Progression of Film

I would agree that its important to consider the films we saw last Thursday from a historical perspective, instead of just taking them at face value or judging them based on their ability to entertain (or lack thereof) Both films by the Lumier brothers appear to be choppy and “primitive” to modern day eyes, but when you stop and think about the sort of technology required to achieve continuous motion, its really quite amazing. I don’t think many of us bother to wonder about whats actually going on when we go see a film, but watching something as old and uncomplicated as “A Trip to the Moon” really made me consider the process behind the films.
In regards to Nekes ‘ “Film Before Film,” I was really intrigued by both the complex and simple devices shown. Although watching 80 minutes of them in one sitting was difficult, I liked looking at all the tricks and techniques people used in order to entertain themselves. The toys appear simple and even silly to us now, but its interesting to think about how much thought went into creating even the most basic toys. I know that I would never in a million years come up with some of the ideas and devices we saw on Thursday. Even the idea of the camera obscura seems baffling to me. If anything, learning about the progression of film has made me more aware of the impressive variety of technology I have at my fingertips.