Lesson One - A very short history of film

If you don't know history, you don't know a thing

Let’s face it. Very few of us want to sit around and read about history. For some people it’s hard to see the point and it can really be boring. But it doesn’t have to be boring. Every time you sit down and watch a movie you are watching history.

Think about this for a minute: if there had never been a movie made before would you know anything about what a good movie looks like? Every time you sit down and watch your favorite movies you are building ideas about what you like and what you don’t like as a filmmaker. That’s why the more you know about the history of film the better filmmaker you can be.

Do you know how Quentin Tarantino became a good director? He had a little bit of talent and a lot of time on his hands at work. The man worked at a video store and did nothing but watch movies all day long. And what did that do for him? It gave him an encyclopedic knowledge of films. Watch Kill Bill and you will see hundreds of references to everything from spaghetti westerns, blaxploitation films, and even samurai films.

So when everyone is telling you to stop sitting on your butt watching movies, don’t worry. You’re studying history.

• Film History Introduction

• The Very Beginning

• Edison and the Beginning of American

• Cinema

• George Mielies

• Alice Guy

• The Budding American Film Industry

• D. W. Griffith

• Edison and His Trust

• The Collapse of the Trust

• Hollywood Begins!