Discussion of the early pioneers of moving pictures Essay -- Movies Fi

Topic : Discuss in detail how American filmmakers Edwin Porter and D.W Griffith built on early films by the Lumiere brothers and George Melies. Use examples from the oeuvre of each filmmaker to substantiate your argument. This essay will outline an introduction to the premature years of motion pictures and developments that helped shape cinema as we know it today. This paper will explore the roles of the early pioneers and the extent to which their contributions shaped cinema. In particular, it will look at how E.S Porter and D.W Griffith improved on the early years of cinema as result of influences from Louis and Auguste Lumiere and George Melies. The 18th century has marked the commencement of the innovation of cinematography. The invention of cinema owes its existence to a few investors and scientists who are broadly known for laying down its foundation. Among those pioneers are the Lumiere brothers who were some of the earliest contributors to cinema, inventing the first real film camera called the "cinematographe", which effectively functioned as a camera, projector and printer all in one (Barnauw, 1993:6). Thus giving rise to the art of film making. Initially, in the early years of cinema since there was no developed structure [or language] to tell cinematic stories, the early Lumiere brother?s films such as Workers leaving the Lumiere factory (1895) and The Arrival of a Train at the Station (1895), were composed of a single shot, no camera movement and only one continuous action from beginning to end (Obalil, 2007). Also since the camera was fixed and captured only what were before its lens without any manipulation these films ... ...ieved by the 08/02/2008. http://www.earlycinema.com/timeline/index.html: retrieved by the 08/02/2008. Knight, A. The Liveliest Art, Mentor Books, New American Library, (1957). p.25. Larson, E.H. George Melies, (2006). [Online] Available at http://www.nwlink.com/~erick/silentera/Melies/melies.html Lenin, M. Griffith classic: the making of birth of a nation, (2004). [Online] Available at http://www.leninimports.com/dw_griffith.html Louis LumiÃÆ'Â ¨re, The Cinematograph, La Nature, 12 October 1895. In Auguste and Louis LumiÃÆ'Â ¨re. (Jacques Rittaud-Hutinet, ed.) Letters. London: Faber and Faber, 1995. p.302. Obalil, L.J. Edwin S. Porter, (2007). [Online] Available at http://www.filmreference.com/Directors-Pe-Ri/Porter-Edwin-S.html Smith, D. Cinematic Reflections, (2005). [Online] Available at http://www.cinematicreflections.com/BirthofaNation.html