The History Of Film

Film over the years has changed in various ways, from the introduction of the first black and white silent film, to colour, then later to add sound. However, in terms of time, all of this happened within the last 100 years, which is really quite amazing considering how far we have come within the last 5 or so years with the introduction of high definition media. But where did it all start?

The earliest surviving film was shown on the 14th of October, 1818, the film was entitled Roundhay garden scene. This would mark the start of the silent era. This is because of the fact that films at this time did not include any sound. Cinemas and theatres showing films would have a pianist playing music suited for the film. After the breakthrough of film technology was becoming more updated in terms of what they could produce, for example in 1918 Cupid Angling was the first film to be shown with full colour.

Soon after this, the world would see the end of the silent era, as sound started to find its way into the cinema and into films. Although this was not the first time the world had seen ‘talkies’ or ‘talking pictures’ it was the first time it had been shown commercially to the public, the first known public exhibition of sound films was in fact in 1900, which took place in Paris. However, these films were not fully synchronized with the sound. The first Synchronized ‘talking picture’ was shown in New York City in April 1923. The ‘talkies’ would then go on to secure Hollywood’s position as one of the worlds most powerful cultural systems. While this appealed to the majority, a small minority thought the addition of sound would destroy the “unique aesthetic virtues” of silent films.

In February 1927 the five leading film production companies which included the likes of Paramount, MGM and Universal Studios signed an agreement detailing that they would collectively select one provider for sound conversion, this created a standard for the use of sound within the film industry. Later on October 6th 1927, Warner Bros’ The Jazz Singer was premiered. The film was an instant success, with a gross amount of $2.625 million in just the US alone. The profits from this film proved that the technology of sound was something worth investing in. Although this film did not affect the film industry immediately in May 1928 four film studios including United Artists signed with ERPI for the conversion of production facilities and theatres for sound within film. However, while the technology was there, most Hollywood production companies were slow to produce their own ‘talking picture’ until June 17, 1928 when The Perfect Crime premiered which was produced by the Film Booking Offices of America, this production company was later merged with the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theatre chains to form RKO Radio Pictures in October 1928.

However during the spring Warner Bros’ had produced three more ‘talkies’ all of which were profitable. In fact, they gained an amount comparable to The Jazz Singer. Then on July 6, 1928 Warner Bros’ released the first all-talking feature film Lights Of New York. The film only cost a measly $23,000, but grossed a staggering $1.252 million. This then completely overthrew the gross earnings of The Jazz Singer. 1928 was an exciting time for film; the first animated cartoons were introduced with sound, for example Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie which introduced the iconic character of Mickey Mouse.

After this the world was amazed and intrigued by the addition of colour and sound to their films. After so many years the technology became more advanced, and the quality of film became more defined and detailed, for example the use of a green screen like technique was introduced during the 1930’s at RKO Radio Pictures. The green screen technology was used to create special effects for films such as The Thief of Bagdad (1940). The evolution of this technology has enabled us to create stunning films with almost realistic effects. Without these films, that constantly changed the conventions of how moving pictures were produced we would not have the ‘talkies’ we have today.