1. MEDIA TIMELINE
Rhiannon Jenkins

2. History Of Film

3. History Of Film
• Inventors began thinking that motion picture photography
could be possible in the late 1800’s after Eadweard Muybridge
set up 24 cameras to take images of a horse in order to prove
that at some point all four of the horses feet are off of the
ground. What they had to figure out was how to use one
camera to take all of the images. In the late 19th century, many
researchers realised films as they are now could be a reality;
they just had to design a suitable apparatus.

4. History Of Film
• In 1889 Dickinson discovered the key was
to use the flexible photographic film that
had been invented by George Eastman
(founder of Kodak). The photographer
would move the film in front of the lens at a
constant speed, the result being several
slightly different photographs when moved
quickly in front of the eye gives an illusion of
a moving object. Edison invented the
kinetoscope which moved the film around in
a motion that allowed the images to move,
however the kinetoscope only allowed one
person at a time to view the moving
pictures.

5. History Of Film
• In 1895 Edison invented the
Kinetophone which could initially
still only be viewed as a ‘peep show’
but after much work, created a
second model in 1913 which could
be projected to an audience. By
the1930’s, synchronous sound was
the norm as a device that was
derived from radio was invented,
which could effectively amplify
sound in the theatre. Technological
advances later allowed sound to be
an integral part of filmmaking.

6. History Of Film
• When film became more than just a novelty, companies such as Fox
Studios, Paramount and Warner Bros were created to consolidate their
power and wealth within the filmmaking industry. They monopolised the
studios and commanded every part of the production of a film until the
US government found them to be an illegal monopoly.
Around the same time, films were
beginning to be produced in colour
by use of the Technicolor system,
which used a special camera that
ran three separate strips of film
which were red, yellow and blue
and when combined, created a full
colour image.

7. History Of Film
• The 1970’s brought the birth of the
“blockbuster” as we know it, the first film
that started it all being ‘Jaws’. ‘Jaws’ broke
the typical blockbuster mould in several
ways by using a virtually unknown cast and a
giant mechanical shark, which introduced a
whole new level of realism to the audience.
‘Star Wars’ also captivated the audience by
way of special effects which created an
atmosphere of verisimilitude. The popularity
of film continued to grow alongside
technological breakthroughs such as special
effects and new ideas surrounding the
production and post-production of film.

8. History Of Film
• In 1978, a device named the Steadicam
could be attached to the cameraman
rather than a dolly, allowing for new
ideas from filmmakers to become reality.
• With the 1990’s came the arrival of the
Digital Age; where CD’s are replacing
vinyls, DVD’s taking over the likes of
videos, and cameras and video cameras
becoming faster and more impressive.
• George Lucas released Star Wars:
Episode 1 completely on a digital format,
not using any film reel at all and
prepared to film the next 2 films using
completely digital cameras and to be
released in digital theatres.

9. History Of Film
• CGI and computer animation is improving with leaps and
bounds from the 1990’s until the present day, with films such as
Avatar being created using 3D cameras and motion capture,
something that would have seemed impossible just 150 or so
years ago.

10. History Of Horror

11. History Of Horror
• The origins of the Horror genre lie in the tradition of
storytelling itself, with stories being told of the ‘unknown’ and
the supernatural all throughout time.
• Classical mythology talks of realms that are not of this physical
world and is heavily riddled with monsters such as Medusa, the
Minotaur and Cyclops to name just a few.
• The genre of horror within literature started with Horace
Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764), which although quite
stiff and unnaturally written, sparked a craze, subsequently
creating the now-recognised genre of gothic horror. The first
great horror classic was Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley
in 1818.

12. History Of Horror Films

13. History Of Horror Films
• The first recognised horror film is Nosferatu, which is a silent film
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based on the story Dracula.
Other literary monsters such as Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
and the Hunchback of Notre Dame were soon turned into films in
the 1910’s and 20’s.
It wasn’t until the 30’s when companies such as Universal released
versions of films such as Dracula and Frankenstein, that horror films
began to reach larger audiences.
After WWII horror films were quite unpopular as technology had
not improved impressively and films were becoming shoddy and
boring.
It was Hammer Film Productions that bought horror films back into
the mainstream, using big actors in films such as The Mummy.

14. History Of Horror Films
• The “Hammer Horror” style of film used new technology but still
stuck to low budgets and managed to entertain audience for a fair
few years.
• However, it was the 70’s that marked the start of horrorblockbusters with films like The Exorcist and The Omen which both
used large budgets and high end production companies.
• At the same time Romero and Polanski’s early films demonstrated a
new angle by using their horror movies (the original Texas Chainsaw
Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes) to broadcast social and political
messages that were relevant to the movements in the 60’s.
• The 70’s saw the genre branch out into categories such as sci-fi,
supernatural, slasher and gore, many of which have remained the
same until the current day.

15. History Of Horror Films
• The 70’s also saw the birth of the blockbuster, meaning
that larger budget films were on the table. Within the
horror genre these include films such as; The Exorcist,
Carrie, The Omen, Halloween and Jaws.
• Horror films continued to evolve through the 1980’s when
the use of special effects became more accessible as
seen in the original versions of A Nightmare on Elm Street
and The Evil Dead.
• In the 90’s psycho killers were a big focus in horror films,
but this died down in the beginning of the 21st Century.
• Horror films are now often made using influences from
other genres such as thriller, gore, psychological and
monsters as well as the conventions of horror itself.

16. History Of Thriller

17. History Of Thriller
• The Three Apples, is the earliest known murder mystery
and suspense thriller with multiple plot twists and
detective fiction elements. In this tale, a fisherman
discovers a heavy locked chest along the Tigris river and
sells it to the Abbasid Caliph, who then has the chest
broken open only to find inside it the dead body of a
young woman who was cut into pieces. Harun orders his
vizier, Ja'far ibn Yahya, to solve the crime and find the
murderer within three days. This whodunit mystery may
be considered an archetype for detective fiction.
• Thrillers of the 20th century include; The Thirty-Nine
Steps, The Bourne Identity and The Riddle of the Sands.

18. History Of Thriller Films

19. History Of Thriller Films
• Alfred Hitchcock is notably the main
pioneer of the thriller genre within film,
which started in the 1920’s when he
created his silent film “The Lodger” which
was a suspense-filled Jack the Ripper
story. The next thriller he made,
“Blackmail”, was not only his but Britain's
first film that incorporated sound.
Hitchcock’s early British thriller films were
The Man Who Knew Too Much, The 39
Steps and The Lady Vanishes.
• Around the same time as Hitchcock’s
thrillers began to make a name for
themselves, Fritz Lang created one of the
first spy films which made for the basis of
the James Bond films in the future.

20. History Of Thriller Films
• Thriller films became more and more popular with many
of them focused on storylines such as murder-mysteries,
serial killers and people who go mad. A lot of the time the
sadistic individual or people behind the mysteries are very
close to home.
• Alfred Hitchcock continued to make films throughout the
40’s, 50’s and 60’s where he introduced technicolour so
that his films were no longer black and white. One of the
most famous thrillers of all time was his work: Pyscho
which includes the famous shower scene which is hailed
as one of the best scenes in cinematic history.

21. History Of Thriller Films
• Thrillers in the 70’s and 80’s became much more focused
on psychological issues such as obsession and paranoia,
as well as including much more explicit murder scenes.
• Current thriller films are again, hybridized in conjunction
with other genres such as horror and crime. An example
of this is The Last House on the Left which uses
conventions of horror such as – isolated setting, insanity,
madness and gore. However there is also elements of the
thriller genre which include – violence, injustice in society,
and a rational explanation of the puzzle rather than
supernatural.