The Early Development and History of Movies Essay

The Early Development and History of Movies - Essay Example It took America a year to catch up, and Edwin S. Porter produced a twenty minute film, The Great Train Robbery. In these two early films, one can see the start of two of movie's most popular genres, the sci-fi movie, and the western film.( ) D.W. Griffith was one of the leading filmmakers of his, and arguably in all of filmmaking. He first stumbled upon Hollywood in 1910, and filmed the first movie there, In Old California. In his career, he filmed over 450 short films, a massive amount for any filmmaker to reach. (Griffith 2006) By 1912 Hollywood became the center of American film and cinema. D.W. Griffith made many leaps and bounds in the now growing field. He used such techniques as multiple cameras and different angels, as well as his use of cross fading, fading in and out, and even flash backs. These are techniques still used today in the film industry, and that greatly add to film as a quality and living art form. () One of his films, The Birth of a Nation, was a three hour long silent film about the American Civil War. Although the film was a marvel technology wise, the portrayal of blacks in the movie help stimulate an already breeding negative image. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People tried to have the filmed banned, and when those efforts failed, they attempted to have certain scenes they found especially revolting censored. D. W.