Introduction & Development Of

Film

The history of film began in the 1890s,with the invention of the first motion-picture cameras and the establishment of the first film production companies and cinemas.

The films of the 1890s were under a minute long and until 1927,motion pictures were produced without sound.

The first eleven years of motion pictures show the cinema moving from a novelty to an established large-scale entertainment industry.

The first rotating camera for taking panning shots was built in1897.

The first film studios were built in 1897

In 1900,continuity of action across successive shots was achieved and the close-up shot was introduced. Most films of this period were what came to be called “chase films”.

The first feature length multi-reel film was a 1906 Australian production.

The first successful permanent theatre showing only films was “The Nickelodeon” in Pittsburgh in 1905.

The world’s 1st animation film The world’s 1st film

The world’s 1st colour film

HISTORY OF FILM IN INDIA

The first Indian film released in India was Shree pundalik a silent film in Marathi by Dadasaheb Torne on 18 May 1912 at ‘Coronation Cinematograph’, Mumbai.

Some have argued that Pundalik does not deserve the honour of being called the 1st Indian film because it was a photographic recording of a popular Marathi play, and because the cameraman-a man named Johnson-was a British national and the film was processed in London.

The Father of Indian cinema- Dadasaheb Phalke

The 1st full-length motion picture in India was produced by Dadasaheb Phalke, he is the pioneer of Indian film industry a scholar on India’s languages and culture.

Who brought together elements from Sanskrit epics to produce his Raja Harishchandra (1913), a silent film in Marathi.

The female roles in the film were played by male actors.

The film marked a historic benchmark in the film industry in India.

Only one print of the film was made and shown at the Coronation Cinematograph on 3 May 1913.

It was a commercial success and paved the way for more such films.

The 1st Indian chain of cinema theatres, Madan Theatre was owned by the parsi entrepreneur Jamshedji Framji Madan, who oversaw production of 10 films annually and distributed them throughout the Indian subcontinent starting from 1902.

In south India, R Nataraja Mudaliar pioneered the production of silent films by producing keechaka vadham, south India’s first silent film.

He also established South India’s first film studio in Madras.

Tickets were made affordable to the common man at a low price and for the financially capable additional comforts meant additional admission ticket price.

Audiences thronged to cinema halls as this affordable medium of entertainment was available for as low as an anna(4 paisa) in Bombay.

The content of Indian commercial cinema was increasingly tailored to appeal to these masses.

Ardeshir Irani released Alam Ara which was the first Indian talking film, on 14 march 1931.

H M Reddy, produced and directed Bhakta Prahlada (Telungu), released on 15 September 1931 and KALIDAS (Tamil) released on 31 October 1931,it was produced by Ardeshir Irani and directed by H m Reddy.

These 2 films are the south India’s first talkie film to have a theatrical release.

The 1st film studio in south India, Durga Cineton was built in 1936 by Nidamarthi Surayya in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh.

As sound technology advanced, the 1930s saw the rise of music in Indian cinema with musicals such as Indra sabha and Devi Devayani marking the beginning of song and dance in India’s films.

Golden Age of Indian cinema

A scene from Bengali film Pather Panchali

Following India’s independence, the period from the late 1944s to the 1960s are regarded by film historians as the ‘Golden Age’ of Indian cinema.

Some of the most critically acclaimed Indian films of all time were produced during this period.

This period saw the emergence of a new parallel cinema movement, mainly led by Bengali cinema.

Pather panchali (1955) the 1st part of The Apu Trilogy (1955-1959) by Satyajit Ray, marked his entry in Indian cinema.

The Apu Trilogy won major prizes at all the major international film festivals and led to the ‘parallel cinema’ movement being firmly established in Indian cinema.

HISTORY OF MALAYALAM FILM:

The first Malayalam cinema was produced and directed by, J C Daniel, a dentist by profession who didn't had any prior experience with cinema.

His film Vigathakumaran was released in 1928, but failed economically. But it is notable that while mythological films ruled all over the Indian cinema arena, J C Daniel had the courage to produce the first ever Malayalam film with a social theme. The economic failure of Vigathakumaran discouraged him from producing further films

The second film Marthandavarma based on a novel of the same name by C V Raman Pillai, was produced by Sunder raj in 1933.

Indian cinema had already entered the talkie age even before Marthandavarma was released. Balan, the first Malayalam cinema with a sound track was released in 1938 Produced by Tamilian, T R Sunderam at the Modern Theatres, Balan was directed by Notan.

A scene from Vigathakumaran

Poster of the 1st Malayalam talkie film Balan

Long after the Golden Age of Indian cinema, South India's Malayalam cinema of Kerala regarded as one of the best Indian film genres experienced its own 'Golden Age' in the 1980s and early 1990s

Some of the most acclaimed Indian filmmakers at the time were from the Malayalam industry, including Adoor Gopalakrishnan, G. Aravindan, T. V. Chandran and Shaji N. Karun

Adoor Gopalakrishnan, who is often considered to be Satyajit Ray's spiritual heir,  directed some of his most acclaimed films during this period, including Elippathayam (1981) which won the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival, as well as Mathilukal (1989) which won major prizes at the Venice Film Festival.

Modern cinema in India & Changes in technology related to

filmo In the late 1960s and early 1970s, romance movies and action films starred actors

like Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar and Shashi Kapoor and actresses like Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz and Asha Parekh.

o In the mid-1970s, romantic confections made way for gritty, violent films about gangsters and bandits.

o Film stock consist of transparent celluloid, acetate, or polyester base coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive chemicals.

o Cellulose nitrate was the first type of film base used to record motion pictures, but due to its flammability was eventually replaced by safer materials.

o Originally moving picture film was shot and projected at various speed using hand-cranked cameras and projectors.

o When sound film was introduced in the late 1920s, a constant speed was required for the sound head.

o 24 frames per second was chosen because it was the slowest and thus cheapest speed which allowed for sufficient sound quality.

o As a medium, film is not limited to motion pictures, since the technology developed as the basis for photography. It can be used to present a progressive sequence of still images in the form of a slideshow.

o Film has also been incorporated into multimedia presentation, and often has importance as primary historical documentation.

o However, historic films have problems in terms of presentation and storage, and the motion picture industry is exploring many alternatives.

o Some studios save color films through the use of separation masters: three B&W negatives each exposed through red, green, or blue filters.

o Some films in recent decades have been recorded using analog video technology similar to that used in television production.

o Modern digital video cameras and digital projectors are gaining ground as well.

Future state of film :

While motion picture films have been around for more than a century, film is sill a relative newcomer in the pantheon of fine arts. In the 1950s, when television became widely available industry analysts predicted the demise of local movie theaters. Despite competition from television’s increasing technological sophistication over the 1960s and 1970s such as the development of color television and large screens, motion picture cinemas continued. In fact with the rise of television’s predominance, film began to become more respected as an artistic medium by contrast due the low general opinion of the quality of average television content. In the 1980s, when the widespread availability of inexpensive videocassette recorders enabled people to select films for home viewing, industry analysts again wrongly predicted the death of the local cinemas.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the development of DVD players, home theater amplification systems with surround sound and subwoofers, and large LCD or plasma screens enabled people to select and view films at home with greatly improved audio and visual reproduction. These new technologies provided audio and visual that in the past only local cinemas had been able to provide : a large, clear widescreen presentation of a film with a full-range, high-quality multi-speaker sound system.

Despite the rise of all-new technologies, the development of the home video market and a surge of online copyright infringement, 2007 was a record year in film that showed the highest ever box-office grosses. Many expected film to suffer as a result of the effects listed above but it has flourished, strengthening film studio expectations for the future.

BIBILIOGRAPHY :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_film

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