The following passage is adapted from an essay on the evolution of early cinematic narrative.
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Early cinema was heavily indebted to the traditions of the stage. In the late 1890s and early 1900s, pioneers like Georges Méliès filmed theatrical performances from a fixed, singular perspective. The camera remained stationary, positioned as if it were a spectator in the middle row of a theater. Scenes were captured in long, continuous takes, and actors entered and exited the frame just as they would walk on and off a physical stage. For these filmmakers, the stage play was the ultimate model of narrative organization, and the screen was merely a transparent window showing a theatrical space.
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This stage-bound paradigm was shattered by filmmakers who recognized that cinema's true power lay not in the proscenium arch, but in the editing room. Edwin S. Porter's 1903 film "The Great Train Robbery" demonstrated that a scene did not have to be a single, unbroken shot. By splicing together shots filmed at different times and locations, Porter created a sense of simultaneous action, cutting back and forth between the bandits and their pursuers. This technique of cross-cutting established that the fundamental unit of film narrative was the shot, rather than the complete scene, allowing filmmakers to construct complex, multi-layered stories.
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Consequently, the relationship between the audience and the screen underwent a profound transformation. Rather than remaining passive observers of a static stage, viewers were now thrust into a dynamic, shifting space where time could be compressed, stretched, or split. By liberating the camera and juxtaposing shots, cinema emerged from the shadow of theater, establishing its own unique grammatical syntax as a visual art form.
Based on the passage, which of the following best describes the relationship between Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 3?
- AParagraph 2 introduces a theoretical argument about theater, while Paragraph 3 provides a concrete example that refutes that argument.
- BParagraph 2 details the commercial success of early films, while Paragraph 3 lists the specific technologies required to project them.
- Paragraph 2 describes a specific development in filmmaking techniques, while Paragraph 3 explains the broader effect of that development on the viewer's experience.Answer
- DParagraph 2 contrasts the directing styles of two filmmakers, while Paragraph 3 argues that one style is historically superior to the other.