Media History final

M.P.P.D.A.

(Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors association) Headed by Former U.S. Postmaster General. After Hays left the government he became well connected with people, Hays then, using those connections, lobbied film, censorship rights, and public relations. They attempted to clean up the hollywood image by creating a list of things not to do.

The Battle of Midway

A 1943 propaganda combat film by John Ford that was famous for its use of color, music, and personal voice overs. Featured montage of color, music, merry marching music. Won an oscar for best short documentary.

Graphophone

A cylinder based audio device created in the Volta laboratory. Instead of using Edison's lateral cut grooves, the graphophone had vertical cut grooves. Created by Bell and Tainter.

Aware Inc.

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Phonofilm, Vitaphone, Movietone, and Photophone

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Film Exchanges

From the era of the Nickelodeon boom. Exchanges were distributors who bought what was mainly foreign films from producers and sent them to theaters around the U.S.

The Battle of San Pietro

A 1945 propaganda combat film by John Huston that the military censored until 1945 due to it's realism and brutality. The film was different in comparison to "midway" in that it had an ironic matter of fact narrator, a classical music score, and was shot on black and white film stock. The film feature footage of actual individual death and dead bodies

Scene

Full take of a completed action/scenario.

Metropolis

A 1927 film directed by Fritz Lang. Featured groundbreaking set design and visual effects. The film was about at futuristic city that was split into 2 different parts. The prosperous upper city, and the poor lower city. In 1927 Fritz Land Premiered the film to moderate success.

Le Chien Andalou

A 1929 film by Luis Bunel in collaboration with Salvador Dali. It's basic story corners an affair between two lovers. The film is infamous for its surrealist scene where the woman's eye is sliced with a razor. In the next scene however, she appears to be fine.

M

A 1931 film by Fritz Lang about a deranged Child Murderer who is loose in a small german town. The film starred Peter Lorre in one of his all time best performances. It's famous for being one of the later and more controversial expressionist films.

Song of Ceylon

A 1935 film about the "Songs of Commerce." The film was made in england, and had a more artistic form for a documentary film. Originally an empire marketing board travelogue, the film presents a positive image of the colony.

Dream of a Rarebit Fiend

A 1906 film directed by Edwin S. Porter and Wallace McCutcheon. Based on Winsor Mckays popular comic strip, this short film made innovative use of various special effects technologies.

Set Design and The Lonely Villa

A 1909 film by D.W. Griffith, made innovative use of intercutting and three dimensional set design.

Hells Hinges

A 1916 film that emphasizes William S Hart's Good-Bad man character. The film was produced by Thomas Ince and directed by Charles Swickland and William S. Hart.

Nosferatu

A 1922 film directed by F.W. Murnau. It was loosely based on the book Dracula by Bram Stoker. Featured Max Schreck as the vampiric title character.

Strike

A 1924 film by Sergei Eisenstein.

The Last Laugh

A 1924 film directed by F.W. Murnau. With cinematography by Karl Freund and a screenplay by Carl Mayer. The film is about an aging doorman, after being fired from his prestigious job at a luxurious hotel is forced to face the scorn of his friends, neighbors, and society.

Battleship Potemkin

A 1925 film by Sergei Eisenstein .

Berlin: Symphony of a City

A 1927 film by Walter Ruttman and was filmed by Karl Freund. It was influenced by the Soviet montage movement. It created an aesthetic perspective on an urban environment. It had a formalist style, with an emphasis on form.

Andy Warhol

Psychedelic New York scene artist from the 60s who dabbled in new cinema. Famous for films like Sleep, bleed, kiss.

Paramount Decrees

A 1948 agreement between the film industry and the justice department. They were accepted by the supreme court and called consent decrees. These decrees were integral in in ending vertical integration in the studio system. Mainly because they forced studios to make distribution a separate independent industry. They were called paramount decrees because Paramount was the first to be given the agreement.

Rashomon

A 1950 Japanese Crime Drama film directed by Akira Kurosawa. Greeted by western cultures, as exotic and modernist. Kurosawa's use of slow motion cinematography to portray violence has become a cliche. The film had conflicting story-lines, with all the characters giving different accounts.

Umberto D

A 1951 film by Victorio De Sica about a depressed old man. It was considered a throwback when compared to other Neo-Realist films because of its melodramatic tone.

Housing Problem

A 1955 John Grierson and the british film institute produced a film about public housing that was sponsored by the Gas, Light, and Coke co. The film was very non-artistic in the execution of its themes. The films structure was that of problem to solution (social problems advocate a solution - propaganda)

Mary Pickford

A Canadian-born early film actress/co-founder of United Artists.

Milos Forman

A Czech New wave director who was influenced by Neorealism and Direct Cinema. His films featured more caustic social criticism than some of his peers. Forman's portrayal of a socialist society, with its frustrated sexuality, incompetent bureaucracy, and petty pilfering, drew torrents of criticism.

The Bicycle Thieves

A Neo Realist film by Victorio De Sica. The Bicylcle Thief follows the story of an Italian man searching for his missing bike. The film was written by Cesar Zavattini, with the bicycle representing the brutal rapacity of post-war life. The film was reliant on coincidence with an ambiguous ending. In America the film was denied distribution until 1951 because of one shot containing a child peeing. When the film was distributed however, it one an oscar for best foreign film.

Gunsmoke

A Radio and television western drama that ran on radio from 1952 to 1961, the TV version ran from 1955 to 1975.

Vertical Integration

A Vertically integrated firm is one controlling the production, distribution and exhibition of a film. Often used as a way for production companies to measure their strength.

film "shorts"

A category of films made by an all black cast. However, these films were intended for a white audience. Shorts often poked fun at black stereotypes for comedic effect.

Subjectivity/ Heroic subject

A character whose will or desire determine change, the figure of identification for the spectator.

Stagecoach

A classic 1939 western by director John Ford. The film features many of the classic western archetypes. Such as the outlaw hero, the woman whore with a heart of gold, the comic sidekick, and the drunk. Other archetypes include, six shooters, cowboys and Indians, horses and cattle, and a frontier town. Won 2 oscars and was nominated for seven.

the Spaghetti Westerns

A commercially successful Italian film genre that was lead by italian director Sergio Leone. Notable films include A Fistful of Dollars, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, and For a Few Dollars More. Leone was as passionate a film fan as the New Wave directors. He got his start as an assistant director to his father, Roberto Roberti and Desica. After making a few costumed epics, Leone moved on and revolutionized the western with his films.

Fidelity and Caruso

A company that in 1902 produced records for Victor in order to create higher fidelity records for higher quality music. They didn't do it for money they did it for cultural capital.

Edison's phonograph

A cylinder based sound recording and playback device created by Thomas Edison Co in 1877. I was the basis for Edison's phonograph company. In order to promote his product, Edison used traveling phonograph exhibitors to showcase the product. The Edison phonograph company was out of business by the late 1920s.

United Artists

A distribution company started in 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford , and D.W. Griffith.

Nanook of the North

A documentary film directed by Robert Flaherty about a "noble savage" eskimo. The film was an instant smash hit and cemented the persona of Nanook in the popular culture.

the Pilotone system

A double system sync sound recording method. Was used often during the direct cinema era.

Primary

A famous TV broadcast at a wisconsin democratic event for Senator Kennedy, the broadcast featured a now famous handheld shot of the senator walking through the crowd. The network had issues with the ambiguity of the films style.

Jean Muir

A film actress who was suspected of being a communist and was eventually blacklisted.

Napoleon (1927)

A film by Abel Gance that used many unique expressionist techniques. The film's overwhelming budget however prevented Gance from ever being an independent filmmaker.

American Mutoscope

A film company founded by W.K.L. Dickson and Herman Casler. Primarily shot films on 70mm film. Most of their films consisted of travelogues, scenics, news events and actualities. Fiction films usually consisted of slapstick comedy. They eventually merged with Biograph to become A.M.B.

John Grierson

A film critic and a member of the British Film Society who defined documentaries as a "creative treatment of reality." He liked the Soviet style and the way it was used as a method for propaganda. In 1927, Grierson heads the Empire marketing board film unit. He later established the Canadian film board for propaganda purposes. Grierson was one of the first to establish the government as a main a source of financing in documentary filmmaking.

Andre Bazin

A film critic who helped define what is now called Neo Realism. Co founder of Cahiers du cinema, Bazin defined critical attitude toward realism in film. He was focused in promoting a film style with no contrivances

Pickup on South Street

A film directed by Sam Fuller. It was an anti communist film about a girl being chased by soviets in pursuit of a piece of microfilm.

the French New Wave

A film movement headed by iconoclastic french filmmakers. With their films they tried to deconstruct the film standard. Notable directors include Francoid Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. Fully aware that what you are watching is contrived. Had to do with youth culture in france at the time.

Precsision Staging

A film style that was historically an alternative to the continuity style of filmmaking. It was typified of european films of the early 1900s. Used long takes.

Proscenium arch style

A film style used to recreate a theatrical experience,using long takes and shots and an eye level stationary camera.

Jean-Luc Godard

A filmmaker who got his start wring for cahiers du cinema, eventually started making his own artsy films. He initially admired hollywood cinema until he became a marxist who made Briechtien films.

Federico Fellini

A filmmaker whose style evolved from neo-realism into his own demented fantasy. Fellini set out to create a baroque cinema with sex and weirdness. By the 70s he lost all his success.

George Melies

A french director who got his start as a magician. Inspired after attending a cinematographe show, Melies decided to start making his own films. Among his most acclaimed films are a Trip to the Moon (1902) and The Vanishing Lady (1896) In 1912 he stopped producing films due to being in debt. He died in 1938 after working with his wife at a toy and candy shop. He is famous for his use of animation, in camera editing, and proscenium staging.

Film d'Art

A french film company founded in 1908 identifying with elite tastes. One of their most recognizable films was The Assasination of Duc de Guise. They were bought out by 1911.

Gaumont

A french film production company founded in 1895 by Leon Gaumont. Next to Pathe, Gaumont was the biggest firm in France. Created serials, later expanded onto british theatre.

Empire Marketing Film Board Unit.

A government run film board that was headed by John Grierson. Its offices were eventually moved to the post office.

400 Blows

A groundbreaking 1959 film by Francois Truffaut. Truffaut's auto-biographical film. Was not only arts but entertaining as well.

The Brighton School

A group of english filmmakers

American Business Consultants

A group that gave businesses information on potential employees. The group also issued Red Channels as well as other publications that exposed communist activity. Among these was a weekly 4 page newsletter titled Counterattack.

Shohei Imamura

A japanese new wave director, Imamura declared his interest to be in the "lower part of the human body and the lower part of the social structure." Imamura sought to record Japan's forgotten regions, oppressed classes and lustful impulses.

Fred Wiseman and PBS

A lawyer who made documentaries. He often liked to record the frustrations of everyday people facing bureaucracy. Later on in his career, he took a more flexible approach similar to Ricky Leacock's uncontrolled cinema. Fred Wiseman made very ordinary films.

Luchino Visconti

A leftist homosexual, He became interested in film after assisting Jean Renoir. Believes in film as a borderline between life and theatre. His films were ofter extravagant in their acting, costumes, and music.

Hollywood Ten

A list of blacklisted screenwriters, directors and producers who were suspected of communist activities by the House Committee on Un-American activities.

the Signal Corps

A military branch responsible for military communications, as well as army media production. Documentaries and propaganda was done with the signal corps and hollywood talent.

Maverick

A more adult oriented comedy about wandering gamblers.

Bourgeois Melodrama

A more serious style of melodramatic storytelling, typically featuring strong willed characters, political and ethical themes, and a desire for change. Bourgeois epach means "Individuals will determine change." (narrative and/or historical change)

formal and stylistic trends in "New Cinema" in late 1950s and 1960s

A new art house movement of films that were considered "self-aware." These films were personal, intellectual, and sexual. Freeze frame, direct address, lack of three point lighting, episodic narrative.

New Objectivity

A new german avant garde movement that started in the mid 20s due to expressionism going mainstream. New objectivity had a realistic feel and focused on topics of social criticism.

William S. Hart

A once stage actor who entered film in his late 40s.He typically starred in westerns because of his rugged, lean, look.

Triumph of the Will

Nazi propaganda film directed by Leni Riefenstahl in 1936. Hitler provided her with the camera and crew to shoot hitlers arrival in Germany

Robert Drew and ABC-TV

A photojournalist who helped define what we call Direct Cinema. In 1954 he met Richard Leacock, who had been a cinematographer for Flaherty's Louisiana story. Together they were commissioned by ABC to make a series of films. Most notable is Yanki, No! (1960), an examination of anti-war feelings in Latin America, along with The Children Were Watching (1960) A study of school integration. Drew, who exercised editorial control of the films thought of documentary filmmaking as a way of telling dramatic stories. Drew gripped his audience with what he called the crisis structure. ABC had problems with the lack of narration, sound, and ambiguity. Drew told exiting stories, w

Carl Laemmle

A pioneer in film production and father of Universal Studios. Carl Laemmle began buying up Nickelodeons, eventually expanding into the distribution company, Laemmle film service. He then expanded even further into becoming a part of IMP (Independent Motion Picture company) IN 1912, there was an agreement to merge IMP and four other companies into the Universal Motion Picture Manufacturing Company. In 1913, Laemmle bought the land and opened up show at Universal City, CA.

Stan Brakhage

A pioneer in lyrical cinema. For Brakhage, lyrical film records the act of seeing and flow of imagination. A style where every single cut creates an emotional response. He did a lot with first person filmmaking, very stylized.

Roman Polanski

A polish filmmaker who is famous for his films Repulsion and Chinatown.

The Lone Ranger

A popular western series that was on during the golden age of TV westerns. The Lone Ranger was essentially about the adventures of a mysterious masked cowboy.

Akira Kurosawa

A prolific Japanese filmmaker who is famous for his samurai films. Considered to be Japan's greatest postwar filmmaker, Kurosawa achieved international recognition with his film Rashomon. Kurosawa was known for his deep focused long takes and shots, technical brilliance and kinetic portrayal of action. Among his most famous films are Ran, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, and Rashomon.

Cesar Zavattini

A screenwriter for de Sica who theorized and promoted Neo-realism. Zavatini theorized the conventions of Neo-Realism, which was contemporary social problems, episodic narrative, and no resolution. Wrote Bicycle Thief and Umberto D.

The Production Code

A seal of approval system.The system started as early as the 20s (1922 and the attempted points system) , but wasn't a necessity until films needed to pass in order to be shown in theaters. This seal of approval was later replaced by ratings

the "B" film

A series of films that imagined America through a film noir lens. These films often featured no herioc subject in the story. Sam Fuller was one of the more acclaimed directors of this type of film.

the anti-communist film

A series of unpopular films that shed a negative light on communism. One of the more notable titles is Big Jim Mclain, a 1952 film starring John Wayne.

Playhouse

A short comedy film starring Buster Keaton as all the characters. The effect of Keaton playing multiple characters was created using special effects.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

A show that was on radio from 1944-1954, Ozzie and Harriet eventually got its own TV show. The show was about a musical family with Ozzie nelson being the band leader. The son Ricky nelson eventually went on to become a TV and recording star. The show was essentially the middle class ideal realized.

Poverty Row

A slang term used to describe the the production companies in hollywood that made "B-pictures," among these companies were Hal Roach studios, Republic, Monogram, and Grand National.

Mack Sennet

A slapstick comedy producer who was the head of Keystone Pictures. He was famous for his fast paced comedy bits.

dictating machines

A sound machine created in the late 1800s used to take notes and record bits of information with audio. Created by Edison.

Dissolve

A special effect used to slowly dissolve from one scene/shot to the next. Originally an in camera effect, dissolves were later created in the lab in post production. It was used to show a completed action where as a cut is used to show an incomplete action.

Theatrical Melodrama

A style of storytelling that is filled with elaborate spectacle and excitement. Feature classic themes like Good vs. Evil, action and violence. These films were usually made up of last minute escapes, they also typically ended on a positive note. 5 themes: Good vs. Evil, Happy ending, use of coincidence, spectacular action, external conflict.

Ingmar Bergman

A swedish filmmaker, famous for his films Seventh Seal and Persona. His films featured psychological and spiritual conflicts. Made chamber films. His films aften featured Max Von Syndow.

shot-reverse-shot

A technique that shows one character looking at another offscreen character, then cutting to a shot of that character looking at the other one, the view assumes they are looking at each other.

Analytical editing

A technique used in editing to analyze and cut to and from important images that relate to/enhance the story

Point of View Shot Editing

A technique used to put the audience into a character's perspective, typically used during suspenseful scenes. Basically entails using a shot of a person walking, cutting to what he/she is looking at, then back to the person.

mise-en-scene

A three part visual style used to give more intense drama to a picture: 1. Low key lighting (charoscuro) 2. Dramatic camera angles. 3.Moving camera. Mise-en-scene is often used to represent drama, loss of will, and chaos.

The Texaco Star Theater

A variety format show sponsored by the texaco gas company that originally broadcasted in May 1951

Non Linear Narrative

A way of framing a story. was famously used in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

sync sound and multiple camera shooting

A way of shooting the entire scene in one take because of the limitations of sync sound technology.

Block booking and blind bidding

A way that the major companies would control the market. With block booking, these companies would force theaters to buy chunks of movies in order to get the one they really wanted. Sometimes a theater would have to buy a film without even seeing it, sometimes before it was even made. This was called blind bidding.

The Rifleman

A western TV show that ran from 1958 to 1963. The show starred Chuck Conners as a wandering gun savvy cowboy who is followed by his son.

Cinema 16 and Canyon Cinema

After world war II the availability of cheap mobile 16mm film gave non professional filmmakers a whole new set of possibilities. This created an abundance of experimental films. However, with distribution being a major problem for independent filmmakers, Amos Vogel started a Cinema 16 distribution library. This allowed for anyone with access to a 16 or 8mm camera the ability to have their film shown and discussed.

Actualities

Actualities of images of natural events recordings. (i.e. train arriving at the station) Scenics were short films showing off foreign landscapes. Topicals were focussed on current news.

the French "tradition of quality"

Adaptation of literary works. Aimed to be a prestige cinema. These films had a female focus. The screenwriters were often considered superior or equal to the director. These films were often compared to british romance films and hollywood films.

The Western Genres Influences

Among the influences for the western genre are novels like Mary Rowland's The Capture (1682), Owen Wister's The Virginian (1902) and James Fennmore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans (1826). The film genre was also influenced by Wild West Shows by Buffalo Bill. These shows had a series of acts that played out western themes.

shooting ratios for direct cinema films

All direct cinema films were shot on handheld 16mm film stock. Lots of footage was shot but very little of it was actually used.

"unfriendly" vs. "friendly" witnesses

All of the 19 who were subpoenaed were considered unfriendly witnesses. Those ho were not were considered friendly.

Frank Capra

American filmmaker who participated in making war propaganda. Capra is also famous for directing classic hollywood films like It's a Wonderful life. Capra was askec by the American government to produce a series of propaganda film in order to explain our involvement to the soldiers as well as explain our alliance with the USSR. Capra joined the military as a major. Capra remembered watching Triumph of the will, and decided the best way to inform people was by drawing apon existing films that showed the enemy's power.

The Amos `N' Andy Show

Amos 'n Andy was a television show that was based on the popular radio series. The episodes primarily featured Andy as the main character with Amos being the narrator, as well as making a few appearances.

John Ford

An American film director who is famous for his large expansive westerns. He directed classic westerns like Stagecoach (1939) The Searchers, and The Quiet Man. When asked what type of film he likes to make, John Ford would simply reply "I make westerns" Also, out of all the filmmakers in hollywood, Ford holds the record for most "Best Director" Oscar wins. Also, before 1939 most of Ford's 60 silent films were westerns

Thomas Ince.

An American screenwriter/actor/producer/director who is known as being the father of the western. Along with writing the screenplay for the movie The Italian (1915) and directing Civilization (1916) Ince also introduced hollywood to the idea of the assembly line studio system (studio efficiency) . A concept that would forever change hollywood.

William Hart

An American silent film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was famous for playing the "good-bad guy" character, or the anti-hero. His characters were typically outlaws. Because he didn't enter film acting until around age 50, and also because of his lean face he was able to play weary, grimy looking characters

American Vitograph

An American studio founded in 1897 by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in Brooklyn, New York. They were among the most prolific studios of their era, producing many famous silent films. In 1925 they were bought by Warner Bros.

Italian neo-realism

An Italian film style that ran from roughly 1942 to 1951. The term was coined by Andre Bazin, a french critic. Neo-Realism was known for it's low budget Italian features, location shooting, focus on contemporary social problems, and use of non proffessional actors. The style goes against the Italian tradition of costumed spectacle and historical epic going back to Quo Vadis (1913). Low Budget, Shot on location, About social contemporary problems, Often used non professional actors

Parufamet agreement

An agreement Eric Pommer and UFA made with MGM and Paramount that contracted 20 US films into germany each season and guaranteed American studios 75% of its programs.

Roy Rogers

An american singer and cowboy actor who was famous for being in B westerns in the late 30s and 40s.

Jean Rouch

An anthropoligist who discovered ethnographic film in 1946 when he brought a 16mm camera with him to Niger. His short controversial documentary films led to him being head of the newly created International Commission of Sociological and Ethnographic Film. His films include "The Mad Masters" and "Me, a Black Man." Rouch believed ethnographic film was important to Americans because if showed the difference in culture, it also helped prevent us from trying to remake them in our image. One of the founders of cinema verite.

Red Channels

An anti communist tract published by the right wing in the United States at the height of the Red Scare. It was a pamphlet style book that featured 151 names of potential media based (film, TV, radio) communists in the U.S advertising agencies - B networks packaging firms sponsors

Cahiers du cinema

An arty cinema magazine that featured reviews from Truffaut and Godard. While wring reviews, the filmmakers discovered their passion for American films. A magazine started by Bazin. Talked about the Auteur theory where the director is the author.

Kinetoscope

An early film viewing device created by thomas edison co. Instead of using projection technology, the device required you to look through a scope.

Max Linder

An early french film star who was one of the primary influences of Charlie Chaplin. Worked with mostly with french studios like Pathe.

Hallelujah

An early sound film created by King Vidor that attempted to explore African American culture.

Jump cuts

An editing effect often used in Godard's breathless. It creates a non conformist tone. Discontinuous image track with continuous sound. Often seen in the french new wave.

variety show

An entertainment show made up of a variety of acts including comedy, music and skits. Examples include The Texaco Star theatre.

Kenneth Anger

An experimental narrative filmmaker who is famous for his bizarre, dreamlike film style. Underground filmmaker, he meshed surrealism, homoeroticism and the occult. He was one of Americas first openly gay filmmakers.

Karl Freund

An important cinematographer of the expressionist movement. Works include The Last Laugh and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

Satyajit Ray

An indian filmmaker who was one of Kurosawa's biggest influences. His artistic roots lie in the Bengali renaissance of the 19th century. he founded the calcutta film society. Ray believed that the central focus of cinema was to reveal the truth of human behavior. He refused to single out villains and his films portrayed india through the style of naturalistic european cinema.

Robert Flaherty

An intense Documentary filmmaker who directed Nanook of the North.

Rome: Open City

An internationally distributed Neo-Realist film by Rosellini from the year 1945. Film Iconic for documentary style.

the American Legion posts

An organization who posted an investigation of the ACLU

Cabiria (1914)

Another Italian epic directed by Giovanni Pastrone. A movie about kidnapping and human sacrifice, Cabira made innovative use of the tracking shot.

Dziga Vertov

Born in 1896 and was one of the key figures in Soviet montage cinema, Vertov was primarily a news reel editor who would edit raw materials together to make a meaningful whole. Vertov would later go to direct a film called The Man With a Movie Camera, which was one of the finest examples of soviet montage.

The Great Train Robbery

Another film directed by Edwin Porter. This 1903 film is essentially about a group of criminals attempting to hijack a locomotive train. The film is one of the earliest examples of narrative filmmaking. It is also famous for its revolutionary uses of cross-cutting, moving cameras, double exposure composting, and on location shooting. Similar to a Girl and her Trust by D.W. Griffith. Featured all the classic elements of hollywood melodrama

Lev Kuleshov

Another key figure in montage cinema, Kuleshov was impressed by the short takes of American film, Intolerance by D.W. Griffith being one of his main inspirations. Kuleshov later developed a workshop where he would experiment with the art of filmmaking. One of Kuleshov's biggest discoveries was his realization of the effect of juxtaposed imagery in shot compisition.

Berliner's Gramophone

Another sound device that used a lateral cut rubber disc as apposed to the cut cylinders of Edison and Volta. Made after Edison's patents expired in 1885. Edison added the motor in 1906

local vs. national advertising in radio and TV

As early as 1952 when regular programming started on TV, radio networks began loosing sponsors to television. In the early days of TV, single sponsors were in control of everything.

The Lumiere Brothers

Auguste and Louis Lumiere were the duo that created the first commercially viable film camera known as the cinematographe. Later on the brothers showcased the first public projection of a feature film, The Waterer Watered. This was shown at the Grand Cafe. They were known for their actualities, they toured around the world showing their films to eager audiences.

creative guilds and technical unions

Back then some considered all unions and guilds to be communist groups. These groups were a prime target of suspicion for the HUAC.

mise-en-scene style

Bazin stated that realistic continuity should follow the mise en scene style, wide shots, deep focus shots, and depth. It was about eliminating contrivances and conventions of representation. You dont want it to "mean" something."

British "Kitchen Sink" cinema

Britain's equivalent to the French new wave. These films focused on the working class protagonist and started the class-conscious "angry young man" trend.

French Impressionism

Between 1918 and 1929, a new generation of filmmakers sought to explore the cinema as an art. Unsatisfied with french filmmaking, this new generation found inspiration through hollywood films that had flooded into france. Their films displayed a fascination with pictorial beauty and an interest in intense psychological exploration.

Blimps and Booms

Blimps were metal objects that silenced the camera, booms were poles used to hold the mic far away from the camera.

Pudovkin

Born in 1893, Pudovkin found the montage movement with his first fiction film, Mother. The film was among the most popular of the movement, thus giving Pudovkin the highest approval of any director in the government. Pudovkind was able to experiment with montage longer than anyone else at the time, until 1933.

American Domination of International Markets

By the rise of the studio system, American firms were already showing their domination of the international markets. (i.e. Universal, MGM)

Cecil B. Deille

C.B. Demille was an acclaimed film producer and director during the golden age of hollywood. His films were known for their flamboyance and extravagance.

Intertitles

Short blurbs of text used in silent films to explain what isn't explained with the pictures.

Winsor Mckay

Cartoonist and Animator, Winsor Mckay played his part in film history by directing some of the very first animated films, most of which were based on his own comic strips (i.e. Little Nemo and Dream of a Rarebit Fiend)

Tinting and Toning

Chemical lab effect used to change the overall color of the film.

City Lights and synchronous sound

City Lights was an early Chaplin film featuring his Tramp character. The film used synchronous sound a few times for comedic purposes.

Socialist Realism in Russian films

Civil War film, Biographical film, Socialist musical, everyday heroes.

Carl Mayer

Co writer of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and writer of many other German expressionist and Kammerspiel films.

The Big Three

Columbia, Edison Phonograph co. and Berliner (Victor Talking Machine co.) controlled the market by controlling the patents. They were vertically intergrated, they licensed franchise dealers (had control of who sells recordings) Franchise dealers typically 3000 to 5000 recordings as basic stock. Edison went out early because of his inability to change with the time.

narrative trends in "New Cinema" in late 1950s and 1960s

Concentrating on urban professional life, it identified with a young audience, films often center on the fem-fatale, open ended narrative

narrative conventions of Italian neo-realism

Contemporary social problems, episodic narrative, and no resolution to the story. focus on coincidence, ambiguous ending, focus on ordinary life, inability to tell what the point of a scene is.

Classical Hollywood Narrative style

Conventions for contriving believable images and sound so the audience can suspend their disbelief. Spectacle, continuity editing, conventional storytelling. and stars make up the Hollywood style.

the General Film Company

Created by the MPPC in 1910 in order to advance their monopoly on the industry. The General Film Company put out all the films from the firms that made up the MPPC. The GFC also sent out investigators to make sure that producers were following the MPPC guidelines.

Office of War Information

Created in 1942, this government facility made propaganda material. Worked to promote women in the work force, patriotism, and inform the public and document what was going on in the war.

Edward Muybridge

Creator of the Zoopraxiscope. Created the animation of the running horse using 12 different cameras.

Edwin Porter

Creator of the first narrative film, Life of and American Fireman. Also directed the Great Train Robbery (1903) Porter was among the first directors to conceive of film as a series of shots. He also directed dream of a rarebit fiend. (1909)

Cylinder vs. Disc format

Cylinder format is smaller with less hassle, the disc format however is cheaper to mass produce.

Dada and Entr`acte (1924)

Dada is a postwar artform. It's an irrational, goofy, bizarre, and artfullu contrived juxtapositions objects and actions. Starting around 1915, Dada was one of the last movements of silent cinema in france that led to the impressionist movement. Entr`acte was a silent Dada film by director Rene Clair. The film was described by Frances Picabia as "Not believing in the pleasure of life, perhaps; it believes in the pleasure of inventing, it respects nothing but the desire to burst out laughing"

the Japanese New Wave

Darker and more realistic, The Japanese New Wave is special because it was actual a movement created by a film industry. With the commercial success of youthful melodramas and action films, the japanese film industry took a chance by funding a new wave in film. They did this by giving up and coming director Nagisa Oshima the funding to direct his on scripts. The films were successful but could not stop the halt at the box-office. The industry was protected however by Japan's strong vertically integrated film industry. These films criticized Japanese society. They also attacked the norms of cinematic traditions. Complex flashback structures, intrusions of fantasy and symbolism, and experiments with shot design, color, cutting and camerawork became common.

Decla, Deutsche Bioscop, and UFA

Decla and Deutsche Bioscop were two movie companies that were merged together in 1920. Later on, Decla-Bioscop was absorbed by UFA. Then UFA hit major financial troubles and was rescued from bankruptcy by paramount and MGM.

visual conventions of Italian neo-realism

Deep focus, long take, edited in traditional hollywood style, natural lighting.

Popular Front filmmaking

During the 1930s the gap between the right and the left became more apparent. The communist part of france Joined together with the socialists in 1938 in order to make communist propaganda films under the title the popular front. The popular front had a notable effect on cinema. Even through they both made propaganda films, their first collaboration was released in 1936. They created a group called cinema verite to make films and publish a magazine. These films focussed on social problems and upcoming elections.

the "rules" of direct cinema filmmaking

Direct Cinema films were shot on light weight 16mm cameras and utilized sync sound. Direct Cinema films featured a raw, uncut documentation of reality. No script, no direction, no editing, no dubbing.

The Life of an American Fireman

Directed by Edwin Porter, this film has been typically defined as the first American narrative story film. Thought balloon, close up, and continuity editing.

DW Griffith

Director of famous films like The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance. His first film was Judith of Bethulia in 1914. Griffith was one of the first filmmakers to break the proscenium arch style. Later on in his career, Grifith became the premiere producer at the Biograph film studio. For Griffith, the Birth of a Nation was probably his biggest success.

Sergei Eisenstein

Director of films like Strike and Battleship Potemkin. Eisenstein was brought into film by his love of the theatre, in fact the very last play he did implemented his very first film. Famous for his focus of communist propaganda and "collective protagonists" meaning groups of people. Eisenstein also had his own philosophies on the montage format.

Vittorio De Sica

Director of films like Umberto D. and Bicycle Theif. He began his career as a theatre actor and worked often with Zavatini

Francois Truffaut

Director of the 400 blows. He grew up as the ward of critic Andre Bazin. After his notable short film (The Brats) he managed to get enough funding to make the 400 blows. His early films featured flaunt zoom shots, choppy editing, casual compositions, and bursts of quirky humor or sudden violence. Truffaut sought not to destroy traditional cinema but to renew it.

John Huston

Director of the Battle of San Pietro. Getting his start as a screenwriter, Huston established his reputation as a director with The Maltese Falcon. Famous for using emotional candid camera angles.

Domestic melodrama and irreconcilable desires

Domestic melodrama (womens pictures) was an early iteration of the chick flick. These films often featured emotional plot lines that focussed primarily on irreconcilable desires. These films were famously called weepies for their unhappy endings and emotional subtext. (Imitation of life)

Emmigration of German film talent

During the rise of nazism, many german filmmakers moved out of their own country in order to escape the tyranny of the nazi's. Filmmakers like Fritz Lang ended up going to Hollywood and making many successful pictures.

Kinetograph

Edison Co.s filming device was created by W.K.L. Dickson. The frame rate of 46 frames per second

Vitascope

Edison's improved projection system. Showcased in 1895.

W.K.L Dickson

Edisons loyal assistant. He was noted as the man who developed 35mm film. Later on he left Edison and formed the American Mutoscope company with Herman Casler.

Dialectical Montage

Eisenstein concept of how the thesis, antithesis, and the synthesis of an idea are combined when trying to convey something through montage. Intellectual montage vs. the other 4 types - The four types of dialectical montage are metric montage, rhythmic montage, tonal montage, and overtonal montage. Rhthmic montage is a juxtaposition of movement, tonal montage is a juxtaposition of shapes and other forms. These four types are calculated to affect emotion.

Quo Vaddis (1913)

Enrico Guazzoni's italian epic was a huge hit when it was release. Considered to be the defining Italian historical epic.

narrative "structure" in the French New Wave

Episodic narrative. Couldn't be fit into a typical cause and effect storyline

The Double Bill

Essentially a double feature. A screening where film goers could get more bang for their buck. Both films that were shown however tended to be shorter an of a lesser quality. Typically these films were "B-pictures"

Agit Vehicles

Essentially a form of propaganda. A stage or film piece used boost confidence in the government. The Man With the Movie Camera - A 1929 film by Dziga Vertov that puts the viewer into the perspective of the filmmaker. The film pushes Vertov's idea of the superiority of the "cinema eye"

Expressionist Subjectivity techniques

Expressionist films often created a sense of objectivity through techniques like composition, exaggeration, stylized art design, off kilter narrative styles, unique camera work and mise en scene.

Picture Palaces

Fancy, expansive film going theaters designed to create a larger than life experience (i.e. Radio City) Atmospheric and conventional styles.

Fatty Arbuckle Scandal

Fatty Arbuckle was charged with the murder of a young actress in 1921. He was eventually acquitted but the charges ruined his career.

Talkies

Films that feature talking. Mainly called this in the early days of cinema.

non-linear narrative in films noir

Flashbacks describing past events in detail. Examples include Double Indemity

Criticism of formalist excess

Formalism is a way saying that a film has no appeal to a mass audience and that the filmmakers are more interested in film style than any kind of correct ideology. Around 1927, some of the soviet montage filmmakers were criticized for their excessive use of formalism. This made it difficult for these filmmakers to get jobs.

The MPPC (Motion Picture Patents Company)

Founded in December of 1908, the MPPC was a patent trust of all the major American motion picture companies. (Edison, Biograph, Vitagraph, Essanay, Selig, Lubin, Kalem, American Star, American Pathe. Film was distributed exclusively through Eastman Kodak. The trust was abolished in 1912, later gave rise to what was eventually the Studio System.

A Trip to the Moon

George Melies' 1902 sci fi classic is one of the earliest examples of transportive cinema. While still mildly primitive in it's execusion (one shot scenes, proscenium style) this film still used interesting techniques such as color tinting and double exposure compositing, overlapping action and matching action. Scenes connected by dissolves. Longer than most shorts at the time.

Autorenfilm

German art films, established with Max Mack's 1913 film "The Other."

Fritz Lang

German filmmaker. Famous for films like M and Metropolis. Initially started out working in the german film industry, later on he moved to america during the rise of nazism and started making film noir.

Gosinko and Sovinko

Gosinko was a company created by the soviet union in order to acquire a monopoly of the feeble russian motion picture industry. After the failure of Gosinko, the soviets founded Sovinko on January 1, 1925. The company was funded by investments from the few remaining cinema firms in Russia. Among Sovinko's biggest contributions to film was eisenstein's masterpiece Battleship Potemkin.

Griffith's Role in development of film style

Griffith was among the first filmmakers to break the proscenium arch style. He also helped further the technique of intercutting and set design in the Lonely Villa, as well as cross cutting with A Corner in Wheat (1909). However D.W. Griffith is primarily know for setting the standard in feature length story telling with The Birth of a Nation. Long shot, medium shot, close shot.

House Committee on Unamerican Activities (HUAC)

HUAC was ant-communist group that in a 1947 hearing attempted to investigate communist content in hollywood films.

Vincent Hartnett

Hartnett, a former emplyee of the Phillips H. Lord Agency wrote the introduction to red channels.

Buster Keaton

He lived from 1895 to 1966, and was known as the great stone face because of his famous deadpan expression. Born into an acting family, Buster was one of the 3 Keatons who were vaudeville performers. At the age of three he performed funny bits with his father such as "the human mop."

John Henry Faulk

He sued Johnson and Aware Inc. it was a libel suit and it was seen as a heroic legal case because he stood up and complained about being accused a communist and being forced to lose his job.

Laurence Johnson

He was a grocery store owner embarked on a one man letter writing campaign called the syracuse cruesade which sent letters protesting TV shows that featured potential communists.

Thomas Edison

Head of Edison Co. An American Inventor and Businessman. Developed sound recording technology, film technology, as well as actual films and records. At the height of early cinema Edison merged his patents with the other big companies to create the MPPC.

Erich Pommer

Head of UFA. Producer of many famous german expressionist films.

Walt Disney studios

Headed by Walt Disney, this was originally an independent company that focused only on making animated cartoons. Steamboat Willie with its sound, little bits of dialogue, and high quality animation, made the animated short very popular. Disney films were originally distributed by Columbia, then United Artists, and later by R.K.O. before becoming their own independent company.

nationalization of the German film industry during WWII

Hitler and Goebbels go buy up the film industry

Historiography

How you interpret history, taking an angle. The principles, theories, or methodology of scholarly research and presentation.

"clearance"

If people wanted to be cleared of allegations they would have to call for another hearing, praise the anti-communist allegations, and then have a meeting with the FBI.

Imitation of life and representations of subjectivity

Imitation of life presented its subjectivity through certain methods. The first being its progressive image of race relations. Even though we don't quite identify with the black character as much as we do the main character, we as an audience sympathize and understand her. Another representation of subjectivity was created through the conventional hollywood talkie style (shot-reverse-shot) as well as the films domestic melodrama style.

Edison and disc format

In 1913, Edison co. moved to the disc format. This was significant because it erased the issue of multiple standards.

"Free Cinema" in Great Britain

In great Britain the personal documentary came to life in a brief movement called Free Cinema. Members of the movement like Karel Reisz and and lindsay anderson called for what they called a "free" cinema that would express the directors commitment to deep personal views.

Hollywood Montage

In hollywood the montage was often used to create a passage of time using super-impositions.

Talkies vs Contrapuntal Sound

In order to shoot a talkie, a filmmaker muse shoot longer takes to a medium two shot. Contrapuntal sound is sound that doesn't necessarily come from what's in the shot, this can help increase the drama.

Okeh, Black Swan, and "race music"

In the 1920s the big three were losing control of the market because of a loss of patents and an increase in european competition. Small companies began popping up with new music. (jazz and blues) Among these companies were Okeh records, Black Swan records, and Brunswick. In order to enter the market, Columbia and Victor started "race music." These titles were marketed toward a black audience. Most smaller race music companies ran out of buissness

Adult westerns

In the 40s, westerns became more adult. Directors started focusing more on the conflicts of moral judgement and less on the problems with legal judgement.

studio television and multiple camera production

In the early days most TV was recorded completely live in a studio with no post-production whatsoever. Multiple cameras were set up with technicians switching between them when putting the show together for the viewers at home.

single company sponsorship vs. multiple sponsors

In the early days of TV, the programming was typically run by a single sponsor which was in control of everything. Later on however, multiple sponsors were given the chance to advertise within set commercial breaks. Networks were now more in control of the programming

Kuselov Workshop

Kuleshov's soviet montage workshop

The representational and relational value of a shot.

Kuselov's philosophy on shot-making. Essentially the representational value is the content of a shot, and the relational value is the juxtaposition of shots. These give the shot it's overall value.

Charlie Chaplin

In the early days of his life, Chaplin lived on the streets. His parents were musical hall actors. It wasn't long before his family fell apart in poverty. By the age of 2 Charlie's mother was committed, his brother was overseas. Forced to fend for himself, Charlie found odd jobs without any kind of formal education. By the age of 17, Chaplin starts performing for a comedy troops. Charlie mainly participated by being a drunken audience member. He performed regular tours in U.S. in 1910 and 1912. He started making films when he teamed up with Mack Sennett and Keystone Pictures in order to replace a more expensive actor. He later signed on to Essenay then Mutual pictures where he was given more artistic control over his pictures. While at Mutual, he had complete artistic control over his pictures. From 1918 to 1923 Chaplin owned his own studio where he started making comedies about more serious subjects. His famous films included City Lights, The Great Dictator, Modern Times, and The Kid. After being exiled for a short while in the 1950s Chaplin returned to America where he won an oscar in 1973. Chaplin died in 1977

Beginning of the Star System

In the early years of film distribution, in order to lower the costs, actors were never billed in the credits, the studios however were. By 1908, few actors worked regularly enough in films to become recognized. In 1909, viewers were beginning to show enough interest in particular performers that they would ask movie theaters to show the names of the stars. Among the first actresses was Florence Lawrence, the Biograph girl.

Concentration of ownership in the film industry

In the film industry there are many types of ownership. Among these are Vertical integration, Oligopolies, and the Studio System.

television program syndication

In the mid to late networks sold independent productions of film in exchange for development money.

Producer vs. Director

In the old days of hollywood, the Producer supervised pre production, and post-production, with directors only supervising production (shooting) Directors would often shoot 4-5 films a year.

Western as a B-Picture

In their time, westerns were often considered B genre pictures. They usually catered to a younger, predominantly male audience, and featured lots of violence, action. Some of the best known B picture names were Roy Rogers in the 30s and 40s and Hoplong Cassidy in the 30s. Most of these films came from "Poverty Row" a slang term used to describe short lived B-movie studios.

Socialist Realism

Introduced in 1934 in order to serve communist russia, Socialist Realism was essentially the anti-montage. It featured long takes, the continuity style of hollywood, was more conventional and was typically made to serve the government.

Breathless

Jean-Luc Godard's masterpiece from 1960. Filmed on locations in paris, had jump cuts

John Ford and WWII propaganda

John Ford joined the Navy as the chief of the field photographic branch. Ford and his team captured some of the war's most iconic moments. (like the image of the soldiers lifting up the flag) His film The Battle of Midway was a huge success and won the oscar for best documentary.

Empiricist History

Just the facts, nothing else.

Jesse Lippincott

Lippincott bought up the patents of Edison, Bell and Tainter, and Graphophone and started the North American phonograph company, leasing dictating machines through local franchises. This was a failure.

Philip Loeb

Loeb and the Goldbergs sent letters protesting political involvement in the film industry.) This was later called the Syracuse campaign.

The Big Five/Five Majors

MGM, Paramount, Warner Bros., RKO, and 20th Century Fox made up the five majors. All companies were vertically integrated in the film industry.

Mack Sennett vs. Hal Roach

Mack Sennett headed the Keystone Company, which specialized in slapstick comedy shorts. His films typically contained high speed chases with wacky characters (i.e. keystone kops) Some of the stars featured in his films were Charlie Chaplin, Ben Turpin, and Mabel Normand. His competition, Hal Roach produced slapstick films with the young Harold Lloyd, their key character, "Lonesome Luke" was little more than a Chaplin rip off. Still, after a few films he did begin to develop his own persona.

The Western and Manifest Destiny

Manifest destiny meaning the spiritual expansion ( a neutral term) into the west. Most westerns, like stagecoach, are a criticism of civilization

The Move to Hollywood

Many American firms started in cities like New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia. However, because of shoot-ability and weather, many of these studios made the move to Los Angeles. This began with the film Selig in 1908.

eye-line match

Matching the characters eyes to the object he/she is looking at off screen when showing us that object.

Oscar Micheaux

Micheaux was one of the most successful and prolific directors of his time with over 40 features. He is known for making what is essentially a bad remake of an Imitation of Life. The film was extremely low budget so the filmmakers had to shoot with very little takes.

Louella Parsons

Movie columnist for Hearst's newspaper. First pointed out the similarities between Kane and Hearst. She was considered to have the last word

Panning

Moving the camera to the left or right

Multilingual films vs. dubbing and subtitles

Multilingual films were created by studios to reach out to foreign markets. Because of advances in sound tech, different sound tracks were able to be added in post production. allowing studios to create dubbed tracks. subtitles were however preferred.

telefilm ... role of I Love Lucy and Disneyland ... role of the major film studios

Networks began to shift to television due to the success of shows like I Love Lucy, sponsors dissatisfaction with TV theatre, as well as the time franchises and lack of rights. With the inception of the telefilm, networks began selling advertising time with commercial breaks. Telefilm was a pre-recorded, non-live way of distributing TV programming.

William Randolph Hearst

Newspaper tycoon from the 30s and 40s. Citizen Kane is based on his life. When he found out about the film, he blackmailed the entire film industry by exposing years of hollywood scandals. He initially tried to by all the film stock and burn it.

newspapers and their relationship with the radio/TV station development

Newspapers were an important factor in funding TV stations, along with AM radio station revnues and the manufacturing of sets (RCA and Dumont)

The Nickelodeon

Nickel theaters that showed short features from the "novelty" era of film. Cheap, regularly approachable.

Conventions of the western genre

Noble savage plot lines, six shooters, horses, native americans, outlaw heroes, comic sidekicks.

Nordisk and Ole Olson

Ole Olson, an early movie distributer founded the Nordisk production company in Denmark in 1906. The company had it's first big break with the film Lion Hunt in 1907. Known for their production values, Nordisk remained popular in Denmark throughout this period. Nordisk also helped give rise to stars like Max Linder.

blacklisting

One giant list of workers that prevented people from hiring or having their own job.It was an illegal attempt to deny employment based on political beliefs and/or affiliations.

Victor Talking Machine

One of the big three phonograph companies in control of patents, Victor was a 1909 - 1921 phonograph company started by Eldridge R. Johnson and Emile Berliner. It specialized in creating phonographs and phonograph records. The company is famous for its cute fluffy mascot nipper the dog. In 1901 Berliner (Victor) sold 7570 records total.

Nagisa Oshima

One of the directors from the Japanese new wave movement. Like Truffaut, he got his start writing inflammatory film criticism. He called for a new personal cinema of the "active subject" in which the director expressed his inner passions, desires, and obsessions. Through out his films, Oshima pursued the question the question of how individual desires of the active subject, however warped, reveal the rigidity of the political authority.

Dumont

One of the early leading TV networks and set manufacturers. Founded by Allen B. Dumont, the Dumont corporation began in 1956. Dumont sold commercials to many different advertisers

Roberto Rossellini

One of the first imported directors from after the war. Directed Rome: Open city. He opposed spectacle, and the spectator inferred the main character's attitude. He Relied on a pan and zoom style for its simplicity, low budget, and ability illustrate action realistically. Rossellini was know for his modernism

Columbia

One of the oldest record companies still in existence. Originally a distributor of records founded by Edward Easton, the company soon started making their own records.

Vladimir Zworkin

One of the original creators of the television. Was the the european competitor of Farnsworth, Zworkin eventually received most of the credit for a product that Farnsworth essentially created. He invented a television transmitting and recieving system. He was recruited by RCA to head their television program, spent some time spying on Philo Farnsworth.

Philo Farnsworth

One of the two original creators of the television. Farnsworth spent the latter half of his days unfulfilled and unrecognized.

Pathe Freres

Originally a phonograph company started by photographer, seller, and exhibitor Charles Pathe, after obtaining the Lumiere brothers in 1902, Pathe became one of the leading film studios in france. They became vertically integrated in france, then later horizontally integrated.

Orson Welles and the Hollywood studio system

Orson Welles made Citizen Kane in 1941 with free creative control (RKO desprate because of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers break up), but due to the controversy of that first film, was never allowed full creative control of a film ever again. Orson Welles became famous with the War of the Worlds broadcast

Citizen Kane's modernist tendencies

Orson Welles used many modernist tendencies like long takes, deep focus, and in depth mise en scene. Welles uses non linear narrative, ironic resolution, and two different main subjects to switch up the hollywood styles Citizen Kane's innovative use of sound - Sound edit. Create a sense of space and time. Overlapping dialogue. Welles also used Sound bridges.

"race films" and the midnight rambles.

Over 500 poorly capitalized films were created from the 1910s to the 1940s that were specifically targeted toward a black audience. These were called "race films," mainly because they showcased the black perspective and the growing black middle class. Midnight rambles were midnight showing at larger theater chains that were specifically for blacks.

Besse Smith

Popular race music musician. In 1923, Besse Smith made the move to Columbia records. During the 1920s she sold 6 million discs.

Low Key Lighting (chiaroscuro) and other visual conventions of German Expressionism

The German Expressionism style is that of Mise-en-scene, meaning that most of the information is in the frame ( a sense of style and design). The three visual conventions are Low key light, intense camera angles, and moving cameras.

the situation comedy

Ozzie and Harriet and Amos and Andy were situational comedies, with new stories that are driven by recognizable character situations.

Renaissance or Western Perspective

Parallel lines converge in the distance. Painters used it as a way of creating visual depth in a 2 dimensional image. Filmmakers used it to create a sense of depth in their films. Lines converge in the distance, vanishing point, persistence of vision.

"talking heads"

Part of the TV aesthetic. Talking heads were typically seen in the news with news anchors and talk show hosts talking directly at you

Leni Riefenstahl

Premiere Nazi documentarian, who made triumph of the will in 1936. Riefenstahl was forced to make the film by the Nazi party. The film featured hitler as the ubermensch, had a mythic opening, and used stylistic in Triumph of the WIll techniques like silhouettes, low camera angles, slow motion, super imposition, and a telephoto lens

Impressionist techniques to represent subjectivity.

Quick cuts, and Optical devices/filter that affect the image were technical techniques used to represent subjectivity. Dream sequences, P.O.V. shots, superimpositions and flashbacks were also used as storytelling devices.

local vs. national programming in radio and TV

Radio was local and TV was national.

Ricky Leacock

Robert Drew's partner/cinematographer. One of the original pioneers of Direct Cinema. Ricky Leacock invented the Pilotone system at MIT.

Russian Formalism

Russian formalism (eg constructiuism) asks how the form of a piece has meaning. It tries to "scientificize" aesthetics and calculate effects.

television and consumerism

Shows were often used to advertise products like listerine, with Ozzie and Harriet being the prime example. These shows were often targetted toward sit at home moms who would go out and spend money on worthless items.

Surrealism

Similar to Dada, Surrealism had a disdain for orthadox art. It was heavily influenced by the emerging theories of psychoanalysis. Rather than depending on pure chance for the creation of works, surrealists sought to tap into the subconscious mind. Max Ernst, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, and Paul Klee were important surrealist artists.

French Poetic Realism

Similar to Italian Neo Realism, Poetic realism focused on characters who are living on the margins of society before they find love. Eventually there life falls apart again. The overall tone is nostalgic but bitter.

Single Reelers vs. Feature Films.

Single reelers are typically 20 minutes long, usually contain actualities, news reports, and short films. Features usually run an hour to two hours and have full storylines.

Social, Historical, and Cultural context for race films

Some of the background information that led to the implementation of race films were the Harlem renaissance, the Lincoln motion picture company, inability to recoup money for synched sound, the industrial migration to the north in the late 1800s, and Jim Crowe's legislation and segregation.

Early problems with sound recording technology

Some of the problems that arose out of the early boost in sound recording were low fidelity, fragile players, and difficulty to mass produce (mostly cylinders)

Montage

Soviet Montage cinema was a new movement in russia after the rise of the soviet empire. It officially lasted from the early 1920s to the early 1930s. The style was not naturalistic, and featured many short, rapid takes.

live "television theater"/anthology drama series ... and sponsors response to them

Sponsors were were unhappy with the anthology drama's emphasis on social problems as a motive for stories.

Etienne Jules Marey

The first man to combine various cinema technologies.He was the first to combine the film strip with the projector.

financial basis for television station/network development

TV was financed by AM station revenues, manufacturing of TV sets (RCA and Dumont), and Newspaper ownership. Network structure decreased the cost of show production.

Shot

Take of an incomplete action. several make up a scene

Kammerspiel

The "Chamber Drama" film, the name is derived from from a theatre. The Kammerspiele was opened by Max Reinhardt in 1906 to stage intimate dramas for small audiences. The Kammerspiel films focused on primarily the same thing. Few films were made, but most are classics. Some of the genre's famous director are Lupu Pick, Leopold Jessner, F.W. Murnau, and Carl Dreyer. All of the films except Michael by Carl Dreyer were scripted by Carl Mayer.

Action Axis

The 180 degree axis of which character interaction can happen.

National Board of Censorship

The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in New York in 1909. It was put in place after the mayor of New York decried the cinemas moral degradation of the the youth.

The Production Unit and division of labor

The Standardization of product. This is the beginning of the assembly line method of the hollywood studio system. This led to the creation of guilds like the DGA, SAG, and the ASC, in order to protect the better intentions of the creative individuals.

the Waldorf Statement

The Waldorf Statement was essentially a fold on behalf of the blacklisted Hollywood types. When the MPAA got together in the Waldorf hotel after the Hearings they came up with a statement that said that they would not knowingly employ anyone who has broken the law.

Early motion picture devices (before 1895)

The first photograph was made on a glass plate in 1826 by Claude Niepce. George Eastman created the Kodak in 1888. In 1890 the tech for cinema existed. Zoetrope was invented in 1833.

December 1895

The date that the lumiere brothers showed their fist film. This was also the first public projection of a motion picture. The Water Watered at the grand cafe

The Eastern Western

The eastern western was famous for its partial landscapes, (vs frontier) and often sympathetic view towards native americans. Among the famous films in this category are: The Red Man's View (D.W. Griffith 1909) and The Vanishing American (1925, Zane Grey)

The Black Maria

The edison co.'s black tar paper shack, roof opened for sunlight. It was a cinema of attractions.

Cross-cutting

The editing technique of cross cutting from one place to another while staying within a chronological timeframe.

film industry response to Citizen Kane

The initial response to Citizen Kane was disatrous due to William Randolf Hearst's anger and embarrassment toward the film. Style was criticized, and had limited distribution.

Cinematographe

The lumiere brothers' first camera system. It was a camera and a projector.

Sam Fuller

The man who was considered to be the king of "B" filmmaking. Directed classic film noir movies like pickup on south street. Most of his films were low budget yet tackled controversial issues

kinescope

The method used to record video for TV. Often used in local productions.

Jean Renoir

The most important filmmaker of the French Poetic Realism movement. A french film director, actor, producer, and author. He made over 40 films from the silent era to the 1960s. Characterizing his work were virtuoso camera movement, in depth staging, long takes

Abel Gance

The most popular French Expressionist director. Gance entered film in 1911 as scenarist and then began directing. He started with more commercial parts, then moved onto more personal films. His La Dixieme was the first film of the impressionist movement (1918)

Willing suspension of disbelief

The relationship used to describe the relationship between the film and the spectator. Essentially our relationship with the film and how absorbed we are in it. 3 different aspects of this are movement, depth and continuity.

Continuity Editing

The much used editing technique used to give the illusion of a series of images or shots moving chronologically forward in time.

television networks

The networks were organizations that produced television programming, the early TV networks were, CBS, NBC, and ABC as a distant third until the 1970s (which was a former NBC network) and Dumont Broadcasting co. Most of these organizations were derived from the radio industry. Networks made up the broadcasting structure.

Bolshevik Revolution

The overthrowing of the monarchy and the introduction of communism in russia. This included a communist economy, soviet ideology, and a marxist philosophy. The soviet union was originally headed by Stalin.

The Three Minors

United Artists, Columbia, and Universal made up the three minors. These studios were not vertically integrated in the industry. In fact, they often had problems getting their films distributed by theaters run by any of the five majors. Seven Year Contracts -

Vertical Integration

The practice in which a film company controls two or more aspects of the film industry (Production, Distribution, exhibition) The big companies participate in all three.

Frames per second

The rate at which a piece of film moves. Typical speeds are 24 frames per second, 16 frames per second, and 8 frames per second. The standard for silent films was 16 fps, sound is 24 fps.

Mise en scene

The style and artistry of visuals in film. Typically used to convey the films message visually with lighting, intense camera angles, and set design.

the Army-McCarthy hearings

The televised hearings where Mccarthy himself would interrogate suspected communists. NBC and CBS did not air the hearings but ABC did, and that's how it got its big start.

Western on television in the 1950s

The western was the dominant TV genre in the 1950s with shows like the lone ranger being the staple. Later on into the 60s the shows went from having a more child friendly tone to having an adult friendly one.

Narrative thematics of German Expressionism

There 3 narrative conventions in German expressionist filmmaking. First is the loss of individual will, second is that characters are often internally conflicted, third is a focus on pathology and/or the unnatural.

the Czech New Wave

These films took part in the czech republic's cultural shift toward market socialism. This period lasted from 1963-1967. For the most part filmmakers shared only conditions of work, thematic concerns and an urge to move beyond socialist realist formulas.

training films

These films were made for the soldiers in WWII. An example is John Ford's sex hygiene film. The intended audience was that of soldiers

orientation films

These films were made to explain the US interest to soldiers. Examples include the know your enemy and know your ally series, as well as the Why We Fight series.

compilation documentary

These were compilations of archival footage, with "Prelude to War being an example. Prelude to war was the first in a series. These documentaries also had a melodramatic "us" vs. "them" structure.

pre-recorded cylinders

These were engraved audio cylinders used for edison's phonograph machine. Originally made from tin foil, later on they started making them from plastic and wax. Often called records.

combat films

These were films for the public that would report on the war. Their main focus was also to build public support. The films upbeat and showed Americans of various backgrounds

live anthology drama/television theater

These were live televised drama performances that were done over television. Most of the stories were either message stories or social dramas that written by writers like Rod Serling and Reginald Rose. Some of the more famous programs were television playhouse, US steel hour, Motorola Playhouse, and Playhouse 90.

First run theaters

These were movie theaters were films were shown first before eventually being distributed throughout the rest of the country. These theaters were typically owned by the big 5, and were also usually placed in large cities. First- run theaters were the most profitable at the time. This was a big part of the 1938 trial (Paramount decrees trial).

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

They were the creators of an important production firm called the Archers. Pressburger scripted the films and Powell directed. Their films were often melodramatic and romantic with narrative twists setting them apart from convention.

the "freeze" on television station development

This freeze was put on the development of station development at the beginning of world war II when the country was forced into battle by the bombing of pearl harbor

Monterrey Pop, Woodstock, and Gimme Shelter

Three direct cinema inspired music films. The films were made because filmmakers realized that with handheld cameras and recording devices they could make appealing films for a reasonable price. Some of these films caused controversy. Gimme Shelter did especially, being about the hells angels stabbing an audience member at a rolling stones concert.

Tilting

Tilting the camera left side or right side down

Titicut Follies, High School

Titicut Follies was a show released by Fred Wiseman in the 60s that was released to much controversy. The film showcased the lives of patients in a hospital. The name of the series came from the name of one of the patients.

Spectator positioning

To identify with the desires of the subject. Put subject opposite the vanishing point to create depth.

Vertical vs. Lateral cut grooves

Two different ways of getting recored sound onto a steel cylinder. Depending on which way the grooves are cut, one might experience a different quality or larger quantity of sound. Edison's grooves were lateral, others were vertical.

Dave and Max Fliescher

Two filmmakers with an animation company. Fleischer studios was famous for its experimentation of rotoscope technology. Among their most famous animations are the the superman shorts, pop eye and betty boop cartoons. The Social Problem Film - During the great depression, films made a turn toward the realistic side. These films in

Victor Sjostrom and Mauritz Stiller

Two stage actors who were hired by svenska in 1912 to improve what was coming out of the studio. Both were very prolific. However, it wasn't long before both of them moved to hollywood. Sjostrom in 1923 and Stiller in 1925. Sjostrom directed classic masterpieces like The Phantom Chariot (1920), Ingeborg Holm (1913), and The Outlaw and His Wife (1917)]

the Left Bank filmmakers (vs. New Wave)

Typically older and less movie crazy than the Cahiers group, The left bank tended to see cinema as akin to other arts, particularly literature. Notable filmmakers include Alain Resnais, Agnes Varda, and George Franju. Like the New Wave filmmakers, they practiced cinematic modernism.

New Economic Policy

Under the soviet union, the economic policy was essentially that the government funded and ran everything, including the motion picture industry. The New Economic Policy (NEP) was started by Lenin in 1921.

Great Man Theory

Using a single person as a foundation for the creation of certain event in history. This usually refers to people like Thomas Edison and the phonograph, as well as The Lumiere Brothers and film. In actuality, these things were slowly developed over time by many different people.

Kino Eye

Vertov's theory that the Cinema eye is better and more perfect than the human eye because it can slow down, speed up, and be put in odd places.

films in Vichy France

Vichy was the place in france where the germans had not occupied. They started a company called COIC (Comite de l'industire Cinematographe) to support and control the film industry.

voice-over narration

Voice over narration was used over these flash backs in film noir.

realist conventions of some post-war American films

Voice over narrator, realistic lighting (shooting night for night) non proffessional extras, and location filming.

the Mercury Theater

Welles' theatre troupe, worked with him on a number of theatre, radio and film productions like Citizen Kane, War of the Worlds and the Magnificent Ambersons. Started in 1938 in the theatre, Welles spent these early days doing things like directing an all black cast in his production of macbeth.

Don Juan, The Jazz Singer and the Lights of New York

Were some of the first films produced that used synched sound. Don Juan (1926) had no dialogue but musical accompaniment. It did not do very well. The Jazz Singer (1927) featured Al Jolson singing with only a few heard lines of dialogue. The lights of New York was the first all talkie, and was a huge hit.

Amplification and Synchronization

Western Electric helped improve telephone service by introducing electronic amplification. By the end of the 20s most sound technology was electrical. By 1922 all elements were present at Wester Electric Labs except synchronization. Synchronization was created on discs attached to recorders.

First Amendment vs. Fifth Amendment

When accused of communist activity, the hollywood 10 decided to plead the first amendment which is the right of free speach. As opposed to the 5th amendment which is the right to not incriminate yourself. The other pleaded the 5th

180 degree rule

When shooting 2 people, you can only shoot those two characters on a 180 degree axis, thus giving the audience a clear sense of placement.

Hollywood Film Genres

When the film industry was standardized, studios began classifying films into genres. Some of these genres were, Gangster pictures, westerns, and musicals. This allowed mass production of a product.

30 degree rule

When working on the 180 axis, one should typically make camera movements of 30 degrees or more.

the "Why We Fight" series

Why we fight was a series of seven films by Frank Capra that were designed for recruits but were also shown to the general public. The series also featured animated sections by the Disney company. It was a compilation series that featrued documentary footage as well as archival (older, stock) footage.

Polish cinema in the 1960s

Younger filmmakers abandoned baroque tendancies

"War of the Worlds" broadcast

a 1930s radio broadcast (that ran during Edgar Burgens's time slot). by Welles and the mercury theatre that was mistaken for the real thing by many Americans.

German Expressionism

a subjective cinematic movement from the golden age of german film. Specifically from the 1920s to the rise of nazism. Memorable films include Nosferatu, Metropolis, and the last laugh.

Deep Focus in Kane

criticized by trade papers, brings attention to the film's style. Greg Tolland's cinematography had everything in focus . With no single perspective, everything was highly stylized.

film noir

narrative and visual conventions - Film Noir was known for its German Expressionist influenced use of low-key lighting, severe camera angles, wide angle lens, and oblique lines.

The Serial

serialized Adventure films that would play before features during the golden age of Hollywood. Mainly aimed at young viewers, these serials would typically end with a cliffhanger. This style of filmmaking later inspired George Lucas when making Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

Caligari's creation of subjectivity

the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a film that used interesting techniques to draw the viewer in to it's fantastic world. Examples of these techniques are painted shadows on the floor, a story being told through the eyes of a mad man, and painted backdrops with warped perspectives.

Phonofilm

was produced using a variable area soundtrack, which was a recording of the electrical impulses reproduced by shining light through the film. Thus producing imgaes and sound on the same film. Fox Movietone newsreels were cheaply produced news oriented shorts. They were viable because of the technological innovation at a low price. (because of short length) Photophone was a sound on film system created by RCA/Victor. Warner Bros. and Vitaphone were first in the U.S. to develop synch-sound features. Produced with live sound.