4. The Rocket in the Eye of the Moon from A Trip to the Moon (1902)
http://youtu.be/7JDaOOw0MEE Trick photography has been around since practically the dawn of cinema, but its still part and parcel of the business today. So much so, that you might have found yourself taking it for granted. But just like any other concept, it was once invented and then utilized by an innovative film-maker to create a feeling. One of the earliest and most famous uses of trick photography in cinema was by legendary silent movie director Georges Melies (you know, the guy Scorseses Hugo was based on) in his early short A Trip to the Moon. Why It Was Inventive: George Melies was one of those early pioneers; he was one of the first film-makers to introduce subtext and narrative structuring to his work, the repercussions of which can be clearly felt today. He was also a pioneer in the field of trick-photography and although the above film looks primitive by todays standards, at the time, the technique used to create the effect of the rocket being launched to the moon (a combination of live shooting and clever editing) was unheard of in 1902. I can only imagine how exciting this film must have been to see for the first time back then; this shot in particular is an early, but huge first step toward cinema becoming the art form it is today.