Evolution of cinema:
Final Assignment 

Cinematography is defined by the dictionary as 'the art of photography and camerawork in film-making' however most view it as the telling of a story and source of entertainment trough a video. 

Cinematography did not start out as films are viewed today, with their bright colours, loud sounds, and visual effects to make worlds beyond our beliefs. Instead, it first began in the late 1880's, starting as just multiple black and white consecutive photos put together to create the illusion of a moving image, no sound, and no effects. The earliest surviving example of this is the “Roundhay Garden Scene,” created in 1888 at just 2.11 seconds long.

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By 1891 Thomas Edison had the kinetograph, the first camera to take motion pictures on a moving strip of film. And the kinetoscope, a device designed for a film to be viewed by one individual, a heavy piece of machinery operated electronicky. He then went on to invent in 1896 the Vitascope, an early film projector that used light to cast images that were originally taken on the kinetoscope, which really took off in the U.S.

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From then the Lumière brothers came along Louis and Auguste, who are both often credited for the invention of cinematography, building on Edison's idea of the kinetograph and further inspired by the claw in a sewing machine; which enabled the film to be dragged to capture multiple frames per second, lead to the invention of the cinematograph, lighter then the kinetograph and manually operated and portable it was revolutionary, and used first publicly in 1895. The Lumiere brothers went on to make 40 plus films which spanned into the early 20th century, Such as 'The arrival of the train' which is seen as a documentary, 'A game of cards', 'A toiling blacksmith' which were both seen as comedy shorts, and many more. All the brothers’ early films only lasted a couple of seconds long, but they sparked the beginning of everyday life documenting.

This inspired many others like Edwin S. Porter and George Méliès during the early 20th century to experiment with filming, by creating their own storytelling language, due to the lack in recourses of technology.

Some of their famous works entail Edwin S. Porter's 'The Great Train Robbery' in 1902, the first film to have a narrative although difficult to understand due to the lack in shot-types, and included a new editing technique in a scene of the camera panning following the characters running into a creek, never yet seen before, which enhanced the storytelling putting distance between the robbers and the train. This film was known for its various techniques for the first close up and cross-cutting, which is a type of editing used to cut back and forth from multiple storylines happening side-by-side, the same techniques seen throughout classical cinema. 

And George Méliès 'A Trip to the Moon' in 1903 one of the first film's to ever experiment with visual effects entailing substitution splices, multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, dissolves and hand-painted colour; popularising them through the 500 more films he created. All of these effects could be used to develop the way a story was told and expand the genres film had to offer being the first sci-fy. 

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From 1908 to 1924 Billy Bitzer and D. W. Griffith worked together to produce nearly 500 films, developing techniques and creating the close-up, fade-out, soft focus, and backlighting, all techniques used to help the narrative and guide the audience. Their movies created the artistry of film, symbolic representations and messages that could be shown through further developing techniques. 

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Cinematography had continued to evolve in many ways during the early 20th century all moving towards the creation of sound and colour in film and advance technology, this was all down to the fierce cinematographers who took chances and experimented to bring their audiences entertainment and push the boundaries of imagination.