class of september 11th

In today's class we viewed two documentaries; one about the history of photography and the early days of the first motion pictures.
It amazes me that someone was able to invent photography almost two hundred years ago. I had a photography course at UT my freshman year, so I realize the complicated process it takes to go from taking a snapshot to getting a physical print in your hands. Its long, arduous, and full of trial and error; and that's just to get the print finished not including getting the image to a suitable standard. There are so many fragile steps that if they are not followed precisely, the photographer will achieve nothing. Digital photography is infinitely better. The photographer will instantly see how his snapshot appears on the screen, then he can manipulate whatever he wants via Photoshop (allowing for the ability to improve nature and to better captivate the eye), and finally to make a print, the photographer just simply needs to use a printer. Easy, efficient, and the way of the future.
Advancements in photography led to the invention of the moving picture. Originally these films were silent and very short. By today's standards, they are a little creepy. Displaying black and white individuals moving silently at unnatural speeds (almost like ghosts) is what some modern horror movies try to emulate.
At the time, the silent films were shown in theaters occasionally accompanied by a live piano player to add music. I believe they did this for several reasons. For one thing, the technology used to record sound along with the visuals was still experimental and it was hard to synchronize both elements. Secondly, showing soundless moving images in theaters would no doubt have gotten boring quickly. So the theater managers sought to hold the audiences' attention by livening things up with some popular upbeat music. Finally, some viewers were initially made uncomfortable from seeing the new technology as they probably thought it looked unnatural. So music was brought in to help alleviate their fears and remind them that this was entertainment and nothing to be scared of.
I can't wait until our examination of films progresses to the modern day.