A brief history of film

History, Terminology

The earliest movie, moving pictures known before the advent of the cinema and commercial film. The zoetrope gave the illusion of movement as the pictures revolved in the drum and the viewer looked through the slot of the view finder.
commercial films were brief five minute glimpses of everyday activity shown on a kinetoscope.

Moving pictures are an optical illusion. They are a series of still pictures projected rapidly on a screen so that the brain - eye thinks it “sees” movement.
These photos of a nude dancing are typical of early film experiments

Film has a terminology that is important when discussing the action seen on screen.

Deep Focus:

In these shots the picture shows all the scene in focus from foreground to background.

Shallow Focus:

In these shots the picture shows the foreground in focus with the background out of focus

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Establishing Shot:
These are shots at the beginning of an action that show where the action is taking place. They are usually a wide angle shot. Sometimes a particular land mark will serve to establish time & place.

Long Shot
The camera reveals the subject from head to foot.

Mid Shot
The camera reveals the subject from head to waist or from waist to foot.

Two shot mid-shot

The camera reveals head to waist shots of two people in the same shot. (Can also be shot as a two shot close up.) The subjects are usually talking to each other

Close Up:
The camera is close to the subject and reveals a detail (head & shoulders) of the subject.
It can reveal aspects of character the director wants you to see in the subject. Particularly when combined with a selected camera angle. Here the low angle is uncomplimentary to Queen Mary.

Camera Angles

These can vary depending on the location of the camera above / below or at eye level.
Low Angle the camera looks up at the subject. It can make the subject look imposing and powerful.

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