Film homage Life of an American Fireman 1903 fire wagon East Congress Tucson Arizona c.1900-2008
by David Lee Guss
Title
Film homage Life of an American Fireman 1903 fire wagon East Congress Tucson Arizona c.1900-2008
Artist
David Lee Guss
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Thomas Edison's premier director was Edwin S. Porter (1870-1941) He began in film in 1896 as a traveling projectionist in the US, Canada, West Indies and South America.
Edison hired Porter in 1899. He soon was in charge of Edison's New York studios as a camera operator, director and assembler of the final print.
1903 was a banner year as he directed the two classics "Life of an American Fireman" and "The Great Train Robbery." Porter's travels had given him a feel for what subjects pleased audiences.
In "Firemen" he used the film device of dissolves to link images in two locations: the flimsily built sets of the studio and the real street locations. Motion pictures were slowly developing their own unique grammar.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4C0gJ7BnLc
In December of 1903 Edison released Edwin S. Porter's most celebrated film, "The Great Train Robbery."
The 12 minute motion picture was composed of 14 scenes with the action happening simultaneously in three different locations. The first Western was shot partly in Milltown, New Jersey and starred the unbilled Gilbert M. Anderson (1880-1971)(Bronco Billy Anderson) in several parts; most notably as a running passenger shot in the back.
"Robbery," also photographed and directed by Porter without credit, is one of the first narrative, or story films, of significant length employing "cross-cutting, double exposure composite editing, camera movement and on location shooting."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc7wWOmEGGY
"Robbery" as tinted, toned, and hand colored can be viewed:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T3PJvDl2DQ&feature=related
Portions of the film are used in the Robert Mitchum narrated prologue in 1993's "Tombstone."
"Great art is never created for its own sake. It is too difficult to be worth the effort."...Robert Quillen (1887-1948)
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June 9th, 2013
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