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A Short History Of The Cinema                                                Author Unknown



             In 1995, 1he movies' will be 100 years old  December 28th,  1895 was the first date en which an audience
             parted w1th money to watch smoothly-moving photographic Images being projected onto a screen  The show,
             which took place In Pans. lasted twenty m1nutes and cost one franc per person


             The ellect of thiS new mvention proved to be enormous  By 191 o  film had spawned a  huge industry, and
             created rts first 'stars·  In the twenties and th1rt1es  hundreds of millions of people all over the world went to the
             ctnema each week  Most of the  films produced aimed simply to entertam  Others contained mformation,
             propaganda or social proteS1.

             However after the Second World War, the film Industry faced a  major threat from tetevlston, which was now
             bemg llllnsrmtted m many countnes  Dunng the battle for audiences, film-makers Introduced betler sound
             bigger screens and g1mm1cks such as 3-0  Today, Amencan btocllbuslers like the Star Wars films can still pack
             out the cinemas  However, overall atlendance rematns tow  tn the 1980's  people in Bntain go to the cmema
             on average once a year; in Europe between two and three hmes. In North Amelica SIX limes a year  It seems
             that if film Is to survive beyond its 1 OOth birthday. it will not be m the kind of cinemas we are used to today

             The Rise of Video · Video is a more reoenttnvenlion than film. but it is Still much older than most people think
             In fact, the first v1deo disk went on sale m a london store in 1938. Although v1deo was origmally developed for
             use 1n TV the recent mvenllon of a vtdeo projection system means that aud1enoes can watch a video produc-
             hon on a large screen  Film 1s now betng challenged on •ts home ground

             Seeing is Oece•v•ng · When we watch a film in the cinema, or a television programme at home, we expect to
             see movement on the screen.  In fact, the movement all takes place ins1de the vtewer's mind.  This is due to
             what is called 'persistence of vision'  What this means is that our eyes keep an Impression of any Image we
             see for about one-thirtieth of a second after the image has been removed.  So. If we are shown a senes of still
             •mages in very rapid success•on, each •mage blends into tile follOWing one in what appears to be a smooth,
             contmuous process.

             Flicker-book Pictures • A  n1Cker-book illustrates thiS prmetple very well  To make one. take a small blank
             notebook.  On I he same spot on each page draw a simple stick figure.  Slightly change the poslhon of on ann,
             or a leg, or both, between one page and the next.  When you have finished the drawings-the more the better·
             nick over the pages 1n rapid succession and the stick figure Will appear to be waving or kicking, or whatever you
             have drawn

             Both film and vtdeo depend upon pei'Slstence of VISIOn in order to create the HluSion of movement.  When a film
             IS  be1ng  shot, the camera records the actiOn  by taking 24 dtfferent photographs per second  later these
             photographs (normally known as frames) are passed through a  projector al the same speed, 24 frames per
             second (fps).  In this way, the action is recreated on the screen

             A video tmage on TV is made up m the same way  VIdeo works at a different rate from film, and this rate is not
             standard throughout the world.  In Europe the image is formed, brollen up and re-formed 50 limes a second  In
             North Amenca the rate 1s 60 times a second  However, lhts does not mean that video shows more than tWice
             as many frames as f1im.  because each frame 1S  shown twice  Therefore  the number or different  frames
             screened per second Is 25 1n Europe, and 30 in North Amenca

             Spots and Ghosts • The ma1n difference between film end video is that film is produced chemically while
             video is produced electronically.  Film generally results 1n a ctearar, better.quehty image. while video is faster
             and cheaper


             How Film Works · Dunng filming  the film is passed through the camera where ills exposed to light  After this.
             it has to be sent to a laboratory to be processed.  IllS this that makes film slower than v1deo. which does not
             need to be processed  First the film has to be developed. by being soaked in chemicals.  This produces a
             negative, which shows an image of the subject, not in its origmal colours but tn •Is opposite colours.  Thus, blue
             becomes yellow. green becomes magenta, and red becomes cyan (greenish-blue)  Th1s negative could be
             proJected  but it would create a ghostly, other-wor1dly effect  Normally a positive pnnt is made for projection, so
             that the colours seen on the screen ara the same as those of the onginal subject
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