Joe Katulak
A trip to the moon.
1) Relate
what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.
A Trip to the Moon was truly a ground
breaking movie for all of film history and some of the effects that were used
in the film greatly influenced how many films of today are even made. As we
discussed in class, the film was shot at only 16 frames per second as opposed to
the 24 frames per second that we have since been accustomed to in more recent
films. However being able to shoot 16 still images in one second and displaying
them consecutively to tell a story was still ground breaking for its time. Also
the use of practical effects in the film really set it apart from any other
film of its time by creating an optical illusion to the audience. By
being able to make a quick cut in the film when the moon monsters were attacked, then cut to another frame but in place of the monster there was a puff of
smoke. This technique gave audiences something they have never seen before and
began to open the door for other directors to get creative in their own ways in
other films.
2) Find
a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic
content, etc.)
and
summarize the content. You may use the library or the internet.
The article, "Georges MéLIèS: First Wizard of Cinema" from the New York Times, discusses the legacy of Georges MéLIèS
and how he had such a great effect on the film industry and left a lasting impression. The article discusses how before becoming a film maker
he was once a magician, and because of that he was able to use what he knew
from being a magician to translate those types of effects onto the big screen.
The article goes on to further discuss some of MéLIèS works (including a trip
to the moon) and describes at the time how influential they were and
groundbreaking for that era of film making. The article also
mentions how MéLIèS was not progressive throughout his entire career and was
eventually surpassed in the film making world by many of his colleagues. The
article concludes by mentioning that because of MéLIèS work we are able to have the types of movies that we have today.
3)
Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or
change
the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?
Overall the article did not change my
opinion on GEORGES
MéLIèS, the director of “A Trip to the Moon”, however the article did give me a
little more insight to who MéLIèS was and what he did throughout his career as
a film maker. Learning about how MéLIèS was first a magician before becoming a
film maker really made sense to me as to why he was able to use the effects he used
in his movies. The effect of having the moon monsters turn into puffs of smoke
was definitely a trick that came from his background in magic and in a way
revolutionized the way movies were made.
It was however sad to learn that even though his ambition for creating
better effects continued, the actual quality his story telling declined, which ultimately led to him being
surpassed by other film makers later in his career. And even though the special effects that
appeared in “A Trip to the Moon” are nothing compared to what we are used to in
terms of special effects today, it’s hard to not appreciate what MéLIèS did
for film making during his time. For me the article really put that point
through, that even though not all of his movies were great, what MéLIèS
accomplished for the film making industry was truly remarkable.
4)
Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed
as a
result
of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article. I am less
interested
in whether you liked or disliked a film, (although that can be part of this)
than I
am
in your understanding of its place in film history or the contributions of the
director.
Overall I genuinely enjoyed “A Trip to the
Moon”. Being that this was one of the earliest movies that was able to tell a
story with moving pictures, I thought it still held up as entertaining today,
even with the higher standards that we have now. First of all I thought that
the strong body language and over the top performances from the actors help
keep the viewers interested in a time when there was no dialogue to tell the
story. In most films from this time period the directors would mostly rely on
set design and performances from the actors to tell the story; however in “A
Trip to the Moon”, MéLIèS also is able to use practical effects which make the movie much
more aesthetically pleasing in my opinion but also allow the story to be told
in a way where it might not have been able to otherwise. Using simple
effects such as the changing facial expressions on the moon add another layer
to the film that had not been done in other films. Also the way the film was edited I think
really added a new dimension to how films could be made. The use of dissolves was
an effect that was a spectacle to many people in the audience where as now it
is something that is more or less expected from a movie. Overall I think this is a film that I think will be
talked about as long as movies are still being made and it is no wonder that
the film has recently been released on blu ray.
CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( ) I have not handed in this assignment for any
other class. 2) ( ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other
classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) ( ) If I used any passages word for word, I
put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 4) (
) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in
the text of the paper. 5) ( ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally
read. 6) ( ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in
another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) ( ) I did not
so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 8) ( ) I
checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and
ideas used in my paper.
Name:Joseph Katulak________________ Date:9/16/14________
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