Cinematic Techniques In The Wizard Of Oz
What makes the Wizard of Oz Cinematic?
By: Eric Svenson
The Wizard of Oz was a cinematic breakthrough when it was released in 1939. It became cinematic because of many different new ideas and technologies spliced together into one film. When Frank L. Baum wrote the book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” in 1900 he had no idea of what a success it would become in the motion picture industry. The remainder of this paper will touch on some of the key points that made The Wizard of Oz a cinematic breakthrough and a major success for its time.
The first thing that made the Wizard of Oz a cinematic success was the main characters. The Scarecrow, Tin man, Lion, Wizard, and Dorothy are all likeable characters in the film. Everyone can relate to one of them and feels a bond with them and their struggles. We all face these struggles in our lives such as; not smart, no heart, scared, a feeling of power, and a feeling of being lost and insecure. With our own lives, we too have the same …show more content…
Back in 1939 there was no CGI or any other special editing tools. How the special effect was filmed in the studio was how it remained in the movie. There are way too many examples of this to fit into this paper, but I can give a few. You can tell where the yellow brick road meets the matte painting that makes up the background, especially when the painting blows in the wind when the characters walk by it. The fire screen that was used to block the trap door exit used by the wicked witch in Munchkinland. The use of the different colored horses when they are in the Emerald City, this was a simple special effect created by sprinkling powered gelatin 4 different horses to create the colors. These effects were good enough to create an outline that our minds just filled in the rest. Because of the power of our imaginations, The Wizard of Oz transcends the limitations of the techniques used to craft
By: Eric Svenson
The Wizard of Oz was a cinematic breakthrough when it was released in 1939. It became cinematic because of many different new ideas and technologies spliced together into one film. When Frank L. Baum wrote the book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” in 1900 he had no idea of what a success it would become in the motion picture industry. The remainder of this paper will touch on some of the key points that made The Wizard of Oz a cinematic breakthrough and a major success for its time.
The first thing that made the Wizard of Oz a cinematic success was the main characters. The Scarecrow, Tin man, Lion, Wizard, and Dorothy are all likeable characters in the film. Everyone can relate to one of them and feels a bond with them and their struggles. We all face these struggles in our lives such as; not smart, no heart, scared, a feeling of power, and a feeling of being lost and insecure. With our own lives, we too have the same …show more content…
Back in 1939 there was no CGI or any other special editing tools. How the special effect was filmed in the studio was how it remained in the movie. There are way too many examples of this to fit into this paper, but I can give a few. You can tell where the yellow brick road meets the matte painting that makes up the background, especially when the painting blows in the wind when the characters walk by it. The fire screen that was used to block the trap door exit used by the wicked witch in Munchkinland. The use of the different colored horses when they are in the Emerald City, this was a simple special effect created by sprinkling powered gelatin 4 different horses to create the colors. These effects were good enough to create an outline that our minds just filled in the rest. Because of the power of our imaginations, The Wizard of Oz transcends the limitations of the techniques used to craft