Louis and Auguste Lumiere were inspired by Edison’s work and created the Cinematographe; they combined a camera, printer, and projector to create it. The Lumiere brothers were the first people to show their film to a paying audience in the worlds first movie theatre. They had a twenty minute showing of 10 short films, the first was Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory which was 45 seconds long.
http://www.filmsite.org/pre20sintro2.html
George Melies is a French director who wrote, acted, directed, photographed, produced and designed sets and costumes for A Trip to the Moon. This film is the first ever science fiction film that used innovative special effects and ran 14 minutes long. It was inspired by Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and H.G. Wells’ First Men in the Moon (1901). It was named one of the 100 greatest films of the 20th century by The Village Voice, ranking at number 84.
http://www.filmsite.org/voya.html
In 1903 Edwin S. Porter directed and photographed The Great Train Robbery, it is the first narrative film which runs 10 minutes long and 14 scenes. Parallel editing, minor camera movement, location shooting and less stage-bound camera placement are just some of the innovative techniques used in the film; it also uses the first ever pan shots and ellipsis. This film was the most influential films to show the possibility of fictional stories on film.
http://www.filmsite.org/grea.html
D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation is a controversial film based on the former North Carolina Baptist minister Rev. Thomas Dixon Jr.’s anti-black play The Clansman. It’s controversy stems from the portrayal of African American men and then portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan who are the heros of the story. The film has criticism from the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People. Griffith also did cutting edge technical work that were first used in this film are now standard features of films.
http://www.filmsite.org/birt.html
The Jazz Singer was the first feature length Hollywood “talkie” film. In 1927 Warner Brothers produced the film with synchronised sound using a Vitaphone. Warner Brothers saw profits of $3.5 million at the box office. The actors for the film were not just chosen by their acting skills they were chosen also by their speaking and singing capabilities.
Cinema and Society 2012 