Silent+Films

Here are my original questions:
1. What were they, when did they happen and what were some popular actors? 2. Why did they have to use melodrama? 3. Why did the actors and film run fast, making it look unnatural? 4. What ended the career of most silent film actors? Why didn't they just stay in the theater business? 5. What were some famous silent films?

Here are the answers/links for the questions:
1. Silent films are films that have no dialouge or spoken language. They were made from 1888-1940's before talking films took over. Some popular actors for silent films were; Rudolph Valentino, Charlie Chaplin, William S. Hart, and Will Rogers.

For actors/actresses go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Silent_film_actors

2 . Silent film actors had to use melodrama because it let their movements be seen from long distances and emphasised their dramatic gestures.

3. Silent films were run so fast because their format was sixteen frames per second, but there weren't that many sixteen frame projectors around. So they were run fast because the projector was more than sixteen frames per second. Plus before the automatic projectors, the camera man had to crank the film, so if he cranked slow the movie would run unnaturally fast, the camera man had to keep a constant beat while cranking the film.

For more help go to http://stason.org/TULARC/movies/past-films/10-Why-are-clips-of-old-films-always- fast.html

4. The new 'talky' movies ended the career of the silent film actors. Some actors didn't stay in the theater business because they often did not have a great movie voice or could not sing with the new "singing movies" or musicals as we know it today.

5. Some famous silent films are The General by: Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman, Metropolis by Fritz Lang, Sunrise by F.W. Murnau, and The Kid by Charles Chaplin.

Go to this site to see top 100 http://www.silentera.com/info/top100.html

old projector used to shoot silent films,