A few things about the Lumiere Brothers’ films:

• The movement;
• The stories in 50 seconds;
• The use of diagonal, of perspective, of the subjects coming on and off camera;
• The composition (like a photographer) on the frame of the screen;
• The overacting;
• The tracking shot;
• The bringing of other worlds to our world (Venice, New York, Chicago, Japan, Africa, Egypt, Moscow, Turkey)
• The benefit of movies:
• A historical document;
• Entertainment;
• Show us the lives of people: their work, clothes, customs;
• Teach us about other cultures;
• Document disasters and ecological tragedies;
• Political statements (colonialization).
• Special effects (rewinding the film)
• The range of stories:
• Pillow fight among children, guy on bicycle, moving sidewalk, French army hopping on the horse, acrobats, trains, laundry women, horses pulling stones, the fire ladder, the guy run over by a carriage, dancing army, Chicago moustaches, ducks vs. horses, Vietnam cow, pig comedy, opium smokers, trumpet saw, colonial ladies tossing crumbs, …

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For our next class (Tuesday, Sept. 7^th), I’d like you to write something for me based on the four films we’ve seen (Lumiere Brothers, Battleship Potemkin, The Birth of a Nation, Metropolis). You can write about anything, but here are a few suggestions:

• Compare the Lumiere Brothers to the other three films;
• Look at one technical element of film (sound, editing, acting, costumes, lighting, camera, directing, story,…) and discuss how this technique is at work in these four movies—but in different ways.
• How are the benefits of movies demonstrated through these movies?
• Take one small part of one film and dissect it. Or take one moment or scene from a couple of these movies and analyze them.
• Personal: What effect do these movies have on you?
• Or anything else…. These are just quick ideas off the top of my head.

Length: Don’t worry about it. A couple of pages will probably do it.

Format: Typed, double-spaced, in the MLA format (see back of this page)

Why: Because I want to help each of you with your writing this semester, and to do I need to get something of yours into my hands.

Also: Bring a blank cassette tape with your paper. I record my comments rather than write them in the margins