Screen Arts 5/3

Film and Animation history 1905-1915

James stuart Blackton was a journalist that interviewed Thomas Edison. Due to a comment about enjoying drawing and a portrait of Edison, Blackton changed careers, became a cameraman, director and a founder of animation. He is credited with creating the first drawn animation on film.

Emile Cohl

Was a member of The Incoherents, a group that believed in the crazy and surreal. They paved the way for surrealists and conceptual artists and were inclusive of ppl that couldnt draw. Cohl took this attitude into animation which became a precursor to modern day cartoons. He created Fantasmagorie in 1908 which is considered to be the worlds first full animated film.

Martin Thornton

Credited with creating the first colour animated film made with Kinemacolor. The special projectors required limited and eventually killed the colour film system.

Winsor Mccay

Self taught classical animator, he use realism and intricate designs. He reacts with his creation in Gertie the Dinosaur(1914).

Ladislaw Starewicz

Used embalmed insects turned into puppets, to film animation. A newspaper had reported the beetles in The Beautiful Leukanida (1910) were actually alive and trained by a russian scientist.

David Wark Griffith

Griffith used techniques from Porter, Guy, Melies and others to create around 450 films between 1908 and 1913. His contribution to film was pacing and sense of speed. Like Alice Guy, he insisted on using real actors, rehearsals and more realistic actor motions. His range of genres included gangster, westerns, comedy and romance. Known as a racist. Created Birth of a Nation in 1915, about the civil war in southern america, using a large budget for the time of $110,000. This film lasted for 2 1/2 hrs.

Only 3 hollywood stars attended his funeral, Mary Pickworth, Richard Bartlemas and Lillian Gish. It only took 5 yrs to become an industry leader. He was born and raised on a modest sized farm, despite claiming to own a plantation. He only attended school for 2-3yrs, but was an avid reader and taught himself. He spent most of his youth in Kentucky. Discovered the theater at 17 and decided to become a playwright. Spent 10yrs covering the country learning how to be an actor, and subsequently a playwright. Movies were considered a burlesque back in those days, embarrassing to be associated with. Around 1910, he started bringing wider america to the viewers. A lot of his films were shot in hollywood. Biograph was the company he worked for, when he finally began signing contracts with his real name. He left Biograph due to conflicts, and most of his "company" left with him. 1915, he released the film Birth of a Nation with the philharmonic orchestra, unheard of at that time. 2nd half of the movie involves heavy KKK scenes, portraying them as heroes in the war reigning vengeance over the "negro beasts". This movie borrow heavily from a screenplay by Dixon, with the racism toned down..