Introduction to Film and Television Arts

Author: Liu Hongqiu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: Méliès's theatricalist cinema revitalized films on the brink of extinction, but his film concept of "Screen and Stage" simultaneously limited his artistic development. This rigid concept directly influenced Méliès's principles in filmmaking, resulting in artificiality in his films. First, he never moved the camera. The key to film as an art is not the liberation of the viewpoint, yet Méliès added another rule beyond the classical laws of theatrical art, the "unity of the viewpoint." The camera was always positioned like a "conductor," making it difficult to avoid exposing the traces of stage effects on the screen and creating artificiality. Second, his principle of "refusing to shoot on location" kept him confined to studios, indulging in small worlds built with curtains and wooden boards. From 1897, when he established a studio in Montreuil, to 1913, when he left the film industry, nearly all his works were shot in studios. He showed no interest in filming any location, including newsreels like "The Case of Faleifo." When shooting "The Coronation of Edward X," he did not film on location in England but instead hired an advisor who had witnessed the ceremony and staged it in the studio like a play. Such films were inevitably artificial. Méliès's other contribution to film was the creation of special effects photography. His inspiration came from a mechanical failure during a photography session: when projecting a film shot from Place de l'Opéra in Paris, he discovered that a public carriage on the road had transformed into a hearse. The film had been stuck during shooting, and at that moment, a hearse passed by. Since the camera was still rolling, this miracle occurred. This stage magician immediately realized that the camera was the best tool for creating screen effects. He then pioneered a series of special effects techniques, such as stop-motion, multiple exposures, shaky camera, fast motion, and slow motion, and used them to shoot many fantasy films, including "The Missing Lady," "Christ Walking on Water," "George Méliès's Magic," and "The Difficult Sleep," among others. Special effects photography made positive contributions to the development of film language, though Méliès was not yet aware of this and merely used it as a magic technique.
New Wave directors, such as Sun Yu, Shi Dongshan, Hong Shen, Ouyang Yuqian, and Bu Wanchang, were influenced by Western modern social and literary trends, with clear creative goals and conscious artistic pursuits from the outset. Sun Yu was China's first film artist to receive professional film education abroad. He studied at the Department of Theater at the University of Wisconsin and the Film Department at Columbia University. In 1929, he directed the earliest feature film for "Lianhua," titled "Spring Dreams in the Old Capital," and later, in the same autumn, he wrote and directed "Wild Grass and Idle Flowers." Sun Yu's films excelled in skillfully using intercutting to narrate, creating striking contrasts. His films were fresh and fluid, reflecting a high level of craftsmanship. Sun Yu was also adept at discovering film talent; Ruan Lingyu, who appeared in both of his films, and Jin Yan, the male lead in "Wild Grass and Idle Flowers," were both nurtured into famous stars. It should be noted that