Early Films in 60FPS

What is your opinion regarding this new trend in restoring, colorizing, and raising the frame rate to 60fps? Does it help make people interested in the past? Is it unethical? Is it lying to the viewer? What do you feel when you watch them?

    Although I don't like it too much, I can appreciate the effort and the attempt to understand what it may have been like to live in the past. When we see old media from history, we often see it distantly, almost as though they're just part of stories and not reality. However, by taking them and putting them to more modern standards, it can make people understand and relate to the content better. Photographs and footage of the past already capture what life was like, but by altering it to fit with modern technology, it can immerse the viewer better into the scene. I feel that this is beneficial to do as the average joe likely wouldn't try and understand the people in the original pieces of media but may understand it if it feels like it was made with modern capabilities. I don't think it's unethical so long as the original is credited and the alterations are made clear with the preface that it may not be accurate. As long as it does those things and doesn't try to advertise itself as something it's not, then it won't be lying to the viewer. When I watch them, I don't particularly enjoy it, besides the appreciation of what it can do and of the work that went into it. I like history already and this film class has given me a greater appreciation for film so seeing the change to 60fps feels a bit uncomfortable to watch because of how uncanny the footage looks.

Who Really Was First?

Who was Louis Le Prince? What was his contribution to cinema? After reading about him, what surprises you about reading this article?

    Louis Le Prince was a French photographer who lived in England, having established the Leeds Technical School of Art. He is now considered the father of cinema, having been fascinated with the development of cinematic technology. His contribution to cinema was the Le Prince Single-lens Cine Camera and two of his most famous films that predated Edison and Dickson by a year. Somethings that surprised me while reading the article was how he patented his 16-lens Camera but hadn't been able to patent his Cine Camera.

Early Film Scavenger Hunt P. 2

 

Why do you like this next early silent film? What is so interesting about it? What are two common things that you noticed about the films you saw while searching for your video on YouTube?

    I liked this early film as it had much better visual quality and acting. Comparing it to Ben-Hur, it was a massive improvement as I can actually make out people's faces which allowed for more nuanced acting performances rather than the overacting of Ben-Hur. It was interesting because it used a much more varied amount of shots with more editing in a single scene. Although it only had a few setups, it cut between them much more often and the characters moved through the space and into different spaces much more, adding more visual interest compared to earlier films that had a single static shot in a single location per scene. Two common things that I noticed about the films I saw were the emphasis on body language and the use of music. As the films had no sound, they had to supplement it with the use of music to convey the tone. This also goes in hand with the acting as they focus on their expressions and body language to give off the idea of what is going on. You need to infer a lot of things while viewing these films, but these elements aid a lot in deciphering them.

Early Film Scavenger Hunt P.1

 

Why do you like this early silent film? What is so interesting about it? What are two common things you noticed about the movie you saw while searching for your video on YouTube?

    I like this early silent film because it's set in ancient Rome, depicting a story with a culturally relevant climax. Some things that were interesting about the film was the creative set design, the action, and the context surrounding it. As it was an American movie set in ancient Rome, the filmmakers had to be creative about the set design and shooting locations. Thus, they went in a more traditional stage play-esque direction, using painted walls and platforms for the set, in combination with actual locations. The most action packed scene was the chariot race and I was surprised about how many horses they had. Thinking back, it is likely that horses were more commonplace thus easier to get access to for filmmaking that they would be now, but it still came to a shock to me. Something interesting regarding the context is that this film had led to a pivotal case in copyright infringement. This film had been based on Lew Wallace's novel, Ben-Hur, without acquiring any rights to use it. Wallace had then sued the Kallem Company for depicting parts of his book on screen without permission and won. Two common things that I noticed about the movie while searching for the video on YouTube were the poor image quality and the eccentric overacting. This film, especially has poor image quality; however, due to early technology and degradation over time, many of the films of this era have very poor image quality. I believe, partly to combat the poor quality, the actors had to overact so that we can see what they're trying to express. They likely also do this to make up for the lack of dialogue and the lack of text besides the ones that introduce the scene so that the audience has some semblance of an idea of what's going on.

The Lumière Brothers

What was their major contribution to cinema? How was their device different than Edison's?

    The Lumière Brothers' major contribution to cinema was the Cinematographe and how they're credited for creating one of the first cinemas—the exhibition of a moving picture projection to a paying audience. Their device differed from Edison's as it didn't rely on electricity and instead used a crank, it was much more portable, and the exhibition was much easier as the camera also worked as a projector. The biggest development with the Cinematographe was the mechanism that moved the film as it used sprockets that allowed two pins to move the film while the shutter is closed—which was inspired by sewing machines.

Earliest Films Reflection

What qualities do these early films share? Why do you think the filmmakers shot these? How do they differ from modern movies?

    Some qualities that all of these early films share are that they're all in black and white, have no sound, often have a low frame rate and poor quality by today's standards. I think that the filmmakers shot these in order to capture what they found interesting and for special occasions. Many of the early films simply depicted motion, such as dancing or twirling Indian clubs, and actions that you'd often see in entertainment shows, such as the strongman posing, the sharpshooter, and the cats boxing. But a few of them depicted events, such as a baseball or football game, the opening of the Sutro Baths, and the destruction of the Battleship Maine. These differ from modern movies as they don't create new stories but rather show real life. They depict people showing off their talent, their culture, and simply living their lives.

Muybridge

What were Muybridge's contributions to motion pictures?  What breakthroughs did he make?  Why are they significant?  What part of the story did you find the most interesting?  Why?

    Muybridge's contributions to motion pictures were the Zoopraxiscope and his series of sequential photographs that could capture motion. The Zoopraxiscope was able to project an animated picture, which Muybridge used to exhibit his photography to show the movement that he captured. His biggest breakthrough was developing a way to capture images quick enough to capture each frame of movement. This was significant because, prior to him, photographs often took minutes to expose. It would be impossible to capture movement with such a long exposure time, but he developed a way to capture it, which paves the way to motion pictures. I found his encyclopedia the most interesting as it likely was able to be studied by artists as well as scientists. The collection of photographs can be used to understand how to capture motion in art.

The Diorama Theater

What was a Diorama Theatre?  Why do you think it was a precursor to cinema?

    A Diorama Theater was the exhibition of a double sided painting that would appear to change from one image to another—typically a scene that goes from day to night and/or one depicting a historical moment—by changing the amount of light that shined into the back of the painting. This was likely a precursor to cinema as it took place in a similar setting (a theater with a large image to view) and utilized an early form of animation to create a changing scene. It could also have multiple scenes displayed, possibly to create a full story, similar to more modern ideas of cinima.

The Phantasmagoria

What was the Phantasmagoria?  After reading this article, write a reflection on what elements of the Phantasmagoria became adopted into the development of movies.

    The Phantasmagoria is a type of horror spectacle akin to modern day haunted houses. It incorporates science, illusions, and tricks to scare audiences. One major centerpiece is the magic lantern as they use it to create projections of demons and monsters, which were considered much scarier then as more people were religious. Some elements that became adopted into the development of movies are the specific lighting choices, foreshadowing, and immersing the audience. One of the elements of Phantasmagoria was the use of dim and dark lighting; which (1) helps make the projections more visible, (2) added to the atmosphere, and (3) triggered the natural fear response that humans have to darkness. Purposeful lighting is a big part of cinema and the use of darkness for the same reasons are present in a lot of horror films. Another aspect is the use of foreshadowing. In the Phantasmagoria, the idea that the host could have the ability to interact with the dead and even revive them by showing a demonstration of making a dead frog move with electric shocks. Of course, the audience don't know that and think that he has powers or witchcraft. This makes the climax of the Phantasmagoria that much more terrifying as they have the idea planted that the impossible could happen. This is important in movies as foreshadowing important details can create a satisfying moment of realization or to plant ideas into the audience's head. This goes into the immersion, which is very important for the Phantasmagoria to work. People are most scared of the unknown and if they knew the technical aspects and science behind the elements of the Phantasmagoria, they wouldn't be so scared because they know it's not real. That's why it's so important to keep the immersion. This is also key in movies as breaking the immersion can ruin the entire experience. This could happen with things such as continuity errors, undeserved plot twists or jump scares, and/or failing to properly set up the audience's suspension of disbelief.

Early Humans

What role does lighting play in the caves?  How might these paintings have been used by primitive man?  What are the two techniques that the early artists used to paint on the walls of the cave?  Why do you think they painted with these images?

    The primary purpose of lighting was to increase visibilities within caves; however, the small area lit by small fires can provide dramatic staging and alter the color of cave paintings. Additionally, the flicker of a flame can trick our brains into filling the gaps of darkness with motion—making the paintings appear animated. These paintings may have been used by primitive man for spiritual rituals, recounting events, and or to serve the same purpose that a lot of more modern art serves. Two techniques that the early artists used to paint on the walls of caves were repeating the same image and superimposing images to create animation. There is one painting which depicts a multitude of identical deer heads with slightly different positions; if you were to see them one by one then it would appear like a single dear raising its head. In another cave, there were rhinos that were drawn overlapping one another and it is possible that, with fire light, it may appear to move. I think that these images were painted to fulfill the purpose that art has had throughout history. Although one may think that primitive man would have no purpose for art, in every point of history, including dark ones, people have created art. Art can be used for spiritual purposes, records, expression, escape, or even as a simple hobby for fun.

Cinema History Pre-reflection

How do you think the history of cinema has influenced the way we tell stories today? Are there any examples of films or techniques that might have been inspired by the past?  What are three things you'd like to learn during this unit?

    The history of cinema has influenced the way we tell stories today as the artistic techniques that were developed culminate into the aspects of modern storytelling. For instance, film noirs were limited by their budgets and technology, so in order to still achieve an aesthetically pleasing image, they utilized dramatic and gritty lighting. We now have the luxury of color but still incorporate lighting to add to the story—using lighting techniques that can reveal character traits or add to the mood and emotion of a scene. Another way could been seen through movies like Birth of a Nation and Battleship Potemkin, which both were made to express an idea, be that to perpetuate racism or as communist propaganda. However, these films set a precedent of using cinema to give an idea to the audience and not just tell a basic story. Viewers leave feeling differently about important topics. This evolves into how stories use metaphorical representation of real world issues within their fictional worlds. An example are dystopian films such as the Hunger Games, which act as criticism of current issues by being a cautionary tale of how much worse they can get.

    Three things that I'd like to learn during this unit are how foundational filmmaking techniques came to be, the context behind different eras of cinema, and the stages of technology.

The Evolution of Film

After watching this video, what are some of the aspects of the history of film that stood out to you?  What makes them seem significant?

    Some aspects of the history of film that stood out to me were the advancement of the art and capabilities of filmmaking. We can see that the earliest instances of films were essentially just moving pictures of normal everyday things like people, animals, or trains. However, the artistic possibilities began being explored and we can see stories being created. As filmmaking develops further, we see more and more artistic choices being made; such as dramatic lighting of the film noirs or the unique framing of shots. What goes hand in hand with the artistic elements is how the capabilities advanced as well. For instance, the introduction of Technicolor bringing a whole new depth with the artistic potential through color. Now, color theory and more major principals of traditional art can also be applied in the visuals of filmmaking. Furthermore, with the development of CGI, scenes that would've been impossible to shoot or very dangerous can now be done in much safer and more controlled environments. The advancement of tech also helped to bring costs down, which meant that people could take more creative liberties with what they make.

Creating the Perfect PSA

What are three things to keep in mind when getting started with creating a PSA?

    Three things to keep in mind when getting started with creating a PSA are research, your audience, and how you grab their attention.

    One of the most important things you need to do before you start writing or shooting your PSA is to research. You're going to want to know the topic of your PSA well and finding information like statistics and other evidence that you can use to support your message is very important. You can use this research to make a more effective and impactful PSA, that way more people are affected and take something away from it.

    A very key part of a PSA is your intended audience. You can't create anything that appeals to everyone. There's going to be strategies, references, and cultural differences that change how different audiences are going to react. For instance, if you were writing for teens, they are likely going to know and understand more recent pop culture and social media; however, much older generations will be less likely to understand it and the message may not be clear to them. But not just age determines audiences. You should have a specific audience in mind when creating your PSA or any argument. Think about their values, how they may react, and how you can use it to make them understand your message. For instance, PSAs about the dangers of smoking are often only directed towards people who are actively smoking or people close to them. If you're someone who never smokes and or has no interest in it, you aren't going to need that message. 

    With an idea of your audience, you can then figure out what strategies you'll use to get their attention and change how they feel or think. This comes in a multitude of strategies both for argument and visually. You can use appeals to emotion, logic, and credibility to try and persuade the audience. Something to keep in mind is that emotion is a quick but short term way of persuading, and logic takes more time but is more effective in the long run. So ideally, using a mix of the two can get the audience to be much more open to your message and much more likely to internalize it. Appealing to emotion can come in a variety of forms; sadness, fear, and humor are some of the most common emotions used. Be that sadness for a group, fear for what might happen to you, or humor to lighten up a sensitive topic. Appeals to logic can look like statistics, cause and effect, and using quotes. Appeals to ethics are often via expert opinions or using actors that people recognize, such as celebrities.

2-Column Script Format

What are 3 key things that this article says are important about formatting an AV script?

    Three key things that this article says are important about formatting an AV script are the font, the columns, and the spacing. The font needs to be Courier New size 12, which is the professional standard and looks how traditional typewriters typed. This is important because Courier New sans serifs and is a fixed-width font—meaning that every character is the same width. This makes the font much easier to read and because one page with this font is usually about a minute of screen time. Furthermore, you must capitalize every word that isn't spoken on the script such as the video directions and character names. Regarding the columns, the left side is dedicated to the video descriptions and the right side is for the audio. The video side is in all caps and includes the slug lines, stage directions and camera directions. The left side includes all audio such as music, SFX, and dialogue. This is important because following this covers your bases and makes it easier for other people to read your script. The spacing is important because often time people write notes on scripts and space is needed to do so. The margins should be one inch on the edges of the page and the script should be double spaced.

Writing an Effective Video Script

What are the four parts of an effective video script?  What do each of these parts do for your final video?

    The four parts of an effective video script are the hook, introduction, main body, and call to action. The hook purpose is to grab and hold the attention of a potential viewer. This needs to be done within the first 5-15 seconds of the video and the hook needs to be short and straight to the point. A good way to make the hook is to tell the viewer exactly what to expect from the video so that they know whether watching it would benefit them in some way—be that as entertainment and/or education.  The introduction should also be kept short and is the time to introduce yourself and any additional information about you or the video that the viewer should know. The body of the video is where the actual content resides and is what the viewer stayed to watch. Next is the call to action, which you can do for multiple things and in multiple places within your video. You are able to include a call to action within the body of your video for things that increases engagement or for other purposes like marketing your brand or sponsors. One area that should include a call to action is the end of the video as it may keep viewers on your channel, direct them to resources, products, or services, and/or take action that work to your interest. Some examples of a call to action are asking the viewers a question to answer in the comments, asking them to subscribe if they enjoyed or found the video helpful, and asking them to like the video.

Spring Semester Goals

Look back at the goals that you set in the fall, did you achieve them? Why or why not? How can you take steps or make corrections to achieve these goals? Where will you need to look to gather help or resources?

    Looking back at the goals that I set in the beginning of the year, I feel that I have achieved a basic level for the goals. The goals I set were very general as I had no idea what I was getting into, so there is always room to grow regarding them. I have met my first and third goal at a foundational level as I have developed my knowledge, analysis, and skills but have not reached the level of proficiency that I know is possible nor the level that I hope to be at the end of the year. Regarding the second goal, I have done this a little bit for the projects but I know that I need so much more practice to have actually achieved it. My idea when it came to my second goal was for me to be able to create an original story that I had thought up and developed and not one for a project or assignment.

    In order to achieve these goals to the point that I wish, I need to go beyond what we've learned in the first semester by practicing the skills that I've learned and striving to learn even more. The biggest thing that I need and hope to do is practice; practice as much as I can so that I can be confident in my abilities, so that I can effectively identify and analyze the choices and the art of the films I view, and so that I can create my own stories.

    In order for me to get the resources and help that I need, I should look to Mr. Furtado, the notes, the resources that are provided in places like the blog and assignments, my peers, and from credible sources such as experts in the industry.