Edwin S. Porter was definitely an originator in the medium of film. Even though his works were done in the earlier days of film and there was not new technology available on an almost daily basis, he still managed to push the limits of film. Some of the techniques that Porter used were camera movement, telling a story in several scenes, and special effects. Porter even used animation in some of his films. He also used outdoor scenes with these special effects which made his films even more innovative.
One of the films that Porter is best known for is The Great Train Robbery (1903) which utilized several of the techniques that he used that were not common during the time period. In this film, Porter utilized multiple scene story-telling, outdoor shots, color, and special effects. The one technique that Porter used that very few people used was the close-up. Close-ups were rarely used, even by Porter and they were generally a single frame that may even appear out of place. The best example of a close-up is the last shot of The Great Train Robbery which shows a cowboy with a gun. Porter may actually be credited with starting the entire “western” genre in film because of his 1903 work.
