Fight for the Dardanelles
Encyclopedia
Fight for the Dardanelles (1915
) is a British
silent
documentary film
, directed by F. Percy Smith
and produced and edited by Charles Urban
.
Percy Smith was known as a recorder of nature. He was a pioneer in the field of scientific documentaries. During World War I
, however, he used his talents to support the Allied
war effort. He shot aerial views of battlefields for British forces and made several animated
films. One such was Fight for the Dardanelles.
The film uses stop-frame animation to create maps on the screen, and showed the then-current military situation in the Dardanelles
, using various maps to assist understanding. Small cardboard cut-outs show the deployment of men and ships. Intertitle
s explain tactics, and shelling explosions are illustrated by clouds of cotton wool.
The techniques used in the film are considered primitive today, however, they satisfied a need at the time for details of the war. The film is currently available in 16mm film format.
1915 in film
The year 1915 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 8 : D.W Griffith's The Birth of a Nation premieres at Clune's Auditorium Los Angeles and breaks box office and film length records, running at a total length of 3 hrs 10 minutes.* June 18 : The Motion Picture Directors...
) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
silent
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, directed by F. Percy Smith
F. Percy Smith
Frank Percy Smith was a British naturalist and early nature documentary pioneer working for Charles Urban, where he pioneered the use of time lapse and micro cinematography.-Biography:...
and produced and edited by Charles Urban
Charles Urban
Charles Urban was an Anglo-American film producer and distributor, and one of the most significant figures in British cinema before the First World War...
.
Percy Smith was known as a recorder of nature. He was a pioneer in the field of scientific documentaries. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, however, he used his talents to support the Allied
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
war effort. He shot aerial views of battlefields for British forces and made several animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
films. One such was Fight for the Dardanelles.
The film uses stop-frame animation to create maps on the screen, and showed the then-current military situation in the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
, using various maps to assist understanding. Small cardboard cut-outs show the deployment of men and ships. Intertitle
Intertitle
In motion pictures, an intertitle is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of the photographed action, at various points, generally to convey character dialogue, or descriptive narrative material related to, but not necessarily covered by, the material photographed.Intertitles...
s explain tactics, and shelling explosions are illustrated by clouds of cotton wool.
The techniques used in the film are considered primitive today, however, they satisfied a need at the time for details of the war. The film is currently available in 16mm film format.