Technology__Silent_Movies

Technology- Sound: In the film industry, technology is what makes the movies come to life. The sound track of the movie is very important; it brings meaning to what the actors are doing. Most of the sound in the movie is shot after the movie is done filming. It’s recorded after because to have music created on the set is too difficult, and the microphone in the studio gets rid of any unwanted sound. When the sound is finished recording the actors come back into the studio to mix the dialogue in with the sound track. Technicians also add special recordings of sound effects or brief snippits of sound. Mixing the sound is when technicians bring the dialogue and music and mix them together. The mixing process uses many technicians such as: a dialogue mixer- -, sound effect mixer- -, and a music mixer- -. They all work together to adjust the relative sound and quantity. Cameras: Cameras have been creating the image of movies forever, but it wasn’t easy at first. To create a smooth moving image the camera must take 16 photographs per second. The very first movie camera failed, the picture was jerky, uneven, and was un-able to take 16 photographs per second. Inventor Louis Le Prince cured this problem. He cut the frames-by hand-and re-assembled them with an equal amount of spacing; but his technique was only for a movie lasting a few minutes. In 1889 Thomas Edison and his assistant, William Dickson, perfected the first working camera. To show their achievement they made a short film, and amazed everyone who saw it. The camera uses many different motions to make it work. The camera takes many pictures per second. How a camera takes a picture is the lens focuses on an image with the use of light. The camera works with a stop start motion to take pictures. For the film to be projected onto a screen, a rotating half disk-which acts as a shutter- swings open to let the light reach the film and projects it on a screen. This process is repeated many times. On a modern day camera this process is repeated 24 times per second. Special Effects: The special effects create things that this world wouldn’t think of ever seeing, called illusions. To create these illusions they use camera trickery, animatronics, prosthetic make-up, blue screens, and advanced digital technology. These special effects help bring the impossible to reality. The first person to impress and audience with effects like these was Georges Melies in 1902. Camera effects can create different looks of a camera with variety of optical lenses such as: fish-eyed, wide angle, and zoom. A special motor either speeds up or slows down these actions. Modern day cameras can do things people never thought was possible. Cameras now can film underwater, attached to an air-balloon, and even electronically operated from the sky. How Movies Are Made- Development: How the movies are made is a difficult and long process. The first step is development. Development starts with someone’s idea for a story. Ideas for a story come from screen-writers, producers, directors, actors and actresses, agents, and friends. This idea could be a challenging 30 page outline, or just an idea stretched into a story line. After you have your story line set out, they move on to purchasing and producing it. The screen-writer will create a script and hand it into marketing. Producers and studio executives will decide if they would like to buy the script. If they don’t buy it or if the option is renewed the screen-writer can put it on an option fee, or they could try to sell it again. To acquire financing, financial backing for the project is needed. (Note=how expensive how much money to produce a movie) The first step would be to try to find a successful director or actor. It’s important to find a director or actor because it helps with obtaining finance and because each person will interpret the script in a different way. Next, a budget and shooting schedule are estimated into the project. This will help them put together the films “package”. The Package consists of the budget, script, shooting schedule, and key creative people (people that will make the film). Once the funds are locked the real production can begin. Pre-production: Pre-production is the creation of a detailed plan to create a film. It involves planning creative decisions, personal choices, equipment, and material. The point of this is to solve all problems that could happen in producing. The pre-production time period is two weeks to six months. By this time the crew is well organized to finish there plan smoothly. Revising the script is the first step on pre-production. This step is when the director reads the script, makes there opinions, and develops ideas on casting, costumes, set design, photography, and editing. The next step in pre-production is developing the shooting schedule. This is the job of the production manager. Developing the shooting schedule is determining how many days the crew will need to shoot the film. The schedule includes, traveling to distant locations, construction or elaborate sets or lighting set-ups, and planning long and complex camera movements. By knowing how many days will be needed, they can determine the shooting schedule for the film. To help develop the schedule they will put different scenes on the same day id there shot in the same place. This will help the film not to take a long time to film. Assembling the cast is when the director works with the producer and casting director to complete the cast. Sometimes hundreds of actors and actresses are considered for each major role. After this is when holding rehearsals comes into play. During rehearsals the director and the cast explore the characters and script together. They then act out the scenes and change them to fit their talents and interpretations. Not all directors hold pre-production rehearsals, some only discuss the story and characters with the performers. These directors like to actually wait until the actor and actress are on the set to rehearse each scene. In this step of making the movie, the filmmakers imagine the movie they want to make. They gather their materials they need to realize their idea. In this process the film makers work with the actors, actresses, and the materials of real life. Filming on a sound stage is different from filming on location. From filming on a sound stage allows them to put the camera anywhere they want it. However filming on location is easy because you don’t have to build a set. Preparing to shoot is the time when everything is brought in before the camera rolls. Finally it is time to shoot the movie. Shooting the movie is when the director and performers go on set and rehearse in front of the camera. The director polishes the actor’s performance. Post-production: Post-production provides the raw material from which the film will be constructed. This includes fragments of film audiotape. The first preliminary steps are editing process. The editing process begins after important steps to prepare the camera. The rushes are when they screen the unedited footage. The rough and fine cuts are when the editor begins to assemble the selected footage. Adding music and sound effects is the next part of this process. The answer print is once the sound is mixed, the camera is then edited to match the final cut of the work print. Big stars, directors, and companies that changed the film industry- When Hollywood began, movie-making was risky, but the ones who started the business were risk takers. Paramount Studios were definitely a risk taking company. It was founded and controlled by Adolph Zukor. MGM Studios, Warner Brothers, and 20th Century Fox, are all major studios in the film business. They all took risks, and became some of the biggest studios in the world. The big stars in the film industry help create it what it is today. Theda Bara famed for her roles as exotic princesses. Bebe Daniels was first seen on screen at age 9 and became famous as the leading lady of Harold Lloyd’s silent comedies. Gloria Swanson had a career as a silent-screen beauty. Valentino was an idol of millions of women. Pola Negri was a silent screen star. Marylyn Monroe and Paul Newman were some of the film industries most idolized actors. Directors are the ones that help create the film. They are very important in the industry. Some big directors would be Frank Lloyd, John Ford, and William Wyler. All these people and companies made a big influence on the film industry. Beginning of the film industry: The beginning of the film industry started in the city of Bollywood and Hollywood. Hollywood was one of the first cities to ever start film. Bollywood was a major place where movies were brought. Some of today’s major film spots around the world are the United States, India, Hong Kong, and Nigeria. The film industry did not just come together some day, there were creators of this fine establishment. Charles Tait was the first individual to create a moving film. Thomas Edison created the first moving camera. These two people started the beginning of a well working industry for many years. The first kinds of film: The first kinds of film were the silent era and the talkies. People loved the invention of moving pictures that people just paid to see people walking and dancing. This is how the silent era took off. The talkies began in 1927 when filmmakers found a way to record sound. The first film ever made was “The Story of Kelly Gang”.