On December 28, 1895, The Lumière brother presented the worlds first public film show, in the basement of a Paris café. However this wasn’t the first time, that moving images had been seen. In the decades preceding there triumph, many great people had pioneered a wide variety of moving image devices.
One of the first major examples of these, was the zoetrope. That was introduced in 1833, and relied on stroboscopic discs, featuring individual drawn images. That when spun at high speed, gave the illusion of moving pictures. However it wasn’t until 1870s, that first moving images using cameras where captured.
(Zoetrope)
Edward Muybridge a British photographer, was asked to settle a bet on whether all four feet of a horse were off the ground at the same time, whilst it was galloping. In 1878 he set up 12 cameras, along side a race track. Each camera was placed 21 inches apart, and was triggered by a tripwire when the horse passed by. The images created, then formed the basis of a moving picture. However the experiment was delayed, by the fact that Muybridge had been on trial, for shooting his wife’s lover. But was acquitted due to justifiable homicide.
(The Muybridge film)
By the 1890s, the flexible format of 35 mm nitrate film had been perfected by the George Eastman company of Rochester, NY. In 1891, Thomas Edison used this new format to develop The kinetoscope. A coin operated, one person viewer that relied on a 47 foot loop of this film.
(Edison Kinetoscope)
However, back in Europe the race for the first public screening, was still going. After seeing a kinetoscope exhibition in Paris, the Lumière brothers were inspired to develop, there all in one cinematograph. That worked as a camera, a printer and a projector. After there pioneering film show in Paris, in December 1895. The brothers continued working together, making films and showing them. They travelled all over the world ,and appeared in many cities such as, London, Milan, Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin and Mumbai. Just like the pioneers before them, the majority of their films were known as “actuality films“. These films was raw, unedited and featured normal every day things. These films were the forerunners, of modern documentaries. The first actuality film came with the first film screening, in 1895. It was a short film of workers, leaving the Lumière factory in Lyon. As most of these early films were experimental, they therefore captured ordinary every day happenings.
(First film shown)
In conclusion to this blog, if it wasn’t for the Lumière system of filming on and of course projecting from a flexible format. There would have no, documentary film industries or any other form of film industry. And no great documentarians, as we know them today.
Acknowledgements:
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