Chapter 01: Origins
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The phenomenon by which a series of still images projected in rapid succession creates the illusion of
motion is
a. persistence of vision. d. stroboscopic effect.
b. the phi phenomenon. e. all of the above
c. flicker fusion. f. none of the above
2. The phi phenomenon begins to operate at which range of frame rates?
a. 8–12 d. 30–48
b. 12–24 e. above 50
c. 24–30 f. none of the above
3. The amount of time the audience actually spends in total darkness during the viewing of a film as a
result of the projector’s shutter is
a. 50 percent. d. 25 percent.
b. 0 percent. e. 33.3 percent.
c. 10 percent. f. none of the above
4. The Thaumatrope is
a. one of the earliest cameras.
b. a projection device.
c. a child’s toy based on persistence of vision.
d. a device for measuring light.
e. both a and c
f. none of the above
5. Muybridge’s first experiments in series photography were designed to prove that
a. motion could be synthesized from a series of still images.
b. shorter photographic exposure times were possible.
c. a galloping horse has all four of its hooves off the ground at some point in its stride.
d. the camera could accurately capture the motion of natural phenomena.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
6. The first series photographs captured by a single camera were taken by
a. Plateau. d. Muybridge.
b. Marey. e. Edison.
c. Niépce. f. none of the above
7. Which of the following is NOT true of Étienne-Jules Marey?
a. He took the first series photographs.
b. He invented the chronophotographic gun.
c. He switched from glass plates to paper roll film.
d. He never intended to project his series photographs.
e. neither a nor b
f. None of the above are true.
8. Celluloid film was invented by
a. W. K. L. Dickson. d. Hannibal Goodwin.
b. George Eastman. e. Louis Lumière.
c. Thomas Edison. f. none of the above
9. The first true motion picture camera was
a. the bioscope. d. the cinématographe.
b. the chronophotographic gun. e. the vitascope.
c. the kinetograph. f. none of the above
10. Edison was interested in cinematography because
a. he foresaw the development of narrative cinema.
b. he wanted to document everyday life.
c. he wanted to provide a visual accompaniment to the phonograph.
d. he wanted to project silent moving images for mass audiences.
e. both a and d
f. none of the above
11. The person who invented the motion picture camera for the Edison company was
a. Thomas Edison. d. Thomas Armat.
b. Louis-Aimé-Augustin Le Prince. e. W. K. L. Dickson.
c. Oskar Messter. f. none of the above
12. Essential technological features incorporated by Dickson into the first Edison motion picture camera
included
a. a stop motion device to create intermittent movement.
b. sprocketed celluloid film.
c. paper film strips.
d. the Maltese cross.
e. both a and b
f. none of the above
13. Thomas Edison
a. invented the motion picture camera.
b. directed and photographed the earliest films.
c. designed, built, and worked in the Black Maria.
d. was the first to project films to a paying audience.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
14. The Black Maria
a. was the first movie studio.
b. had a retractable roof.
c. could be rotated on a turntable to follow the sun.
d. was built by Dickson who was also producer, director, and cameraman.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
15. The first W. K. L. Dickson films
a. were short narratives. d. featured a dynamic camera.
b. were scenes of everyday life. e. were often shot on location.
c. often contained editing. f. none of the above
16. The Maltese cross
a. aids in the enlargement of the image.
b. allows for the intermittent motion of film projection.
c. was invented by William Friese-Greene.
d. requires just a single part—a notched gear.
e. was invented in the United States.
f. all of the above
17. The year that witnessed the most dramatic developments in projection technology across Western
Europe and the United States was
a. 1888. d. 1898.
b. 1890. e. 1900.
c. 1895. f. none of the above
18. The cinématographe
a. was invented by Auguste and Louis Lumière.
b. was a combination motion picture camera, projector, and printer.
c. was an experimental device that never made films seen by audiences.
d. was not very portable.
e. both a and b
f. all of the above
19. The Lumière Brothers
a. were the first to project films to a paying audience.
b. photographed many well-known vaudeville acts.
c. did not experience commercial success initially.
d. had a background in theater.
e. both b and d
f. all of the above
20. The famous Lumière Brothers program at the Grand Café in Paris included
a. The Sprinkler Sprinkled, Voyage to the Moon, and Arrival of a Train at a Station.
b. Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory, Baby’s Lunch, and Life of an American Fireman.
c. The Sprinkler Sprinkled, Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station, and Baby’s Lunch.
d. Baby’s Lunch, Voyage to the Moon, and The Sprinkler Sprinkled.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
21. Actualités was the term first used to describe the films of
a. Méliès. d. the Lumières.
b. Le Prince. e. Edison.
c. R. W. Paul. f. none of the above
22. Of the following, who did NOT achieve public projection before 1896?
a. the Lumières d. the Skladanowsky brothers
b. Edison e. none of the above
c. Armat and Jenkins f. all of the above
23. The Latham family
a. made money by filming and showing prizefights.
b. contributed to Armat and Jenkins’s projector.
c. devised a loop to lessen the stress on the film strip moving through the camera and projector.
d. made possible the production and exhibition of longer films.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
24. The Vitascope
a. was based on Armat and Jenkins’s projector.
b. was invented by Thomas Edison.
c. premiered at Koster and Bial’s Music Hall before the introduction of projection in Europe.
d. projected longer, more narratively complex films than the kinetoscope.
e. both b and d
f. none of the above
25. The first Edison Vitascope program
a. featured several multi-shot films.
b. credited Armat and Jenkins as the inventors of the projector.
c. premiered at the Grand Café in Paris.
d. predated the Lumière’s first showing by several months.
e. both c and d
f. none of the above
26. The earliest year in which the basic technological principles of motion picture photography and
projection were all in place and ready for both artistic and commercial exploitation was
a. 1890. d. 1900.
b. 1894. e. 1902.
c. 1896. f. 1905.
27. Early film audiences between 1895 and 1900
a. easily inferred meaning from one scene to the next.
b. were unenthusiastic about the new invention.
c. recognized film immediately as a new art form.
d. watched films in free standing movie theaters.
e. were more interested in the phenomenon of captured motion than in narrative.
f. none of the above
28. Multi-shot films were first constructed by
a. producers. d. editors.
b. exhibitors. e. distributors.
c. directors. f. none of the above
29. Which of the following is NOT true of Georges Méliès?
a. He worked as a magician, a mechanic, an illustrator, and a stage designer before moving into film
production.
b. He owned and operated his own theater—the Theatre Robert r-Houdin.
c. He bought his first camera from the Lumières.
d. He showed the films he produced in his own theater.
e. All of the above are true.
f. None of the above are true.
30. Méliès purportedly learned of the possibilities of cinematic manipulation to achieve special effects
through
a. methodical experimentation.
b. studying the work of previous filmmakers.
c. advances in editing technology.
d. an accident with a jammed camera.
e. modifying his camera.
f. all of the above
31. Méliès
a. made exclusively special-effects oriented trick films.
b. was the first director to break down his scenes into individual shots.
c. began the technique of positioning the camera at different angles within the scene.
d. quickly narrowed his focus so that he was just directing his films with no other responsibilities.
e. can be considered the cinema’s first narrative artist.
f. all of the above
32. Which of the following was NOT one of Méliès innovations?
a. the multi-shot film d. stop-motion photography
b. fades in and out e. multiple exposures
c. lap dissolves f. all of the above
33. The Star Film Company with its glass-roofed studio was the creative home of
a. Edwin S. Porter. d. Léon Gaumont.
b. Charles Pathé. e. Georges Méliès.
c. W. K. L. Dickson. f. none of the above
34. Méliès’s films
a. eventually grew to the length of one reel, or nearly 15 minutes.
b. told more elaborate stories than other films of the time.
c. were often based on historical or newsworthy events.
d. were written, directed, produced, and designed by Méliès, who also starred and did the special
effects himself.
e. All of the above are true.
f. Only a and d are true.
35. The cinema of attractions
a. focused on narrative continuity.
b. drew audiences to the technological display of the cinematic apparatus.
c. dominated the first two decades of the motion picture medium.
d. has disappeared completely from modern cinema.
e. avoided direct address in favor of narrative transparency.
f. none of the above
36. A Trip to the Moon
a. is about average length for a film made in 1902.
b. was widely illegally copied.
c. is composed of ten individual tableaux.
d. features the camera dollying into the moon.
e. was not initially popular with audiences.
f. all of the above
37. In A Trip to the Moon
a. there are several moving camera shots.
b. there are several times when Méliès cuts to a new angle within a scene.
c. there are more realistic acting performances that clearly differentiate Méliès’ film from a stage
play.
d. Méliès pioneered the use of parallel action.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
38. What aspect of Méliès’s approach to cinema was LEAST influential on future filmmakers?
a. his innovative use of camera movement
b. his movement toward a narrative cinema
c. his innovative development of special effects
d. his use of elaborate sets and costumes to create a rich mise-en-scène
e. his move toward longer and more complex films
f. All of the above are important areas of influence.
39. In which respect is A Trip to the Moon LEAST representative of a cinema of attractions?
a. tableau construction d. direct address
b. static camera e. narrative continuity
c. maintenance of front-angle long shot f. all of the above
40. Edwin S. Porter
a. began his film career as a Vitascope projectionist.
b. was first hired by Edison as a mechanic, not a filmmaker.
c. was influenced by Georges Méliès and other European directors.
d. quickly became the primary director and cameraman at Edison.
e. only a and d
f. all of the above
41. Which of the following techniques was pioneered by a filmmaker other than Edwin S. Porter?
a. time-lapse photography
b. parallel action
c. integration of stock footage into narrative
d. the close-up
e. All of the above were pioneered by Porter.
f. None of the above were pioneered by Porter.
42. Which of the following cinematic innovations can be attributed to early British filmmakers such as
G. A. Smith and James Williamson?
a. the close-up
b. superimpositions
c. color cinematography
d. intercutting interiors and exteriors
e. All of the above are British innovations.
f. None of the above are British innovations.
43. The British film movement that made major contributions to film’s narrative form between 1902 and
1908 was
a. the London Group. d. British Expressivism.
b. the Sheffield Movement. e. the English Montage Movement.
c. the Brighton School. f. none of the above
44. Edwin S. Porter’s experience as a projectionist led him to
a. the concept of making longer, more complex films.
b. an understanding of special effects technologies.
c. continuity editing.
d. the construction of his own camera while working for Edison.
e. only a and b
f. all of the above
45. Life of an American Fireman
a. remains a lost film.
b. was entirely staged on sets.
c. originally contained intercut sequences.
d. shows the same action from two different perspectives.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
46. The original version of Porter’s Life of an American Fireman contains all of the following techniques
EXCEPT
a. intercutting stock and staged footage.
b. intercutting interior and exterior action.
c. the matte shot.
d. a dream balloon.
e. an insert close-up.
f. All of the above are techniques used in the film.
47. Porter first demonstrated the cinema’s potential for narrative fluidity within time and space through the
technique of
a. match cutting. d. crosscutting.
b. overlapping action. e. both a and b, which are the same thing
c. temporal repetition. f. none of the above
48. Which of the following is NOT a reason why Porter’s Life of an American Fireman was thought to
contain parallel action?
a. the version of the film found by the Museum of Modern Art in 1944
b. the accounts of early historians such as Jacobs and Ramsaye
c. catalog description and production stills from Edison
d. Porter’s own description of the film
e. the Library of Congress paper print of the film
f. all of the above
49. The “copyright version” of Life of an American Fireman
a. contains 9 shots rather than 20, as in the previously available version.
b. first surfaced in the 1940s, thanks to the Museum of Modern Art.
c. shows evidence of crosscutting.
d. avoids overlapping action.
e. is not considered the definitive version.
f. all of the above
50. Overlapped action
a. is not found in any Porter film except Life of an American Fireman.
b. was uncommon in early cinema.
c. seemed to trouble audiences of the time.
d. confuses narrative temporal relationships.
e. is one of the defining characteristics of the “cinema of attractions.”
f. all of the above
51. Modern continuity editing began with the discovery that
a. shots could be cut to expand or compress time.
b. action could be made to appear continuous from shot to shot.
c. shots could be matched through spatial relations.
d. two shots could create a single unit of meaning.
e. both b and d
f. all of the above
52. The Great Train Robbery
a. was the cinema’s first western.
b. was shot on location in the American Southwest.
c. is most significant for its use of special effects.
d. features intercutting of shot scales within scenes.
e. both a and d
f. all of the above
53. The first narrative shot of The Great Train Robbery depicts the bandits
a. lurking behind the water tower waiting for the train.
b. riding through the woods on horseback on their way to the robbery.
c. tying up the station master in the railroad office.
d. climbing on top of the train to grab the engineer.
e. none of the above
54. The Great Train Robbery is historically significant because
a. it cuts away from scenes before the action is fully played out.
b. it began the development of the basic practices of the cinematic language.
c. it posits the shot rather than the scene as the basic unit of cinematic meaning.
d. it was the first film to exploit the violence of armed crime.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
55. All of the following cinematic techniques are seen in The Great Train Robbery EXCEPT
a. parallel action. d. action staged in depth.
b. panning shots. e. matching action.
c. matte shots. f. All of the above are in the film.
56. The Great Train Robbery
a. completely rejects proscenium staging.
b. was a unique, isolated breakthrough, employing previously unknown techniques.
c. uses several camera angles within a single location.
d. maintains the long shot as the dominant shot scale.
e. Only a and c are true.
f. All of the above are true.
57. Porter’s work demonstrated the fundamental concept that cinematic narration depends on
a. scene to scene plot construction.
b. the arrangement and movement of actors within the scene.
c. the arrangement of shots in relation to one another.
d. expressive use of angle and shot scale.
e. the compositional arrangement of objects within the frame.
f. none of the above
58. Which of the following is NOT true of The Great Train Robbery?
a. It standardized film length at one reel.
b. It was instrumental in the spread of the nickelodeons.
c. It established realistic fictional narrative as the dominant form of cinema.
d. It was the most popular film of its time period.
e. It established the demand for hand-tinted films.
f. all of the above
59. After The Great Train Robbery, Porter’s work
a. experimented with model animation.
b. used dramatic one-source lighting.
c. matched camera angles from shot to shot.
d. utilized overlapping action.
e. featured animated title sequences.
f. all of the above
60. Porter directed all of the following groundbreaking films EXCEPT
a. Uncle Tom’s Cabin. d. Life of an American Fireman.
b. The Big Swallow. e. The Kleptomaniac.
c. Jack and the Beanstalk. f. All of the above are Porter films.
61. After leaving Edison, Porter
a. retired from film production completely.
b. turned his focus to special effects and never directed again.
c. formed Rex Films, his own production company.
d. made a successful transition to feature film production.
e. turned to directing stage plays, which he thought were artistically significant.
f. none of the above
62. Prior to the emergence of the nickelodeon, motion pictures were shown primarily in
a. Kinetoscope parlors. d. amusement arcades.
b. movie theaters. e. vaudeville theaters.
c. opera houses. f. none of the above
63. During the “novelty period” of 1895–1897
a. theaters advertised the name of the stars who appeared in the films.
b. exhibitors got their own films through distribution exchanges who bought them from producers.
c. producers supplied projector, projectionist, and films to the theater.
d. there was little competition for product since demand was so limited.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
64. Itinerant exhibition
a. was the norm during the novelty period of 1895–1897.
b. involved traveling producers.
c. united production and exhibition into a single entity.
d. often added narration, music, and sound effects, becoming a kind of authorship.
e. only b and c
f. all of the above
65. The nickelodeon
a. was a coin-operated peep-show device.
b. was a movie theater.
c. was first located in Los Angeles.
d. appealed only to working-class audiences.
e. both b and c
f. none of the above
66. The distribution system that eventually became dominant in the early cinema was
a. prints purchased from producers by exhibitors.
b. production financed by exhibitors to ensure a supply of films.
c. the rental exchange.
d. itinerant exhibition.
e. run-zone-clearance.
f. none of the above
67. Film rental
a. was a system begun by Edison and Lumière.
b. benefitted exhibitors by lowering costs and risk.
c. increased demand for films, creating a production boom.
d. came at the expense of distributors, many of whom were put out of business.
e. only b and c
f. all of the above
68. By 1908 the number of movie theaters in the United States was
a. under 800. d. between 18,000 and 28,000.
b. between 800 and 1,000. e. between 80,000 and 100,000.
c. between 8,000 and 10,000. f. more than 100,000.
69. The nickelodeon boom
a. occurred between 1904 and 1908.
b. was fueled by the demand for The Great Train Robbery.
c. was made possible by the rental exchange system.
d. forced a standardization of film length.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
70. Rescued from an Eagle’s Nest is an important Porter film because
a. it was Porter’s last masterpiece.
b. it contained many breakthrough special effects.
c. it utilized parallel action.
d. it marked the beginning of D. W. Griffith’s career.
e. it was Porter’s first film for his own production company.
f. none of the above
71. D. W. Griffith
a. sold a script to Edison before appearing in a film.
b. was initially ashamed to work as a film actor.
c. was initially paid five dollars a week by Edison as a writer-director-star.
d. had a successful acting career prior to working for Edison.
e. became a regular collaborator with Porter.
f. all of the above