1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

In the early days of "movie magic" pioneers such as J. Stuart Blackton worked wonders into the movies they directed. J. Stuart Blackton was famous for his stop motion pieces that made the audience believe in the illusion that was taking place. For instance, in his short, The Haunted Hotel Blackton used stop animation to make it appear that a ghost was controlling the objects on the screen when in reality he, or someone else, would move it while taking photographs of each movement. He also applied this technology in another short titled Humorous Phases and Funny Faces. This short would turn out to be one of the world's first cartoons.

2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content.  You may use the library or the internet.  

As the article states, J. Stuart Blackton was an Englishmen who came to the US to originally become a journalist. His path took him elsewhere when, around the end of the 19th, century interviewed Thomas Edison. In 1896 he would make his own motion picture, "Blackton the Eveing World Cartoonist"; his life would change henseforth. He would direct a couple of movies for Edison including The Haunted Hotel and Humourous Phases until he returned to England in 1921 to start his own movie company. Only lasting two years, Blackton returned to the US where he would work on a few films until the crash of 1929. He would later die in a car accident in 1941.

Cite the article or copy the url to your journal entry. Summarize in your own words the related article but do not plagiarize any content.

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/559607/

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class.   How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

The article did not really change my perspective about the movie, however it did delve further into the life of Blackton. For instance, it was unaware to me that Blakton started out as a journalist and by chance only began working for Edison. His return to England was also new to me considering his success in the US. "Blackton left Vitagraph in 1917 to make patriotic subjects through his own company. In 1921 he came to England, where he directed three lavish costume dramas in 'Prizmacolor'. The Glorious Adventure (1922) and The Virgin Queen (1923)"

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.  I am less interested in whether you liked or disliked a film, (although that can be part of this) than I am in your understanding of its place in film history or the contributions of the director.

The J. Stuart Blackton movies, "The Haunted Hotel" and "Humorous Phases and Funny Faces", can not be catagorized as good or even bad movies. These were the experimental shorts that propelled the evolution of the movie going experience that, even in the case of stop motion animation, is still used today. These shorts were needed to be created so that later down the road directors such as Disney and the Warners could make movies in the style which they saw fit. However, for what they were, these shorts can still bring wonder and amazement to those whom watch it.


Plagiarism Statement:  Attach this to the end of every journal assignment.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 

1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 

2) ( x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 

3) (x  ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 

4) ( x ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 

5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 

6) ( x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 

7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 

8) ( x ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper. 



Name: ___Alex Lukasiuk___________________________________  Date: _______9/16/14___________