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George melies a trip to the moon analysis
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What is Sci-fi
The genre of Sci-fi is an imaginative genre that delves into futuristic settings. The tropes of the genre regard to space travel, exploration of unknown worlds and time travel. Earth is usually the target of invasions and visitations from intergalactic beings, also the exploration of dystopia and utopian societies on earth centuries after the one we live in now.
The Two Movies
The chosen movies are Alien by Ridley Scott and A Trip to the Moon by Georges Melies. Alien in 1979 is an integration of sci-fi and horror which tells the story of a crew who must survive as a strange unhuman encounter terrorises the ship and hunts down each member one by one.
It introduces the rising star and appropriately titled “Queen of Sci-fi” Sigourney Weaver who is casted as the sole survivor, Ripley and the late and great John Hurt as Kane who acts out this iconic scene. [Alien
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Melies worked passionately in cinema and pioneered techniques which would, in later years be used by future film directors.
He was the first to use storyboards; a sequence of hand drawn shots with a description of the scene to show the story throughout. The director also invented, substitution spices, multiple exposures, time lapse photography and dissolves.
Melies experimented with sci-fi and fantasy, his most iconic movie being A Trip to The Moon will be spoken more throughout.
Historical Context can provide any director a sense of inspiration for a story when it comes to the creation of films.
Directed in 1902, 'Le voyage dans la lune' (A Trip to the Moon) came to cinemas directed by Georges Méliès.
During 19th century Georges Méliès creates a new form of special effects and introduced the story board which will later change the world of cinema.
1914-1918 The Great War (World War One).
1929-1939 The Great
Beginning the mid 1920s, Hollywood’s ostensibly all-powerful film studios controlled the American film industry, creating a period of film history now recognized as “Classical Hollywood”. Distinguished by a practical, workmanlike, “invisible” method of filmmaking- whose purpose was to demand as little attention to the camera as possible, Classical Hollywood cinema supported undeviating storylines (with the occasional flashback being an exception), an observance of a the three act structure, frontality, and visibly identified goals for the “hero” to work toward and well-defined conflict/story resolution, most commonly illustrated with the employment of the “happy ending”. Studios understood precisely what an audience desired, and accommodated their wants and needs, resulting in films that were generally all the same, starring similar (sometimes the same) actors, crafted in a similar manner. It became the principal style throughout the western world against which all other styles were judged. While there have been some deviations and experiments with the format in the past 50 plus ye...
the visual medium. In a way that is unique to the cinema, the special effects disrupt the
Jacobs, Lewis. “Refinements in Technique.” The Rise of the American Film. New York: Teachers College Press, 1974. 433-452. Print.
Dr. Strangelove (1964), an adaptation of Peter Bryant’s novel Red Alert, although still bearing the usual traits of a Kubrick film, is something of a departure for him in terms of editing and spatial strategies. The film’s run-time more or less corresponds with the fictional or represented time in the story. This direct correspondence between fictional and real time adds to the sense of temporal compression induced by the film’s insistent editing patterns. Although Dr. Strangelove employs many long takes, it contains the shortest average-shot-length of any Kubrick film. The film consists of roughly 700 shots and has a run time of 94 minutes for an average-shot-length of 8 seconds. Despite the rather short average-shot-length, Dr. Strangelove still resorts to crucial long takes to slow down the rapid momentum of the story (Falsetto, 35).
Auteur theory holds that, ‘a director’s films reflect that director’s personal creative vision, as if he/she were the primary author. From the earliest silent films to contemporary times motion pictures have crossed over and both entertained and educated the viewing audience.
Eadweard Muybridge was a director who made the first movie in 1878, The Horse in Motion. He used multiple cameras and put the individual pictures into a movie. Muybridge’s movie was just pictures of a galloping horse. Muybridge also invented the Zoopraxiscope,the first ever movie projector that made short films and movies. It was able to quickly project images, creating what is known as motion photography and the first movie to ever exist. To use the Zoopraxiscope a disc is put on the device and is turned. As the disc turns, the images are projected onto the screen and the movie starts ...
Science fiction is a genre, which depicts what life would be like in a world with major scientific and technological developments. When it comes to science fiction, the exploration of future technology is a major element. Many stories and films focus on space, robots, aliens, a mad scientist, and/or artificial intelligence. “The universal themes found in science fiction—themes of freedom and responsibility, power, love, individuality and community, good versus evil, technology run amok, and more—present ample opportunity to explore complex issues and compelling controversies at length and in depth in ways that not only engage the intellect, but involve the emotions and expand the imagination.” The story “Flowers for Algernon,” by Daniel Keyes, is an example of science fiction that examines the impact of artificial intelligence. “The End of the Whole Mess,” by Steven King, is an example of science fiction that focuses on the fall of a mad scientist. The film “Gravity” is an example of a science fiction movie that explores the use of major technological advancement within space. In this paper I will assess the major themes portrayed in “Flowers for Algernon,“ “The End of the Whole Mess,” and the film, “Gravity.” Additionally, I will examine how these models of science fiction teach a major lesson about the imperfections of future scientific and technological advancements on society.
Throughout history, the film industry has seen many directing styles and techniques. The early part of the 20th century saw a factory style of film production, but as the years went by, director's began to employ new and untried techniques in their pictures. One such technique which these director's implemented was a new approach to the use of the camera and camera angles. "Casablanca," an Academy Award winning film of 1942 saw director Michael Curtiz manipulate the camera in ways others had not. He uses the close-up, point-of- view, and creative shot motivation methods in his film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, to create an American cinema classic.
It is no doubt that Martin Scorsese has heavily influenced the emulating of American film making from European influences. He is a prime example of a ‘New Hollywood Cinema’ director, not only from his ethnicity and background, but from his sheer interest in this form
In the opening scenes of Alien, we are taken on a five-minute tour of the Nostromo spacecraft. This sequence introduces and invites the audience into the astronaut’s ordinary world. We see the nooks and crannies of
Directors use various techniques to create a compelling and memorable motion picture film for the audience. In 1982`s Blade Runner, Ridley Scott portrays various themes of mortality, memory and identity through various film techniques such as editing, cinematography, and mise-en-scène.
In probably using only one camera for his film, Melies had to basically film in a theater style setting. Almost every shot of the film is a long shot which is taken from the audiences’ point-of-view angle. There were no close-ups in “Trip To The Moon” no dolly shots, or handheld shots..etc. Throughout the film the same angle and longshot is used, however that does not take away from the film, knowing that he could only utilize this shot, Melies went on to first: Decorate his set like no one had ever seen. For instance in the beginning of the film we can see what looks like an abundance of individuals who seemed to be gathered in what resembles a castle of some sort. This is where the so-called “wizards” have gathered and have figured out to take their trip to the moon. The following scene shows us a large cannon type figure, an extremely large cannon to be exact, very abnormal looking. The concept of space travel at this time was unheard of and this being a silent film, allows us to realize that just by looking at this contraption that this is how they are going to get to the moon. It is by these elements that Melies utilizes mise-en-scen, and in other cases such as the rocky hills of the moon, the bullet shaped space-ship that encapsulates the wizards and sends them on their trip.
The 1920’s and 1930’s was considered the golden age for movie production. In the 1920’s the production code started censoring the film makers. This stated that any movie written had to pass a certain criteria examples included: if containing sex, violence, and killing. Early silent movies were often accompanied by live piano or organ music. Films were black and white. According to A Short Stories of the Movies, D.W Griffith, never had the intention to make movies, accidentally writing and reporting for a Louisville newspaper led him to become a movie producer, and writer. He is known as the inventor of Hollywood for using close-up shots, which tightly frames an object; today is known as “zooming”. He also used cross-cutting, in order to make
The genre of what is called science fiction has been around since The Epic of Gilgamesh (earliest Sumerian text versions BCE ca. 2150-2000). The last 4000 years has evolved science fiction and combined it with all categories of genres comprising action, comedy, horror, drama, and adventure in many different ways. From chest bursting aliens, to robot assassins sent back in time science fiction has successfully captured the imagination of nearly everyone that has been introduced to it. The movies Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Independence Day are both examples of films created with the idea of advanced life existing outside the boarders of our own world. The foundation for each film in view of how extraterrestrial life will affect human affairs, however are very different.
After a failed career as a stage actor and writer, David Wark Griffith turned to the cinema in hopes of becoming more successful (Everson 42). The first film Lawrence Griffith (as he now called himself) acted in was the 1907 film Rescued From an Eagle’s Nest, a story about a couple whose baby is taken by an eagle. The film was made by Edison and, like most films at the time, was very simple in terms of camerawork and plot (Blum 9). Griffith continued his acting career by working for Biograph for about a year. Then, in June of 1908, Biograph director Wallace McCutcheon ...