Juan Monroy — History of Cinema: Class 4, Early American Film

Don't forget to watch some early American films.

1 Nickelodeons
- 1.1 urban entertainment
  - newly arrived immigrants
  - factor workers
  - cost of admission: 5–10¢
  - program of short films
- 1.2 dedicated to only screening motion pictures
- 1.3 Nickelodeon era, 1905–1912
- 1.4 required steady supply of new films
- 1.5 wave of new production companies
2 Edwin S. Porter
- 2.1 filmmaker for Thomas Edison, 1899–1909
- 2.2 Life of an American Fireman
- 2.3 The Great Train Robbery
  - biggest hit of the nickelodeon era
  - fast-paced: 20 shots
  - close-ups: Gay Shoe Clerk
  - indoor-outdoor settings
  - cross-cut
- 2.4 Kleptomaniac
  - Porter’s experimental period
  - two parallel stories
  - thematic relevance
- 2.5 Rescued from an Eagle’s Nest
3 Motion Picture Patents Company
- 3.1 Film Companies
  - Edison
  - Biograph
  - Vitagraph
  - Essanay
  - Selig
  - Lubin
  - Kalem
  - Star Film Company (Méliès)
  - American Pathé
- 3.2 Distributor
  - George Kleine
- 3.3 Film Stock
  - Eastman Kodak
4 MPPC: Trust, Cartel
- 4.1 Formed December 18, 1908
- 4.2 patents pool
  - Latham Loop from Biograph
  - Kodak motion picture film
- 4.3 controlled nearly all film production and distribution
  - approach film as supply for their machines
- 4.4 Standardization
  - length of films: one-reel
  - General Film Company
  - rental system in favor of sales
  - one-week runs
- 4.5 Licensing
  - all films must be licensed
  - unlicensed films
    - litigation
    - disrupted production
5 Silent Heroes
- 5.1 Thomas Ince
- 5.2 Broncho Film Company
- 5.3 Civil War historical film
- 5.4 adventure films
6 Making of an American Citizen
- 6.1 Alice Guy-Blaché
- 6.2 Solax film company
7 Keystone
- 7.1 Mack Sennett
- 7.2 Fatty Joins the Force
- 7.3 Kid’s Auto Races at Venice
8 D.W. Griffith
- 8.1 Biograph Film Company
- 8.2 An Unseen Enemy
- 8.3 The Battle of Elderbush Gulch