Melies A Trip To The Moon

What is happening in this film?

This film follows a group of rich French people who decide to visit the moon, they build a rocket and
launch they fly quickly to the moon and gouge out the man in the moons eye. When they arrive they
set up camp and fall asleep, whilst they sleep they are caught in a storm and wake up suddenly and
seek out shelter they go inside a cave and find aliens who tries to attack them after a brief fight they
are captured and taken to the alien king, they kill the alien king and run back to their rocket they
take off and land back in the ocean on earth they discover an alien has also followed them they
capture and are hailed as heroes.
What happened in 1902 with regard to flight exploration that may have influenced this film?
The wright brothers work into heavier than air flight with their glider the Kitty Hawk. The fact that
developments were being made into heavier than air flight may have inspired melies to fictionally
explore the boundaries of what could be possible in the future.
Which moves more the camera or the actors?
The actors move more, as the early camera that this was filmed on was really cumbersome and
heavy it was difficult to move, instead the sets and actors and everything else was moved around
the camera which stayed in one fixed position. The impact this had is that shots that help build
tension and provide more detail like close ups, shot reverse shot and extreme close ups couldnt be
done. The impact this had is that tension in some areas are lost slightly and the one continuous shot
type compared to todays standards become boring and repetitive after a while.
What is the purpose of this film?
This films purpose was to entertain inform and educate. As film became more popular the demand
for a story from audiences increased so they wanted more elaborate films which they would enjoy
so this ground-breaking pioneer sci-fi would entertain people. It would also educate them on what
could be done with the camera and show them the evolution of filmmaking in comparison to the
Lumiere brothers original film of a factory, it also helped highlight the popular news at the time in
this case forays into space explorations. Following on from this the film also helped inform the public
of the dangers of space exploration.
Which sections show the development of special effects? Detail them and critically compare them to
effects today.
The first section that details special effects is the launch of the rocket this is done with the launch of
the cannon and the smoke and the slight dot that is seen when it is launched to signify the rocket
taking off, in some ways this effect is similar to effects seen today. In many action films there are
multiple explosions and usually in CGI heavy film the explosion is added in but the smoke is real so
that the real and added seamlessly blend whilst also providing a safe and easier option to create
these breath-taking effects. In some ways this technique is used in a trip to the moon as the smoke is
real but the rocket is added in, in editing. This effect shows the development of special effects as it
shows how raw footage and editing are just as important as each other and how the two can be
merged.
The second section where we see special effects is when the rocket crashes into the man in the
moon and gouges its eye out. In comparison to today the effect they used would be called amateur.
In order to create this effect in the film it was a simple cut however it effectively worked to show

how fast the rocket was moving and also created humour as we did not see the rocket crash coming
and when it crashes into the actors eye and we see the blood and the distorted face it is humorous
for the audience. This effect shows the development of special effects as it shows how the cut can
be used creatively and for different effects in this case its used for humour but later on its used for
tension and to hide other special effects. An example of this use of visual comedy in modern film is
through the works of director Edgar Wright who has become well known for his three flavours of
cornetto trilogy.
The third special effect we see used is the first ever true use of CGI this is seen when the ship falls
back to earth and lands in the sea, we can see that the shape of the space ship has been animated
into the frames as it is rather crude but it was still influential and important in exploring the
possibilities of film.
How is it telling a story?
One key way in which it is telling a story is through its use of music. Although the soundtrack for this
film wasnt originally composed for it is still a useful tool in providing tension and also expressing
mood in a way in which the actors and lack of sound due to technology limits. It is also telling a story
by following a linear narrative which has a clear beginning middle and end, this helps keep the
audience entertained and does not confuse them as to whats going on, I believe that if this film had
used a non-linear narrative it would be confusing for an audience as there were no subtitles or voice
overs to help an audience keep track. A third way in which this film is telling a story is through the
over the top acting style. Throughout the whole film the actors are making big hand gestures and
running in a very comical fashion, I believe this is key in guiding the story as the reference towards
important objects with big hand gestures making it blindingly obvious to the audience what is
happening, an example of this is when the aliens were first introduced the rich characters gestured
towards it to point out this development to the audience and make them aware of this new
character. A second example of this was at the start of the film when the rocket took off, when the
cannon went off there was a black blip which represented the rocket however it was only present
for around one second, this could have been easily missed so in order to emphasis this the actors on
the ground waved towards the sky in an over the top fashion to help emphasise this further.
What is important about its length?
Its length is important because it was revolutionary for its time being so much longer than its
competitors. Because of the extended length it meant that there was room for a proper narrative as
opposed to the almost meaningless stream of images like the original Lumiere films. This length and
solidified narrative I think paved the way for future films being laid out in this fashion and has stuck
forever.
How has Melies moved film on from Muybridge and the Lumiere brothers?
One way in which he has moved it on is by moving into realm of fiction or more specifically, science
fiction. The original Lumiere was simply footage of employees leaving their factory, but as this
technology became more and more commonplace and films increased in popular videos of people
leaving buildings became boring so Melies will have provided something fresh and daring and scary
as looking back on it from now we can see that the aliens were made up but back in 1903 when it
was first seen they would be really realistic and possibly scary to the audience, for example one of
the original Lumiere films had footage of a train pulling into a station and people supposedly fled the
cinema out of terror as they thought there was an actual train coming towards them. I also think
Melies was important in making movies exciting and entertaining for the audience and made seeing

a film much more of an experience which has had a lasting effect on cinema right through till the
modern day when we still go to the cinema to see something entertaining or something we could
not experience in our everyday lives. A third way he has moved cinema forward is through his sue of
special effects, I feel like his use of elaborate sets and various special effects was pushing at the
boundaries of films potential and almost setting a bar for other film makers to step up, this sense of
competition has also carried through to the modern day with films like gravity trying to have the
best cutting edge technologies.