History of Film

  • Horse Race

    Horse Race
    Due to a bet Eadweard Muybridge, an English photographer, made with his freinds (that a horse's legs stops touching the ground at some point while running), they all set up cameras to take pictures rapidly as the horse raced past them. While investigating the film, they found that not only was the Muybridge right, but that if they looked at the photos side-to-side quickly, it would appear that the horse was moving.
  • Vaudeville

    Vaudeville
    Vaudeville acts were short preformances such as small skits, dances and comedy routines. Many would show short films inbetween acts. These would later be called nickelodeons due to admition price being a nickel.
  • The Invention of Film

    The Invention of Film
    George Eastman and William H. Walker invented the first film. Originallly film was made from hard paper cards that you would flip through. Eastman and Walker created a transparent and flexible film that we picture today as film. It was refined throughout the years.
  • The Kinetoscope Parlor

    The Kinetoscope Parlor
    The firtst movie theaters (known as the Kinetoscope Parlors) were where people would pay money to watch "moving images" inside a device called a kinetoscope. The main problem with these were that only one person could watch at a time. This was due to the fact that you could, in theory, make more money from people watching singular.
  • Cinematographe

    Cinematographe
    In France, the Lumiere brothers invented the cinematographe where they were able to play short films on a backdrop and show it to many people (compared to the kinetoscpoe that played for one person). They would charge a small amount of money to play 30-60 second films.
  • Voyage to the Moon

    Voyage to the Moon
    A French film developed by Georges Méliès. It shows new types of special effects and the use of color. It was known to be the epic of the time.
  • The Great Train Robbery

    The Great Train Robbery
    This was the first US movie that had a narrative to it rather than movies before it that would only show things moving (train going to screen or boy getting a fish out of water). It was only 12 minutes long, but was considered much longer compared to movies then only being around a minute long. It was directed by Edwin Porter.
  • Monopoly on Film

    Monopoly on Film
    Along with other company owners, Thomas Edison founded a monopoly called the Motion Picture Patents Company. They owned everything from the film to the cameras to even the actors. If anyone tried to compete with this company, they would face the consequince of goons being sent on them to destroy their stuff and even to hurt them and their actors.
  • Studio in Hollywood

    Studio in Hollywood
    One of the first moves to Hollywood was made by D .W. Griffith, who took his crew and built the first studio there. There were quite a few reasons as to why they and other film companies moved. One was weather, as it was sunny and clear in California, whiched helped with quality of film. Another was that MPPC would be unable to reach them, for if they came the smaller companies could take their stuff and hide out in Mexico until they left.
  • United Artists

    United Artists
    Due to many companies have complete control over the actor, Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford created the United Artists to try and gain independence and control in film. With this they could have better control over their salaries and their creative ideas in how they play their part.
  • Introducing Sound

    Introducing Sound
    The Jazz Singer was the first film to include sound on the device (not made in person). These were known as taking pictures or talkies. These were much more natural sounding than the previous method of adding sound.
  • Galloping Gaucho and Steamboat Willie

    Galloping Gaucho and Steamboat Willie
    This was the first cartoon to have sound added to it. Walt Disney both voiced and produce this cartoon.