2. What Were Edward Stanton Porter Contributions To The Invention of Motion Pictures?

Edwin Stanton Porter was born in April 21^st, 1870 in Connellsvile, Pennsylvania.  He is considered the American early film pioneer.  There were not many interesting facts to unveil his life and work before he began as a fulltime employee at Edison Manufacturing Company in 1899.  We can consider his triumph in the cinematography world began when he took charge of motion picture production at Edison’s New York studios where he mostly direct, operate camera and assemble the final print.

Life of an American Fireman

His past experience as touring projectionist makes him aware what would please the crowd.  Porter than began to produce trick and comedy films for Edison that sparked his name in the industry as one of the most influential filmmaker in the United States.  One of his technique inventions in film making is the dissolve technique, gradual transitions from one image to another.  This technique was embedded into his film Life of an American Fireman where the technique helps his audiences to follow complex outdoor movement.  The Great Train Robbery is another film where Porter uses cross cutting technique to show simultaneous actions in different places.  The movie was assembled in twenty separate shots covering both indoors and outdoors that gave a sweet twelve minutes remarkable movie watching experience.  The film was a huge financial success and its mythic power has yet to dim.

The Great Train Robbery

Throughout his carrier with Edison’s company (1899-1909), Porter portrayed side lighting, close-ups, and changed shots within a scene technique in his movie called The Seven Ages (1905).  Porter had developed the modern concept of continuity editing, and is often credited with discovering that the basic unit of structure in film

The Seven Ages

 was the shot rather than the scene which is labeled by many as the basic unit on the stage.  Between 1903 and 1905 he successfully demonstrated most of the techniques that were to become the basic modes of visual communication through film.

He died in 1941 at the Hotel Taft in New York at an aged 71.  Although his innovation in film technique is undeniable, he had never repeated or maintained a consistent directorial style. To many of his industry friends, they regarded Porter as artistic mechanic rather than dramatic artist due to his fond deals with machine better than people.

1. What Were Georges Méliès Contributions To The Invention Of Motion Picture?

Marie-Georges-Jean-Méliès or in short as Georges Méliès, was born in December 8^th, 1861 in Paris.  He is the third siblings to Jean-Louis-Stanislas Méliès (father) and Johannah-Catherine Schuering (mother).  His parents owned a shoemaking business and were considered one of the wealthy families in town at the time.  His self-motivation and passion in arts kicked off at early stage.  When he was ten years of age, he was busily constructing cardboard sets for his marionette shows that he would enthusiastically perform before an audience.  In 1871, Méliès theatrical passion was further fuelled by his first visit to the theatre where he saw the famous magician Robert-Houdin perform.  

The Impossible Voyage

In 1884, he went to London to further his studies where he had exposed and developed an interest in stage trick after witnessing the work of John Nevil Maskelyne and George Alfred Cooke (Maskelyne & Cooke), a British stage magician performer who completely transformed the art of conjuring into a dramatic performance of wizardry and an entirely new concept in the performing arts.  George Méliès was a frequent visitor who was vastly influenced and amazed by the work of Maskelyne and Cooke. 

A Trip To The Moon

When Méliès returned to Paris in 1885, his father had refused to support his intention to be an artist and had made him worked at the family shoemaking factory.  After his father passed away in 1888, Méliès sold his shares to his two brothers and with the money he purchased the Théâtre Robert-Houdin.  This has been the starting point where later he discovered many technical and narrative developments that influent today’s film-maker generation and drive the perspective of today’s movie.

Le Manoir Du Diable

George Méliès accidentally discovered the substitution stop trick in 1896, and was one of the first filmmakers to use multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, dissolves, and hand-painted color in his work. Because of his ability to seemingly manipulate and transform reality through cinematography, Méliès is sometimes referred to as the first "Cinemagician".  Two of his most well-known films are A Trip to the Moon (1902) and The Impossible Voyage (1904).  Both stories involve strange, surreal voyages, somewhat in the style of Jules Verne, and are considered among the most important early science fiction films, though their approach is closer to fantasy.  Méliès was also an early pioneer of horror cinema, which can be traced back to his Le Manoir du diable (1896).

Interest:

• Traveling & Sight Seeing
• Watching Movies
• Playing Sports - Badminton & Bowling

Dreams: Produce movie that shall give high impact and influence in the film industry locally and  internationally.

Aspirations: One of Malaysia's Finest Film Director and Producer

I Came From: A decent nuclear family with parents, one elder brother and 3 sisters who live in Alor Star, Kedah. By the way, I'm the youngest in the family.

My Childhood: Filled with colorful memories. I was born in Selangor as I was told but I spent most of my life in Alor Star, Kedah. I was very much raised there.

Family Conditions: My Father was in an army and my Mom is very much a house wife. They are running a small retail business in Kepala Batas. Despite of their busy life, they still make time for the kids. All in all, I am living in a happy and lively environment.

Three Experiences Making The Most Lasting Impression on Me were:

• Graduated from Unisel and got my first diploma.
• Married to my lovely husband.
• Gave birth to two beautiful daughters.

Ten Most Important Given Circumstances are:

• Complete my assignments in timely manner.
• Help others and give guidance to those who needs.
• Be ready for every classes attend.
• Memorize important notes.
• Score all classes in flying colors.
• Get my new Mac this semester.
• Firm up my silat knowledge & skill.
• Get to know my lecturers.
• Understand all subject matters in deep.
• Master my knowledge & skill as film director.

What Films Have You Watched Recently:

• Ice Age 4: Continental Drift
• The Avangers
• Battleship

Share Some Thoughts on Your Most Favorite And Least Favorite Films:

• Most Favorite:  Battleship (2012)
• Why:
1. The CGI effects make all the alien characters and ships look very realistic.
2. It manages to deliver a human-alien combat experience.
3. It makes you feel like you are playing the board game.

• Least Favorite:  Mars Attack (1996)
• Why:
1. It gives you unsure of what to think.
2. In the end, I only know that I hate the movie.