Timeline of Cinema by Atlan Lasher

Camera Obscura Invention (c. 1012-1021)

lasherm — 2023-11-29 02:43:59 UTC

Somewhere between 1012 and 1021 AD, Ibn al-Haytham invents the camera obscura in Egypt. He uses it to study how light works, and gave birth to the first rough idea of a camera.

Further Research (14th to 15th century)

lasherm — 2023-12-01 14:09:50 UTC

Leonardo Davinci continues more research on the camera obscura during the Renaissance. He also releases the first clear description of what a camera obscura is, as well as doing over 270 drawings of the camera obscura.

Popularization and Use in Art (17th to 18th century)

lasherm — 2023-12-01 14:11:49 UTC

More modernization of the camera obscura allowed for more use. During the 17th and 18th century, many artists began using the camera obscura as a way to trace art and do paintings, and many people owned small, portable camera obscuras.

First Camera Made (1826)

lasherm — 2023-12-01 14:13:08 UTC

French scientist Nicéphore Niépce experimented with silver chloride and their reactions to light by using the camera obscura, and trying to figure out how to make the image it displayed permanent. Eventually, he was able to make the first photographic camera, and was able to make the images that were created permanent. After his death, his colleague than managed to make camera's portable.

"The Horse in Motion" (1878)

lasherm — 2023-12-01 14:13:24 UTC

The governor of California, Leland Stanford, hired photographer Eadweard Muybridge to take photos of a horse while running. Stanford wondered if a horse took all of its hooves off the ground while running, but he wasn't able to get a close enough look at the fast running horse to see if this were true. The creation of the camera allowed Muybridge to discover this. Muybridge set up 16 cameras attached to go off once the horse tripped a wire attached to the camera, and inadvertently, creating the first moving picture.

The Story of Kelly Gang is the First Full-Length Feature Film (1906)

lasherm — 2023-12-01 14:20:39 UTC

The creation of the cinematograph allowed for a rise of film making. Most films for the next decade were relatively short. That is until The Story of Kelly Gang. This Australian film was the first feature-length narrative movie, which means it is the first film to follow a structure of a movie we might see today, although it is soundless and colorless. However, a decent majority of this movie became lost to history.

Kinetescope (1891)

lasherm — 2023-12-01 14:29:55 UTC

Thomas Edison and a group of researchers, including Muybridge due to his zoopraxtiscope, invented the kinetoscope, a way for one person to be able to view a roll of film in motion. This directly inspired the later invention, the cinemtrographe.

Cinemtographe (1895)

lasherm — 2023-12-01 14:31:06 UTC

Inspired by Edison's kinetoscope, two French brothers, the Lumieres, set out to be able to show films to a larger audience, rather than just one person. They invented the cinématographe, which functioned as a camera, film developer, and a projector all in one. simply by changing the lenses in the box.

First Film Screening (1895)

lasherm — 2023-12-01 14:31:53 UTC

The Lumiere Brothers hold the first ever movie screening at Salon Indien du Grand Cafe in Paris, showcasing short films they had cameraman take. It wouldn't be long before the two brothers would begin to open up cinemas and start the film business.

Academy Awards Created (1929)

lasherm — 2023-12-01 15:24:47 UTC

With such a high rise in film, and such astounding advancements happening, people wanted to celebrate that. The Academy Awards were created to do such a thing. The first Academy Awards lasted fifteen minutes, and were created as a way to support the film industry, and the awards were given out to help support and improve movies. The winners were announced before the ceremony began, allowing for such a short one. Although The Jazz Singer was a massive hit, it was not allowed to participate in the Academy Awards because people thought it was unfair to allow a "talkie" to compete against silent films.

A Visit to the Seaside Becomes the First Movie to Use Color (1908)

lasherm — 2023-12-05 03:15:54 UTC

The new movies coming out increased an interest in bettering them. Developed in Brighton, England, A Trip to the Seaside was the first colored film to come out. It was developed using Kinemacolor, an exhausting coloring process for film that utilized mostly red and green filters. However, Kinemacolor was replaced by Technicolor because of how hard the concept was to use.

Technicolor Founded (1915)

lasherm — 2023-12-05 03:16:26 UTC

Two MIT professors decide to begin researching how to get color in film, without using the timely process that Kinemacolor used to get color. They were successful and created Technicolor, a staple of all early color films, such as Gone with the Wind and the Wizard of Oz.

Walt Disney Makes Snow White (1937)

lasherm — 2023-12-05 03:17:32 UTC

The Academy Awards helped spur the idea of motion pictures as an art form, and with that, Walt Disney released Snow White. The film was an instant hit, bringing people to tears in the theatre. It was the first full-length animated film, and raked in 8.5 million, and considering tickets were 25 cents, that is quite a lot. This film spurred the idea of what animation is and how an animated movie should work. It also kickstarted Walt Disney to fame, allowing for the Walt Disney Studios to be a big name in film.

Blade Ushers in Superhero Movies (1998)

lasherm — 2023-12-05 03:19:25 UTC

Taking risks in cinema was common after the huge success of Toy Story. And that is exactly what the film Blade did. Based loosely on a B-List Marvel characters, Marvel was struggling to keep up with the success of DC's Batman films, and Marvel's own failure with Howard the Duck. But Blade was successful. Not as successful as Star Wars or Indiana Jones, but successful enough that Marvel wanted to make more superhero movies, making over 100 million at the box office. Marvel began making movies like Spider-Man and X-Men, and eventually, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These films would eventually dominate the box office.

The Jazz Singer Uses Synchronized Dialogue for the First Time (1927)

lasherm — 2023-12-05 03:21:18 UTC

The Jazz Singer was the first film to use synchronized dialogue, ending the Silent Film Era, and introducing a wave of movies known as "talkies", through the use of a Vitaphone. Although the second movie to use the Vitaphone, it was the first to feature the aforementioned dialogue. It was produced by Warner Brothers, and focused deeply on Jewish culture. many remakes of this film carried on throughout the 20th century.

Film Rating System Created (1968)

lasherm — 2023-12-05 03:25:56 UTC

With a rise of science fiction films, people were getting scared by movies, especially children who's parents brought them to see a movie, not knowing what the content was. This caused the MPAA to create the current rating system for movies, based more around judging a film on if a parent should see it, rather than if a film was "moral", or not. The film ratings were G, M (later replaced by PG), R, and X. These ratings helped to shape what a movie's target audience was for, and what should and shouldn't be in a movie to get its desired rating.

Jaws Introduces the Idea of a Summer Blockbuster (1975)

lasherm — 2023-12-05 03:40:03 UTC

The film rating system lacking a PG-13 truly allowed for the movie Jaws to blossom. Before Jaws, films released during the summer were normally poor quality films. People assumed mostly teenagers went to the movies during the summer, and higher quality movies should be waited to be released in the winter. Movie releases were also released slowly, opening in a few theatres, then more. Jaws broke both of these rules. Releasing in the summer of 1975 in 409 theatres, it raked in 470 million dollars, being the first film to ever make more than 100 million dollars. It also created the idea of The Summer Blockbuster. With a lackluster rating of PG, more school-age children were able to get away with seeing it, as if it would probably have ben rated PG-13 in the current age.

Godzilla Breaks Boundaries with Special Effects (1954)

lasherm — 2023-12-05 03:45:25 UTC

Snow White ushered in a focus of non-realistic films, such as fantasy or sci-fi. Such focus was happening over in Japan, with Godzilla. Godzilla was a Japanese science-fiction movie released in 1954. The special effects used to make Godzilla were unique at the time, and created a wave of more ingenious special effects in movie, allowing for more science-fiction movies to take place.

PG-13 Rating Released (1984)

lasherm — 2023-12-05 03:50:46 UTC

Following the success of Jaws and Star Wars, directors George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg became the biggest names in Hollywood at the time. They both went on to work on the Indiana Jones trilogy, and Spielberg specifically went on to work on the film Gremlins. Parents were not happy with these movies. they felt they were too violent for small children, and wished they had something other than the typical PG rating, but less than the harsh R rating. The MPAA came up with the PG-13 rating. However, this rating didn't hinder the box office earnings of the 3rd Indiana jones movie.

The Adventures of Andre and Wally-B Becomes First Fully CGI-Made Animation (1984)

lasherm — 2023-12-05 03:54:49 UTC

The success of Lucasfilm, George Lucas's film company, responsible for Indiana Jones and Star Wars, allowed for some of the animators to be more creative and try new things. This led to a group of animators creating a very shot 3D animated film, The Adventures of Andre and Wally-B.

Avatar Becomes Highest Grossing Movie of All Time (2009)

lasherm — 2023-12-08 16:12:58 UTC

With the rise of superhero films, budgets for films became grander and grander, allowing for Avatar to exist. Although technically not a superhero movie, it still boasted in cinematic grandeur. Budgeted at around 200 million, the film raked in almost 3 billion dollars, and had a sequel released, and is slated for the third movie in the franchise to be released. However, the fact it isn't a superhero movie is what some claim to be the reason it is so successful. it isn't based on any previous piece of media, and the whole world Avatar takes place in is created by Cameron.

Zoopraxiscope (1879)

lasherm — 2023-12-11 14:45:48 UTC

Following the success of his collection of horse photos, Mubridge creates the Zooproxiscope, which allows the viewer to see a fast moving progression of images as if they were a moving picture.

Vitaphone (1926)

lasherm — 2023-12-11 14:54:10 UTC

Following the research of color in film, research of sound in film began. The Vitaphone was invented, which allowed the recording of film as well as sound at the same time. Although Don Juan was the first film to feature synchronized audio, there was no dialogue.

Star Wars Reinvents Moviegoing (1977)

lasherm — 2023-12-11 14:55:28 UTC

Star Wars forever changed the film industry. It changed it by giving movies large markets for toys, showing how impactful a fanbase can be for movies. It released 2 years after Jaws, proving to be another summer blockbuster, even more successful than Jaws, making 775 million at the box office. It also ushered in the popularity of a franchise, and the idea that films could and should have sequels.

Toy Story Debuts as the First Fully CGI Animated Movie (1995)

lasherm — 2023-12-11 19:00:22 UTC

Walt Disney Studios took a huge risk creating Toy Story. None of the animators quite knew what they were doing, but director John Lasseter did. having previously worked on The Adventures of Andre and Wally-B, he was able to assist animators with creating the final project. Toy Story would go on to change the game for animation; and for movies. It changed the look of movies, with only 2 2D Movies being released by Disney in the past 18 years.