The Institutional Mode of Representation is the dominant form as to how films are made today, and was developed during the Classic Era (1914). Before this development in film-making occurred however, the primitive style was the most common form, and techniques included frontal staging, exaggerated gestures due to the fact that early films were silent, and hardly any camera movement. I believe that the primitive style would be considered odd today, but modern conventions hadn't been established yet and cinema was new during this time, so people would be fascinated by moving images alone, no matter what the film was about or what it contained (e.g The Lumiere Brothers films included people walking out of a factory and a group of men knocking down a wall, without there being a clear narrative, or no narrative at all).
The Birth of a Nation, directed by D.W. Griffith and released in 1915, was highly controversial due to its portrayal of African-Americans and the Ku-Klux-Klan, but is considered to be one of the most innovative and influential films of all time because of Griffith's groundbreaking film techniques which are now standard. These included panning, the use of close-ups to show emotion and a variety of camera angles such as high-angle shots and panoramic long shots. The film also included a lengthy narrative, something which had never been seen or rarely seen in film-making. However, the film didn't include any diegetic sound, and the Jazz Singer was the first to do so in 1927, meaning that IMR was ready to be fully introduced.
Now that I know what the IMR is, I feel that I know why certain techniques are used in film-making e.g. a linear narrative so that the film is chronologically correct, the camerawork and editing is disguised so it acts as if it's not there, continuity editing etc. I also can't picture any films challenging the IMR either, because it is now so well established that any other form of film-making would just seem strange to the eyes of the audience.
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