CIN201Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Experimental Film
TA: Daniel Sept. 23, 2016
CIN201 TUTORIAL 2
EARLY FILM
“FIRST FILM SCREENING”
• There are many other documented screenings before the “first”
• Why have people rallied around the date of December 28, 1895?
- Could be because the Lumière Brothers continued to be prominent in film for years
later, which was a more compelling narrative
ANDRÉ BAZIN: “THE MYTH OF TOTAL CINEMA”
• Bazin thinks the reproduction of reality has been a desire for a while, that underlying
desire fuelled tech advancements
• Bazin is a philosopher—puts ideas over facts and evidence
• Pg. 17 “cinema has yet to be invented”
- What does it mean by “brings it closer to its origins”
- If cinema is a replication of reality, we can get closer to its original intention with
technological evolution
- There are limits to Bazin’s argument is animation an advancement or a mutation of
reality?
- “Profilmically Real” = does not exist in front of the camera
EARLY FILMS
• Representation of space and time (role of editing)
- Edison vs. Lumière
Edison had the black studio
Lumière filmed outside, background scenes (style was the “glorified home
movie”
There was a fascination with movement
• “How a French Nobleman Got a Wife” (elements of suspense and comedy)
- We know how editing functions, but back then you had to show the completion of
every woman running for it to seem real, so as not to confuse the audience
• Biograph Film “Story of the Biograph”
- shot almost like an experimental film
- they were trying to show the man’s wife at the same time (representation of a phone
call)
- SPATIAL INTEGRITY was very important at the time
• “The Life of an American Fireman”
- they show the same narrative twice, once from inside the house and once from the
outside
- spatial integrity
cutting to a different perspective confused the audience, so they tried to
experiment with it
you can see the ways by which they tried to portray certain narratives to an
audience
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Could be because the lumi re brothers continued to be prominent in film for years later, which was a more compelling narrative. Andr bazin: the myth of total cinema : bazin thinks the reproduction of reality has been a desire for a while, that underlying desire fuelled tech advancements, bazin is a philosopher puts ideas over facts and evidence, pg. 17 cinema has yet to be invented . What does it mean by brings it closer to its origins . If cinema is a replication of reality, we can get closer to its original intention with technological evolution. Profilmically real = does not exist in front of the camera. Early films: representation of space and time (role of editing) Lumi re filmed outside, background scenes (style was the glorified home movie . There was a fascination with movement: how a french nobleman got a wife (elements of suspense and comedy)
