Earliest Silent Films

Today in class, we had the chance to watch the first film ever shot. It was a silent film, because the technology of adding sound to films was added way after the start of the creation of the films. There were some very interesting things that I noticed about this film. One of them was the way that the camera never seemed to capture any individual people. Instead, they would film from somewhat of a distance. They would film alot of different normal day things happening and they would include the setting. I was able to see the big buildings in the background and people covering the streets. There was never really a piece of the film that had any closeups on one or more people, they were more like documentaries made of big cities. They picked cities that people wanted to see. Places in the United States were filmed, like Chicago and New York, plus places all over the world, even in Moscow. Another thing that I noticed about the film was that the camera angle or direction never changes. The shots that they would take were amazing, because they picked spots that could show you alot about what places are like. The way that they filmed in this way lets us use it for historical information, like how they dress and act. The train film was also very interesting. I can see how someone might be a little bit frightened or freaked out by moving pictures because it was something very new to them.

The other three films that we watched today, had alot in common. These movies were all made around the same time. This explains why they are so similar, because as we read in the Kenez for today, the filmmakers would produce things that the people were entertained by. Obviously the people in this time really started to like dramatic romances. These films told stories to the viewer, unlike the first film. Each of the films featured some type of affair. In the first two films the women weren't being loyal to their men, but in the third, it was the man who was not loyal to his woman. The ideas of affairs or not being loyal to your significant other are constantly used in the films produced today in the US. It is a very universal idea. These films were also silent, but there is music that accompanies them. I think that the music was probably a huge improvement to the viewers back then. First of all because they probably started thinking that if they could put music with the film, eventually they will have the technology to have all of the sound for movies. It was probably also a big improvement to the film because it makes it appeal more to the viewers' senses. Also, even though they were silent films, the actors do a really good job of showing emotions with their facial expressions and body gestures. This helps the viewer to follow along much more easily, along with the short breaks that come onto the screen showing what is said.