Early American Cinema in Transition
Story, Style, and Filmmaking, 1907-1913
by Charlie Keil
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“An important contribution to the exploration of silent cinema.”
—Kristin Thompson, series editor
The period 1907–1913 marks a crucial transitional moment in American cinema. As moving picture shows changed from mere novelty to an increasingly popular entertainment, fledgling studios responded with longer running times and more complex storytelling. A growing trade press and changing production procedures also influenced filmmaking. In Early American Cinema in Transition, Charlie Keil looks at a broad cross-section of fiction films to examine the formal changes in cinema of this period and the ways that filmmakers developed narrative techniques to suit the fifteen-minute, one-reel format.
Keil outlines the kinds of narratives that proved most suitable for a single reel’s duration, the particular demands that time and space exerted on this early form of film narration, and the ways filmmakers employed the unique features of a primarily visual medium to craft stories that would appeal to an audience numbering in the millions. He underscores his analysis with a detailed look at six films: The Boy Detective; The Forgotten Watch; Rose O'Salem-Town; Cupid’s Monkey Wrench; Belle Boyd, A Confederate Spy; and Suspense.
> From the same author:
Editing and Special/Visual Effects (2016)
Dir. Charlie Keil and Kristen Whissel
Subject: Technique > Special effects
American Cinema of the 1910s (2009)
Themes and Variations
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Subject: Silent Cinema
> On a related topic:
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The Image in Early Cinema (2018)
Form and Material
by Scott Curtis, Tom Gunning, Philippe Gauthier and Joshua Yumibe
Subject: Silent Cinema
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