The Lumiere Bros shot many "moving picture" that were representations of reality as they composed each shot however the films were based on capturing movement. Each shot was literally a moving picture stemming from their photographic experience. Their films such as Workers Leaving a Factory and Arrival of a Train at a Station would have seemed very realistic and awe-inspiring for the people of the time. The Lumiere Bros film Watering the Garden is said to be the first comedy. Unlike the films before it, it had a plot. These Lumiere films fall into the category of realism. It is very interesting to see such early films as the Lumiere films and to see how cinema has progressed since then.
A Trip to the Moon (George Melies- 1902)
This early Sci-Fi film with the same idea as Jule Verne's From the Earth to the Moon, is a great film to show the advancement of film. The special effects are very impressive for the time. Melies, being a magician originally, introduced new technical and narrative developments to cinema. For example, multiple exposures, time lapse and dissolve. This film shows the revolution of the time differing from the Lumiere Bros short films capturing real life to influencing future film makers into the new fantasy film for entertainment. He showed audiences things they couldn't experience therefore putting his film in the category of Formalism. Once again is a film to watch if interested in the history of motion pictures and the development of sci-fiction and special effects.
The Great Train Robbery (Edwin Porter- 1903)
Another great film to demonstrate the development and influence of film from the age. Porter's editing showed audiences a new way to tell a story incorporating "meanwhile shots". He used both outdoors and studio sets which made the film realistic. However the editing techniques such as pans (moving the camera) and the angle of the camera, fit into formalism. Therefore The Great Train Robbery is put into the category of classicism.
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