The Lumiere brothers
The history of film editing started with the Lumiere brothers, as they were early pioneers of film making inventing the cinematography, in 1895, which is an early film camera and projector. Early films were short films that were one long, static shots, and lock-down shots.
Technology
The
application of photographic principles and the launch of photographic quality
celluloid saw Thomas Edison and William Dickson developing their own moving
picture device - the Kinetoscope, a peephole device which invited viewers to
look into a hole in the top of a large wooden cabinet and experience true
moving pictures.
The
Lumière's in France inspired by Edison's Kinetoscope, set about developing
their own moving picture device - the Cinématographe, a 'taking picture' device
which doubled as a projection device when light was directed into the back of
the camera, passing through the celluloid film and out of the lens
Georges Melies
Had the
capacity for manipulating and distorting time and space. He expanded upon his
initial ideas and devised some complex special effects.He pioneered the first double exposure, the first split screen with performers acting opposite themselves, and the first dissolve. Melies tackled a wide range of subjects as well as the fantasy films usually associated with him, including advertising films and serious dramas.
D.W. Griffith was one of the first people to
create a full feature film called The Birth of a Nation in 1915 in America, and
Griffith was one of the first to use different camera techniques that are
commonly used today, like panoramic long shots, still shots and panning shots
to create his film. Griffith was one of the first to understand how certain
film techniques could be used to create an expressive language. The Birth of a Nation is based on the Novel “The Clansman” -1915 The film included camera techniques such as panoramic long shots, iris effect, still shots, cross cutting and panning shots. There techniques are widely used today to create films
In 1908 Emile Cohl created one of the first
animated cartoon films, called Fantasmagorie made up of 700 drawings, each one
being double-exposed. Cohl made Fantasmagorie from February to May or June 1908. This is considered the first fully animated film ever made. Despite the short running time, the piece was packed with material devised in a stream of consciousness style.
In 1941, Orson Welles directed the revolutionary film Citizen Kane which even today is seen as one of the best films ever produced. It involved techniques people hadn't seen before like fades and experimental angles. Orson believed in film editing being one of the main process in producing a film. Editing is the last stop between an idea and the final product.
In 1979 Apocalypse Now was released. The opening of 'Apocalypse Now' saw him fade 5 clips over one another with different audio. At the time this was a really difficult thing to do. 'Murch' increased the prowess of his talent by being able to boast emotion through the editing of the opening. He did this through the fades and sounds. When understanding the technology the feat is highly creditable.
In 2002 the City of God was released and the editing has been used carefully in this film and much likethe cinematography, aspects used are typical of Scorsese films. Meirelles uses fast cutediting which is found a lotin Scorsese’s work, thistechnique is not typicallyfound in issue films and avoidsmaking the film feel long inlength. It also isrepresentative of thechaotic life of the favelas.
