History of cinema

Where did it begin?

Cinema wasn’t invented by one man, In 1891 the Edison Company in the USA was able to demonstrate a working prototype of moving images but was restricted to one user at a time using a device known as ‘kinetoscope’. The first to be able to project moving pictures on a screen were the Lumiere Brothers. Initially, a film would last minutes and would be limited in quality with there being no audio but rather actors would accompany the film and at times narrate or make few effects to help bring the movie to life or colour. These projections were first displayed in parks and other public attractions.

How cinema evolved

During 1909 British citizens got the first glimpse at coloured films, unfortunately, coloured movies were extremely expensive and time-consuming proving them ineffective for a business with black and white movies still being the dominant way to show a film. As technology advanced production became cheaper allowing for coloured films to become the industry standard. Synchronized Audio was eventually added undergoing several changes before it reached what it is today.

The fall and rise

The film industry had seen staggering growth since its birth with 32 million people visiting cinemas in Britain alone. It reached its peak in the 1930s with films being coloured and using sounds movies had become the primary source of entertainment. After World War 1 the world was dull and needed a spark of joy, with the rapid growth of the industry they were available everywhere and as time went on movies grew bigger focused more on narrative and it connected with the audience well. With the introduction of television, the idea of being able to watch movies and shows anytime at any time at the comfort of your home seemed like a need instead of luxury at the time and influenced many people to buy a television. This caused a massive drop in sales with only a million British people going to watch movies. In due time as the experience of a cinema, improved people found watching a movie on a big screen with a large audience to make a movie more enjoyable.

What's next?

As technology improves everyday VFX becomes more common allowing directors to have more creative freedom and make movies never seen before. Robots are now being invented to replace stunt doubles and reduce the use of VFX to make action scenes look more realistic. 3D films are seeming to make a return with better 3D technology to make the audience feel more immersed and engaged.

Writer: Atif Agboatwala

22/06/2020