THE “MOVIES”

Evening Star, Issue 22070, 2 July 1935, Page 11

THE “MOVIES”

THEIR EVOLUTION It is hard for us to realise, in this ago of the popularity of the pictures, that some forty years ago they did not exist, at least in the? form in which wo lioW know them (says a writer in the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’). Motion pictures are stated to have arisen from a meeting of members of the Royal Society of Great Britain 90 years ago. At which a paper was read on the * Persistence of Vision in Regard, to a Moving Object.’ The lecture Was illustrated by very simple apparatus, consisting of a sheet of cardboard through which passed a piece of string. Oil one side of the cardboard was a cage and on the other a bird, and by twirling the string the bird appeared to enter the cage. Sir John Herschol, Michael Faraday, and others saw many possibilities in it. Faraday followed u|i the idea with a long series of experiments, as also did a Dr Joseph Plateau at the University of Ghent mid Dr Von Steinpfor in Vienna, with the result that the three scientists arrived at practically an identical device for Viewing hand-drawn pictures “representing successive phases of motion. The pictures were mounted in sequence oil the rim of a disc and were observed through corresponding slits in a parallel disc. In 1861 photography was first-applied to the creation Of motion picture effects by photographing poses of motion and presenting the resulting pictures on the blades of a paddle-wheel device,

So far the pictures were on paper. A succession, of machines followed, and then came the: era of glass plates. Records Were made with a series of comeras, Which, however, gave the illusion of the pictures themselves standing still while the scenery swept past them. This difficulty had to he overcome. Then followed recorded pictures of microscopic Size in spirals on a cylinder, after the manner of a phonograph record. Later, strips of film were constructed of collodion and experiments made with strips of heavy celluloid. -l THE COMING OF THE FILM. Ih 1689 samples of the first Eastman kodak film were obtained by Edison, who, later in the year, produced the kinetoscope. It Was a peep-show device for Viewing the motion pictures recorded by the Edison camera, known as the kihetogriipll. The film strips Were about 50ft iii length and iin inch in width. ThO pictures Were shown in New York first, ill April, 1894, and viewed by transmitted light by one person at a time. They wore little Views of prize fights, dancers, and vaudeville scenes, and cOllld only be regarded tts curiosities. At OUCe,, however, .the idea caught on, and the machines found their way to the principal capitals Of the world. The demand then arose for a machine which Would project film pictures on the scteeli, making them Available for largo audiences, and demand led to the invention Of the cinematograph. This waS produced by the Lutliiere Bros., of Lyohs, France, who Were inspired by an Edison kinetoScope exhibition in Paris. In March, 1895, they demonstrated their machine in Lyons aiid later in London. One of the reasons why the moving pictures could not be shown in their present fofm at this tiiilfe waS that the necessary materials And technology required were not .then evolved. One of these was the projector. •In September, 1895, this machine was shown to the public. Others followed at slightly later dates, with the result that the screen pictures were introduced by lectures and demonstrations in which Lumiere Bros, were especially active. The motion picture ivas still only a novelty. in. the autumn of 1897 the young industry in America was thrown into a

complex and violent war of litigation over patents, which continued for a decade. In Europe the art suffered long disfavour as the result qf_a charity bazaar fire in Paris in 1897 in which 180 French notables died. r lhe lire was traced, to the motion picture machines. The industry was in low water also because capitalists would not invest their money in what was considered to be a passing phase hi which the public would soon lose interest. LONGER FILMS. Films gradually attained greatcl length than 50ft. In March, 1899, 11,000 ft of film was exposed in photographing the Corbett-Fitzsimmons fight hi Nevada. During the same year 3,000 ft was used in staging a version of the Passion Play on a roof. In 1903, in the Edison studios, was staged ‘ The Great Train Robbery ’ as the first programme. It was tremendously profitable, and the wave of 5-cent theatres, commonly called Nickelodeons, swept over the States. Increased demand forced the picturemakers to the erection of larger stages and the organisation of stock companies of actors. The standard motion picture of the period' wad a sensational story of one reel in length. In 1908 D. W. Griffith, an actor, entered the services of the American Biograph Company in New York as the writer of scenarios, and had an important influence in the development of the art of Screen narration. In 1909 Gladys Smith, a child actress from the melodrama stage, now known as Mary Pickford, Was employed by Griffith. Five years later Chas. Spencer Chaplin, a British actor and pantomimist, was employed for Keystone comedies, and his extraordinary ability made him famous within a few months. In 1910 he was employed at an enormous salary, and with other major stars, including Miss Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, outgrew the pay-rolls and became independent producers. In 1915 D. W. Griffith’s ‘ Birth of a Nation’ made a new standard of screen narration and spectacular presentation. This picture continues with a running power 20 years after its lirst presentation. And so the picture industry developed and' the movies are known throughout all countries of the world. The motion picture, which began m 1894 with popular shows in films 50ft long, costing 25d0l each, has reached the length of perhaps 12,000 ft of film, witn costs ranging into thousands of pounds. CENSORSHIP. The motion picture early began to encounter censorship restrictions. 11l 1895 the police of Atlantic City, New Jersey, forbade the exhibition of a film Showing a dance brought to the United States from Cairo. In 1907 Chicago put motion pictures under police censorship control; Jn New York the Children s Society prosecuted exhibitors for showing pictures of the ‘ Great Thaw Trial ’ to audiences of young children. In Great Britain in 1909 screen picture tlieatfcs were placed under license; The direct influence of censorships has been on the whole slight as compared with the extent of the agitation. As Internal standards of the art'have improved, censorship movements have tended to lose vigour. In 1918 a Commonwealth censorship was started, and at first the pictures were judged on synopses that were submitted. The pictures were not looked at. this was found not to be an accurate guide, and later on all pictures were screened, which is the practice to-day. The Censorship Board consists of three members (one of whom is a woman), with provision for appeal to an appeal censor, and jurisdiction over all pictures entering and leaving the Commonwealth.

Sound pictures in their present form were first shown in Sydney about Christmas, 1928. They were tried before, hut were unsatisfactory There are now comparatively no silent pictures. With the coming of sound, the picture became more like a stage play.

THE FUTURE OF THE MOVIES. What is to be the future of the movies? And on what lines will future improvements follow ? Chatting over the matter with the chief censor, Mr' Creswell O’Reilly, the writer gathered that he thought that such improvements will bo in the nature of all-colour films; the taking of the pictures hy stereoscopic cameras, and also that television will have a great effect upon films of the future. What bearing will television have on the new films when it comes, and when will it conic? Mf O’Reilly thinks it may come tls suddenly upon us ns the talking pictures; if so, it will probably he connected with our present wireless installations. Maybe by pressing a button well-to-do persons Will shortly be enabled in their own homes to entertain their friends with living pictures of what is actually, happening at that moment at home and abroad, and without access to. the theatre at all.

We can only wait and see what the future will bring.