You might have noticed opening shots in movies when they appear after the titles. These are called establishing shots, and they set in motion the locale, time (current or in the past) and the mood of the film. The first such cinematic shot appearing in film took place in July 1909 with the release of D. W. Griffith's "The Country Doctor." The establishing shot in this film is a panning opening (camera moves left to right). Most establishing shots are a series of wide static shots.
Griffith's opening takes a deliberate view of the countryside, which was filmed in Greenwich, CT. The sequence lingers over the warm plush scenery until ending at the front door of the doctor's house. This opening establishes the bucolic nature of the residing family which the plot revolves around, who are seen in the following sequence running through a field of flowers. The opening shot also becomes symbolic to nature's role in the subsequent action as well as to the contradictory irony that nature plays in everyone's lives (see linked article).
Appearing as the sick child's mother is actress Florence Lawrence, who was becoming a familiar face to Biograph Studio Production audiences. Yet the studio still refused to identify the name of this actress to the public.
Griffith's opening served as a template for future movies in cinema, weighing the importance in that initial shot of films going forward.
Review of The Country Doctor
