The evolution of visual media from the Gutenberg Print Press to the digital camera reflects a remarkable journey in how humans communicate their world. Johannes Gutenberg’s 1450 invention revolutionized the spread of information, laying the groundwork for public literacy and media culture. The Offset Press and later the Digital Press made this even more efficient, but it was the invention of photography that truly began to change how we saw reality. Starting with Joseph Niépce and his early photographic experiments, then Daguerre’s Daguerreotype in 1839, and the Collodion Wet Plate in 1851, photography moved quickly. Figures like Matthew Brady brought photography into the news during the 19th century, making war and politics more immediate and emotional. Motion itself became the next step. Scientists like Etienne-Jules Marey with his photographic gun and chronograph, and Eadweard Muybridge, known for his 1887 zoopraxiscope, helped visualize movement. These innovations paved the way for the birth of cinema. Louis Le Prince, often called the father of cinematography, and William Dickson, inventor of the Kinetograph and Kinetoscope, along with his experimental sound film, pushed the boundaries. The Lumière Brothers debuted the Cinematographe in 1895, marking the birth of the modern cinema. Filmmakers like Georges Méliès, especially with A Trip to the Moon, added fantasy and narrative. From the Kodak #1 Camera in 1888 to the digital camera in 1975, the accessibility of image-making grew. Through semiotics, we understand how photos operate as signs—iconic, indexical, or symbolic—and how they hold both studium (cultural context) and punctum (emotional sting). Photography and cinema are more than technologies; they are languages that changed how we see, feel, and remember the world.
Reflection:
This was a really interesting lesson for me. As someone who is a film major and incredibly interested in journalism it is super cool to see how it all came together. From the printing press to seeing when photography was included in newspaper and to see the evolution of film. To see how a couple moving images turn into what we have for film now is inspiring.
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