History of Film Pt 1

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key people, inventions, movements, and editing theories from early cinema history in History of Film Pt 1.

Persistence of vision

Refers to the way our eyes retain images for a split second longer than they actually appear, making a

Latham Loop

It isolates the filmstrip from vibration and tension, allowing movies to be continuously shot and

Kinetograph

first motion picture camera

Lumiere Bros

first to introduce projected films

A Trip to the Moon

Melies' film that influenced Hugo and Smashing Pumpkins video

George Melies

master of illusion/father of special effects

Edwin S. Porter

directed The Great Train Robbery

D.W. Griffith

carried the motion picture into the new era with his silent epics (The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, etc.)

One-Reelers

a motion picture, especially a cartoon or comedy, of 10-12 minutes

Odessa Steps

famous example of Soviet montage

Theory of Montage

the idea that films derive meaning from editing shots together to combine meaning

German Expressionism film we watched

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Themes of German Expressionism

inner psychological torment, social alienation, and existential anxiety of modern life, deeply shaped by the

Features of German Expressionism

distorted sets, high contrast lighting, dramatic makeup, eerie score

Charlie Chaplin's film persona

The Tramp

Hays Code

established in 1930 by the movie industry to censor itself

Jazz Singer

the first talkie

mis en scene

within the stage

metric montage

A number of shots of identical or similar length, the content of the shots is less important than shot

rhythmic montage

editing shots based on momentum/action

tonal montage

editing based on cutting two similar themes together

Intellectual Montage

A process of meaning generation through editing that occurs when a viewer forms an independent idea

overtonal montage

The combination of metric, rhythmic and tonal montage.