Billy Bitzer

Billy Bitzer

Gottfried Wilhelm "Billy" Bitzer (April 21 1874–April 29 1944) was a pioneering cinematographer notable for his close association with D. W. Griffith, working with him on some of his most important films and contributing significantly to cinematic innovations attributed to Griffith. In 1910, he photographed Griffith's silent, short, "In Old California", in the Los Angeles village of "Hollywoodland," qualifying Bitzer as, arguably, Hollywood's first Director of Photography. Bitzer, it is said, "developed camera techniques that set the standard for all future motion pictures." [Encylopaedia Britannica, Micropaedia, Vol. II, p51]

Among the innovations made by Bitzer were:
* the fade out to close a movie scene;
* the iris shot where a circle closes to close a scene;
* soft focus photography with the aid of a light diffusion screen
* filming entirely under artificial lighting rather than outside
* lighting, closeups and long shots to create mood
* perfection of matte photography

Prior to his career as a cameraman, Bitzer developed early cinematic technologies for the American Mutoscope Company, eventually to become the Biograph Company. He admired and learned the art of motion picture photography from Kinetoscope inventor W.K.L. Dickson, who directed the early Biograph shorts on which Bitzer cut his teeth. Until 1903, Bitzer was employed by Biograph primarily as a documentary photographer, and from 1903 onward primarily as the photographer of narrative films, as these gained popularity. Harvard citation|Hendricks|1964|pp=5

In 1908 Bitzer entered into his first collaboration with Griffith, "A Calamitous Elopement". The two would work together for the rest of Bitzer's career, leaving Biograph in 1913 for the Mutual Film Corporation where Bitzer continued to innovate, perfecting existing technologies and inventing new ones. During this time he pioneered the field of matte photography and made use of innovative lighting techniques, closeups, and iris shots.

The apex of Bitzer and Griffith's collaboration came with "The Birth of a Nation" (1915), a film funded in part by Bitzer's life savings, and the epic "Intolerance" (1916).

For all his innovation, Bitzer did not survive the industry's transition to sound, and in 1944 he suffered a heart attack and died in Hollywood in relative obscurity.

His autobiography, "Billy Bitzer: His Story" was published posthumously in 1973.

External links

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References

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  • Billy Bitzer — G. W. Bitzer Johann Gottlob Wilhelm “Billy” Bitzer (oft als G. W. Bitzer arbeitend; * 21. April 1872 in Roxbury, Massachusetts; † 29. April 1944 in Hollywood, Kalifornien) war ein US amerikanischer Kameramann, der zwischen 1896 un …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Billy Bitzer — G. W. Bitzer Billy Bitzer manipulant une pellicule. G. W. Bitzer, également connu sous le nom de Billy Bitzer, est un directeur de la photographie américain né en 1872 et ayant principalement exercé durant la période du muet. Il est mort en 1944 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bitzer (Familienname) — Bitzer ist ein vor allem auf der Schwäbischen Alb häufig vorkommender Familienname. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Herkunft des Namens 2 Varianten 3 Häufigkeit 4 Bekannte Namens …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • G. W. Bitzer — Billy Bitzer manipulant une pellicule. G. W. Bitzer, également connu sous le nom de Billy Bitzer, est un directeur de la photographie américain né en 1872 et ayant principalement exercé durant la période du muet. Il est mort en 1944. Sommaire …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bitzer, Billy — ▪ American cinematographer byname of  Gottfried Wilhelm Bitzer   born April 21, 1874, Boston died April 29, 1944, Hollywood       U.S. motion picture cameraman who, in partnership with the pioneer director D.W. Griffith (Griffith, D W), developed …   Universalium

  • Bitzer,George William — Bit·zer (bĭtʹzər), George William. Originally Johann Gottlob Wilhelm Bitzer. Known as “Billy.” 1872 1944. American cinematographer best known for his camera work in the films of D.W. Griffith, most notably The Birth of a Nation (1915). * * * …   Universalium

  • G.W. Bitzer — G. W. Bitzer George William Bitzer (meist nur G. W. Bitzer; * 21. April 1872 in Roxbury, Massachusetts; † 29. April 1944), auch bekannt unter seinem Spitznamen Billy Bitzer, war ein US amerikanischer Kameramann, der zwischen 1896 und 1933 für… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • G. W. Bitzer — George William Bitzer (meist nur G. W. Bitzer; * 21. April 1872 in Roxbury, Massachusetts; † 29. April 1944), auch bekannt unter seinem Spitznamen Billy Bitzer, war ein US amerikanischer Kameramann, der zwischen 1896 und 1933 für mehr als 900… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Georg William Bitzer — G. W. Bitzer George William Bitzer (meist nur G. W. Bitzer; * 21. April 1872 in Roxbury, Massachusetts; † 29. April 1944), auch bekannt unter seinem Spitznamen Billy Bitzer, war ein US amerikanischer Kameramann, der zwischen 1896 und 1933 für… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gottfried Wilhelm Bitzer — G. W. Bitzer George William Bitzer (meist nur G. W. Bitzer; * 21. April 1872 in Roxbury, Massachusetts; † 29. April 1944), auch bekannt unter seinem Spitznamen Billy Bitzer, war ein US amerikanischer Kameramann, der zwischen 1896 und 1933 für… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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