History of the American Film Industry Essay Example For Students

History of the American Film Industry Essay America, being at the forefront of film in our current society, has come a long way with regards to the industry of film. Rising from 1894, when the worlds first commercial motion picture exhibition was given in New York (Ref library book), Americas film industry has become increasingly more advanced and entertaining to countries all over the world. This essay will take a deeper look into the history of the American film industry and investigate the various accomplishments and discoveries that led to the establishment of what we now call Hollywood. The Beginning of the Film The motion pictures did not originate as art but as a machine. ? (Ref the American Film Industry p27). In the very beginning of the American film industry, a device dubbed the ?magic lantern was introduced which consisted of pictures that had been painted on glass were placed in front of a lantern in a dark room and these images would appear on the opposite wall (Ref Bib Book p3). This, some would say, was the ex periment that spurred on the desire to begin the search of new ways into viewing pictures, and later on, the search to create the possibility of moving pictures. The zoopraxiscope ?, exhibited by Eadweard Muybridge in 1893 began the widespread discussion of the possibility of moving pictures (Ref Bib Book p5). The thought of the illusion of motion first became possible with the invention of the Kinetoscope, created by Thomas Edison and William Dickson in 1889, was used (REF Bib Book p7). A kinetoscope refers to a device that creates the illusion of movement by means of a perforated strip of film showing a sequence of images over a light source and a high-speed shutter (Figure 1)(Reference from some book). Although only able to be viewed by one person at a time and the films only being as long as a minute, this device formed the beginning of the entire basis of the film industry. Branching off from Edisons kinetoscope was the mutoscope ?, which was a peep-show cabinet, and Henry Marvins biograph ?, which were both invented in order to create more money making opportunities in the soon-to-be film industry (Ref Bib Book p8). From the kinetoscope came the system of projection, created by C. Francis Jenkins and Thomas Armat in 1893, which allowed more than one individual to view a film at a time (ref from The American film industry). As technology in this area advanced, so did the entire film industry along with its fan base. Pictures of life in action attracted more attention and produced more entertainment than sounds transmitted through ear-pieces ? (REF Bib Book p8). The Rise of Cinema In order to create more opportunities to gain money, bigger cinemas needed to be created in order to accommodate more people. In this way, a new and profitable entertainment field was discovered by introducing the invention of a projection machine (Ref Bib Book p9). The first two that were invented were the panopticon? and the vitascope?, both invented in 1895 (Ref Bib Book p10). The panopticon, produced by the Lambda Company, displayed a motion picture of a prize fight all of which lasted five minutes (Ref Bib Book p10). The vitascope, on the other hand, was produced by Thomas Armat and C. Francis Jenkins. As these motion pictures became more widely recognised and advanced, so the ways of viewing these motion pictures needed to become more advanced as well. In order to accommodate the growing amount of people interested in these motion pictures, parlours were joined up with store-rooms of which doors and windows were removed to create a wider entrance (Ref Bib Book p9). This was believed to invite pedestrians to enter and be intrigued by the motion pictures that they viewed, and this worked (Ref Bib Book p9). The entrance would be decorated with circus-like posters and (Figure 2)(Reference). These opened up store-rooms and parlours became known as show-shops and later became known as penny-arcades due to the fact that pennys was what were used as form of payment for entering the show-shop. Eventually, these penny-arcades became known as cinemas. LumiAre, a Parisian and one of the men who had made a peep-show cabinet and camera (like Edisons kinetoscope), called his device the cinematograph ? and from that day forward, cinema ? was used to describe motion pictures. Cinemas were usually placed in upper class urban areas as exhibitors aimed at attracting an affluent middle class audience (Ref the American Film Industry p19). These cinemas, over time, gradually took new and different forms. As they grew more and more popular, more space was needed in order to accommodate the new crowd. The Dewey Theatre was one of the first major theatres to arise during this period. Converted from a church into a cinema by William Fox, it had the capacity to seat up to a thousand individuals (figure 3)(Ref the American Film Industry p19). Multiple shows would be presented that lasted for two hours, and uniformed ushers would greet the viewers and show them to their seats (Ref the American Film Industry p19). This radically altered the nature of going to the movies, as evident in todays society when viewing a film at the cinema. Cinemas soon became designed to make the patron feel more at home, by increasing the comfortableness of the patrons experience as well as providing snacks and refreshments (Ref the American Film Industry p62). One cinema that was established in New York was especially hospitable. Created by E. F. Proctor, the Pleasure Palace ? included a main auditorium as well as a roof garden, German cafAÂ ©, smaller auditorium, Turkish bath, and stands selling various goods (Ref the American Film Industry p62). Patrons were asked to pay a small fee before entering but were then given free rein to enjoy the pleasures of the Pleasure Palace for the day (Ref the American Film Industry p62). The Establishment of Hollywood Roger Ebert on Finding Nemo EssayDue to the rapid growth and development of the American film industry, Hollywood has become bigger and better. Mass amounts of individuals flock to Hollywood in order to chase their dreams and become one of these well-known stars. It is therefore apparent that, in the past, Hollywood was much more elite, whereas nowadays Hollywood has become a sea of competition with regards to starring in films. It is interesting to note how, during the early stages of Hollywood, the stars that were made famous became iconic figures and role models for many people across America and across the world. However, in present-day Hollywood, although various stars of Hollywood have become role models to different youth, they are nowhere near the iconic status as the stars of previous Hollywood, such as Chaplin, Monroe, and Dean. It is also easier to make ones way into the American film industry in present times compared to previous decades, as there are much more genres being used, as well as the fact that the scale at which movies have been made has drastically increased. Hollywood Then and Now Talk about how genres have changed and how genres are intermingled. How that making of movies have changed. From the very beginning of the American film industry, genres have been an important aspect in producing films. The use of genres has been used in order to direct a films attention to specifics group of people and have been used in many different manners. A genre refers to a ?type or ?kind (Ref Genre and Hollywood by Steve Neale no page). Some examples of the types of genres that have made its way into the American film industry are horror films, comedies, romance, western, and many more. During the early stages of Hollywood, however, types of genres were very limited. The most evident of genres were that of western films (Thomas Edisons The Great Train Robbery being the first film ever made), and comedies (as seen in the many films that Charlie Chaplin starred in during the silent era). However, as the film industry in America developed, producers began playing around with different types of genres. It became noticeable as well as to which genres proved to be most popular, and these would become mass produced. In other words, cinema began shifting its focus on mainstream, commercial films and this was most evident with regards to Hollywood films (Ref Genre and Hollywood by Steve Neale no page). Barry Keith Grant, a professor, states that genre movies are those commercial feature films which, through repetition and variation, tell familiar stories with familiar characters in familiar situations. ? (Ref Genre and Hollywood by Steve Neale no page). This was especially evident with Romantic Comedies where similar stories occurred with minor differences: boy and girl meet, fall in love, a conflict or misunderstanding between the two occur, they sort it out and the film ends with the two happily in love. As time passed and the industry further developed, genres were further discovered and experimented with. These discoveries gave birth to sub-genres and also to the possibility of intermingling between genres. From the simple little kinetoscope only being able to be viewed by one person at a time, to the invention of the projector, the American film industry has not only grown in audience, but grown in technology too. The making of movies has become more and more complex with regards to the equipment used in the production of a film. Since the late 1980s, the equipment used began developing at a fast rate. The use of digitization of sounds and special effects pushed the American film industry even further than it had ever been before (Ref American film in the digital age by Robert Sickels p11). The American Film Industry vs. the Rest of the Worlds Film Industries Therefore, it is widely evident that the American film industry has become the biggest and most popular film industry in the world. Although foreign films are occasionally distributed across the world, the amount of American films distributed and displayed in most parts of the world are a vast majority higher than those nationally made films (excluding America of course) (Ref American film in the digital age by Robert Sickels p2). Robert Sickels elaborates on this in his book American Film in the Digital Age, asking the question When is the last time you saw Nollywood/ Bollywood/ Iranian/ name-the-country, etc. , film in an American theatre or on American television? ? (Ref American film in the digital age by Robert Sickels p2). This indicates that America has dominated the film industry over the years and continues to do so; creating bigger and better films each year and making billions off of the viewers that support these films. Being the first country to introduce the possibility of moving pictures into the world, America has continued to impress the rest of the world with its increasingly high standards in the production of movies. It can also be said that the film industry has not only altered technology with regards to computerised and digitized effects in films and other media, but it has also had a vast effect on social change. Bibliography: Figure 4: http://www.google.co.za/imgres?q=Charlie+Chaplin+making+a+living+1914um=1hl=ensa=Nbiw=1920bih=883tbm=ischtbnid=4o3YTNa8uRhUZM:imgrefurl=http://www.rlsbb.com/making-a-living-1914-dvdrip-xvid-8ballrips/docid=0lCW444x8oM5AMimgurl=http://img.rlsb