Photography and Motion Picture

These past two weeks have been incredibly informational on the history and impact of photography and motion pictures. In class, we looked at the beginnings of images and photography looking at telescopes, microscopes, pictographs, and the cultural aspect of photos. I thought it was quite astounding since I didn’t think any type of scope (microscope, telescope, etc.) could count as a form of photography. The readings on photography also taught me that back in the day when photography was created many saw it as a form of art capturing moments in time, like a series of pictorial words, but I also learned that many feared the fact that they were seeing an object or themselves twice in a still moment. In the next class, we discussed the beginnings of motion pictures going through the many forms that began such as the Phenakistoscope, Flip Books, Zoopraxiscope, and new cameras that could capture movements such as the Aeroscope and the 8mm home video camera. To grasp the impact of these technological advancements, the class discussed what it meant for the world to have technologies, such as the 8mm home video, in the house and many said it allowed us to develop a culture of capturing and storing moments, memories, and special times. A little later than recently, humanity has also discovered that its possible to store every little moment as we live our daily lives in a small portable camera on our phones. The readings on motion picture also covered how theatres began. The first early signs recorded in time were lantern shows on a thin cloth, then further down the line around 1918 theatres, called Nickelodeons, where mass audiences could go and watch the news and 10–15 minute movies, became a major impact on pop-culture which was something I never knew so it was really cool to find out.
In conclusion, I always expect to get the most out of each lecture since we go through all the discussions, power points, activities, readings, and social posts to fully grasp the technological, scientific, cultural, and artistic aspects of each subject. The social posts that we were assigned further prove these 4 aspects of what we learned about photography and motion pictures. On Instagram, I asked questions such as “What do you think images can communicate?” along with my answer and I got very well detailed answers but I noticed there was a difference depending on that person’s background, culture, and perspective on technology. I also noticed a similar result when I asked “What information does a video give to a still image?” along with my answer. Many answered in detail but I further asked them what videos or movies they watch and there was a massive significance of the connection between their culture and their answer. Witnessing these results from what I learned in class and the connections to my post I am now capable of understanding more about the culture, art, science, and technology of photography and motion pictures.