n&k
During the 1910s, popular comedy shorts preceded more esteemed features. By the 1920s, however, comedy developed into a mass-observed genre of feature lengths with stars like Buster Keaton and Charles Chaplin. Silent film n&k , by just referring to its title, suggested a dependence on physical action-slapstick-for comedians. But this alone did not distinguish silent film comedy's capabilities. Similar action, albeit with sound, had been performed on vaudeville stages and circus arenas. To this end, silent film needed to offer comedians something more to explain its durability with an abounding audience; although the aspect of mass-exhibition is a crucial one when considering the various medium-specific strategies offered to comedians.
A focus on the aforementioned performers' careers offers an explanation as to how this relationship with not only the medium, but also the audience, affected their approach to silent film comedy. Through the analysis of Sherlock Jr. (1924), The Saphead (1920), and The Immigrant (1917), film evidently offered itself as a representational art form of time and space that could be manipulated to convey a complicated gag and a more sophisticated story. This was accomplished through the comedians' use of medium-exclusive techniques as well as the development of a filmic persona that worked both for and against audience expectation.
Before any examination of what silent film n&k specifically offered comedians occurs, one must first acknowledge cinema's general contribution to performers as well as audiences. Before cinema, live performances such as circuses and music halls were the major venues for inexpensive entertainment (Bordwell 3). Yet because these performances were live, the constriction of time and space limited certain exhibition possibilities. For a specific performance, there was only one time and space to see it; there would evidently be a smaller crowd than that of a performance shown in various locations at multiple times.
Likewise, transporting whole theater productions to various locations was expensive (Bordwell 3). The distinguishing aspect of cinema then was the ability of mass-exhibition at an inexpensive rate. Furthermore, the medium of silent film freed comedy from spatial and temporal boundaries associated with performances of the stage. No longer would a comedian have only one chance to successfully execute a gag or express concern over the limitations of a single locale. In fact, they had the ability to capture more complex scenes, particularly through the use of filmic devices.
Such an idea is found in Keaton's Sherlock Junior. As Keaton's character, Sherlock Jr., falls asleep at the projection booth he becomes duplicated through the effect of super imposition. This is to let the audience know that the real Sherlock Jr. is asleep; his dream body becomes the main character and proceeds to be the subject of an elaborate gag involving the cinema itself. This overtly suggests that the audience realize the inanimate quality of the comedian. By presenting the character as this lifeless dream body, the spectator is given more reason to laugh at the body rather than worry. In the subsequent scene, Sherlock Jr. (not yet fully absorbed within the film he is trying to enter) is transported between several areas at the whim of an already-edited film. As he dives off a rock surrounded by the ocean, for example, a cut causes him to disappear into a snow bank, legs sticking straight up. Not only is this sequence impossible to reproduce outside film, but it additionally comments on the medium itself. The scene tampers with film cutting techniques applied to audience expectations. To this end, the filmic technique itself becomes the prop for the joke.
The scene of the driverless motorcycle chase which covers the film's climax is a specific kind of elaborate gag offered by silent cinema. It is both a spectacle and humorous scene to see Keaton perform his own stunts. During one moment, the safe passage of the motorcycle across a missing part of a bridge is possible only through the support of two passing trucks. This shot was achieved with the help of a horizontally split screen. Just like the movie theater scene, the motorcycle chase illustrates how filmic devices were utilized to both complicate and execute various gags.
tag : n&k
During the 1910s, popular comedy shorts preceded more esteemed features. By the 1920s, however, comedy developed into a mass-observed genre of feature lengths with stars like Buster Keaton and Charles Chaplin. Silent film n&k , by just referring to its title, suggested a dependence on physical action-slapstick-for comedians. But this alone did not distinguish silent film comedy's capabilities. Similar action, albeit with sound, had been performed on vaudeville stages and circus arenas. To this end, silent film needed to offer comedians something more to explain its durability with an abounding audience; although the aspect of mass-exhibition is a crucial one when considering the various medium-specific strategies offered to comedians.
A focus on the aforementioned performers' careers offers an explanation as to how this relationship with not only the medium, but also the audience, affected their approach to silent film comedy. Through the analysis of Sherlock Jr. (1924), The Saphead (1920), and The Immigrant (1917), film evidently offered itself as a representational art form of time and space that could be manipulated to convey a complicated gag and a more sophisticated story. This was accomplished through the comedians' use of medium-exclusive techniques as well as the development of a filmic persona that worked both for and against audience expectation.
Before any examination of what silent film n&k specifically offered comedians occurs, one must first acknowledge cinema's general contribution to performers as well as audiences. Before cinema, live performances such as circuses and music halls were the major venues for inexpensive entertainment (Bordwell 3). Yet because these performances were live, the constriction of time and space limited certain exhibition possibilities. For a specific performance, there was only one time and space to see it; there would evidently be a smaller crowd than that of a performance shown in various locations at multiple times.
Likewise, transporting whole theater productions to various locations was expensive (Bordwell 3). The distinguishing aspect of cinema then was the ability of mass-exhibition at an inexpensive rate. Furthermore, the medium of silent film freed comedy from spatial and temporal boundaries associated with performances of the stage. No longer would a comedian have only one chance to successfully execute a gag or express concern over the limitations of a single locale. In fact, they had the ability to capture more complex scenes, particularly through the use of filmic devices.
Such an idea is found in Keaton's Sherlock Junior. As Keaton's character, Sherlock Jr., falls asleep at the projection booth he becomes duplicated through the effect of super imposition. This is to let the audience know that the real Sherlock Jr. is asleep; his dream body becomes the main character and proceeds to be the subject of an elaborate gag involving the cinema itself. This overtly suggests that the audience realize the inanimate quality of the comedian. By presenting the character as this lifeless dream body, the spectator is given more reason to laugh at the body rather than worry. In the subsequent scene, Sherlock Jr. (not yet fully absorbed within the film he is trying to enter) is transported between several areas at the whim of an already-edited film. As he dives off a rock surrounded by the ocean, for example, a cut causes him to disappear into a snow bank, legs sticking straight up. Not only is this sequence impossible to reproduce outside film, but it additionally comments on the medium itself. The scene tampers with film cutting techniques applied to audience expectations. To this end, the filmic technique itself becomes the prop for the joke.
The scene of the driverless motorcycle chase which covers the film's climax is a specific kind of elaborate gag offered by silent cinema. It is both a spectacle and humorous scene to see Keaton perform his own stunts. During one moment, the safe passage of the motorcycle across a missing part of a bridge is possible only through the support of two passing trucks. This shot was achieved with the help of a horizontally split screen. Just like the movie theater scene, the motorcycle chase illustrates how filmic devices were utilized to both complicate and execute various gags.
tag : n&k
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