THE STORY OF MOTION PICTURES

1. When were the first motion pictures introduced to the public? What was the invention? Motion pictures were introduced to the public in 1894, with the invention of a cumbersome viewing machine.

2. What was Thomas Edison’s invention? How did itinfluence cinemagoing? . Thomas Edison’s invention of the motion picture projector appearanced in 1896 and made possible the exhibition of films to large audiences.

3. What were the first films? What were they about? he films were an immediate sensation. Especially popular were films of runaway horses, rushing fire engines, marching parades, and crashing ocean waves.

4. What was the revolutionary leap forward in film storytelling? What innovative technique was used in this film? Film storytelling took a revolutionary leap forward with the 1904 film “The Great Train Robbery”. Composed of fourteen scenes that lasted a total 12 minutes, this western film, complete with horses and gunfighting, was far longer than any previous film. However, what distinguished this motion picture from earlier films was not just its greater length, but the effective story it was able to project by employing the simple yet innovative technique of editing.

5. What important principle of motion picture narration was introduced in “Great Train Robbery”? an important principle of motion picture narration: the sequence of the scenes in relation to each other helps create an effective story.

6. Why was exaggeration important for silent movies narration? Since early motion pictures were “silent”, narration depended almost entirely on the actions of the film actors. If their actions were not clear, the audience would not be able to comprehend the story. For this reason, the actors greatly exaggerated their body movements, gestures, and facial expressions.

7. What narrative devices can contribute to the narration? In what cases can they enhance the narration? Costumes and sets (movie locations) also helped narrate. A funny hat, a ragged dress, or a battle field reflected the personality or circumstances of a screen character, and therefore served a narrative function by helping the audience understand the story. + light; camera techniques

8. What role does music play in film narration? musical accompaniment enhanced the film narration by creating a mood.

9. What was the first “talkie”? What was the impact of sound on film narration? By late 1920s they had devised a way to include music on the filmstrip itself. They never intended that films should “talk”, but in “The Jazz Singer’, the first words in a motion picture were spoken. Within a few years, all films talked, and films were able to narrate a story not just with pictures and music, but with dialogue and sound effects synchronized with the screen action. Supplementing pictures with sound gave films a richness of new narrative tools. Like a close-up shot, a sound could focus the audience’s attention on something significant. Sound effects could also reveal the time and place of a scene or create a mood.

   10. 10.What are the characteristic features of filming screen versions of literary works?
   11. 11.What important filmmaking principle is the director guided by? The director is guided by an important principle of good film making: every element in the film — the lighting, the costumes, the dialogue — has a function in narrating the film story.
   12. In your opinion, is film production a demanding process? Why? Why not? I think yes and the main reason it’s because a lot of people are involved in the creation process and a lot of things should be done. And for instance director should manage to coordinate all the filming process, they are a lot of things you should think about beforehand

10. Thomas Edison’s projector made it possible to see live performances for many people simultaneously. (T) - Their dream was realized with Thomas Edison’s invention of the motion picture projector. Its appearance in 1896 made possible the exhibition of films to large audiences,

11. Actors in silent films would exaggerate their facial expressions to help make the story comprehensible. (T) - Since early motion pictures were “silent”, narration depended almost entirely on the actions of the film actors. If their actions were not clear, the audience would not be able to comprehend the story. For this reason, the actors greatly exaggerated their body movements, gestures, and facial expressions.

12. The Great Train Robbery revolutionized movie production by being the first film to employ dialogue. (F) - it was revolutionary because it was longer than usual films and contained of fourteen scenes. “The Jazz Singer’, the first words in a motion picture were spoken.

13. Screen storywriters adapt popular novels for the medium of motion pictures. () - fter films could talk, many popular novels, short stories, and classic literary works were adapted for the screen. Dialogue from literature was often literally transferred to the screen version of a story, but descriptions had to be rewritten.

14. A scene comprises a sequence of events that take place chronologically over days, weeks, or even years. (F) - A scene, in film terminology, is an event that occurs in one place and at one time. When the place or time of the action changes, the scene is over.

15. Silent film makers envisioned films in which actors could reveal critical information about the plot through dialogue. - Envisioning a profit, entrepreneurs installed hundreds of viewing machines in hotels, stores, and restaurants.

16. Films employ visual devices to depict the passage of time. (T) - Because the events in a story might take place over days, weeks, or even years, film makers had to create visual devices to express chronology. Showing the turning hands of a clock or the changing pages of a calendar is one way to depict the passage of time.

17. The illusion of motion is created when a film strip is conveyed through a motion picture projector. (T) - Inside the machine, a mechanism conveyed a short strip of film past a viewing window. By carefully controlling the speed at which the film was conveyed, the machine created the illusion that the photographs were moving.

18. Music can enhance the mood created by film actions. (T) -

    Although independent of the film itself, the musical accompaniment enhanced the film narration by creating a mood.

10. The function of a close-up shot is to focus the attention of the audience on something amusing in the plot. (T) - The close-up focuses the audience’s attention on something significant in the story.