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| Wednesday, 18 January 2004 |
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Sinhala films 57 years old by Ravindra Seneviratne Fifty seven years of history is quite a long time for any industry to boast if there is a significant progress, and surely it's a sigh of relief and a moment to cherish for those who pioneered to start or adapt if they still alive to see. Since the screening of first Sinhala movie 'Kadawunu Poronduwa', it is now 57 years to the local cinema industry, marking this event the Film Corporation organized a ceremony and an exhibition on Film making in which I had a glimpse of these magical exhibits and materials at the National Art Gallery recently. Cinematography is truly a blend of Art and Photography thus Photographic and technical interest made me to visit these vintage movie gadgets used by our Audio and Visual technicians in studios and outdoors also by Film- Editors and Cameramen who were behind the silver screen during 57 years of long march of the local cinema industry. Scanning all over and the apparatus put on show with limited facilities implied about the resources made available to them and for the effort they made to uplift during the heydays of our cinema, browsing the books among local cinema, it is sad to notice that I found nothing written about the technical field and men (other than some paper clippings of reports) who threw their skills to boost the industry, and strongly feel their task has been underestimated, nevertheless I salute them whole-heatedly for the challenge they have taken up throughout the journey. Cinematography as applied to the art of movie making is not meant to be a science, film makers must familiarize themselves sufficiently with what the laboratory, camera or film-editor does which I find lacking in most of our local movies concerned, and also may have caused to the present disastrous situation while it is booming in other countries The rise and development of a cinema unarguably stood on changing techniques of production and proved by the world cinema known as 'Dramatic Films'. Hundreds of pictures are made every year criticisms, tons of newsprint commends them and millions of people see are moved or thrilled by them around the world. In modern civilized and commercialized society man's leisure is given a prominent place. Entertainment is the primary aim of the cinema though the film as a medium creative expression, education and social significance is admitted, it has become a large-scale business and a immense force in a society where film industry still plays a major role while actors, directors and producers are in the forefront and considered as national icons of this colossal industry, also film-editors cameramen and technical men are uniformly treated and given due recognition. With the invention of camera film and photo-chemicals with the technology available based on Photography paved the path for cinema, with the invention of movie camera and celluloid film from nitrate to safety and celluloid to polyester film cinematography has come a long way and it's worth going back to the history of cinema from the photographic point of view how cinematography was invented and introduced. **** Back **** |
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