Issues in Film History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Issues in Film History - Essay Example Issues in Film History Filmography, just as any other art of entertainment, depended on the existing models to sustain the production processes with the aim of producing high quality and relevant films as well as motion pictures. The development of the Edison motion picture and its database reveals just how the progress was. The achievements in the film industry have undergone through a series of sophisticated transformations (Johnson, 2002). This period was characterized by the production of low budget films which were characterized by poor quality. These productions were mainly showcased in theatres for entertainment without any pedagogical purposes. From the analysis of early film producers such as Edwin S porter, it becomes evident that the use of motion pictures as a means of entertainment had previously been existent prior to the nineteenth century. Various films have showcased the progress that has been made in the film industry (Cook, 1991). Back then, producers used magic lanterns and other projec tion devices to relay their pictures on the walls for their audiences. The absence of the modern day camera and editing computer software forced most of the producers to rely on brief single shots of their scenes. In fact, they relied entirely on the sequencing of the films to tell their stories through pictures. This production technique was tiring and discouraged the participation of numerous producers thus resulted in a less appealing industry unlike the modern day’s film industry. ... Porter understood that besides the entertaining aspects of the films, they also communicated ideas to their audience. For his movie to gain relevance among the target audience, therefore, he wrote a simple storyline which addressed familiar themes. Despite the progressive development of the motion picture as a means of entertainment, this aspect of the art has not changed. Works of art communicate to their audience. Consequently, artists are compelled to make productions that are of relevance to their target audience. Porter’s film followed a simple story line in which highway robbers hijacked a train wagon to steal from the passengers. To this day, the twelve minute film is considered the greatest production of the time and a milestone in production. Back then, the only known means of transport was the train; it linked towns and states. The train was the only means of transport that guaranteed the reliability of the modern day planes. However, instances of hijackings and othe r on voyage robberies were rampant. Porter’s film is motivated by the rampant robberies and other uncertainties associated with the journey. As the industry develops through time, other producers of film retain the desire to stay relevant to their audience’s expectations and the only way of achieving this is by developing films that follow familiar themes. However, others stretch the imagination of their audiences but they always provide a connection between the current societies to the imagined setting in their films (Geuens, 2000). A number of factors which include the complexity of the story line and the available means of production influences the timing of films. The Great Train Robbery lasted twelve