Purnama, AriRogers, Jayna2024-08-302024-08-302024https://hdl.handle.net/1794/29999108 pagesIn this thesis, I explore the creative innovation that made German Weimar cinema world famous. During the years of the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) the German film industry flourished into one of the strongest and most successful in the world, and the canon of research into Weimar cinema has primarily centered on the dominant filmic themes, movements, and directors from this time, which has resulted in a disproportionate neglect of cinematography studies and how the work of cinematographers within the Weimar industry were important. This study aims to add to the small but growing number of works that investigate beyond filmic movements and directors, and get at the the industry conditions, cinematography, and cinematographers – such as the works of scholars Thomas Elsaesser, Paul Matthew St. Pierre, Frances Guerin, and Katharina Loew. This study focuses on two cinematographers and two cinematographic techniques of lasting importance in filmmaking: lighting and camera movement. By analyzing the German techniques of lighting and camera movement, pioneered by German cinematographers, a collaborative culture engrained into the industry emerges. The German film industry supported cinematographers and made space for each member of the filmmaking ensemble to advance the artistic, and economic, value of their films. This thesis argues that the work of cinematographers Fritz Arno Wagner – his use of light as action and creating a tactile atmospheric quality– and Karl Freund – his developments unchaining the camera from its stationary tripod and dynamizing the viewer experience – was possible due to this culture of collaboration. These cinematographic techniques capture the larger reality of Weimar filmmaking practices and offer a valuable contrast to the dominant Hollywood practices of visual standardization, hierarchical labor roles, and unobtrusive cinematography. Interrogating the differences between Germany and Hollywood during the silent era demonstrates the greater importance of German cinematic legacy in Hollywood. Weimar cinematographers influenced dominant cinematography practices in postwar Hollywood, which continue today.en-USCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Silent cinemaGerman silent cinemaCinematographyLightingCamera MovementThesis/Dissertation0009-0005-9903-5370