TCF 112 Motion Picture History and Criticism
Class Notes: Porter, & Griffith

Edwin S. Porter (1870-1941)

E.g., Life of an American Fireman (January 1903)
E.g., The Great Train Robbery (December 1903)

Differences from Méliès

  1. Begins to break scenes down into individual shots
  2. Outdoor scenes--on location
  3. Primitive camera movement
  4. Primitive framing variation
    1. Close-ups--but only rarely

D. W. Griffith (1875-1948)

E.g., The Lonedale Operator (1911)
E.g., Birth of a Nation (1915)

  1. Variation of camera position
    1. Close-ups
  2. Lighting
  3. Iris
  4. Intertitles
  5. Editing
    1. Scenes broken down into several shots
    2. Parallel editing
  6. Longer films


Last revised: Wednesday, January 5, 2005 10:30 AM