Reference no: EM133805092 , Length: Words Count:500

Assignment:

Please choose 3 from the following developed responses (500 words or more in length per essay).

1. Write an essay that walks through the evolution and development of sound in cinema -- invention, innovation and diffusion. Who were the prime "inventors" and what contributions did they make and how did these lead to bettering or furthering the development of motion picture sound? What were the competing types of sound? How did they differ? Why did one win out over the others? Which studios were instrumental in sound adoption? How did Hollywood respond to sound invention? What were the problems posed by sound to the industry and to filmmakers and how were they overcome? Why did it take so long for sound to come of age?

2. Write a well-developed essay that describes the business side of the American cinema from the early MPPC days (1908 - 1915) through the twenties into the mature Hollywood Studio System, the Golden Age --1929-1948 (i.e., the first 4 Stages of the Studio System as presented in the Talon lectures). Identify the major players and developments. Who were the major studios -- silent and sound era? Who ran them? And what did they specialize in? Likewise, discuss their characteristics as a vertically integrated oligopoly - production, distribution and exhibition. What importance did the studio system have upon the growth of the American film? What accounts for its resilience in the face of internal and external adversity?

Be specific.

3. In a well-developed essay discuss Silent Slapstick Comedy. What was it (define it)? Why was this particular form of humor so popular in this era and in this medium at this time? Who was instrumental in its development? Who were the major silent comics and what were their major films? What were their characteristics and styles? Reference their films.

4. In an essay discuss the invention process of the camera and projection systems. What technical prerequisites were necessary for the birth of cinema as we know it? Who were the major contributors and what did they bring to the invention process that ultimately led to a functional camera/projector system? Reference to real inventions and people's names are necessary requisites to handling this question well (accurate dates also go in your favor). As you discuss the various developments/contributors, indicate why such a process/invention/individual was significant to cinema. Why was there such an urge to create this medium?