Five Technical Innovations That Shaped Cinema History
A Smithsonian magazine special report examines five key technological advances that transformed cinema. D.W. Griffith pioneered the close-up in his 1912 short Friends, using a tight crop on Mary Pickford to convey emotion. The Vitaphone, developed by Western Electric, debuted in 1926 with Don Juan, synchronizing sound on vinyl with film. CinemaScope, aided by Bausch and Lomb lenses, widened the projected image to lure audiences back from TV in the 1950s, as seen in Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). MTV's rapid-fire editing style, starting in 1981, influenced films like Flashdance (1983) and Top Gun (1986). Additionally, VistaVision, a high-resolution format from Paramount Pictures used first in White Christmas, was revived by directors Brady Corbet, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Yorgos Lanthimos for recent Oscar-nominated films.
Key facts
- D.W. Griffith used a close-up in his 1912 short Friends.
- The Vitaphone debuted in 1926 with Don Juan.
- Western Electric engineers developed the Vitaphone.
- CinemaScope was developed in part by Bausch and Lomb.
- Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) used CinemaScope.
- MTV launched in 1981, influencing film editing.
- VistaVision was developed by Paramount Pictures in the 1950s.
- Brady Corbet, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Yorgos Lanthimos revived VistaVision.
Entities
Artists
- D.W. Griffith
- Mary Pickford
- John Barrymore
- Brady Corbet
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Yorgos Lanthimos
Institutions
- Smithsonian
- Western Electric
- Bausch and Lomb
- Paramount Pictures
- MTV