6 Chapter 1 In the long history of art and culture the art of making motion pictures is a relative infant The first use of moving pictures dates back to the 1500s but true movies as we think of them today are little more than a century old Yet in that time film has become a major industry employing thousands of people It is one of the most accessible art forms entertaining millions every week The history of cinema is closely tied to the development of technology Capturing moving pictures projecting them adding sound and transitioning to color all required technological breakthroughs An American Art Form
7 The history of film is a story of the imagination and the human experience
At first the flashy effects of new technology were enough to capture the public’s interest In the early 1900s people would line up to see a film depicting a few seconds of daily activity Soon filmmakers and writers added and developed elements of story Movies tapped into every literary genre from comedy to fantasy to horror Animation and special effects have their own histories running parallel to standard live-action pictures Going Hollywood Film has its roots in Europe and the United States From 1914 to 1918 World War I disrupted the industry in Europe allowing Hollywood California in the United States to dominate Many aspects of filmmaking are still centered in Hollywood though today many films are shot on location around the world In recent decades new systems have allowed people to watch movies in their homes While this cut into cinema visits it also created a huge secondary market for home video and recently streaming movies A film now has a life long after it plays in the theater Although home movie cameras existed fairly early it took decades for higher quality cheaper cameras to 8
Hollywood has remained the filmmaking capital of the world for decades become widely available Recently digital media that is cheaper than traditional film has become common These changes have allowed ordinary people to make movies on their own Some independent filmmakers have begun achieving low-budget success Making movies is now accessible to everyone Film is a technology a business a form of entertainment and an art form Its influence has spread throughout culture and society People quote lines from films and gossip about movie stars Movies can get people talking whether it is a discussion of serious issues or enthusiasm about special effects American films are known around the world While cinema has gone global the United States and Hollywood in particular is still seen as the center of moviemaking In many ways cinema can be considered a particularly American art form 9
