Edward Muybridge 19th centiry sequential photography - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... Georges Méliès was a French magician and filmmaker, who is known for his innovative technical tricks in filmmaking, and other narrative developments during the initial stages of filmmaking. He started his foray into the entertainment business by purchasing Theatre Robert Houdin. There he conducted performances which revolved around magic tricks as well as illusionist techniques, thereby bringing out an interesting aspect of French Culture. When the Lumière brothers showcased their first moving picture and the camera, which captured those pictures, Melies wanted to buy that camera. As there was no favorable response from the Lumiere brothers, Méliès purchased another motion picture camera from UK, and started making his own films. “Méliès' first films were straightforward cityscapes and event films, but soon he was using the camera to document magic acts and gags from the stage of the Theatre Robert-Houdin” (Larson). Even while making those sorts of films, purely by accident Melies discovered how the camera can be manipulated to create special efforts. He expanded those initial tricks to come up with complex special effects. It was widely regarded that he only pioneered the first double exposure shots, the first split screen with actors acting opposite of themselves, and also the first dissolve through double or multiple exposure shots, “he was able to create an illusion of people and objects appearing and disappearing at will, or changing from one form to another.” (Larson). ...Download file to see next pagesRead More