The projector and camera of Thomas Edison, combined with the celluloid film of George Eastman, gave birth to the multi-billion dollar movie industry we see today. | Source: https://bit.ly/2Kqdsdt
It has been well known for a long time that viewing still images with a slight difference one after another in rapid succession can create the illusion of continuous motion. For example, there have been various kinds of devices that use a spinning cylinder to create this kind of illusion – such as the Zoetrope.
“The zoetrope consists of a cylinder with cuts vertically in the sides. On the inner surface of the cylinder is a band with images from a set of sequenced pictures. As the cylinder spins, the user looks through the slits at the pictures across. The scanning of the slits keeps the pictures from simply blurring together, and the user sees a rapid succession of images, producing the illusion of motion. From the late 19th century, devices working on similar principles have been developed, named analogously as linear zoetropes and 3D zoetropes, with traditional zoetropes referred to as “cylindrical zoetropes” if distinction is needed.” “The zoetrope works on the same principle as its predecessor, the phenakistoscope, but is more convenient and allows the animation to be viewed by several people at the same time. Instead of being radially arrayed on a disc, the sequence of pictures depicting phases of motion is on a paper strip. For viewing, this is placed against the inner surface of the lower part of an open-topped metal drum, the upper part of which is provided with a vertical viewing slit across from each picture. The drum, on a spindle base, is spun. The faster the drum is spun, the smoother the animation appears.” Wikipedia
[caption id="attachment_8160" align="alignnone" width="616"] Source: https://bit.ly/2Kqdsdt[/caption]
There is also the flip book that most are introduced to as children. Flipping through its pages we see this same kind of illusion of motion.
[caption id="attachment_8161" align="alignnone" width="442"] Source: https://bit.ly/2Kqdsdt[/caption]
After the invention of still photography in 1839, there were numerous attempts to create a system that would use images like this to create the illusion of motion. But the breakthrough invention that made the beginnings of modern moviemaking possible was the invention of celluloid film by George Eastman of Kodak.
The commercial, public screening of ten of Lumière brothers‘ short films in Paris on 28 December 1895 can be regarded as the breakthrough of projected cinematographic motion pictures. There had been earlier cinematographic results and screenings but these lacked either the quality or the momentum that propelled the cinématographe Lumière into a worldwide success. Wikipedia
Before they were projected in theaters,. films were looked at one at a time by viewers using a Kinetoscope or Nickelodeon. | Source: https://bit.ly/2Kqdsdt
But the real creator of what eventually became the Hollywood movie industry was an inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Edison, who had a close relationship with George Eastman. Edison’s invention of a workable movie camera combined with a projector system lead to the explosion of interest in the Nickelodeon, movie theaters and then the whole modern movie industry.
[caption id="attachment_8314" align="alignnone" width="616"] Source: https://bit.ly/2Kqdsdt[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_8316" align="alignnone" width="616"] Source: https://bit.ly/2Kqdsdt[/caption]
Of course, projectors like the one Edison pioneered as well as that of the Lumiere Brothers were both dependent on the creation of celluloid film by George Eastman. It was this film that allowed early movie makers to make “flickers,” for the proliferation of nickelodeons and then the evolution of the feature-length movie that leads to the movie business that gave us Hollywood and the worldwide movie industry.
Edison’s experimental motion pictures were first publicly exhibited on May 9, 1893, at the Brooklyn Institute. On April 14, 1894, the kinetoscope made its commercial debut when the Edison kinetoscope parlor was opened at 1155 Broadway. A parlor opened in Chicago in May, and another in San Francisco on June 1. At that point, the American movie business exploded, and it had Edison’s name plastered all over it. Though he hadn’t done the inventing, he had spearheaded it, financed it, cultivated the talent to accomplish it, and then orchestrated its release to the public. – TCM Film Article
The first films made in the 1890a were short, such as the recording of a sneeze or a sexy (for the time) filming of a kiss. Originally movies were watched on single viewer Kinetoscopes which eventually gave way to films projected for mass audiences. The Edison Manufacturing Co. (later known as Thomas A. Edison, Inc.) not only built the equipment for filming and projecting motion picture, but also produced films for the public. Originally, the emphasis was on real events like locomotives or disasters but eventually shifted to dramas and, especially, comedies.
Early movies sets took advantage of daylight, which helped in an era of slow lenses and emulsions. This is one reason the industry located in Los Angeles, which had more sunlight than New York or New Jersey. | Source: https://bit.ly/2Kqdsdt
By the second decade of the 20th century, movies had become a big business. The industry was initially centered on the east coast but then moved to Hollwyood – because of the weather and to avoid litigation involving disputes over patents involving movie making equipment and processes.
So movies began with the technical innovations of George Eastman and Thomas Edison, neither of whom contributed much “creative” input. But the earliest Edison films had a dramatic effect on viewers who had never before seen motion images. When a movie showed a steam train speeding toward the audience people were known to duck and scream. The history of motion pictures reveals how quickly Nickelodeons morphed into projected one reelers, than longer films and finally full length features.
By the way, it is interesting how many great cinematographers were also ardent still photographers. But not that strange when you think about the requirement for visual perception, lighting and composition involved in creating both types of images involves. But there have been directors who were also accomplished photographers. One primary example is Stanley Kubrick, director of 2001 Space Odyssey and other masterpieces, who earlier in his career was a photographer for Life Magazine.
Some two decades after movies were invented actors like Douglas Fairbanks and Charley Chaplin had become highly paid movie stars. | Source: https://bit.ly/2Kqdsdt
FILMS OF THOMAS EDISON
Early Films Edison CompaniesEdison Kinetoscope Fims 1894-1896
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Bill Dobbins is a veteran photographer and videographer located in Los Angeles who has exhibited his fine art images in two museums and a number of galleries and has published eight print and 16 eBooks, including two fine art photo books:
The Great Train Robbery is a 1903 American silent short Western film written, produced, and directed by Edwin S. Porter, a former Edison Studios cameraman. At twelve minutes long, The Great Train Robbery film is considered a milestone in film making. | Source: https://bit.ly/2KqdsdtThey made the movies possible. George Eastman, the father of Kodak and inventor/entrepreneur Thomas Edison. | Source: https://bit.ly/2Kqdsdt
November 23, 2018
About the Author
Bill Dobbins
Bill Dobbins THE BODY PHOTOGAPHER became well known for his male and female physique photos - images of the aesthetic, athletic body.
Using the same distinctive personal style, characterized by strong graphics and a classic look in both color and BW, Bill Dobbins has also developed a body of work featuring fashion, beauty and glamor photos In a world in which so many images create a level of "noise" that makes it hard for advertisers to be noticed, Bill's work cuts right through the confusion and grabs the eye.
Bill has created two art photos books: The Women: Photographs of the Top Female Bodybuilders (Artisan) and Modern Amazons (Taschen) and his fine art work has appeared in two museums and several galleries.
WEBSITES
BILL DOBBINS PHOTOGRAPHY
www.billdobbinsphotography.com
BILL DOBBINS ART
www.billdobbinsart.com
THE FEMALE PHYSIQUE WEBZINE/GALLERY
www.billdobbins.com
EMAIL: billdobbinsphoto@gmail.com
Source: https://bit.ly/2Kqdsdt[/caption]
There is also the flip book that most are introduced to as children. Flipping through its pages we see this same kind of illusion of motion.
[caption id="attachment_8161" align="alignnone" width="442"]
Source: https://bit.ly/2Kqdsdt[/caption]
After the invention of still photography in 1839, there were numerous attempts to create a system that would use images like this to create the illusion of motion. But the breakthrough invention that made the beginnings of modern moviemaking possible was the invention of celluloid film by George Eastman of Kodak.
The commercial, public screening of ten of Lumière brothers‘ short films in Paris on 28 December 1895 can be regarded as the breakthrough of projected cinematographic motion pictures. There had been earlier cinematographic results and screenings but these lacked either the quality or the momentum that propelled the cinématographe Lumière into a worldwide success. Wikipedia
Source: https://bit.ly/2Kqdsdt[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_8316" align="alignnone" width="616"]
Source: https://bit.ly/2Kqdsdt[/caption]
Of course, projectors like the one Edison pioneered as well as that of the Lumiere Brothers were both dependent on the creation of celluloid film by George Eastman. It was this film that allowed early movie makers to make “flickers,” for the proliferation of nickelodeons and then the evolution of the feature-length movie that leads to the movie business that gave us Hollywood and the worldwide movie industry.
Edison’s experimental motion pictures were first publicly exhibited on May 9, 1893, at the Brooklyn Institute. On April 14, 1894, the kinetoscope made its commercial debut when the Edison kinetoscope parlor was opened at 1155 Broadway. A parlor opened in Chicago in May, and another in San Francisco on June 1. At that point, the American movie business exploded, and it had Edison’s name plastered all over it. Though he hadn’t done the inventing, he had spearheaded it, financed it, cultivated the talent to accomplish it, and then orchestrated its release to the public. – TCM Film Article
The first films made in the 1890a were short, such as the recording of a sneeze or a sexy (for the time) filming of a kiss. Originally movies were watched on single viewer Kinetoscopes which eventually gave way to films projected for mass audiences. The Edison Manufacturing Co. (later known as Thomas A. Edison, Inc.) not only built the equipment for filming and projecting motion picture, but also produced films for the public. Originally, the emphasis was on real events like locomotives or disasters but eventually shifted to dramas and, especially, comedies.
