Got The Shot

Edwin S. Porter was born 150 years ago today.  If you're into film you likely know his name, but otherwise, little chance. He was one of the true innovators in the early days of motion pictures.

He worked at movie production at the Edison studio starting in the 1890s.  He made over 250 films, helping to create basic film grammar.  His two most significant titles are probably Life Of An American Fireman and The Great Train Robbery, both released in 1903.

Many films of the time were short and made up of one shot.  Porter's Fireman told a story in seven different scenes and nine shots.  It's about a fireman saving a woman and child from a burning building.  The action cuts from the outside to the inside--something that film could do in way that, say, the stage couldn't.

The Great Train Robbery was an even bigger leap.  Just having a fictional action film (not to mention a Western--in the wilds of New Jersey) was fairly new--it must have knocked out the audience.  And the 12 minute film (if played at the proper frame speed) introduced or popularized a lot of new techniques.  For instance, the movie features cross-cutting--moving back and forth between two separate areas where the story is unfolding simultaneously.

The film's budget was reportedly $150.  Was anyone paid?  In any case, it was a massive success.  And guess what?  We still see the same sort of movies made today, though the budgets are a bit bigger.