Films Beget Films
Encyclopedia
Films Beget Films is a 1964 book written by Jay Leyda
. It traces the history of 'compilation' films constructed using found
newsreel
footage. He argues that documentary film
is linked at an early stage to this newsreel footage.
1920s
World war II
Post-war
Jay Leyda
Jay Leyda was an American avant-garde filmmaker and film historian, noted for his work on U.S, Soviet and Chinese Cinema. His The Melville Log was a day to day compilation of documents which he had painstakingly collected on the life of Herman Melville. He was a member of the Workers Film and...
. It traces the history of 'compilation' films constructed using found
Found footage
Found footage is a filmmaking term which describes a method of compiling films partly or entirely of footage which has not been created by the filmmaker, and changing its meaning by placing it in a new context. It should not be mistaken for documentary or compilation films. It is also not to be...
newsreel
Newsreel
A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
footage. He argues that 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...
is linked at an early stage to this newsreel footage.
Leyda's timeline
Early 20th century- Newsreel footage of various events are complied into showreels.
1920s
- Esfir ShubEsfir ShubEsfir Ilyichna Shub , also referred as Esther Shub, was a pioneering Soviet filmmaker.Born in Surazh, Chernigov Governorate, part of Left-bank Ukraine within the Russian Empire, Shub began her career in film as a re-editor for Goskino; she edited several Western films according to Goskino...
re-edits newsreelNewsreelA newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
stock footageStock footageStock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...
according to the principles of Soviet montage theorySoviet montage theorySoviet montage theory is an approach to understanding and creating cinema that relies heavily upon editing...
. - Hans RichterHans Richter (artist)Hans Richter was a painter, graphic artist, avant-gardist, film-experimenter and producer. He was born in Berlin into a well-to-do family and died in Minusio, near Locarno, Switzerland.-Germany:...
makes his 'film essays'.
World war II
- Enemy footage is re-edited to make propaganda filmsPropaganda FilmsPropaganda Films was a prolific and successful music video and film production company founded in 1983 by producers Steve Golin and Sigurjón Sighvatsson and directors David Fincher, Nigel Dick, Greg Gold and Dominic Sena...
, for example Frank CapraFrank CapraFrank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
's Why We FightWhy We FightWhy We Fight is a series of seven war information training films commissioned by the United States government during World War II whose purpose was to show American soldiers the reason for U.S. involvement in the war. Later on they were also shown to the general U.S...
. - Len LyeLen LyeLen Lye, born Leonard Charles Huia Lye , was a Christchurch, New Zealand-born artist known primarily for his experimental films and kinetic sculpture. His films are held in archives such as the New Zealand Film Archive, British Film Institute, Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the Pacific...
and Alberto CavalcantiAlberto CavalcantiAlberto de Almeida Cavalcanti was a Brazilian-born film director and producer.-Early life:Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, the son of a prominent mathematician. He was a precociously intelligent child, and by the age of 15 was studying law at university. Following an argument with a...
make technical innovations.
Post-war
- Footage of the Holocaust is made into compilation films shown at the Nuremberg TrialsNuremberg TrialsThe Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
. - Resnais's Night and FogNight and Fog (film)Night and Fog is a 1955 French documentary short film. Directed by Alain Resnais, it was made ten years after the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. The documentary features the abandoned grounds of Auschwitz and Majdanek while describing the lives of prisoners in the camps. Night and Fog was...
also uses Holocaust footage.