Film commentary: Back to the Moon
A magnificent tribute to Georges Méliès, the precursor of dream cinema and special effects.A real pleasure for admirers of Georges Méliès, but also for those who do not yet know his work, to find or discover in each object, character or setting of the short film, a detail or a reference to the universe of Georges Méliès and in particular to the science fiction film Le Voyage dans la Lune.
360° animation film
The interactive short film is also a great 360° animated film experience.Children will love seeing the film again and again, discovering new details of the story depending on what they choose to watch; this interactivity in the service of the film's poetry would certainly have pleased Georges Méliès.
As virtual reality headsets are forbidden to children under 13, we recommend that parents discover the film with them from a computer, smartphone or tablet.
The film is also the first ever 360° interactive doodle and was created in collaboration by Nexus Studio, Google Doodles, Google Spotlight Stories, Google Arts and Culture and the Cinémathèque Française.
About Georges Méliès
Georges Méliès, who was both a magician and a director, began by creating illusion shows and in 1888 bought the Robert Houdin Theatre, which had previously belonged to Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin (1805-1871), the father of modern magic and considered to be one of the greatest magicians of all time (and not Harry Houdini (1874-1926), whose best trick consisted of escaping from a trunk filled with water, which was closed and chained).In 1895, he discovered the possibilities of the Lumière brothers' new invention at a cinematograph screening and very quickly used it to create a visual universe that was at once poetic, fantastic and humorous.
His experience as an illusionist soon led him to create tricks with film, such as collaging part of the image, overprinting by filming twice on the same film (first filming a set, then a second time on the same rewound film a character against a black background, the result being that the character is integrated into a chosen part of the set).
A pioneer of special effects, his work, which is part science fiction and part poetry, still influences many contemporary artists and filmmakers.
Drawings by Georges Méliès commissioned by Henri Langlois in 1937, Cinémathèque Française.
Many films by Georges Méliès such as "Le Voyage dans la Lune" are in the public domain and can be viewed free of charge on the Internet Archive.
The Kinetoscope, however, only allowed the images to be viewed by one viewer at a time.
Contrary to popular belief, the first films were not made by the Lumière brothers; the great originality of Auguste and Louis Lumière, following the discovery of the Optical Theatre in 1892 and the first public projections of animated drawings (painting on film) byEmile Reynaud, is to have combined the technique of the moving photographic image and public projection with the invention in 1895 of the cinematograph, a device that allows both the taking of pictures and projection onto a large screen. They thus generalised cinema as a spectacle and social phenomenon.
Many films by Georges Méliès such as "Le Voyage dans la Lune" are in the public domain and can be viewed free of charge on the Internet Archive.
Origins of modern cinema
Optical toys, invented in the 20th century such as the Phenakistiscope and the Zoetrope, made it possible to reconstitute movement from drawings or photographs, animated sequences in a loop of a few seconds; but the non-cyclic animated image was invented in 1894, with the kinetograph, which made it possible to record images, and the Kinetoscope, which made it possible to view the images, by Thomas Edison and William Kennedy Laurie Dickson.The Kinetoscope, however, only allowed the images to be viewed by one viewer at a time.
Contrary to popular belief, the first films were not made by the Lumière brothers; the great originality of Auguste and Louis Lumière, following the discovery of the Optical Theatre in 1892 and the first public projections of animated drawings (painting on film) byEmile Reynaud, is to have combined the technique of the moving photographic image and public projection with the invention in 1895 of the cinematograph, a device that allows both the taking of pictures and projection onto a large screen. They thus generalised cinema as a spectacle and social phenomenon.
Theme
Georges MélièsGenre and keywords
Fantasy, optical illusions, 360°Recommended age
5 yearsDuration
2 min 10 s.Title
Back to the MoonDirector
Fx GobyHélène Leroux
