm of traditional film language. The language of film has developed for hundreds years, obviously the creators have developed a enough mature and systematic film language to convey the script to the audience. These can be clearly reflected in two points on the storyboard and editing. <Justic League(2017)> which film had extreme use of CGI which made it look too much fake and break the story line and rules somewhere. But things become different when the version of Zack Snyder final cut was published, audience’s comments suddenly reversed. The secrets of it is that Zack Snyder put the storyboard more closer to the original script and redesignd some cuts to resonate with the audience. Besides he deliberately deleted or adjusted some excessively gorgeous special effects, so that the audience’s attention was always focused on the storyline. So that I could have a conclusion too much VFX or other trendy technologies would assist the creator to better produce gorgeous shots, but the core of film and animation creation is always surrounded by the script and film language.

Timeline of film

• 1895, Moving pictures projected onto a big screen.
• 1877, Eadweard Muybridge set up a camera system to take a series of pictures of horses in motion for his bet. It’s the basis of film.
• 1891, Thomas Edison had perfected the Kinetoscope.
• 1892, Emile Reynaud projected the first animated film on his Kinetoscope.
• 1890s, Serpentine dance becoming early film because there was no cinema.
• 1895, Robert W. Paul and Bert Akers had invented the first British 35 millimeter camera
• December 28th 1895, Lumiere brothers demonstrated their invention of motion pictures in Paris. It includes scenes of people coming out and a train coming. Just simple shots.
• February 21th 1896, Robert W. Paul demonstrated his projector the theatre graph. Also Lumiere system was displayed in London.
• June 1896, The Derby, one of the earliest examples of newsreel by Robert W. Paul’s Kinetoscopes.
• George Méliès – One of the first filmmakers to use special effects.
• 1893, Thomas Edison constructed the world’s first film production studio, the Black Maria.
• 1896 or 1897, Alice Guy-Blaché began making films for Gaumont
• 1897, George Méliès built the world’s first film studio in Montreuil made entirely of glass walls and ceilings. (According to the YouTube video ‘BBC Paul Mertons Weird and Wonderful World of Early Cinema.’)
• 1900, George Smith showed close up for the first time in film.
• 1901, James Williamson The Big Swallow using extreme close-up. He developed multi shot films and cutaways.
• 1902, La gallina misteriosa (Pathé Frères, 1902) A chicken-and-egg comedy about what came first.
• 1903, George Smith used close-ups to highlight the personalities of the characters and fades out to show the transition from dream to reality.
• 1905, People are wooden and curious when they reaction to the camera for the first time recorded by Alice Guy-Blaché.
• 1900s, André Deed, the first comic star in cinema. He had strong personality.
• 1902, A trip to the moon is one of the most famous films at the time. The first ever worldwide success in fiction film.
• 1911, Max Linder, the most popular comedian in the world. His comic creation of the coat was remembered by other comedians.
• 1917, the First World War caused Max Linder depression because he narrowly escaped death.
• 1918, Hollywood took over as the leader of world cinema the end of the First World War. The language of cinema was already fully formed.
• 1923, Pathé was able to take over Star Films and the Montreuil studio. George Méliès burned 500 negatives of all his films.
• 1925, Max Linder committed suicide.