Moving Images

I remember going to one exhibit in particular. We all sat down and watched a portion of the early movie, A Great Train Robbery (1903). The movie is simply about a group of bandits that rob a train and try to get away with it. Of course, they do not succeed and are killed. The plot did not really matter because the focus was on everything else. This was the first time color was used in film. I learned that from our lovely tour guide. She told us that they would actually hand paint each frame. On top of that, the scenes were long with no camera movement, which was the norm back then. However, unlike The Train Leaving the Station, this film was longer and took place in different locations. In addition, it was also terrifying to viewers. They were shocked at how realistic the story and visuals were. This film was the first blockbuster to be released. It is interesting to see how far we have come with our technology. Going through the museum, we were able to see the progression of the camera, lighting, and editing. It is crazy how we can now not only use color, but we have so many tools to move the camera instead of keeping it stagnant. All of these qualities help to create more captivating, artistic, and realistic films.