Camera Men: Georges Méliès and Abel Gance

My favorite movie- it has it all <drama, comedy, tragedy>

   Georges Méliès was born in Paris, France in 1861 and died in 1938. Méliès was a professional magician before getting into the film industry. Méliès saw his first film in 1895 and less than2 years after that was making films of his own. Méliès lined up 12 cameras in a row with a thin wire connected to each so that when one picture is taken from the proceeding camera the next one will go off and then the next so on and so on. he did this in order to create a stop-motion visual effect. Méliès was also responsible for creating transitions such as fading-in, fading-out, and dissolving from one scene to the next in narrative films. Méliès has made over 500 films and is most famous for A Trip to the Moon (1902). Méliès died very poor due to the vast progression of the film industry and his inability to keep up with its advance.

   Abel Gance (1889-1981) was also born in Paris, France. Gance started his career as an actor at 19 years old and continued to act without the support of his parents. Gance made his first film in 1911. At this time WWI was going on and many men were being drafted, however Gance was not able to join due to health issues. Gance had many successful films, including his first major film called  I Accuse (1919), an anti-war statement that was considered a classic. Ten years after this film, he created Abel Gance's Napoleon (1927) which was one of his more controversial pieces that while it used all the techniques available in film as well as his own stylish touches. Napoleon ended up being six hours in duration when complete. It saw very little sells in the box office because of its length. Gance went on to make films for 30 years after this downfall. He lived long enough to see the revelation of Napoleon of 1927.