Task 1:Editing in Early Cinema

Lumiere Brothers and Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison ran a film lab where the first Kinetographic Camera and the kinetoscope were invented. This was also where the 35mm film strip was made to industrial standard. The camera would be set up using this film to capture short videos and films if used in high quantities.
The first films were produced in 1895 by the Lumiere brothers accompanied by Thomas Edison (his company invented a film camera and projector for film.) Their first film was released in 1895 by the name of 'Sortie d'usine' and was composed of one continuos shot of people leaving a barn. There is very little editing here, which means that as extraordinary as this film is as the beginning of a revolution of films to come, the editing skills are very minor.  

  

   G.A.Smith 

G.A.Smith was a famous filmmaker active between 1897 and 1908 with over twenty short films released by the end of his career. Two of Smiths most famous works include 'The Miller and the Sweep' of 1898 and ' The Kiss in the Tunnel' of 1899. The first one was made up of one shot showing a miller leaving a windmill only to be attacked by a sweep, which was famous as it showed the first signs of comedy, action and storyline. 

The second was iconic as it displayed the use of parallel editing and further into storyline. This short film was also seen as 'inappropriate' and 'risky' due to its content, which displays a couple sharing a kiss on a train, which was a huge leap in film content. Smith not only has introduced themes into film making, but has progressed editing further so that parallel editing can now be used to emphasise a situation and make the film more visually excited. 

George Méliès

Before becoming a director, Méliès was a magician who was a fan of the Lumiere brothers. Whilst watching their films, he saw possibilities of a novelty more than a motion itself, and decided to get hold of a camera. From here he developed a studio, scripts and attempted to make a short film. However, when making one, it is rumoured he accidentally discovered 'in camera editing' when his camera glitched for a second. This is how his most famous work, 'The Vanishing Lady', became to be in 1896.  By using this skill he discovered, he was able to stop and start his camera again, and edit the clips together effectively by hand to produce a very cool illusion. Of course, the woman wouldn't have actually disappeared, but simply left the shot whilst the actor held his stance.

  

Edwin S Porter 

Before joining the film lab which was ran by Thomas Edison in late 1890's, Porter worked as an electrician. In 1903 he made the breakthrough film 'Life of an American fireman in 1903. This film alone introduced close ups, further and more informative use of parallel editing, and also encouraged more people to take up acting as a career. In my opinion, this film acted as a pioneer to really start the progression of film making. One iconic scene from this short film is a close up of a hand pulling a fire alarm, which was the beginning of close ups. Another iconic film made by Porter was 'The Great Train Robbery' of 1903, which demonstrated continuity.   

Charles Pathe 

In 1984, Charles and Emilie Pathe formed their own record company, and after two years created their film industry, Société Pathé Fréres. They created this industry to break through into the motion picture and filming world, practicing techniques and creating series of short films to progress. The most iconic and recognised film created by Pathe was 'The Horse that Bolted' in 1907. This film is one of the first examples of cross cutting being used to show multiple story lines rather than analysing one in detail. Also, it shows examples of continuity in places, like when the people run around corners to escape the path of this horse.

D.W Griffith

Griffith was a U.S film director and one of the earlier supporters of out of camera editing. He would use cross cutting to show actions happening in different locations, what was also known as parallel editing, as well as showing an increase in cast and other techniques, including close ups, continuity and ongoing themes. 'The Birth of a Nation' in 1915 was his most iconic films, and is widely known for its vulgar, offensive and racist content. This film was so racist, in fact, that it was partly responsible for the KKK regrouping in 1920. Throughout the film, all of the techniques mentioned above are used, however a new technique to change the visual style is explored. Over each new scene, a coloured filter is used to make the film more visually exciting, but also to change atmosphere and to show clear scene change. Also, the length of this film would've been a great feat, as each role of film would've only filmed 8 minutes, meaning great effort is shown.