Early Moving Picture Entertainment and Conventions in Still Photography - Assignment Example

How much did early moving picture entertainment draw on, or differ from, conventions in still photography Introduction The last decades, the development of technology in all scientific sectors has been radical leading to important changes in the criteria used for the evaluation of performance of various industrial and social schemes. Art has been an area strongly influenced by the technological evolution; early works of art are characterized by their simplicity in terms of the colours – only black and white – but also in terms of the lack of movement. Gradually, these disadvantages were appropriately addressed. The importance of movement as part of the art was highlighted and appropriate techniques were developed. Current paper focuses on a specific part of art, the moving picture. Reference is made particularly to the early stages of this type of art. The relationship between the early moving picture entertainment and the still photography is examined – using the relevant literature. It seems that conventions in still photography played an important role in the appearance of early moving picture entertainment; furthermore, there were specific needs of the public that had to be addressed at that period. In any case, these two forms of art seem to be closely related - at least up to a point. Up to a specific level, moving picture entertainment was strongly influenced by the convention in still photography; however, from that point onwards there were no particular similarities between these two forms of art. They were developed independently. 2. Early moving picture entertainment – overview and characteristics In order to understand the position of moving picture within the entertainment sector it would be necessary to refer primarily to its historical development – without reference to specific geographical characteristics or cultural influences. Moving picture has been considered to be an improved form of still photography. The transformation of the latter led to the appearance of the former with the support of technology – which helped to proceed from capturing the scenes of real life to their representation in real time – i.e. following all steps of their development. In this context, early moving picture can be characterized as an indication of the changing trends in public preferences; still photography was no more able to keep the interest of the public – other means of transmission of facts had to be tested in order to ensure the survival of still photography within the modern society. The above facts cannot lead to the assumption that the appearance of moving picture led to the deletion of still photography; on the contrary, the development of the latter has been continuous the last decades – using appropriate technological methods – serving the sector’s needs and the people’s expectations. Both the still photography and the moving picture address important public needs; the development of both had to be synchronized making sure that they can meet the requirements set by modern theorists and practitioners in the specific field. In the literature, the appearance of moving picture is set around in the beginning of 20th century. More specifically, in the study of Hollander (1989) it is noted that ‘between about 1910 and 1920 the screen picture really came to life, as much life as still pictures long since had’ (Hollander, 446). However, the history of moving picture had started before – during the 19th century. Moreover, the initial identification of the idea of ‘moving picture’ seems to be differentiated from its realization – or else the development of means for its representation in practice. In accordance with Boorstin (740) ‘the motion picture phenomenon was a discovery of a versatile and ingenious English doctor, Peter Mark Roget (1779-1869), best remembered for his still-useful Thesaurus (1852)’. The next step in the development of moving picture is described in the study of Souto (2007). The above writer claims that the realization of the idea of moving picture can be related with the development of Vitascope by Edison in 1896. The specific apparatus is characterized as a ‘motion picture projector which included film loops and designed by C. Francis Jenkins and Thomas Armat around 1895’ (Souto, 5). The historical development of moving picture shows its dependency on specific concepts and needs; moving picture has been considered to be an excellent means for highlighting emotions and reactions of people under conditions that represent the various aspects of real life – either directly or indirectly – like in the case of films that refer to imaginary events or civilizations. The appearance of moving picture can be combined with the changes regarding the people’s aspects on entertainment. Traditionally, entertainment was related with different types of art, like the music and the theatre – both of which have a long history compared to the moving picture. However, since the technology started to give to the audience the chance to entertain through a ‘different type of theatre’ – as the cinema can be characterized – it was a matter of time for this type of entertainment to be expanded globally. It should be noted that moving picture had a significant advantage compared to the theatre; it could be processed without the need to give instructions – just to use a few buttons or other mechanisms of similar function – in accordance with the technology employed. In this case, the person that had the control over the representation of a specific film could omit part of the film – using relevant technology – increase/ decrease the brightness or the volume following the demands of the spectators. This ability of controlling easily the form of the film presented to the public has been an important advantage of moving picture. Another important aspect of moving picture has been the ability of its creators to intervene directly in the structure of the specific work of art; in this context, the director of a film – a practice common today – could ask the actors to repeat each scene for many times – up to the achievement of the required result; in live performances – referring to the theatre – this option is not available. Therefore, the quality of moving picture could be high – taking into consideration the amendments made on a film up to its completion. The appearance of television made the above differentiation to become even clearer. The moving picture concept became the fundamental element of television – in the first years of television, the moving picture was limited to films represented only in black and white colours – the rapid development of the technology related with the transmission of data helped towards the improvement of the quality of moving picture presented through the television – apart from the colours, other special effects were gradually added in films and emissions enforcing its role as a means of entertainment. Early picture moving had common target with modern picture moving: the entertainment of people in different social levels. Since the initial period of its appearance the picture moving continue to serve the above mission. However, its role at that specific period of time can be evaluated only by referring to its relationship with its ‘ancestor’, the still photography. At this point it should be also necessary to present and analyze the main characteristics and the historical development of still photography. The intervention and the interaction of the above two forms of art could be then evaluated more effectively. 3. Early moving picture entertainment and still photography – common aspects and differences The appearance of the moving picture has been based on two main elements: ‘the photographic image and the evolution of sensible emulsions’ (Souto, 4). Both these elements need to be evaluated as part of a complex system, which is used for capturing and representing scenes of everyday life – related with the people but also with their environment. In this context, moving picture has to be characterized as a well-developed form of still photography – even if the latter could be proved to be more efficient in representing specific themes – normally under common social conditions. The above assumption is in accordance with the view of Souto (1997) who made clear that ‘in still photography, the limitations of the low sensitivity of photographic emulsions could be overcome by stopping the subject’s movement and adjusting the exposure time’ (Souto, 75). In motion picture, there is no such issue. If the above issue is examined from another point of view, different assumptions could be made. More specifically, the effectiveness of still photography when having to capture a scene where the movement is unavoidable can be discussed. If the specific scene is part of a play, the limitations regarding the potential intervention in the dialogues are clear. However, in the play it is easier to transmit the emotions of the actors – through their movements (Hollander, 446). Regarding the issue of cost, it is clear that still photography has the advantage of low cost compared to the moving picture which can be quite expensive – especially if will be used for the representation of scenes that require colour or techniques that are difficult to be applied – and for this reason they are of high cost. At least this is an assumption related with actual value of still photography and moving picture. If referring to the use of moving picture for the needs of a film, then the cost can be extremely high (Mess, 90); in the past, when there was no such issue, the differentiation of cost between the still photography and the moving picture had to be limited. Photography, which has been characterized as ‘a new kind of writing’ (North, 38) has been used as part of different works of art. In the case of moving picture, photography has a key role: to set the rules and the principles on which moving picture has to be based in order to achieve its priority: the entertainment of people within a particular social, political or cultural context. It is difficult to understand whether the interaction between motion picture and still photography has been standard through the decades. Their current relationship is well described in the study of North where it is noted that ‘film and still photography provided models of an up-to-date art form, made with wholly modern materials by industrial processes unknown before the modern period’ (North, 62). On the other hand, the criteria used for the differentiation of forms of photography – like the colour photography and the black-white photography – can be differentiated through the years and for this reason they cannot be used as a basis for the evaluation of various forms of photography or the criticism of the relationship between the photography and other sectors that are of similar characteristics, like the moving picture (Williams, 235) 4. Conclusion The relationship between the still photography and the moving picture has been proved to be depended on the social, cultural and technological characteristics of each era. In the initial period of its appearance the moving picture entertainment was used in order to offer the public the ability to feel the motions of the people participating in the representation of scenes of everyday life; these scenes were possibly represented – simultaneously – through photographs. This fact could be considered as an indication of the potentials of still photography when the human reactions on facts related with the daily life have to be captured. However, still photography could not be used in a combination with other technological schemes - like those used in the production of films. In this case, only the moving picture would be an alternative. Furthermore, moving picture has a series of advantages – as explained above – apart from its cost – which can be high. When having to compare the above two schemes, the following assumption could be made: moving picture – even in its initial steps – is more valuable than the still photography. In modern society, this difference has been expanded; moving picture is still valuable for films but its cost has been significantly increased while its dependency on still photography has become quite weak – compared to the past and especially the first year of the appearance of moving picture as a means of entertainment. Works Cited Boorstin, Daniel. The creators. Virginia: Random House, 1992 Hollander, Anne. Moving pictures. New York: Anne Hollander, 1989 Mess, Kenneth. Photography. New York: Crawford Press, 2007 North, Michael. Camera works. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005 Souto, Raimondo. Motion picture photography: a history, 1891-1960. New York: McFarland, 2007 Williams, Henry Smith. A History of Science. New York: BiblioBazaar, 2009 Read More